Treasured by Candace Camp Read Free Book Online

whom?”
    “The unpalatable food. Hamish’s glares. I know it is not pleasant, but they are good, loyal people. I would ask you to give them time to get used to the change. That you will not turn them out. Baillannan is their home as much as it is mine. I have known them since I was a child, and their resentment is all on my behalf.”
    “I can hardly blame them; I would choose you over a usurper, as well.” He cast her a sideways grin. “In any case, I shall not be here long enough to warrant any change in staff. I cannot, however, speak for whoever buys the estate.”
    “No. Of course not.” He could hear the disappointment in her voice, and the sound tugged at him.
    Last night she had obviously hoped he would set someone to manage the place—perhaps the man with whom he had seen her talking yesterday afternoon. He wondered again what the fellow was to her. Maybe she planned to marry the man and she hoped to hold on to her home at least that much. Perhaps that was the purpose of this little jaunt, to win him over, manipulate him into doing as she wanted.
    Irritated at the thought, he looked away. They had reached the crest of the ridge, and spread before them was the wide panorama of the entire loch and the rolling land beyond, the muted colors of green and blue and brown all washed in pale golden sunlight. He drew in a sharp, unconscious breath.
    “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Isobel murmured.
    “I am afraid I’ve never waxed nostalgic for the rural pleasures. Still, it does have a certain . . . stark appeal.”
    “It’s strong and it’s harsh, and there’s beauty in that. But when the heather blooms and the earth is a blanket of purple, it’s glorious. And sometimes, when the mist hangs over the loch and crystal drops of water are clinging to every twig and leaf, you can almost see the fey folk dancing in the glen.”
    “The fey folk?” he repeated skeptically.
    “Aye.” She cast him a twinkling glance, her voice tinged with the burr of the Highlands. “ ‘The ghosties and ghoulies and long-leggedy beasties.’ They say at evening time, in the gloaming, if you’re quiet and careful, you may see the selkies gliding out of the sea, shedding their skin, and walking abroad in the guise of mortal men.”
    He stared at her. “Do you mean to tell me you believe in such things?”
    Isobel chuckled. “Legends are at the heart of a Scot. When you sit by the fire on a long winter evening and your aunt tells you about the red man, who comes in the winter and knocks at your door, begging you to let him in, it is hard not to believe.”
    “What happens if you do not answer the door?”
    “You see? You cannot resist the tales either. The story goes, if you do not offer him hospitality, woe betide you, for he’ll play wicked pranks on you. But if you do let him in, you must take care, for if you linger with him too long by the fire, listening to him talk and talk, you will never leave there.”
    “So you’re doomed either way.” He gazed down at her, enjoying the sparkle in her eyes and the smile in her voice. “Don’t tell me your sweet aunt told you such tales?”
    “Indeed she did. Well, many of them we heard at the knee of Andrew’s nurse; Janet was . . . well, something of a woman of the forest. She knew the plants and their healing properties, and people came to her with their ailments. She also knew the old tales of selkies and kelpies and the Ghille Dhu.”
    “And who are all these creatures?”
    “The selkies are beings who come out of the water and appear as men. Some say they’re seals and shed their skin to become men. They are handsome and charming and lead many a lass astray, but at the end of the night, the selkie leaves his lover’s bed and returns to the water. If a woman looks to keep him, she must find his discarded skin and hide it away. Then he cannot leave her and must become a man always.” Isobel shrugged. “But others say they are spirits ofthe water and change