Regina Scott by An Honorable Gentleman Read Free Book Online Page A

careful how much she helped him. He needed to feel useful; he needed to take back his place in the community. Surely that would get him over this depression he continued to fight. Right now, though, she just had to make sure his dismal report didn’t affect her plans for Blackcliff.
    She marched into the library, prepared to counter any argument Sir Trevor might mount, but he came around the desk to meet her and Mrs. Bentley with a polite smile. He even bent over backward to allow the little housekeeper to shrug him into his greatcoat.
    “Is there something special I can cook you for dinner, then, sir?” she asked as he straightened, her big brown eyes looking up into his.
    He adjusted his coat across his broad shoulders. “I’m sure whatever you have will be fine, Mrs. Bentley.”
    She nodded, then leaned toward Gwen. “The salmon, I think,” she whispered. “And pudding. I don’t know a man who doesn’t like pudding.”
    Gwen could only hope the housekeeper was right. At the moment, it seemed that Sir Trevor liked little about Blackcliff. But she was about to change all that.
    Please, Lord, let me change all that!
    “If you’d be so kind as to follow me, Sir Trevor,” she said, then held her breath.
    But he nodded, motioning her out the door ahead of him.
    Emboldened, Gwen led him through the manor and onto the lawn before the fell.
    How could he fail to appreciate the view? Gwen loved autumn at Blackcliff. The cool air was moist and tangy. The black rock made the fiery rowans and oaks and the russet ash stand out in sharp relief. With so much color, the ugly charcoal-colored piles of wad tailings around the mouth of the mine halfway up the slope were barely noticeable.
    She paused, turning to him. “You like to ride, don’t you?”
    He raised a brow as if he hadn’t expected the question. “Indeed.”
    She pointed along the foot of the fell. “There’s an excellent path along there. If you head west, it willtake you to the top of the dale. East will lead you down the dale into the Lockhart estate. The squire and his son are bruising riders, too. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind you jumping a few fences.”
    “At least they have fences,” he replied.
    So much for riding. Lord, guide my words! Show me what he’d find good here!
    Then a verse came to her mind: Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.
    The mountain! Of course. “And you have Blackcliff,” she replied, turning to head for the well-worn footpath up the fell. “This way.”
    “This isn’t necessary,” he said, though she felt him behind her.
    “It is entirely necessary,” she insisted, lifting her skirts to clamber up the rocky path. Behind her came a thud and a grunt, and she turned to find him on one knee, sliding backward on the rocks. She reached out a hand and grabbed his coat, slowing him. Oh, but he was a solid fellow! She teetered on the rock, perilously close to falling herself. Lord, help me!
    Her gaze met his and, for a moment, she thought her panic had infected him, as well. Then his eyes narrowed as if in determination, and he surged upward, caught her and pulled her into the safety of his arms. Gwen stood, wrapped in his embrace, her chest against his ribs, blinking up at him.
    “I can see why you thought this would improvemy perception of Blackcliff,” he said, gazing down at her. His mouth curved up in a smile.
    Heat flushed up her, and she disengaged from him. “Actually, you’ll find the view from the top is much better.”
    His smile turned sad. “You’re wasting your time, I fear.”
    “Then I shall apologize sweetly for taking you out of your way,” Gwen replied. But she started resolutely upward once more and heard the rocks rattle under his boots as he followed.
    They climbed in silence for a while, the sounds of their footfalls quieted by the still air. The brambles along the path were turning a peachy orange, their berries almost as dark as the ground. Did he appreciate the show? A falcon