Dreams of Desire by Cheryl Holt Read Free Book Online Page B

he relished. He was an investor in Bramwell’s company, and he traveled with the man whenever he could, seizing any excuse to be out on the water.
    While most people would have endured a long, bumpy carriage ride to Scotland, he chose an exhilarating alternative, and he wouldn’t have others spoiling it.
    Miss Lambert had informed him of the twins’ intent to harass her. At the time, he’d discounted her complaint, but it was becoming patently clear that her description of the relationship was accurate, which he found problematic.
    He hated discord and quarreling, and he planned on a quiet eight weeks in Scotland before he settled in London for the winter. He wouldn’t tolerate any friction among the female members of his party.
    “Would you run and fetch my shawl?” Miranda requested of Miss Lambert.
    “I’d be happy to,” Miss Lambert said.
    It was a task a servant should have completed, and with supper having just been served, it was churlish of Miranda to make Miss Lambert go below. Plus, they had left the calmer currents of the Thames, and the turbulence was increasing as they moved from the protected river and out into the ocean.
    Miss Lambert wasn’t accustomed to the pitching of the ship, so it would be difficult for her to manage the ladder down into the hold.
    “We’ve just sat down,” John was surprised to hear himself say, “and Miss Lambert hasn’t even picked up her spoon. Perhaps, Miranda, you could wait until she’s finished her meal.”
    “I’m cold now, John,” Miranda claimed, even though the room was hot as Hades with eight other bodies crammed into it. “When I’m so uncomfortable, I won’t enjoy my food.”
    “You’ll survive,” he curtly retorted.
    “I don’t see why Miss Lambert can’t get it,” Melanie chimed in, defending her sister. “She’s a servant, after all. Where’s the harm in having her perform a servant’s chore?”
    “Her supper will still be here when she returns,” Miranda added.
    They were being extremely discourteous, and John was about to scold them, but Miss Lambert glanced up, her furious gaze cutting into him like a knife.
    “I don’t mind getting it,” she insisted. “The air is stuffy in here. I could benefit from the cooler temperature outside.”
    She flashed a severe scowl, warning him to be silent. Then, with smiles all around, she pushed back her chair and hurried out.
    An awkward moment passed, but John smoothed it over by beginning to eat. The others joined in, muffled table chatter resuming. Concealing his aggravation, John studied his plate, and the twins smirked when they thought he wasn’t looking.
    The little beasts! What scheme were they hatching? How would it work to Miss Lambert’s detriment?
    Oddly, he was concerned as to the answer. He kept thinking about her more than he should, but he shouldn’t have been thinking about her at all, and he wouldn’t make it a habit.
    She was gone for an eternity, and he was wondering if he shouldn’t send someone to check on her, when she strolled in, carrying a blue shawl.
    She sat, and as she handed it to Miranda, Melanie whined, “I’m cold, too. Would you get mine for me?”
    “I suspected you might want yours,” Miss Lambert replied, “so I brought it as well. That way, I don’t have to go back down right away.”
    “Aren’t you considerate?” Melanie cooed, venom in her tone.
    “Yes, aren’t I?”
    Miss Lambert stared at the twins, her expression notifying them that she was aware of their malicious game and determined to beat them at it.
    Brava, Miss Lambert! he mused. She was no shrinking violet, and if the twins meant to trick her with their bullying tactics, they’d have a hard time besting her.
    To emphasize the point that they hadn’t really needed the shawls, the twins laid them on their chairs, and John was incensed anew on Miss Lambert’s behalf.
    “Melanie, Miranda,” he snapped, “aren’t you forgetting something?”
    “What?” they asked in