Let Me Be Your Hero Read Free Page A

daft?” Claire asked. “Faith! Where do ye get yer ideas, Kenna?”
    “From the same place ye get yers, Claire.”
    “Weel, I dinna sit around dreaming aboot nonsense.”
    “’Tisn’t nonsense. I ken it could happen.”
    “All right…fine…think it then, and have it yer way.”
    “Ye dinna have to get mad aboot it.”
    “I am not mad. I dinna understand what has come over ye all of a sudden. Ye were fine this morning, andnow ye are spouting nonsensical. Why would a man want to kidnap ye, when he could just as easily ask ye to marry him.”
    Kenna was suddenly very quiet.
    “Weel now, has the cat run awa’ with yer tongue? Dinna ye have an answer?”
    Kenna shrugged. “Not today, but I ken I will ha’one tomorrow.”
    Lennox Castle was built on a natural rocky outcrop on the southwest point of the island. A defensive ditch ran along the east side, which faced inland. It was a position that afforded both security and an effective way to control the coming and going of boats.
    It was not as beautiful as some later-constructed castles, for it was a fortalice, a fortress built for protection and defense, and not intended to be pleasing to the eye. Yet, there was a certain charm to it—a certain romantic atmosphere it possessed—with its small tower, the keep, grounds, orchards and the beauty of the small island, and the enchantment of the lake surrounding it.
    The castle itself consisted of three floors, hewn of native stone, three to four feet thick, castellated, and topped in the usual manner by a parapet. On the first floor, the kitchen and staff dining hall lay to one side of the tower, and to one side the cellars, laundry, the armory, and a narrow, steep stairway that led down to the dungeon. The rest included rooms devoted to castle maintenance and service. On the opposite side of the tower were the large dining hall and a library that also served as the earl’s study. From the main hall, a beautifully arched door opened into the courtyard.
    There were two staircases that led to the upper floors: the second floor housing the family living quarters and the solar; the upper floor for those who worked in the earl’s employ.
    All of the windows on the upper floors were like doorways to the tranquil and picturesque world beyond the island, and gave no hint to the savage and brutal events that had taken the lives of several Earls of Lennox, and members of their clan.
    Aggie and Greer left shortly after the introductions so Aggie could alert the cooks that there would be guests for dinner. Claire, Kenna and Briana were going to take the familiar path back to the castle, while Dermot accompanied the Grahams in the boat.
    With a backdrop of bright green meadow and the darker foliage of the thicket, the three lasses stood on the white pebbled shore, where the loch’s gentle billows washed against the rocks with soft liquid sounds that mimicked the sound of the sea. They watched Dermot and the Grahams push the boat into deeper water and then climb inside, and much to Claire’s delight, she noticed Fraser Graham’s movements were as graceful as a sea otter’s. She sighed, never taking her gaze from his person for even a second.
    There must have been something desirous in that sigh, for Kenna immediately looked at her through two very suspicious eyes. “I thought ye said ye were no’ interested in men and such.”
    Claire did not say anything.
    “Claire, I heard ye say ye were no’ interested in the least.”
    “What is the point ye are making, Kenna?”
    “Ye scolded me for looking and speaking about their being so pleasing to the eye and all.”
    “Aye.”
    “Weel, now ye are doing the same thing, when ye said ye were no interested. Now, what say ye?”
    “Mayhap I lied.”
    “That is so like ye, Claire. It is what I find most infuriating aboot ye.”
    “What? That I spoke the truth?”
    “Aye, ye always stop me when I am nigh into an argument with ye, and then I have no way to let the steam off the