Lady of Seduction Read Online Free PDF Page B

and curled her trembling hands into tight fists. “Do you believe such tales, Maeve?”
    Maeve shook her head, but Caroline could see the shadow of doubt still lingering in her eyes. “Mick was drunk, miss, and grieving.
     He went away to work on the mainland, and Bessie was buried in the churchyard. The vicar said it was all an accident, and
     no one else has proved anything else.”
    “And that’s why you came to work here? Because you don’t believe the stories?”
    Maeve shrugged. “My mum didn’t want me to take the job, but there’s no others to be had on the island and weneed the money. I have brothers and sisters, my da was a fisherman who died at sea, and the master pays very well. I’ll say
     that much for him.”
    “But you see—Bessie sometimes?”
    “Oh, no, miss. I just hear things sometimes, like voices behind the walls. And once I saw a flash of light on the tower walkway…”
    “Maeve!” a stern voice said. Startled, Caroline twisted around to see a tall, hard-faced old lady clad in a black, silk gown
     standing in the doorway with a tray in her hands. It had to be the ear-boxer, the housekeeper Mrs. McCann.
    “There is no time for gossip, Maeve. You still have the fire to do in the library and the drawing room to dust,” Mrs. McCann
     said.
    “I’m sorry, Mrs. McCann,” Maeve stammered, stuffing her brushes and rags back into her bucket. “I’ll see to it right away.”
    Caroline slowly rose to her feet. She was still dazed from hearing Maeve’s dramatic tale, but she tried to be as dignified
     as possible in her oversized, borrowed nightgown.
    “It was my fault,” Caroline said. “I asked Maeve about the history of the castle and distracted her from her work.”
    Mrs. McCann’s flinty eyes narrowed as she plopped her tray down on a table. “You can read about all that in the library, my
     lady, where I am to take you once you have finished your breakfast. The books will tell you a great deal more than some silly
     housemaid.”
    Maeve bobbed a hasty curtsy and dashed from the room. Caroline’s curiosity still burned about Bessie and all the island tales
     about Grant and his life here. She had the feeling Mrs. McCann would not be nearly as forthcomingas Maeve. Whatever her reasons for taking a position here, she was obviously a well-trained housekeeper.
    “So I’m to be allowed to see the library?” Caroline said. She sat down at the table as Mrs. McCann poured out a cup of tea
     and uncovered bowls of porridge and racks of toast.
    “As soon as you eat and I send up some clothes for you, my lady,” the housekeeper answered. “You’re to be allowed to go anywhere
     you like, within reason.”
    “That’s very generous of Sir Grant,” Caroline murmured, thinking of the way he locked her in last night. Perhaps she was not
     meant to be a complete prisoner after all.
    “I wouldn’t recommend going beyond the main rooms, my lady,” Mrs. McCann said. As Caroline set about buttering her toast,
     the housekeeper inspected the fire and the dressing table where Caroline’s borrowed brushes were laid out. “The library and
     drawing room should be fine once Maeve does her duty and airs them out, and I’ll have the dining room set to rights. But little
     else is fit to be seen. We simply haven’t the staff to keep this place presentable for surprise guests.”
    And yet Grant had said he was expecting company. Very odd. “What about the tower?”
    Mrs. McCann gave her a sharp, frowning glance. “The tower, my lady?”
    “It looks most intriguing.”
    “It’s quite derelict, my lady. No one goes there, not even Sir Grant.”
    “I see. And where is my host today?”
    “Sir Grant has gone to the village. He probably won’t return until evening, if then. He never informs us as to his plans.”
    Caroline looked at the window, where the rain still pelted the glass. It had to be past midmorning now, but all she could
     see was steely-gray sky. “He went out in