Read Online Landing a Laird by Jane Charles - Free Book Online Page A

another smile.  “That is one remedy I will not try again.”
    “ Remedy?”  He took a sip of his tea.
    “ To rid myself of the freckles.”
    He choked on the tea and sputtered.  “My pardon.”
    Lady Moira handed him a napkin. “Are you quite all right, Lord Ainsely?”
    He dabbed at his mouth and set the cup and saucer back on the table.  “Why would you wish to make your freckles disappear?”
    “ The same reason my red hair needs to go, and why my bre...mother has assured me that gentlemen don't wish their wives to have such endow...blemishes and coloring.”
    Gideon straightened.  He had never heard such rubbish before in his life. Where was Hearne, and why wasn’t he taking the situation in hand?  “Please, Lady Moira, do not change a thing.  You are quite a bonny lass.”
     
    Moira paused with the teacup halfway to her lips. Did he just refer to her as a bonny lass ?  Her eyes narrowed and she placed the cup back in the saucer.  “Lord Ainsely, where is your estate?”
     “ I, um, well—“
    “ Do you not know where you live?”  she interrupted.  Her heartbeat increased. Was it possible he was from Scotland?
    “ Yorkshire,” he blurted out. “There is an estate in Yorkshire.”
    Moira’s heart sank. “Englishmen do not usually refer to ladies as bonny lasses; only Scots. At least I’ve never heard an Englishman say such a thing.”  
    “ Well, you, um see… I must have picked up a few of the phrases from my time in the country.”
    “ I suppose,” she sighed.  
    Ainsely glanced over his shoulder to Beatrice, who by all appearances was engrossed in her stitching.  Moira knew better.  Her maid had a knack for listening to and observing everything around her when others were convinced she wasn’t paying attention.
    He turned back to Moira and leaned forward. She shifted toward the table and waited.
    “ I have some rather disturbing news.”
    Oh dear, what now?
    “ There has been another bet,” he whispered.
    Moira straightened and grimaced.  “About me?”
    “ Yes.  Lord Struthers.”
    “ Go on,” Moira encouraged.
    “ His estate is in Shropshire.”
    Her shoulders fell with the exhaling of her breath.  “We are a week past Easter, and my name has already been in that blasted book three times.”
    Ainsely raised his eyebrows at her language.
    “ Apologies.  I don’t always mind my tongue.”
    The left side of his mouth quirked in half a smile.  At least he didn’t appear overly scandalized by her language.
    “ It is quite all right.”  
    “ I wonder if there is a record for how many times a lady’s name appears in the book in one Season.”
    He grimaced.  “I am not sure that is a goal you should aim for. Most ladies are not listed for flattering reasons.”
    “ I know.” Moira settled her hands on the settee on either side of her legs and pushed to stand.  She could have been more graceful, she supposed, but she was almost as comfortable around Ainsely as she was Pippa, Georgie, and Patience.  He was turning into a grand friend.  He didn’t need to come to her this morning and tell her of the bet. He could have gone to Nyle instead, and her brother would have delivered the news.  “I am still no closer to my goal, however.”
    Ainsely stood as well, as any polite gentleman would.  “Please, you can be seated. I tend to pace when anxious, and it can be quite uncomfortable for any gentleman in the room.”
    He sank back down and watched as she wore a path in the carpet between the settee and the table.
    “ Perhaps you can help me?” It had been on her mind to ask, and she was going to suggest it when they next met. Now was as good a time as any, and he had come to her first.
    “ How may I be of service?”
    “ Help me find my husband.”
    He choked. “Excuse me?”  
    Moira turned suddenly to assure herself of his health.  In her momentum, her knee banged the table and sent her falling forward.  Ainsely reached out and grabbed her bare