Candle in the Window Read Free Page A

“Starving to death in the wilderness
or living beneath Theobald’s roof?”
    Lord Peter stroked his chin. They raised a
legitimate complaint. If Saura left her home of her own free will
and William would have none of her, what would they do with her? A
stray bit of humor brightened his face.
    “I could take Maud as my mistress and refuse
to part with her.”
    Maud snorted.
    “Does she always express herself so
disdainfully?” Lord Peter asked Saura, touching her hand with
an indulgent finger.
    “Always. It’s the way she gives her
opinion of the world.” Saura smiled into his face, an amused
and thoughtful smile. “But I expect you would be good for
Maud. She’s not nearly as old and tough as she would have you
believe.”
    “I thought your lady wife would have your
gizzard on a platter,” Maud snapped.
    “For dealings with a young woman. And Lady
Saura is too young. My wife painted quite a vivid picture of an old
goat like me with a girl. But were she alive today, rest her soul,
she would approve of you, Maud. Believe me, you and she are two of
a kind.”
    Glaring at the man, Maud was jolted into awareness
of the warrior before her. His skin was mottled from too much sun
and scarred by too many battles, but his fighter’s build was
attractive. His thinning hair shone with health and hisbrown eyes twinkled. He had most of his teeth, and he
used them all when he smiled knowingly at her.
    “I am a widower. So is my son, and his son is
not yet married. Kimball is only eight. What we have is a bachelor
household, and a dingy mess it is. Perhaps if you’re not
happy here, you could be prevailed upon to come to Burke Castle as
a housekeeper.”
    “Housekeeper?” Saura exclaimed.
    He slapped his knee enthusiastically. “Aye,
that’s it! Because I fear William will refuse to accept help
from you. You’re blind, and he doesn’t want to be
taught by someone sharing his experience, doesn’t want to
acknowledge his own plight. I’ve suggested it before. And
you’re too young, and a woman.”
    “I can’t hide the fact I am a
woman,” Saura said, “but there’s no need to tell
him my age.”
    “Not tell him? I’ve never deceived
him,” he answered, troubled.
    “But it’s necessary?”
    “Aye,” he agreed slowly. “Aye,
it’s necessary. We’ll not tell him you can teach him,
at least not at first. First, we will let you prove what a
magnificent housekeeper you are. You could get that damned castle
cleaned and the kitchen in better shape. If we didn’t tell
him you are blind, he would never know, how could he? After you had
been there a sufficient time and he was accustomed to you, we could
tell him you are a dedicated teacher of the blind, a woman of,
perhaps, forty, who has handled many students and taught them
everything. He respects age and efficiency. Damn! I believe that is
it!”
    “What does my mistress get out of this, ye
old fool? A passel of hard work, all for a man she has never
met,” Maud said.
    Lord Peter shifted, abruptly uncomfortable with the
slope of the trunk. “In my household, women who dwell therein
are treated with respect and not beat all out of reason or
imprisoned for a peccadillo. Lord Theobald has a new wife, one who
will some day be well enough versed to take over the housekeeping,
whether any of you wish for it. And Theobald has no fondness for
you. It is too easy to die by disease or accident. Have you given
any thought to that?”
    Giving Lord Peter his first glimpse of the mettle
beneath her quiet exterior, Saura impatiently slapped her hands
together. “I’m not such an idiot that I never thought
how a trip down the stone stairs would affect me. But I do have my
own meager salvation. My half brothers were all trained by my
mother to protect me, and they have done so vigilantly.”
    Maud’s mouth turned down; she stared at
Saura. “Aye, m’lady, but John has been sent for
fostering, and Clare is seven and not much help.”
    “Rollo—” Saura