In Pursuit of a Scottish Lady (Moonstone Magic Book 2)

by Hunt, Brenda

  Aiden brought her the book and sat down at her feet. Elsbeth sat in the other rocker and Rab brought his chair next to his mother.

  Elsbeth watched as their guest pulled up a chair next to Lili and motioned Aiden to come and sit with him after he brought Lili the book off the shelf.

  Worth noticed the title Robinson Crusoe and smiled. It appeared this was a nightly routine for them.

  He sat back and listened as Lili began the story, apparently where they had left off. Her voice was soft and lilting. Her voice changed as she became the different characters in the story. He sat and listened to her just as the others did. He watched as Alysa nodded off. Aiden tried valiantly to stay awake, but soon he had nodded off as well.

  “They never make it through the first few pages,” said Elsbeth with a smile.

  Lili smiled. “Yes, it will take us many a month before we finish this book.”

  “Aye, lass,” Rab replied as he stood up. He came over to Alysa and picked her up out of Lili’s lap.

  Worth looked at Lili. “Can you carry him up?” she asked.

  Worth nodded and followed Rab.

  “Good night, Elsbeth.”

  “Good night, m’lady,” answered Elsbeth.

  Lili looked at her oddly. Elsbeth very seldom called her by title. She supposed it was because of their guest.

  Once in the twins’ rooms, Rab placed Alysa in her bed. Lili undressed her to shift and pulled her woolen nightdress over her. Worth was intrigued. Alysa never made a sound. He placed Aiden in his bed and watched as Lili did the same with him. Aiden murmured something in his sleep. It seemed this was another nightly ritual. Rab banked the fire for the night and quietly left.

  Worth followed Lili quietly out into the hall.

  “Mr. Wells, I hope you found everything you need in your room. I am sorry if it is still a little dusty. We were not expecting guests.”

  Worth reassured her. “It is fine. I have slept in worse conditions, believe me. This will be most luxurious.”

  Lili smiled when she looked up at him. But she quickly looked down. There was something about those golden eyes of his that seemed to see right through her. There was something about him that intrigued her. She had to keep reminding herself, he would be gone soon. But he had brought some welcome diversion to the keep.

  “Why have you not married, Lady Lili?” he asked. It would solve so many of her problems. For some reason, he wanted to know. Younger than her had been married off.

  Lili shook her head and looked past him. “I will never marry, Mr. Wells. It is not possible,” she answered. At one time, she had longed for marriage but not now. She had resolved herself to the fact that was no longer possible. No man would want damaged goods and she was now damaged goods.

  “Why ever not?” he asked, curious to find out her reasons. Someone as warm and caring as her should have a husband, someone who would take care of her.

  “Sometimes one must do what one must do. Sometimes one does not have any other choice,” said Lili, knowing the things she had been forced to do. It made it impossible for her to ever consider marriage.

  “One always has a choice.”

  Lili shook her head. “You are a man, Mr. Wells. You always have a choice. I do not.” Lili hated that being born female her choices were limited. It had not always been that way in her life. She hated the fact, but this was not something she could discuss with this stranger.

  She was right. But why was she adamant about not marrying. Had she been forced to marry and she had refused. There were too many questions, he wanted answers to. He watched her shiver.

  “Lili?” he put his hand on her arm.

  She shivered again this time not from the cold but from his touch. “It is nothing. I feel the cold more than most. You may be forced to spend several more days with us, Mr. Wells. We will most likely wake up to snow in the morning.” She wondered how good an idea that would be. If he was stranded with them because of the snow, she was left with little choice in the matter of allowing him to stay. There was something about him, his strength that made it so very tempting to lean on him. No, she could not. He was a stranger. She had learned with Edward, she had no one to lean on but herself, no matter how tempting Mr. Wells appeared to be.

  Good, thought Worth. He would not need to come up with an excuse to stay longer. He was determined to find out more about what was going on here. They were hiding something and he was determined to find out what, something more than the highway robbery. There was something too, about this Edward fellow. According to Aiden, he had made Lili cry. He wanted to learn more.

