Brides of Privilege by Kasey Michaels & Ruth Ryan Langan & Carolyn Zane

Author:Kasey Michaels & Ruth Ryan Langan & Carolyn Zane
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780373484447
Publisher: Silhouette
Published: 2001-05-01T07:00:00+00:00

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In the morning the three trudged across the field to the neighboring cottage to begin the task of removing the old thatch and replacing it with new. They surprised Molly, who was just returning from the field with a basket of blueberries.

She looked so bright and pretty, it took William a full minute to find his voice. While Duncan and Tyler carried on a running conversation like old friends, he merely stood and stared. The breeze tugged at her hair and caught her skirts, flattening them against her legs. Her eyes fairly sparkled in the morning sunlight. And her face. How was it possible, he wondered, for one little female to look so fresh, so lovely, without any effort at all?

What had happened to make her so beautiful in his eyes? Her frock was the same shabby one she wore every day, though it probably required washing every night, since it was always spotless. Her shoes were dull and worn. Her apron was little more than a few remnants of fabric cleverly stitched together to form several deep pockets. But there was nothing dull or worn about her smile. It rivaled the sun.

"Good morning, William." She turned that smile on him now as she made ready to step through the doorway. "How is it that you're here today, instead of overseeing Lord Kent's estate?"

"I thought I'd give Duncan and Tyler a hand. It's time I learned a thing or two about thatch."

"And no one better to teach you, I'd wager." She turned that brilliant smile on the old man. "Duncan constantly amazes me with all the things he can do."

"Aye," Tyler called as he began catching the old rushes which Duncan was already tossing from the roof. "There's no finer tutor in all of England than my grandfather."

William tore himself away from Molly to join the old man. Under Duncan's tutelage he began removing the old thatch and tossing it to the ground, where Tyler gathered it up to be bundled for burning in Molly's fireplace over the long winter.

When the roof was bare of old thatch, the two men climbed down and began tying the fresh rushes into bundles, and hauling them to the roof. This was a much more difficult task, and one which required a great deal of patience, for the rushes had to be secured against wind and rain and all manner of rough weather.

While they worked, they were aware of the most tantalizing fragrances wafting from inside the cottage. By the time the church bells sounded the midday Angelus, the door opened and Molly carried a linen-covered tray to the bench in the garden.

"I hope you're hungry," she called, "for I've made..." Her voice trailed off when she caught sight of William up on the roof.

In the heat of the day he'd removed his shirt. Muscles rippled across wide shoulders and a broad back that was slick with sweat. When he jumped down from the roof and turned to face her, she saw

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