Border Lord's Bride Read Free Page A

drive of Midwick Manor. A single stable boy came out to assist her. The young boy and her father's steward settled her trunk near the door. With a bow, Farnsworth returned to the wagon and set the horses in motion, leaving her standing beside the stable boy.
    Elizabeth held her tears in check. It would not help her to spill them now. Her father cared nothing for her. His delivery of her unto her bridegroom was proof of that. She suspected that by the end of the week, instead of attending her wedding, he would be on his way to Edinburgh and the nearest gaming house to spend what little remained of her wedding price.
    Drawing in a breath, Elizabeth steadied herself. Her father and Huntingdon Hall were her past. The doorway leading inside Midwick Manor was her future, and she would make the best of the situation. She was away from her father's gaming, and his foolishness. She should find relief in that fact and make the very best of the situation at hand.
    She had to succeed here. Lucius had to marry her. If he did not… She forced the thought away. There was no going back for her.
    "Are ye ready tae go inside?" the stable boy asked, breaking into her thoughts.
    "Oh aye, forgive me. I was just taking a moment to gather myself." Elizabeth ran a hand through the wild tangle that was her hair. Her fingers tugged against the knots the wind had created. She hadn't even had time to prepare herself. Her father had been in such a hurry to get her away from Huntingdon Hall. She frowned into the darkness. Her old gown, tangled curls. What a beguiling bride she made. Assuming Lucius…Lord Carrick…would have her.
    She straightened. He would accept her. He had to. She'd been waiting her whole life to have the kind of home she'd always wanted. Mustering her resolve, Elizabeth nodded to the young man beside her. He opened the door, then waved her inside.
    "Wait here, milady. I'll get Marie for ye."
    Elizabeth waited in silence for several long moments before a portly woman with silver-brown hair and rosy cheeks hustled toward her from the back of the house. "Oh goodness," the woman said, her kind eyes growing wide. " 'Tis you!"
    "I do apologize for this inconvenience. My father felt it urgent I come to you this evening." Elizabeth gripped the handle on her trunk. She lifted the edge, then dragged it farther inside.
    "The master is home, he is. Though I'm nae certain this was the wisest way tae—"
    "I'll take care of this, Marie."
    The familiar male voice was hard and cool. A shiver went down Elizabeth's spine. The trunk slipped from her hand and hit the stone floor with a thud that echoed in the deathly stillness of the hallway.
    Marie bowed, then with a last look of concern fled the scene.
    Elizabeth dropped her gaze to the floor, to the black boots not two feet from her. She'd known this moment would come. She'd dreaded seeing Lucius again after they'd parted on such bad terms. She'd rehearsed in her mind so many ways she should respond to him: with cool aloofness in one scenario, with meekness in another. Neither of those practiced responses came to her now.
    He was dressed in a dark tunic and breeches that were slightly rumpled, as though he too had not had time to refresh himself since his arrival home. It took everything she had to look him in the face.
    "Are you so eager to marry the lord of this manor that you had to come tonight?" His words were harsh.
    Looking at him now, at the barely concealed anger that flashed in his eyes, she knew that time had not dulled the way in which they'd parted five years earlier. "My father insisted."
    "Well, at least you've learned how to obey in the years we've been apart." He glared at her.
    "Don't you dare look at me that way. I'm not entirely at fault for how we parted." Elizabeth started pacing as her fear vanished. "Or for the situation we find ourselves in now. You could have…"
    His hand gently clasped her wrist, stalling her movements. "I could have what?" His tone was soft.
    Heat rose to