The Hellion and the Highlander by Lynsay Sands Read Free Book Online Page B

his teeth down his throat when I heard what he’d said to Averill. There was no need to be so cruel.” He scowled at the memory, then added with disgust, “And with Father’s new grand plan, I fear this one could be a complete debacle.”
    “What is this new plan?” Kade asked curiously, then guessed, “Cover her hair and hide the birthmark with a smudge of dirt?”
    “How did you know?” Will asked with surprise.
    Kade snorted with disgust. Leave it to an Englishman to try such a trick. The man was not thinking straight. Averill would be the one to pay when the covering was gone and the dirt cleaned away and the groom discovered he’d been tricked. Besides, what message did this give to Averill?That her father agreed with these men? That even he thought her looks unsightly?
    “He means well,” Will said sadly. “In truth, he is worried over his health and wants to see Averill settled and happy before he dies. He promised our mother on her deathbed that he would.” He shook his head. “Unfortunately, he equates a woman’s happiness with bearing babies and does not consider that an unhappy, bitter husband might be a stumbling block to Avy’s happiness.” Will ran his hands through his hair with frustration, and added, “And that is not even the worst of his new plan.”
    Kade raised an eyebrow. “There’s more?”
    “Oh, aye.” Will’s mouth twisted with disgust as he reminded him, “She stammers.”
    “Aye,” Kade acknowledged, wondering what the father could possibly do about that, then asked with disbelief, “Has he ordered her no’ to speak to the man? Will he present her, bundled up, dirty, and mute and expect to gain her a husband?”
    “Not mute, no,” Will said dryly. “He is down there right now making her drink whiskey.”
    “ What? ” Kade asked with disbelief.
    “Aye. Father is sure if Averill would just relax around these men, she will not stammer, and he is equally sure whiskey will relax and loosen her tongue.”
    “Dear God,” Kade breathed.
    “Aye,” Will said dryly. “Averill was trying feverishly to talk him out of it when I was below, but he was having none of that. When I tried to support her in convincing him, he suggested it may be better did I wait up here with you while Lord Seawell and his mother visit.”
    Kade’s eyebrows flew up. “He sent ye to me room like a naughty boy? And ye let him?”
    Will flushed, but said quietly, “He is my father…and my lord. The whiskey will not harm Averill and, much as this plan of his would suggest he’s lost his mind, he has not, so I cannot disobey him. Well, not openly,” he added with a grin. “I bribed Mabs and Bess to keep close and come to me if they think I need intercede.”
    “Harrumph,” Kade muttered. He was tempted to intercede himself, but Lord Mortagne had not quibbled once about having Kade land on his doorstep and had provided a bed and care to both him and his men as he recovered and recuperated. And as Will said, the whiskey would not harm Averill. However, he decided, if this latest lord caused problems or hurt her in any way, it would not only be Will going below to tend to matters. Kade would be accompanying him. He might not have regained his full strength yet, but he could stand on his feet and swing a good fist and would be happy to do so for the woman who had spent so much time and care tending to him.
    “So,” Will said suddenly, “I asked you shortly after you awoke if you liked our Averill, and youclaimed you hardly knew her. It has been a week. Do you not find Averill sweet and enjoy her company?”
    Kade hesitated, a small frown plucking at his lips, then sighed and reluctantly admitted, “Aye.”
    Will knew him well enough that he narrowed his eyes, and said, “But?”
    “She’s almost too sweet,” he admitted on a sigh. “There’s no spark of passion in the lass. I’m no’ a good patient. I get surly and cantankerous and more than once ha’e tried to prick her temper the