Border Lord Read Online Free PDF Page B

knee, Alexis rested her chin on her hand. "In spite of what you said, I think he's adorable. Don't squinch your face up like that. You'll wrinkle before you're thirty."
    "Heaven forbid I should wrinkle."
    "If you weren't so determined to give your heart to a doer of gallant deeds, you might see something appealing in the earl. He's better than a fat ambassador who speaks fluent German."
    "I intend to rule my own life and live it in Bath."
    "But you'd like it better if Sir Lancelot were there."
    Miriam groaned. "Could we please concern ourselves with the earl of Kildalton?"
    Alexis laughed. "That boy of his. What's his name? Rob Roy." She rolled her eyes. "Have you ever seen a child who needed a mother so?"
    "Never mind the boy. There's something about the earl, Lexie. He looks like a bumbling idiot, but I see a confidence or power in him."
    "Sometimes I wonder," said Alexis, staring into the fire, "how a woman with so little intimate experience with men can be so observant. Alas, I find him intriguing, too."
    Immensely flattered, Miriam stretched and fought off a yawn, "I'll talk to him first thing in the morning."
    Alexis got to her feet. "First thing?"
    "You can sleep until nine."
    Smiling, Alexis said, "You'll thank yourself."
    Knowing too well how much Alexis hated rising early, Miriam said, "Yes, I will. Let's just hope it all goes as planned tomorrow."

    Nothing went as planned. Miriam awoke at dawn to find a mysterious scrap of paper under her door. Scrawled on the parchment in a childish hand was the name Roger.
    To her dismay, she learned that the earl never roused himself before noon, so she spent the morning in a leisurely breakfast and bath, then dried her hair and dawdled while Alexis supervised the unpacking of their trunks.
    When word reached her that the earl had risen, she donned a simple dress of pearl gray wool, with an over jerkin of red satin. As a further concession to the country atmosphere, she tied back her hair with a ribbon. Then she marched downstairs and knocked on his study door.
    "Come."
    Miriam let herself in. The earl sat at his desk, which was littered with a brilliant array of feathers, dozens of sharp hooks, and a rusted carpenter's vise. He wore the same green jacket and thick spectacles, but today he sported a full black periwig that draped his shoulders in a waterfall of curls. Miriam was reminded of royal portraits of Alexis's father, Charles II, who introduced the wig into fashion during the last century.
    Spying her, the earl tilted his head to the side. "Come in, come in, Lady Miriam." He rose and indicated a wing chair. "Do sit down."
    His son, wearing his tartan and a sporran big enough to hold the crown jewels, dropped the book he was reading. The lad wore his pitch dark hair tied at the nape of his neck with a strip of leather. His warm brown eyes glowed with curiosity.
    She had hoped to speak alone with the earl. Hiding her disappointment, she said, "Hello, my lord, and Rob Roy."
    The lad pursed his mouth. "'Tis Roger. I even wrote it down for you. Didn't you read the note?"
    She remembered the scrap of paper, but even her logical mind couldn't make the correlation. Baffled, she turned to the earl.
    He smiled indulgently and folded his arms over his chest. "My son doesn't like his given name, which is Malcolm."
    The boy made a gagging sound. "Malcolm's a prissy name."
    Miriam wondered why the earl didn't pad the shoulders of his jacket in the fashion of the day. Or why he allowed his son to behave so disrespectfully.
    Sighing, the earl said, "'Tis also a king's name."
    "Malcolm the Maiden," spat the boy, hands on his hips. "I refuse to answer to it."
    "My son hasn't settled on a name he likes."
    "Yes, I have. 'Tis Roger." He hitched up his plaid. "After Roger Bacon."
    The earl raised his gaze to the ceiling. The lenses not only magnified the size of his eyes, but also the length of his lashes. Through the thick glass, they fluttered like dark fans. Beneath the wig, his hair was