Marshal and the Heiress by Patricia; Potter Read Free Book Online Page A

puzzled her. Children always stayed in a nursery, usually with a nurse or governess to tend them. It had been her place of safety as a child, a haven from the violence that was always ready to erupt in the Campbell household. She had planned, first thing on the morrow, to inquire in the nearby village for a nursemaid—Barbara, of course, having completely ignored, as usual, any of the practical problems presented by the situation. It seemed, however, that Ben Masters wasn’t willing to wait for Lisbeth to solve the problem.
    Ben had few reservations about changing the rooms assigned to Sarah Ann and himself. If Silas Martin was correct, he had the controlling hand and could sleep where he damned well wanted.
    He hadn’t wanted to assert his power. He’d never liked bullies or arrogance. But it had been a long time since he’d felt like anyone’s puppet, and he had no intention of ever being one again.
    Sarah Ann had been placed on a floor overhead, a far distance from his own assigned chamber. The nursery was the only proper place for a child, the old butler had proclaimed, obviously horrified and distressed that Ben had found the arrangement unsuitable. Looking around, he had to admit the room was pretty and filled with toys, including a rocking horse. But Sarah Ann, upon learning she was expected to stay there alone, had started wailing.
    It had all been too much for her—the loss of her mother, of Mrs. Culworthy, the long, seemingly endless trip, and now all these new people. She probably also detected some of the tension in the household; she was too sensitive to moods not to have noticed.
    So he’d balked at the separation. The stiff, elderly butler, saying he would have to consult with Lady Lisbeth, had stalked off.
    Ben looked down at Sarah Ann. She’d stopped crying, but she still had a death grip on Annabelle’s basket and her doll. When she tilted her head and looked at him, his heart nearly broke at the lost look in her eyes.
    â€œCome over here with me,” he said, giving her a wink as he tempted her toward the window. It offered a view of what lay behind the house. “Look,” he said, lifting Sarah Ann so she could see the heather-covered hills beyond the house and, in the distance, a lake shimmering in the late afternoon sun.
    It was a far cry from the dry, gray winter of Texas.
    The scene drew an “ahhh” from Sarah Ann. “Can we go on a picnic?” she asked longingly. “Like the ones Mama took me on.”
    â€œIt’s a bit cold for that,” Ben said, “but we will go exploring.” He would see about obtaining a horse for himself and a pony for Sarah Ann. He also wanted to go to Edinburgh fairly soon and talk to the estate trustee. But Sarah Ann needed a few days to rest and get settled, and he needed some time to discover the politics of Calholm.
    Suddenly she turned from the window and hugged him tightly. Annabelle’s basket, still in her hand, was flung around his neck. He wasn’t sure whether he would ever get used to those hugs, to the trust and sweetness inherent in them.
    â€œYou won’t go away?” she whispered.
    â€œNo, Sugarplum,” he whispered back, shifting her into his arms. “You’re stuck with me.”
    She giggled, but her arms didn’t relax their hold, and he felt the insecurity, the fear, that still haunted her. His own hands tightened around her. He still couldn’t believe the richness she had brought to his life, wondered how he could exist without it. He had survived readily enough before simply because he hadn’t known what he was missing. His mother had died when he was very young and his father had been a taciturn man consumed with his law practice. He’d seldom smiled and never touched or, God forbid, kissed his child. There had only been duty.
    â€œMr. Masters.”
    The sound of his name caused Ben to whirl around.
    Lisbeth Hamilton stood in the