Delight Read Free

to London.
    Shortly after her arrival, Sir Matthew Dela court had contacted her. His letter haunted her on this bitterly cold Scottish night.
    Dearest Rowena,
    I have learned of your plight. You must be protected. Meet me at Castle Dunmoral in Scotland. Should I fail to make our meeting on time, place your trust in my brother the Earl of Dunmoral.
    Your servant, Matthew
    " There was trouble? " Frederic frowned in suspicion at the bow lying against Rowena ' s tapestry valise.
    Hildegarde answered for her. " Two horsemen were hunting down someone. They had the look of cutthroats about them. "
    Rowena shrugged. " They could have simply been two husbands who had been out hunting and were now hurrying home to supper. What did you find out? You've been gone all day. "
    His thin face tightened. " For lack of encounter in g a single human being who could speak a civilized language, I was forced to return to the crossroads where we abandoned our carriage. There I met a minister of the kirk who begged me not to let you go any farther. "
    Hildegarde smothered a gasp of alarm. She was younger than she appeared, not yet fifty, but grief had taken its toll, graying her hair, destroying her faith. " The rebels from Hartzburg have sent men here to ambush us? "
    Frederic scowled. " Woman, you have an imagination like a windmill, always going at full tilt. I did not say anything about rebels. "
    Hildegarde's chin trembled at the rebuke. Rowena patted her hand, remembering the times when the woman had not been so afraid, before her husband and three strapping sons had been slaughtered by the robber barons who haunted the mountains of Hartzburg.
    " Everything will be fine, " she said calmly, studying Frederic ' s face. " What did this man say? Is all not well with Sir Matthew? "
    " The minister I met had never heard of Sir Matthew . " Frederic paused for effect. " The Earl of Dunmoral is another matter. A rumor is circulating that he is in no way related to the ancient family whose titl e he claims. The castle may well be under the command, and I use the term loosely, of the nefarious pirate once known as the Dragon of Darien. "
    Rowe na ' s temples began to throb. " But I thought—the London broadsheets said that the Dragon was dead. "
    " Apparently, he is very much aliv e. " Frederic ' s frown deepened. " According to rumor the Crown has insisted he take on a new identity and play a more productive role in society than a brutal sea robber. How is it you know of such a miscreant. Highness? "
    Rowena suppressed a smile. " He was part of history, was he not? And history was my favorite subject at the convent school. But I never dreamed he was Matthew ' s half-brother. Matthew mentioned him but never went into any detail. "
    Frederic said, " One usually does not discuss the black sheep of th e family, and from what I under stand, they do not come any blacker. The earl is said to hold orgies in his hall. Village women have entered his keep never to return home. "
    " Then perhaps they were enjoying themselves too much to bother, " Rowena said. " Besides, Matthew once risked his life for us, and if he says I am to trust the earl, then that is the end of it. Anyway, Frederic, you know b etter than to listen to gossip. "
    " He might be a pirate! " Frederic exclaimed.
    " And he might not, " Rowena said. " What matters is that he is Matthew ' s brother—oh, goodness, what a wonderful combination, Matthew ' s military skills and the Dragon ' s daring. "
    Fre deric drew an outraged breath. " To lead you into a pirate ' s lair—well, my imagination does wicked things. "
    So did Rowena ' s.
    Any sensible princess would have hastened back to the safety of her London-based friends. She would have sniffed into her scented hanky, lamenting her papa ' s fate as she dressed for a masked ball. She would have flirted with King Charles, who, famous for his roving eye, had already sent her a patch box along with condolences for her plight.
    But Rowena had a mind of