Sarah Gabriel Read Online Free PDF Page A

chin and smiled.
    Both Struan and his brother were impeccably dressed in black cutaway coats and trousers, with waistcoat and neck cloths of white and cream. Not a hint of thistle, heather, tartan, or lightheartedness about them, though Sir Philip wore a bright red plaid. The ladies all wore formal court dress, though Fiona’s dress was of somber plum satin with touches of black, as if for mourning. Elspeth tilted her head, wondering who had passed away to affect the siblings and not the others.
    Ah, Lady Struan , she remembered, wondering if the kind, elderly lady of that estate, an acquaintanceof her grandfather’s who had passed away earlier that summer, was related to Struan and his siblings. Grandmother, the word came to her then, and she bit her lip to keep from saying it aloud.
    “Where is Kilcrennan located, Miss MacArthur?” Lady Rankin asked.
    “In the Trossach Mountains, madam, in the central Highlands.”
    “Oh yes! We are planning a trip there soon, to visit my nephew in his new estate,” Lady Rankin said. “We hope to tour Loch Katrine and the other sights described in Sir Walter Scott’s marvelous poetry. They say the views are magnificent.”
    “Truly beautiful,” Elspeth agreed.
    “I was not aware that you plan to travel north, Aunt,” Struan said.
    “Did I neglect to mention it? I am quite excited. The Highlands are marvelous to behold in the autumn. I have persuaded Miss Sinclair to accompany me, with perhaps Sir Philip or your cousin Nicholas as our traveling companions.”
    “Fiona,” Struan said to his sister. “If Aunt travels north, do come with her.” Elspeth thought she detected a pleading tone in his voice.
    “I shall try,” Fiona MacCarran replied.
    “So you know the area, Miss MacArthur?” Struan asked then.
    “Very well. Loch Katrine and Struan House are not far from the glen where I live with my grandfather.”
    “Then you will not be far from Struan House.”
    “Not too far—several miles along the same glen. My grandfather knew the late viscountess, and I met her myself. We were distressed to hear of her passing.”
    “Thank you.” Struan inclined his head. “She wasour grandmother.” He indicated his siblings in his answer; Fiona smiled, and Dr. MacCarran nodded.
    “James is now Viscount Struan.” Charlotte Sinclair slipped her arm through his. “But he has so little time to visit there—perhaps for an occasional hunting party, isn’t that right, James? He is so busy as a professor in natural philosophy at the university.”
    Elspeth nodded, smiled, and knew she was being warned away. Miss Sinclair practically glowered at her above the rim of her delicate white fan.
    “Actually I have arranged to take a brief absence from my lectures,” Struan said.
    “What sort of natural philosophy do you teach?” Lucie asked. “There is so very much of it.”
    “Geology, Miss Graeme,” he answered.
    “Ah. We have rather a lot of rock in the Trossachs,” Elspeth said.
    Struan suppressed a smile. “Rather a lot of rock sounds intriguing.”
    “Miss MacArthur, forgive me,” Lady Rankin said. “I do not recall your debut.”
    “It was nothing to notice, madam,” Elspeth said. “I attended a hunt ball in Edinburgh two years ago in the company of my cousins, the Graemes of Lincraig.”
    “I do recall that,” Charlotte Sinclair said. “I attended with the family of the Lord Provost Mayor. I remember Sir John Graeme, but I do not remember you.” She glanced with a coy smile at the viscount. “Dear Struan was not there. He simply could not attend every ball for every new girl,” she told Elspeth in loud confidence, “though he had inherited a fine title, and has an excellent reputation at the university, so he is in great demand at parties and outings. He turns down more invitations than he accepts.”
    “Because I am not one for social functions,” he said, “though had I known Miss MacArthur and Miss Graeme then, I would have made the effort.” Struan