Christmas at Draycott Abbey by Christina Skye Read Free Book Online

already begun closing the major roads. We’ve got a nasty ice storm headed our way, my friend. You keep her immobile and warm, and I’ll handle the rest.” He looked up, frowning as Ian continued to pace. “Why don’t you go upstairs and start now? Be sure that she doesn’t get up. Keep her warm. Use blankets and hot water bottles, whatever you like. If she wants water, give her a glass with a straw to sip through. No food. No medicine. If she wakes up and is lucid, call me.” Izzy shook his head and went back to work. “You’re going to walk a hole in that carpet if you keep pacing that way.”
    Ian frowned, unaware that he had even been moving. Why did the weight of responsibility hang on him so heavily tonight? He stabbed a hand through his hair and shrugged. “I’ll do that. Let me know what you find out about those police officers who arrived so conveniently.”
    “Count on it. If that chatty one is an inspector from Hastings, then I’ll eat my hard drive,” Izzy said coldly.
    The same suspicion had already struck Ian. He walked to the window and pulled back a curtain. The cars had gone now. Nothing seemed to move out in the stormy night. “Calan MacKay is due shortly. You know him, I think?”
    “Well enough. Although I doubt anyone knows all there is to know about our Scottish friend. What you’re telling me is that he’ll be outside, keeping an eye on things? Even though we won’t see him.”
    “Exactly.”
    “Nice to know. If the police who might not be police come back, they won’t know what hit them.” Izzy flashed a cold grin. “Someday maybe you and Nicholas Draycott will tell me the whole story about your friend from Scotland.”
    Ian walked to the door. “Some day perhaps.”
    But it was a lie. Ian would never speak of what he knew about Calan MacKay. Calan’s story and tangled secrets were his own, to share or not to share.
    Right now Ian had a different set of secrets to untangle.

     
    Clouds raced before the ragged moon. Wind banged at the old casement windows and lightening flickered over the rooftop.
    One shadow, darker than the rest, slowly took on shape. Polished boots gleamed beneath darkest velvet and white lace that fluttered at wrist and collar.
    Danger stalked the abbey this night, and Adrian Draycott saw that danger clearly. The threads of memories trailed back for centuries. Not by accident did the players find themselves within the abbey walls again.
    Fate had brought them here. Or love.
    He had tried to help them centuries ago, but they had been betrayed. His eyes gleamed in sudden fury against the shadows.
    He watched the sleek black car race through the rain toward the abbey’s gate.
    Now the betrayal had come again....

Ian wasn’t sure what he expected to find.
    She might have been pacing. She might have been exhausted and withdrawn.
    Either way, he was going to keep her in that bed, safe and immobile for the rest of the night, just as Izzy had ordered. He nodded to Marston, clearly taking his guardian duties seriously. “Why don’t you go have a rest now, Marston? Things are quiet and our police friends are gone. If they come back, Izzy will pick them up on the security cameras.”
    Marston nodded and stood up, rubbing his back as if it ached. “I won’t sleep, but a spot of tea would be nice. Can I bring you something while I’m in the kitchen, Commander?”
    “No need. I’m going to try to rest here. If anything changes, I’ll use the house line to buzz you and Izzy.”
    “Very well. I will be available, as always.” The butler nodded gravely and strode away to the back stairs.
    Marston is too old for this kind of thing , Ian thought. But tonight they had to use all their resources at hand.
    As he touched the door, Ian caught the sudden smell of roses. Rich and perfumed, the fragrance spilled around him, as if from a glorious summer afternoon.
    He shook his head, fighting the old abbey’s tricks, and walked inside.
    Firelight flickered over antique