  “Then I am glad I stopped to fish at the river.”

  Lili smiled. “I am aware that Aiden was fishing all by himself. I am grateful you were there to help him.”

  Worth smiled. “I didn’t wish for him to get into trouble.”

  “Thank you again. Good night.” Lili looked up again. He still had his hand on her arm. There was an aura of power about him. She could feel it. She wondered what it all meant. She had never felt such strange feelings as these before. This kind of strength in a man. She could not trust herself any longer. All she knew was this Colin Wells, was playing havoc with her senses. That made her all the more leery of him.

  “Good night, Lili.” Worth let go of her arm and watched her turn and walk away. She entered a room a couple of doors down. He heard her door close.

  Worth turned and walked to his room. He would be here for a while longer. The room he had been given was just down the hall from hers. Lady Lilias and Elsbeth had both apologized that is was rather dusty. Their quick clean had been more than enough and had told them so. If they knew of some of the flea bitten places he had slept in on the continent while spying for the war department, they would be appalled. He banked the fire and stripped down to his pants and climbed into bed. Just before sleep claimed him, Dulcey’s voice echoed in his head, “Hair of red” and “a merry chase.” He smiled.

  Chapter 4

  Many are the men whose hearts are powerfully moved

  By the mere suffering of a woman.

  Epigram

  Worth woke up the wind whistling about the keep. The temperature had dropped during the night. The room had gotten chilled. Worth walked over to the fire and added more wood until he had it blazing once again. He stood before the fire to warm himself and tried to decide how best to handle this situation he now found himself in.

  He was certain, this was his highway woman. If matters here were as desperate as they appeared to be, he could understand her desperation to protect and provide for her family. But she was going down a very dangerous road, a possible deadly one, if she were caught.

  He knew he had to help her and the twins. For some strange, unknown reason, he knew he had to. Why was it Dulcey’s words that kept repeating themselves in his head? It made him look at this whole situation in a different light. Lady Lilias was much too young and innocent for an old bachelor rogue like him. But marriage would be an answer for Lady Lilias. Maybe someone in the area. Why did that idea not sit well with him? He shrugged those thoughts aside.

  Worth dressed quickly. The sun would be hiding for the day no doubt. He walked into great room to find Elsbeth and Rab up.

  Elsbeth looked up and smiled. “Just finished cookin’ some porridge Mr. Wells.”

  “Good morning, Elsbeth. Good morning, Rab. Porridge sounds good. Is that coffee I smell as well?”

  Elsbeth motioned him to sit down at the table and she brought him porridge, scrambled eggs, oatcakes and coffee. He noticed the lack of meat. Aiden was right. It appeared all they had was mutton. He had not noticed any cattle near the keep, just the three in the barn. He wondered how the hunting was in the area. He would talk to Rab about it later.

  Worth took the drink in his hands and let the aroma soak into his brain. He took a sip. It was strong and hot just like he liked it. “It seems it began snowing during the night.”

  “Aye, that it did. A’ve seen to the animals,” said Rab
.

  Worth noticed the snow on his greatcoat that hung by the back door. It appeared Rab and his mother were early risers. He ate his breakfast.

  He was sitting enjoying his second cup of coffee, when Lili came walking in. He noticed she wore a thick wool dress of brown over another of cream color that laced up the front with a brown belt about her waist. About her shoulders, she carried a brown plaid shawl. It was not from the fashion books of London society, but it was practical and warm. It appeared she had made a valiant attempt to tame her riotous curls. She had braided it and wrapped it about her head, but still some wayward tendrils escaped about her face. He wondered what it looked like unbound and wrapped around her. He mentally shook his head to get the picture out of his mind.

  “Good morning, Lady Lili,” he said. “You were correct last night when you predicted snow.”

