Edwina Read Free Page B

apartments or English bed-and-breakfasts.
Not her. She hated business. Another difference between her
beautiful, talented stepsister and herself.
    Well, what was to be done? Edwina’s
practicality surfaced, and she studied the paper. After a night of
blessed sleep. . . hmm... what did one do in a castle in
Scotland?
    From the looks of the faxed
paper she now held in her hands, she was to stay in one of
Edinburgh’s finest, The Cannon
Brae . At several hundred dollars per
night, Cecelia had scheduled massages, beauty treatments, and all
sorts of body shaping and exercises. Edwina hated exercise and
would rather walk the downtown side streets meeting the people in
the small shops, drive down a country road wondering who lived in
this house or that, or read a book. Cecelia would much rather walk
on a treadmill while listening to a CD about the newest diet fad
than do anything Edwina considered interesting.
    Well, it’s time to pack and
be on my way—I’ve inconvenienced this man enough .
    Before packing, she wanted to see the land
that surrounded the castle. Walking on bare feet across the oval
rug, then onto the wooden floor, she pulled back the heavy velvet
drape and gasped. Blue and green hills sledded their way across the
land. Up and down they rolled. Colorful spring flowers—yellows,
purples, blues—performed their nature dance in the May winds.
    The scene before her sent her mind fleeing
into some dream place. Squinting, she could envision a tall,
beautiful woman dressed in flowing white gauze traipsing over the
hills singing some romantic Scottish ballad. A man dressed in the
Scottish plaid would rein in his black steed and haul her up behind
him, and they would disappear over the knoll into a life of pure
happiness.
    What foolishness! Edwina shook the cobwebs from her brain. Since
when had she put on such an impractical countenance? Such puffery.
Everyone knew that plain women with fifteen extra pounds could not
look forward to such goings-on. She must get out of here before she
turned into Cinderella. And her with a degree in Library Science.
Perhaps the reading of too many books had mushed her
mind.
    Stomping back to her room, she slid her feet
into her black flats and in doing so became just Edwina.
    Checking the itinerary once again, Edwina
packed the last of her things, making herself a promise she would
buy a new pair of pajamas, and snapped her case shut. It was time
to thank her host and remove herself from his home... castle.
    A smile crept to her lips. Cecelia had never
planned on meeting a handsome Scot, nor staying in his castle. Sure
enough, if the man had laid eyes on her stepsister, he would have
been smitten instantly. For Cecelia possessed what all men seemed
to want. Beauty, charm, and intellectual savvy.
    Edwina had not been born with any of it. But,
she assured herself, she had been born with rational reasoning. And
in her chosen field and simple lifestyle, she needed it
desperately, especially now when it seemed her Cinderella senses
had increased and her common sensibilities had decreased.

Chapter 5
     
    D ragging her luggage to the door, she left it for Reardon to
fetch later and opened the heavy door to the hall. Her feet took
her immediately to the arched window. As she gazed down, her dark
blue eyes followed the gentle swooping of the hills... not
mountains, but hills. The blue-green of the lush countryside bid
her to investigate. Unfortunately, time would not permit. Sadly,
she turned from the window.
    Thirty minutes later, she still could not
bring herself to stop studying each huge framed picture that hung
along the long, wide corridor. It was like walking through an art
gallery. She stopped at each oil painting and busied her mind. Who
was he? The Scot’s father? Grandfather? Reardon had said the family
occupied this castle since... what was it... 1702? The paintings of
the women fascinated her. What would it have been like to live
three hundred years ago? Walking these very halls.