Read Online Her Lord and Protector (formerly titled On Silent Wings) by Pam Roller - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Pam Roller
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wife.”
“Yes, he does,”
Agnes said with clear irritation. “He just doesn’t know it yet.”
Footsteps
approached the door. Feeling rather foolish for his covertness, Alex slid
around the corner until Agnes had left the herbarium.
It mattered not
what she said about Katherine. They were the words of a jealous, possessive
woman. Nothing more.
****
Such a dark
home, full of misery and loss.
Three days ago
Lord Drayton had left for Kensington where there lived a prospective suitor.
Whom did he so
eagerly seek to procure as Katherine’s husband?
She had to feel
the sunlight on her face. A few minutes later, she was in her light summer
cloak and outside.
Light. Warmth.
She stood for a moment with her eyes squeezed shut, her face tilted to the sun.
Here, she was at peace, could breathe without scrutiny.
A soaring hill
beyond the barn beckoned to her with its height and open green span, and,
gathering her skirts between her open hands, she slowly climbed it.
At the top, she
turned and looked at the castle, a masculine splendor in gray stone. The late afternoon
sun made jewels of the leaded window panes, so different than they had appeared
on the rainy day of her arrival. Then, it had seemed that they had stared at
her like so many hooded eyes.
On the front
lawn, the shoddy boxwood cluster she had seen was actually an unkempt maze,
clearly not enjoyed for many years. Beside it sat an almost unrecognizable knot
garden, and further on, a dilapidated flower patch choked with weeds. It could
be beautiful, with a little care. As could, perhaps, its owner.
Here on the
hill, Katherine had a better view of the towering twin battlements flanking the
castle in the back. The stones there were ancient and crumbling.
Millie stood at
the bottom of the hill with her hands on her hips, plainly reluctant to climb
it. Finally, she turned and walked to a stone bench in the middle of the flower
garden, and plopped down on it.
The air up here
held a delicate warmth. Katherine tugged off her hood with clumsy fingers, then
shook out her hair in a rippling spill down over her shoulders.
It mattered not
that she was outdoors with her hair loose and tangled. No one would see her,
and no one cared.
She draped the
cloak on the ground and sat down with a contented sigh. A quiet breeze caressed
her cheek, and the sun swathed the top of her head like a warm hat.
The stillness
out here, broken only by the twitter of birds and occasional far-off bleating
of lambs, contradicted the steady racket that pervaded London’s busy streets.
Perhaps the tranquil peace would work its way into her heart.
But it only made
her loneliness worse. She almost preferred London.
Lord Drayton
sheltered her out of some favor to the king, but would be rid of her as soon as
he could. When would that be? And who would want a destitute woman with no
voice?
She swallowed at
the lump in her throat and blinked back sudden tears. Raising her face to the
sky, she took a deep breath, then lowered her head and coughed.
Damnation!
Without warning, frustration and hopeless rage engulfed her at the fire that
killed her father, at the heated smoke that stole her voice.
She closed her
eyes and tried to quiet her thoughts, but only heard the screaming of the two
children trapped in the townhouse next to hers. She crossed her arms over her
knees and lowered her head.
The cries of the
children trailed away as they had on that day. The silence on the hill became
absolute.
No city noise,
no plague, no fire, no one to tell her she had become an embarrassment or a
burden.
No sanctuary,
anywhere. She was utterly alone.
****
Alex rode Neos
up his drive at the slowest possible pace. Even after three days away from her,
taking his time both there and back, he couldn’t shake Katherine from his mind.
Thomas Bliss,
Lord Wiltshire, would suit her perfectly. The baron owned a country estate as
well as a London residence, and he and Katherine had probably met at one time
or
“Yes, he does,”
Agnes said with clear irritation. “He just doesn’t know it yet.”
Footsteps
approached the door. Feeling rather foolish for his covertness, Alex slid
around the corner until Agnes had left the herbarium.
It mattered not
what she said about Katherine. They were the words of a jealous, possessive
woman. Nothing more.
****
Such a dark
home, full of misery and loss.
Three days ago
Lord Drayton had left for Kensington where there lived a prospective suitor.
Whom did he so
eagerly seek to procure as Katherine’s husband?
She had to feel
the sunlight on her face. A few minutes later, she was in her light summer
cloak and outside.
Light. Warmth.
She stood for a moment with her eyes squeezed shut, her face tilted to the sun.
Here, she was at peace, could breathe without scrutiny.
A soaring hill
beyond the barn beckoned to her with its height and open green span, and,
gathering her skirts between her open hands, she slowly climbed it.
At the top, she
turned and looked at the castle, a masculine splendor in gray stone. The late afternoon
sun made jewels of the leaded window panes, so different than they had appeared
on the rainy day of her arrival. Then, it had seemed that they had stared at
her like so many hooded eyes.
On the front
lawn, the shoddy boxwood cluster she had seen was actually an unkempt maze,
clearly not enjoyed for many years. Beside it sat an almost unrecognizable knot
garden, and further on, a dilapidated flower patch choked with weeds. It could
be beautiful, with a little care. As could, perhaps, its owner.
Here on the
hill, Katherine had a better view of the towering twin battlements flanking the
castle in the back. The stones there were ancient and crumbling.
Millie stood at
the bottom of the hill with her hands on her hips, plainly reluctant to climb
it. Finally, she turned and walked to a stone bench in the middle of the flower
garden, and plopped down on it.
The air up here
held a delicate warmth. Katherine tugged off her hood with clumsy fingers, then
shook out her hair in a rippling spill down over her shoulders.
It mattered not
that she was outdoors with her hair loose and tangled. No one would see her,
and no one cared.
She draped the
cloak on the ground and sat down with a contented sigh. A quiet breeze caressed
her cheek, and the sun swathed the top of her head like a warm hat.
The stillness
out here, broken only by the twitter of birds and occasional far-off bleating
of lambs, contradicted the steady racket that pervaded London’s busy streets.
Perhaps the tranquil peace would work its way into her heart.
But it only made
her loneliness worse. She almost preferred London.
Lord Drayton
sheltered her out of some favor to the king, but would be rid of her as soon as
he could. When would that be? And who would want a destitute woman with no
voice?
She swallowed at
the lump in her throat and blinked back sudden tears. Raising her face to the
sky, she took a deep breath, then lowered her head and coughed.
Damnation!
Without warning, frustration and hopeless rage engulfed her at the fire that
killed her father, at the heated smoke that stole her voice.
She closed her
eyes and tried to quiet her thoughts, but only heard the screaming of the two
children trapped in the townhouse next to hers. She crossed her arms over her
knees and lowered her head.
The cries of the
children trailed away as they had on that day. The silence on the hill became
absolute.
No city noise,
no plague, no fire, no one to tell her she had become an embarrassment or a
burden.
No sanctuary,
anywhere. She was utterly alone.
****
Alex rode Neos
up his drive at the slowest possible pace. Even after three days away from her,
taking his time both there and back, he couldn’t shake Katherine from his mind.
Thomas Bliss,
Lord Wiltshire, would suit her perfectly. The baron owned a country estate as
well as a London residence, and he and Katherine had probably met at one time
or
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