Rose In Scotland by Joan Overfield

Author:Joan Overfield [Overfield, Joan]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Romance, historical romance, highlanders, love story, Scotland, Scotland Highlands
ISBN: 9780380780075
Google: eDSRgYIb164C
Amazon: 0380780070
Barnesnoble: 0380780070
Goodreads: 2512671
Publisher: Avon
Published: 1997-12-31T14:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Two nights later, Caroline sat before her dressing table adding the finishing touches to her toilette. She and Hugh were expected at the home of Sir Henry Gillmore, an old friend of her grandfather’s. He was also a member of the Privy Council, and she wondered if Hugh meant to enlist the baronet’s help in regaining his seized estates.

Not that the wretch would tell her if he was, she brooded, dabbing rose-scented oil behind her ears. Since the night he’d made such passionate love to her, he had retreated behind a facade of civility, never speaking to her unless it was to issue clipped commands or utter the most commonplace of pleasantries. Attempts on her part to bring the conversation to a more personal level usually met with stony silence, and in the end she abandoned the attempt. He might have his pride, but she had hers as well, and she refused to lower it by attempting to fix the attentions of a man so clearly indifferent to her.

At first she feared she’d disappointed him in the marriage bed, and that their heated lovemaking hadn’t been as pleasurable for him as it had been for her. But then she would catch him watching her with such naked longing and desire that she did not know what to think. One thing she did know, was that she refused to endure his black moods much longer. He might bite off her head for her pains, but she was determined to know what the devil was bothering him.

“Oh, my lady, what a sight you look!” Helene exclaimed, clasping her hands together and beaming at Caroline like a delighted parent. “You are beautiful!”

“The gown is beautiful, Helene,” Caroline corrected, pleased nonetheless by the maid’s effusive praise. “Madame Clare is to be commended for her skill with a needle and thread.”

“Oh, no, my lady,” Helene insisted loyally, stepping forward to hand Caroline her fan. “ ’Tis you who do the gown proud!”

Caroline smiled in gratitude before giving her reflection one final glance. What would Hugh think when he saw her? she wondered, patting an errant curl into place. Would seeing her dressed so elegantly remind him he had wed a flesh-and-blood woman, and not some untouchable stone statue? She was debating the possibilities when the door opened and Hugh stepped inside, halting abruptly when he saw her.

“Good evening, sir,” she said, a hopeful smile touching her lips as she turned to greet him. “Have you come to fetch me? I do hope I haven’t been keeping you waiting.”

He gazed at her in heavy silence before speaking. “No. I have come to tell you the general has arrived. He is in the drawing room and asking for you.”

Caroline shot to her feet. “Grandfather is here?” she exclaimed. “Why did someone not tell me?” She rushed past Hugh, her trepidation forgotten as she dashed down the stairs. She ran into the drawing room and threw herself into the duke’s arms with a glad cry.

“Grandfather! Oh, Grandfather! It is so good to see you!” she said, giving him an exuberant hug.

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