Taken by the Laird Read Online Free PDF Page B

but she could not risk the possibility thathe might alert Lord Stamford to her presence there.
    Looking around, she wondered if he’d told the truth about his servants. An estate of Glenloch’s size did not run itself, so surely there must be others about. Yet she’d seen no signs of life through the windows as she approached the castle. There were no signs of industry anywhere, except that this room, possibly the great hall at one time, would put any London drawing room to shame. Its thick carpets and beautifully upholstered fabrics on the chairs and settees made it a lush and comfortable room. The walls had been painted with an elaborate, continuous mural, and modern portraits hung on every wall. There was not a speck of dust to be seen on any of the highly polished tables.
    It was a relief to be able to spend the night there, but Brianna had to be careful of becoming too relaxed. Her chosen shelter was warm and inviting, and the thought of a cozy bed was nearly too much to contemplate. But perhaps she’d be better off contemplating the horse Lord Newbury must have stabled on the grounds, and whether she could steal it during the night and ride somewhere far away.
    But horse thieving would make her a criminal, and Bree refused to be that. Bad enough that she’d become a runaway and a liar.
    The sooner she left Glenloch, the better, though it would be foolish to do anything but wait out the rain and hope that it let up by morning. Brianna was no coward. She could deal with Laird Glenloch tonight, and then leave again early in the morn on her own two feet. Dundee was her destination, and it was a largeenough town that she should be able to remain there and evade Stamford until she reached her majority. Only two more months. Then she would be an independent woman.
     
    Miss MacLaren could not possibly be acting without an accomplice, yet it seemed she’d arrived at the castle alone. Perhaps she’d intended to meet someone here, mistakenly believing the castle would be deserted. He wondered if she knew of the secret chamber that adjoined the buttery, the hidden area where his contraband brandy was stored.
    Instinct caused him to dismiss his suspicions. He couldn’t believe she was capable of hauling heavy tubs of brandy, and he knew her hands weren’t tough enough to be driving a cart across the county in the harsh December weather. The explanation she’d given rang almost true, although Hugh sensed there was something more to it.
    He figured he’d be able to discover the truth easily enough, and enjoy himself immensely as he did so.
    His candle cast ominous shadows on the walls of the second-floor gallery. It was a long corridor, with cushioned benches and low tables comfortably arranged against the walls between the bedchamber doors. It was easy to believe that a ghost haunted these halls at night, and the very possibility of its appearance prevented the castle staff from living in.
    Sometimes, Hugh felt nearly as skittish as the servants, avoiding the rooms the ghost was said to haunt. He shook his head in self-derision and proceeded tothe end of the main gallery. He pushed open the door to the last room, a small chamber that had been meant for a nursery.
    But he and Amelia had never had children. Amelia had never shown the slightest hint of a pregnancy. And though she eschewed his physical attentions as often as possible, Hugh believed they’d had relations enough times during their five-year marriage to have accomplished at least one pregnancy. He might have concluded she’d been barren, but in subsequent years, none of his mistresses had conceived, either. He knew each one had used some device to prevent pregnancy, but such things were notoriously unreliable.
    Not that he wanted any Newbury bastards running about. But at least one conception might have reassured him.
    He was sterile, so he planned to content himself with his money and his amusements, for he had no intention of marrying again. It had been bad