Velvet Embrace by Nicole Jordan

Author:Nicole Jordan [Jordan, Nicole]
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Romance: Historical, General, Historical, Fiction - Romance, Romance - General
ISBN: 9780821721087
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Published: 1987-06-14T08:00:00+00:00

The rain continued throughout the night and the fire gradually burnt itself out, but the cold gray light of morning brought little cheer to the inhabitants of Greenwood. A pile of ash and charred timbers lay where the barn had once stood, vividly reminding them all of how close they had come to disaster.

A great deal of work needed to be done before the stable's routine could return to normal. All training exercises were cancelled for the day, but the horses that had escaped the flames had to be found and cared for, and the buckets and blankets used to fight the fire had to be cleared away. And there still were the regular chores of cleaning stalls and feeding the animals.

When these tasks were accomplished, Brie ordered everyone to rest. She herself slept for a few hours, and when she woke shortly before noon, she dressed warmly, wanting to tour the stables before beginning the Herculean task of cleaning up after the fire.

The house was quiet, but Brie stopped by her cousin's room to check on her. Seeing Caroline sleeping soundly, she smiled. The girl had reacted surprisingly well to the events of the previous night, taking charge of the household and organizing the staff while Katherine saw to the needs of the injured. Obviously, Caroline wasn't the empty-headed romantic that everyone believed.

The rain had stopped by the time Brie left the house, but gray clouds hid the sun, making the soot-washed stableyard look desolate. Brie shuddered when she saw what was left of the small barn, remembering how the smoke and cinders swirled about them. How narrowly Dominic had escaped a horrible death! He had played down the danger to keep her from worrying, but she wasn't blind. Someone had tried to murder them, and she intended to find the culprit and see him punished.

She spent the next hour touring the barns and carefully checking each horse for injury. She was pleased to see the new filly eagerly nursing at Firefly's side. Brie had tended the mare's wounds herself that morning, and the whip-marks seemed to be healing. With luck, only the deepest slashes would leave scars.

When Brie finished her inspection, she turned her attention to interviewing Greenwood's large staff, using John's office as a headquarters. She was grateful the office had been spared. Barns could be rebuilt, but that particular room with its old desk and hard wooden chairs held many pleasant memories for her. As a child she had spent innumerable hours there with her father and John, learning the intricacies of running a training stable.

She questioned everyone who had been present during the fire, but when she had finished, she was no closer to finding the arsonist. Her suspicions were partially confirmed, however; a piece of wood had been driven between the doors and the metal latchbar, indicating that someone really had intended to murder them. She also discovered one of the lads had seen two strange men leaving the stableyard shortly before the fire broke out—and they had been carrying guns.

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