The Earl's Convenient Wife (Harlequin Romance) by Marion Lennox

Author:Marion Lennox [Lennox, Marion]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Contemporary, Romance, Fiction, Forever Love, Adult, Bachelor, Single Woman, Sensual, Hearts Desire, Australia & Oceania, Marriage of Convenience, Housekeeper, Scottish Castle, Earl of Duncairn, Inheritance, Terms, Secrets, One Year
Publisher: Harlequin Romance
Published: 2015-07-01T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

THEY DID GO to look for otters, and Alasdair decreed they would go to Craigie Burn. It was the best place to see otters, he told her, the furthest place on the estate from any road, a section of the burn where otters had hunted and fished for generations almost undisturbed. The tiny burnside cottage had been built by a long-ago McBride who’d fancied fishing and camping overnight in relative comfort. But at dusk and dawn the midges appeared in their hordes and the fishing McBride of yore had soon decided that the trek back to the comforts of the castle at nightfall was worth the effort. The cottage had therefore long fallen into disrepair. The roof was intact but the place was pretty much a stone shell.

Jeanie hadn’t intended telling Alasdair about Craigie Burn—but of course he knew.

‘I spent much of my childhood on the estate,’ he told her as they stowed lunch into the day pack. ‘I had the roaming of the place.’

‘Alan, too?’ she asked because she couldn’t help herself. Alan had hardly talked of his childhood—he’d hardly talked of his family.

‘My father and Alan’s father were peas in a pod,’ he said curtly. ‘They were interested in having a good time and not much else. They weren’t interested in their sons. Both our childhoods were therefore lonely but Alan thought he was lonelier here. The few times Eileen brought him here he hated it.’

He swung the pack onto his back and then appeared to check Jeanie out—as she checked the guests out before they went rambling, making sure boots were stout, clothing sensible, the wildness of the country taken into account when dressing. He gave a curt nod. ‘Good.’ The dogs were locked in the wet room. Maggie’s mam would see them walked, for if the dogs were with them the possibility of seeing otters was about zero. ‘Ready?’

‘Ready,’ she said, feeling anything but. What was she doing traipsing around the country with this man when she should be earning her keep?

But Alasdair was determined to give her a...honeymoon? Whatever it was called, it seemed she had no choice but to give in to him. She was still getting over sitting at the kitchen table the night before eating the risotto he’d prepared. It was excellent risotto, but...

But the man had her totally off balance.

They set off, down the cliff path to the rocky beach, then along the seafront, clambering over rocks, making their way to where Craigie Burn tumbled to the sea.

The going was tough, even for Jeanie, who was used to it. Alasdair, though, had no trouble. A few times he paused and turned to help her. She shook off his offer of assistance but in truth his concern made her feel...

As she had no right to feel, she told herself. She didn’t need to feel like the ‘little woman’. She’d had two marriages of being a doormat. No more.

‘Tell me about your childhood here,’ she encouraged as she struggled up one particularly rocky stretch.

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