Lucy and Her Scottish Laird by Margo Maguire Read Free Book Online

Fleming, she is the same.”
    “Still not able to speak?”
    “No.” And thank God for that. Else she might divulge the secret she’d lived with all these years. Ian wondered if she’d ever said
    anything to Fleming, her secretary who now served as her nurse.
    “And the weakness on her right side?”
    “Mrs. Fleming says it is worse,” Ian replied.
    Henderson shook his head. “The duchess was never the same when she returned home from Ireland after your birth. Some say the birthing of a child can
    cause a deep melancholy in the mother. I’m afraid that is what happened to the duchess.”
    “Hmm.” Melancholia? Ian supposed it could be called that. Though it was more likely due to a deep, abiding hatred for her husband and his
    by-blow, not to mention the fraud she was forced to perpetuate for so long.
    “I am afraid you must prepare yourself, my lord.”
    Ian looked up, startled.
    “The next few months are going to be difficult,” Henderson said.
    * * *
    Lucy stepped out of the room to allow her uncle some privacy while his valet woke him and prepared him for bed. Then she returned to stay with her aunt and
    uncle, giving Sinclair and Miles the opportunity to go and have some supper. It was well past mealtime, though Lucy wasn’t particularly hungry.
    “No, please,” she said when the maid protested. “You two go. Eat and get some rest. I’ll stay and watch over them for now.”
    She turned a comfortable chair around so she could keep an eye on the occupants of the bed, and took a book from a set of shelves in the corner. It was a
    Lathom mystery, and it should have kept her attention to keep her from falling asleep in her chair. But after awhile, Lucy found herself nodding.
    A moment later, it seemed, she felt herself being lifted out of her chair by a pair of strong arms. Lucy sighed and turned her face into the broad,
    linen-covered chest, only minimally aware of the whispers around her. She had a vague sense of being carried…then flickering candlelight…a
    pleasant masculine scent…her shoes off…A feeling of deep contentment…And then sleep.
    She dreamed. She was at a ball where the music filled her head, and dancers swirled around her. She practically floated in the arms of her partner. He held
    her closer than what she knew was proper, but Lucy did not care. She felt cherished. Loved.
    He drew her out to the terrace where the music was barely audible. But Lucy felt his breath near her ear.
    Her neckline dipped low in back and his fingers traced a light pattern on her skin, causing her to shiver with pleasure. His hand dropped to her waist and
    pulled her closer. He dipped his head for a kiss.
    His lips were full and warm and moved against her mouth with sensual promise. She felt hot all over, and a melting sensation that began beneath her breast
    spread to her nether parts.
    It was what she’d always hoped for, yearned for. Joshua’s—
    She awoke, sitting up abruptly. “No,” she whispered. It was not Joshua’s lips she’d felt. He was not the one who’d made her
    breasts tingle and turned her womb to pudding.
    It was Broxburn. And she did not even like the man.
    Lucy slid to the edge of the bed and let her stocking feet drop to the floor. Someone had carried her to her bedroom. Not Miles, he was far too slight to
    bear her weight, and he would never presume to do so, anyway. It had been Broxburn. She remembered his scent and the feel of his linen shirt against her
    cheek.
    Surely that was the reason she’d dreamed of him last night, though why she would ever imagine him kissing her was unfathomable.
    It was late, though she could not be sure how long she’d slept. She got out of bed and discovered her gown was unfastened, and her stays loosened
    – by Sinclair, of course. Or maybe Mrs. MacRae. Lighting a candle, Lucy pulled off her clothes and pulled on the damask wrapper that had been laid
    across a chair. Then she picked up the candle went to check on her aunt and uncle.
    All