Once Upon a Highland Autumn by Lecia Cornwall

Author:Lecia Cornwall [CORNWALL, LECIA]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2014-05-27T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

* * *

Kit woke in the cottage the next morning as a shadow blocked the sun that streamed across his bed through the open window. He opened his eyes to find Megan McNabb leaning over the sill, peering in at him.

Or was she Megan Linwood now, or perhaps Lady Rossington? Like his mother . . . Those frightening thoughts brought him fully awake, and he grabbed for the sheet, and pulled it up to his chin like a modest maiden.

“Good morning,” she said.

“Good morning,” he replied and stared at her. Silhouetted by the morning sun, her hair shone, and her cheeks were flushed. Was that from walking up from the lodge, or because she was surprised to find him lying in bed? She wasn’t actually looking at him—she was staring fixedly at a point high above his head. It gave him the opportunity to look at her. She was quite fetching, perched on his windowsill like a sparrow, and in his half-awake state he wondered what she would do if he threw off the covers and invited her into bed.

It would be disastrous.

“I fear I may have arrived earlier than expected. I was coming down the path and noticed the window was open. I—I brought breakfast. I wasn’t sure if you had arrangements for food. Jeannie told me you have a valet staying in the village,” she babbled, her gaze averted, her cheeks flaming.

“Yes, Leslie,” he said. “Yes.” He didn’t move. She really was quite mesmerizing to look at. His grandfather had hired an artist to paint the ceiling in the earl’s apartments at Bellemont Park with a regiment of adoring angels. They stared down at the earl—him—as he lay in his bed, encouraging pure thoughts, good governance, and blessing the begetting of heirs. Megan might have descended straight off the plaster to Earth . . .

She cast a quick glance at him, and raised the basket to the sill. “Shall I leave the basket and go?”

He remembered his manners. What were the rules of proper behavior for a situation like this? “No,” he said. “I mean, please come in.”

By the time she had come around to the front of the cottage and opened the door, he was on his feet, wrapped in the sheet, only his bare feet visible. She glanced at them, and her lips parted in surprise, and she blushed all over again, no doubt guessing what lay beneath the linen, or in this case, what did not. She turned away at once and busied herself with unpacking the basket.

There was not an inch of private space in the tiny cottage. Should he send her out, make her wait on the bench, or ask her to stroll the grounds for a half-hour while he dressed, made himself decent and ready to face her? He needed to shave, to bathe, and to pass water. He frowned at her back. What time was it, anyway?

He carefully reached for his watch, and flipped it open. Leslie would not be here for at least an hour, and he could hardly wear the sheet until then.

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.