  Lili nodded and reached for the cup of hot tea Elsbeth handed her. She cupped her hand about the cup and took a sip. The hot liquid warmed its way down and slowly began to warm her body from the inside out. She sipped some more of her tea. Sometimes the cold seemed to seep into every part of her body.

  “Good morning, Mr. Wells. I apologize but I so needed my hot tea this morning to warm me. I am feeling the cold more so than usual.” Lili sat down at her usual seat at the head of the table.

  Worth watched her intently. He knew of other ways to warm her, he thought. More pleasurable ways. Again, he cursed himself for letting his mind wander in that direction. No, she was young and innocent. He was old and jaded. He was here to help her, not bed her. But damn, she made it difficult for him to concentrate on that fact. Damn, Dulcey, too, for putting those thoughts in his head.

  “Yes, it has gotten colder,” replied Worth.

  “It’s still snowing, lass. A’ve already taken care of the animals. Best we stay in till it stops,” added Rab.

  Lili nodded and took another sip of her tea. She had never been able to drink coffee. Her rather was hot chocolate, but she saved that for the twins on special occasions. They could not afford it for daily use. There were so many things they could no longer afford. She sighed.

  What was that deep sigh for, wondered Worth as he watched her. “I am very grateful for your hospitality, Lady Lili. I would like to help with any of the chores. I am more than glad to pay my way.” He realized he was an extra mouth to feed.

  Lili watched him closely. Glendenning hospitality did not include having their guest work for their keep. But having an extra mouth to feed did put a strain on her limited resources. She may be forced to accept his offer, if he stayed for any length of time. What made her think he would be staying? The weather would not last and then he would be on his way again. For some reason, she felt it would not be soon.

  “Thank you for the offer, Mr. Wells. I cannot refuse your assistance, as much I would like to,” she replied.

  Before Worth could reply, the twins walked in arguing.

  “Quiet, remember we have a guest,” admonished Lili. “Good morning, Aiden. Good morning Alysa.”

  Aiden gave his sister a disgruntled look, then turned to Mr. Wells with a smile. “Good morning, Colin.”

  Alysa said, “Good morning everybody.”

  “How about a good morning to you sister, Aiden,” instructed Worth, before Lili had a chance to correct him.

  Aiden looked at his sister, only to find her frowning at him. Then he looked at his new friend to find him looking at him with a raised eyebrow. “Good morning, Lili. Good morning everyone.”

  “Thank you, Aiden. Now let’s eat our breakfast and since it is snowing and we will not be able to go outside, we may be able to catch up on our studies afterwards.”

  “Aww, Lili, we do our studies all the time,” argued Aiden.

  Again, Worth stepped in before Lili could say anything. “Are you the laird here?”

  Aiden looked at him uncertain. “Yes.”

  “Then as the laird, it is your duty to learn everything you can, so you can be the best laird you can be. Even as old as I am, I try to learn something new every day,” explained Worth.

  Lili did not like the fact, Mr. Wells was taking charge of the situation, but there wasn’t anything she could disagree with. Everything, he told Aiden was correct. Then, why did this upset her. Because, he was taking charge after being here less than twenty-four hours.

  “You do want to be the best laird?” asked Worth.

  Aiden nodded.

  Worth smiled. He remembered not liking his studies either, but he knew had he not had the education his father insisted he have, he would have never been able to do the things he had done in his life. “Good then after you eat, I will help you with your studies.”

  “You’ll help me?” asked Aiden.

  “Mr. Wells, you don’t have to do this.” interrupted Lili.

  “No, I don’t, but I would like to,” Worth replied looking directly at Lili. This would be one less problem she had to shoulder. Then, why was she looking at him in vexation.

  “Please Lili, I’ll do my studies if Colin will teach me,” pleaded Aiden.

  “Mr. Wells,” corrected Lili frustrated. She let out a sigh of exasperation.

  “He said I could call him Colin,” argued Aiden.

  “Very well,” replied Lili, truly exasperated at the feeling of losing control. “Now, finish you breakfast.”

