Waking the Princess by Susan King Read Free Book Online Page B

Balmossie fluttered her fan over her bosom, while Meg bent over, cooing to the elusive monkey.
    "Thistle," his aunt moaned, "how could you!"
    Aedan calmly introduced his kinswomen one by one to the startled guests. Amy smiled brightly in welcome, then squealed as Thistle scuttled under her skirts and paused to peer out.
    "Mrs. Blackburn, please have a seat." Aedan guided her to the sofa beside his aunt, who turned her fan to flap it helpfully in the young woman's face.
    John Blackburn stood by, quietly laughing, while his sister blinked and glanced around, clearly bewildered.
    "Mrs. Blackburn, can I fetch you a glass of water? Or smelling salts?" Aedan asked wryly.
    "Oh no, I'm fine." She smiled up at him.
    "If flying teacups do not bother you, then I admire you indeed," he answered. She had not made a fuss about falling down the stairs last night, either, although she no doubt felt bruised and shaken.
    "Such a kerfuffle!" Lady Balmossie watched the two young women trying to snatch the monkey. "Are ye harmed, lassie?"
    "She's quite unbothered," Aedan said, amused.
    "So good to meet all of you," Christina said. "Thank you for inviting us here."
    John Blackburn leaned on his cane. "Ladies, I'm utterly charmed. What a delightful welcome." His wide smile was relaxed. He was a lean young man with dark brown curls, calf-like brown eyes, and the added romance of a limp, all of which Aedan suspected would melt his kinswomen's hearts.
    A bundle of peach satin skittered along the back of a chair. Aedan reached out but missed catching Miss Thistle.
    Christina Blackburn stared. "Is that... a monkey?"
    "Indeed it is," her brother said, grinning. "Sir Aedan, where did you come by that beastie? I saw them in the wild when I was overseas, and a fellow I knew in India brought one home with him. This one's a female, I take it?"
    "Aye. Miss Thistle came from India years ago. She was my father's pet. Now she belongs to my aunt," Aedan explained. The monkey leaped to his shoulder. Aedan sat on the arm of the sofa near Mrs. Blackburn and dipped down to let her see Thistle.
    Reaching out, she tentatively touched the monkey's head. Miss Thistle leaped away, climbing loose-limbed up the draperies to sit on the curtain rod and survey the room.
    Christina stared upward. "I've seen them at the Edinburgh Zoo, but never up close before." She sounded astonished.
    "My father left Thistle in his will to Lady Balmossie," Aedan said. "He knew I did not have the patience for her."
    "But you are kind and gentle with her." She smiled at him with such fresh, sultry beauty that his body stirred. No woman had ever had this sort of effect on him, throwing him off-kilter with a mere smile or glance. He frowned.
    "Your rescue of my sister was gallant, sir," John said.
    "With Miss Thistle about, one learns to move swiftly. And it was a pleasure to save Mrs. Blackburn." He watched her blush again. That hint of passion beneath her calm exterior fascinated him. He wondered how such a quiet little creature could have modeled for that sensual painting.
    Meg held out her hand. "Mrs. Blackburn, please forgive our eccentricities. What an odd welcome for you and your brother."
    "Thank you, Lady Strathlin. I rather enjoyed it."
    "Miss Thistle is upset by the changes at Dundrennan," Lady Balmossie explained. "And she can be shoogly on rainy days, I admit. She usually behaves well."
    "She never does," Amy contradicted, as the others laughed.
    "Mrs. Blackburn, I believe we met briefly last year in Edinburgh," Meg said. "At the opening of an exhibition at the National Museum of Antiquities. A display of some rather beautiful ancient Celtic pieces, as I recall."
    Christina lifted her brows. "Oh yes! In all the commotion I did not realize... how nice to see you again. We were introduced by a friend of yours... Mrs. Shaw, I think."
    "Yes. Actually she is now Mrs. Guy Hamilton. She married my secretary just two months ago." Meg smiled. "That was a wonderful exhibit. I remember that you