Bride by Stella Cameron

Author:Stella Cameron [CAMERON, STELLA]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: FIC027050
ISBN: 9780759520431
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2001-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

“I do not snore.”

“You do snore.”

“I can say with absolute certainty that I have never, ever snored.”

“How would you know what you do when you're asleep?”

“No other…” Damn his mouth.

Justine slanted him a disapproving glance. With determined tweaks, she tied the satin ribbons on a dark-blue velvet spencer. Her India muslin morning gown, striped in paler shades of blue than the spencer, might have been chosen to complement her sitting room—which was where he'd finally found her after being disappointed and chagrined to awake and discover she had left him while he slept.

He would try a more pleasant approach—keep the mood light. “You arise early, my dear. I had thought to find you still getting your beauty rest.”

“Because I need a great deal of that commodity, no doubt.”

“Not at all! Quite the reverse. You are a lovely creature. A

lovely, desirable creature, and I wanted to awake with you in my—”

“You and I have many things to discuss.” She interrupted him quite deliberately. “I think you are keeping certain facts from me, and I shall insist that you and I have no secrets. You must be open with me about … conditions that affect you.”

Struan grew cold. By God, he'd completely forgotten the letter. “I can't believe it. You waited until I was asleep and delved into my personal affairs?” She had the power to allow him to put aside that which had ruled his days and nights for weeks!

Justine regarded him narrowly. “Delved? What can you mean—delved? I could hardly fail to pay attention to the obvious.”

He patted his coat and felt the envelope in the pocket where he'd placed it the night before. “Neatly returned,” he said. He had raced from Kirkcaldy to read it where there could be no question of Arran or Calum coming upon him.

“I will not allow anyone to threaten your safety, Struan. Is that clear?”

He stared at her, then about the room without truly seeing anything. “This is unbelievable. I suppose that's chocolate,” he said vaguely, noticing a tall, rose-garlanded Minton pot on a silver tray atop a small, Chinese chest. “I dislike chocolate in the morning.” The letter would be like all its predecessors, filled with obscure threats.

“It's coffee,” Justine told him shortly.

His spirits lifted a fraction. “Wonderful. I don't suppose— that is, would you mind if I had some? Coffee, that is?”

Rustling as she went, Justine poured coffee and faced him. She silently indicated a chair and waited for him to be seated.

He accepted the cup and drank gratefully.

Justine asked, “Did you breakfast?”

“Mmm? No. No time.”

“The way you live will not do at all. There must be a full staff here—on the premises. You should have a manservant. I intend to deal with that matter at once. You have neglected the niceties, Struan.”

He set the saucer on his thigh and raised his eyes to hers. “You do not have to care for me as if I were a child.” And he would not be overrun by more souls to confuse his task here.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.