Lucy and Her Scottish Laird Read Free Page A

she heard the man’s disdainful voice.
Simpering females
?
Ridiculous
? What about overbearing,
    obnoxious males?
How about barbaric Scot
s? If only he knew her derogatory thoughts on Scotsman – with the exception of her kind and gentle
    uncle, of course – he might not sound quite so high and mighty.
    She happened to be on the other side of the hedge when she heard the insult, but she recognized the speaker as the man whose gaze had followed her from her
    uncle’s carriage all the way into the castle. She’d seen him enter the garden with Kindale and a few others, and walk in that direction. She
    wondered if he had any idea how obnoxious he was.
    She looked down at her traveling gown, wishing Lady Glencory had not insisted they join the others outside before giving her a chance to change. A bath
    would have been welcome, too.
    “I am so glad you’ve come, Arden! Your timing could not have been better,” Lady Glencory said to Lucy’s aunt. “And with your
    niece, too! You will enjoy meeting my other guests, I am sure.”
    The viscountess was pleasant enough, but that did not alter the way Lucy felt about her traveling clothes. Her queasiness had left her when they’d
    alighted from the carriage, but now she was flirting with a headache. She wanted to wash her face and hands at least, before she was compelled to put on a
    pleasant face and join in the festivities. Guests were treated better than this at Stillwater House, and Lucy vowed that when she was mistress of
    Joshua’s home, she would follow her mother’s example and make travelers comfortable when they came to stay.
    The conversation dragged on, and her patience wore even thinner than before.
    When there was finally a moment’s lull in the banter between the viscountess and her aunt, Lucy bowed to her hostess. “Thank you for the warm
    welcome, my lady. But if you will excuse me. I need a few moments…”
    “Lucy—”
    “I will see you at supper, Aunt.”
    She quickly made her way toward the castle, avoiding the small groups of ladies who stood gawking at the outlandish stone figures in the garden. The burly
    red-haired lord caught sight of her and called to her, but Lucy pretended not to hear, and slipped into a door behind some tall, flowering bushes. It was
    far from the one Lady Glencory had taken her through to get to the garden, and led into a fascinating narrow stone passageway that Lucy hoped would take
    her to the interior of the castle.
    It was dark and showed no signs of ending, and Lucy debated whether to proceed through it or return to the garden and find another door. But she did not
    want to run into any more of Lady Glencory’s guests.
    She proceeded forward through the dark and narrow passage. As she went along, a little bit of light penetrated, and Lucy could see drawings of some sort on
    the walls that looked like runes. Viking runes. She remembered her aunt saying that Glencory Castle had been built in the thirteenth century. Obviously,
    there were far older portions of the building.
    She moved on toward the end, hoping to come out in a recognizable area where she could find a servant who would lead her to her room. But the passageway
    eventually widened into a windowless stone room that was illuminated by candlelight. She nearly clapped her hands with delight when she saw several more
    runes and other primitive drawings on the walls. Joshua would be astonished and enthralled by this place.
    At one side of the room was a cabinet with glass doors, revealing several bottles of spirits. In front of the fireplace were two large chairs, one of which
    was occupied.
    Lucy took a step back.
    “What happened, little Sassenach? Did you lose your way?” the man said with too much of a slur to his words to be merely his Scottish burr. It
    was the darkly handsome stranger with the penetrating eyes and ridiculously alluring dimples in his cheeks. He might have appeared charming if he had not
    dismissed her on sight.
    “I didn’t realize