My Heart's in the Highlands by Angeline Fortin (best english novels for beginners .TXT) 📗

life, fearing rightly thatIan would sacrifice his life for hers if need be. When they madelove, she clung to him desperately. Her nights were tormented bynightmares.

The entire situation was quickly becomingintolerable. He had promised her happiness not this misery.

Pausing in the doorway of the music room, Ianwas surprised to find not Hero but Beaumont at the piano. Aslighthearted as the duke was, it was astonishing to see him playthe somber work with such passion. His deeply lined face creasedwith emotion as his fingers worked agilely over the keys, and itwas easy to see from whom Hero had inherited her talents on thepianoforte.

The last note sounded, lingering in the room,and Beaumont sat frozen for a moment, staring at the music. “Goodmorning, Harry,” Ian said softly. “Well played.”

Beaumont looked up with a sad nod. “It is …was … Valerie’s favorite work. I often played for her in theevenings before … Lately, I remember more and more. I cannot say Ilike it at all.”

Ian wondered what the duke meant by that. HadBeaumont’s “madness” merely been a way for him to cope with theloss of someone who apparently had meant far more to him thananyone had known? There was no way to tell unless the duke chose toshare such confidences with Ian, but Ian knew he would never probeinto anything so personal without Hero present.

“Where is Hero?” he asked. He had risen earlyto oversee the installation of a new gate door in the dungeonsbefore the tides came in. Hero had promised to stay in the castle,but she hadn’t been above stairs when he had returned to change.Ian had thought she would be with her father. “Harry, have you seenHero?”

“Yes, of course,” Beaumont told him as hebegan to poke out with one finger a more tawdry ditty. “We hadbreakfast together.”

“Where is she now?”

“She went shopping with her friends,” theduke told him. “The ladies do love to shop, don’t they?”

Ian came to attention in the doorway at that.Shopping? With her friends? He knew Beaumont wavered betweenreality and fantasy, but he didn’t usually round the bend intoutter fabrication. Furthermore, Hero was well enough aware of thedanger to either of them in leaving the castle unescorted. Shewouldn’t have gone shopping. Surely not. “Which friends,Harry?”

“Lady Corbin? Lady Spears?” Beaumont shookhis head. “It is hard to keep them straight.”

Shaking his head, Ian turned back into thehall to look for Hero himself or find another of sounder mind toprovide him answers.

After breakfast that morning, Hero had goneto confer with Mrs. Potts over the menus for the day and see to thedelivery of a new shipment of linens that she had ordered fromFrance even before her original departure from Cuilean almost ayear before.

The diversion was a pleasurable one,following an unpleasant week. Thank God for her father, shethought. Without his good humor, Cuilean would have been averitable mausoleum with everyone tiptoeing about as they were. Theword was out among the staff, and everyone was on guard followingthe fire. The estate’s perimeter and gates were so heavily guardedshe was surprised that this shipment had gotten through.

It was strange how quickly time flew. Fromher mother’s death, to Robert’s, to now. Just a year ago, Hero hadsat with Jennings and the factory’s representative looking overtheir new line of bed and table linens edged with a newmachine-made lace. They had been incredibly beautiful and made onlyfor custom orders with silk embroidery and monogramming. When shehad placed the order, Hero had had no way of knowing that she wouldlose her husband within the week and her home within months.

Now the order was delivered and she was onceagain at home and the mistress of Cuilean. It was curious how fatesteered a person. “They are lovely, Monsieur Girard,” Herocomplimented the agent as she ran her hand across the fine workGirard had laid out for her in Mrs. Potts’s office. “Just as youpromised.”

“Again I apologize for the long delay indelivery, Madam Ayr,” Girard said in his light accent. “I mustadmit we had put the order on hold following your husband’s death.It wasn’t until your Monsieur Jennings contacted us several monthsago on Miss Kennedy’s behalf that we continued. This castle hasseen many troubled times, non?”

“You are quite right, monsieur,” she nodded.“I do appreciate you bringing them personally.”

“It was my pleasure, madam,” he said andbowed.

“I’ll just call in Mrs. Potts to see them putaway,” Hero said, stepping to the door. “Then tea, perhaps?”

“I’m afraid I cannot let you do that,” Girardsaid lightly.

“Call for tea?”

“Non, madam, call for help.” Girard openedhis jacket and pulled out a pistol, training it on her. “Myapologies.”

“Monseiur Girard, whatever …” Hero stopped,her eyes widening as the door opened and a woman slipped inside.“Daphne! What is the meaning of this? How did you get in here?”

“I came in Girard’s carriage, obviously, butI think you also know very well what the meaning of this is, Hero,”Daphne said snidely. “Come, don’t pretend stupidity now.”

Hero shook off her surprise and crossed herarms over her chest, keeping a wary eye on the gunman. “You thinkthat if you kill me Ian will have you?”

“I would prefer not to, Hero,” Daphnesurprised her by saying. “It is not my first choice at all, but Iwill if you don’t do as I say.”

“Which is?”

“You’re going to ride along with Girard andmyself and take a very long holiday on the Continent,” Daphneexplained. “I want you out of here. I want you gone so you cannotruin my plans any more than you have. Come now, we must go.”

“You don’t think I’ll just meekly followwhere you lead, do you?” Hero asked incredulously.

“If you want your father to live, you will,”Daphne threatened. “If you want Ian to live, you will.”

“You’re mad,” Hero said. “Ian will never beyours.”

“When you’re gone, he will be,” Daphneinsisted. “After some small time has passed, he will see that hewas mistaken in his infatuation with you, and he and I willwed.”

“He couldn’t do that even if he wanted to,because we …” Hero bit her tongue to cut off the words. ApparentlyDaphne did not know that the wedding had already taken place. Shedidn’t know that even