  Lili looked at Mr. Wells. That strength she had noticed in him last night also had the ring of an authoritative take charge attitude. She wasn’t sure she liked that. Those gold flecked eyes of his stared back at her as though daring her to argue with him. She would give in this time, for Aiden’s sake. But she would need to talk to him. She was the one in authority here. Besides, he would be leaving in a few days, once the snow cleared.

  Worth smiled. He could almost read what she was thinking. She did not like him coming in and usurping her authority. He would need to be a little more cautious in handling things here. He would need to include her but he was not used to doing things that way.

  “What about me?” asked Alysa.

  “You’re a girl. You don’t need to learn nothin’,” argued Aiden.

  Lili was about to correct him, but Mr. Wells beat her to it, again.

  “Now Aiden, your sister Alysa needs to learn things just as much as you do. Just because she is a girl, does not mean it is not important for her, as well. Some people think that way but they are wrong.” He looked directly at Lili. He meant every word he said and wanted her to know it.

  Lili stared at him for a moment, pleased with his response. Maybe, she was judging him too harshly, too fast.

  After breakfast, Worth looked at Lili.

  “Why don’t you teach them something, you like and know,” suggested Lili. She thought maybe, he would tell them something different, something he knew about. Maybe, she could learn something about him in the process.

  Worth looked at the three eager faces, well, two young eager ones and one with suspicion. It was the suspicious one he needed to win over to his side. Those clear light blue eyes of hers hid very little from him.

  “Have you studied the Greek gods?” He looked to Lili, who shook her head slightly. “They have always been a favorite of mine.”

  “That sounds like an excellent idea. Twins set everything up near the fireplace and I will get some books out of the library for us.”

  The twins nodded and went about setting up the corner where they had been holding their studies. It meant having one less fireplace to use wood and peat, which was could be used elsewhere, if they didn’t use the library. Lili walked off heading for the library and the books they would need.

  Worth saw the twins were busy setting up their study area and quietly followed Lili down the hall to the library. He watched, as she went to a shelf in the library. He had noticed the graceful way she walked last night. She was taller than most young women he knew, thinner. He noticed when she reached for the book on the higher shelf, the fabric of her dress was stretched taut across her
small round breast. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to block out the image of her without the dress that covered her from his sight. He opened his eyes and she stood before him with the book in her hands.

  Lili had noticed he had followed her into the library. She walked over and handed him the book. He had his eyes closed and when he opened them she noticed a strange look in his eyes, he quickly shielded from her. He smiled. She wanted to trust him but she had learned a hard lesson during Edward’s visit about trust.

  His hands covered hers as he took the book from her hands. She shivered again. It was not from the cold but from his touch. Why was that, she wondered. Quickly, she let go of the book. She turned to cover her reaction to him. “There are a couple of more I would like to bring.”

  Lili pulled out two more books and turned to find Mr. Wells at her side. “Mr. Wells?”

  “I thought we had agreed on Colin,” said Worth softly. He could see the slight blush to her cheeks. Those clear blue eyes of hers did not hide her feelings. What he saw reflected in them stirred his soul. Vulnerability and defiance with an underlying desperation and fear. How could so many different emotions be reflected in those eyes? “I can help, Lili. I would never hurt you.”

  He needed to make her understand that fact. He wanted her to know, she could depend on him. It had become important to him.

  Lili looked up and felt herself drowning in those gold flecked eyes of his. She saw strength and determination reflected in them plus something she did not quite understand. A very big part of her desperately, wanted to lean her head against that broad chest of his and just let him take control, but she knew she couldn’t. She had done that earlier. She had leaned on Edward and look what it had gotten her. No, she would not let her guard down again and trust someone.

  She quickly looked away. No, she had to think of the twins and Elsbeth and Rab. They depended on her to be the strong one.

  “So you say. I know you not, Mr. Wells

  Worth took her face gently between his hands and turned her till she faced him again. “Colin.”