Saving Grace Read Online Free PDF

eeriness and oppressive nature of the place. But perhaps, if ghosts were real and drawn to gloom, Elizabeth and his father felt comfortable haunting here.
    “Thank you, Hines. You may go now.” Nicholas dismissed the footman who’d accompanied him and waved the driver toward the stables. Alone, he made his way to the front doors, his feet crunching over the slippery gravel drive. He hadn’t bothered to have it cared for either, and weeds had sprung up between loose rock, making a treacherous pathway on the dark, wet night.
    Nicholas reached the door safely, and, after more than a few minutes and several annoyed raps, the door finally swung open, revealing his rather tired and utterly surprised-looking butler. Nicholas had left his keys, along with most of his clothing and personal items, at the townhouse in London.
    “Good evening, Kingsley,” Nicholas said, striding into the hall. “You look as if you’ve seen a ghost. I haven’t been gone that long, you know.”
    “Of course not, milord. It’s just that — we weren’t expecting you.”
    “Are you ever?” Nicholas asked, amused. “When is the last time you’ve known me to keep regular hours or to announce my arrival prior to my appearance?”
    “Never,” Kingsley said, a subtle undertone of dryness in his voice. “I am most surprised to see you at this hour, though. The night has nearly passed. ‘Good morn’ is almost more fitting than ‘Good eve.’ You must have traveled the whole night through.”
    Nicholas eyed Kingsley curiously as the butler hurried to close the door against the cold and rain. The speech was more than Nicholas usually heard from the butler in a month.
    “I apologize for my tardiness in greeting you,” Kingsley continued. “We were not anticipating your arrival for several days yet.”
    “So I gathered.” Nicholas gave Kingsley one more appraising glance but could find nothing odd in the man’s appearance excepting, perhaps, that he was dressed as if it were day, and he seemed more tired than usual.
    I really should hire a full staff again. Nicholas looked around the vast, empty foyer. Once the estate had been a lively residence — full of family and, often, friends. Now it seemed little more than a tomb, the resting place he was required to return to after his frequent haunts elsewhere. The house meant little more to him now than quiet sleeping quarters, so he saw no need to spend money or time on its upkeep. It wouldn’t matter how much he spent. Nothing could return Sutherland Hall to its former existence.
    But the dark circles beneath Kingsley’s eyes made Nicholas realize that he ought to consider hiring a little more help at least.
    “My business went far better — and quicker — than I had hoped,” Nicholas said by way of explanation for his predawn arrival. “And I was loath to stay in London a moment longer than necessary.”
    “Understandable.” Kingsley glanced toward the staircase. “Though I am pleased to hear your endeavors met with success.”
    “Time will tell.” Nicholas turned his back to the butler so the man could remove his traveling cloak. “And now I find myself with an appetite — revenge does make one hungry,” he said, only half-jesting. “I suppose it’s too early to ask cook to rise?”
    “Not at all,” Kingsley said, answering almost too quickly. “I believe she could be rather easily persuaded.”
    Nicholas eyed the butler once more as Kingsley hung up the cloak and retrieved the candelabra he’d set aside on the hall table. He paused, glancing to either side of the entrance hall. “Would you care to wait in your study or in the dining room while I arrange for your breakfast?”
    “Neither.” Nicholas started toward the staircase.
    “There’s a great deal of correspondence on your desk,” Kingsley said. “Perhaps you might wish to sort through it while cook works her magic.”
    “Perhaps,” Nicholas said vaguely, continuing his stride. “Though a tray in my room is