Read Online The Heir of the Castle (Harlequin Romance) by Scarlet Wilson - Free Book Online Page B

‘Look around you, Laurie. What’s not to love?’
    It was the way he said the words. So simple. Without a second thought.
    And she did look around her.
    At the magnificent sand-coloured castle looking out over the Scottish coastline.
    At the immaculate maze.
    At the colourful, impeccably kept gardens.
    At the forest and vegetation around them, set against the start of a mountain range.
    It was almost as if something sucked the air out of her lungs.
    She lived her life in London. She spent her day jumping on and off the tube, breathing in other people’s air. She was surrounded by high-rise buildings and streets that often never saw any sunlight. Continual fights over parking spaces, and eternally rising rents.
    She didn’t have a single friend in London that had a garden. Her own flat had a window box that she rarely filled with flowering shrubs—on the few occasions that she had she often forgot to water them.
    She couldn’t remember the last time she’d walked on grass. How long had it been since she’d gone to Hyde Park?
    ‘You want me to tell you a little of the history of the place?’
    She nodded. She knew absolutely nothing about Annick Castle.
    Callan sat back on the bench, resting his arm along the back as she settled next to him. His arm was brushing the top of her shoulders. It was as if a whole host of butterflies were flapping their wings against her skin. ‘The castle was built originally in the fifteen-hundreds.’ There was a gleam in his eyes. ‘There’s even a rumour that Mary Queen of Scots once stayed here. It was enlarged, rebuilt and the gardens planted in the seventeen-hundreds. The Earl of Annick’s family owned the estate for years. They were connected to the Kennedy family in Scotland who can trace their ancestry back to Robert the Bruce. In later years they had connections with some of the most powerful families in America.’
    ‘I had no idea. So how did the castle end up in the hands of Angus McLean?’
    ‘There were a number of properties like this all over Scotland. Some of them were poorly maintained because of the costs involved, others just weren’t lived in all year round. In 1945 a lot of them were handed over to the National Trust in Scotland. But this one had caught the eye of Angus’s father—he owned a pharmaceutical company and was about the only person who hadn’t gone bankrupt after the Second World War. He bought the place for a song.’
    Laurie let a hiss of air out through her lips. Maybe not this castle, but something had been here for five hundred years. It was amazing. All that history in one place.
    She could be sitting in the same place that Mary Queen of Scots had once stood.
    Callan had reached out his hand towards her and she took it without question, letting him pull her up from the bench. Warmth encapsulated her hand. There was a chilly breeze coming off the sea and part of her wished he would wrap her in his arms.
    ‘Come on,’ he said. ‘You wanted to see the grounds. Let’s go down to the swan pond.’
    She followed him along the gravel path, winding past the fountain and flower beds. Small things started to prick her mind. Some of the plants here were a little wilder, a little less trimmed. The bushes weren’t quite as shaped as the ones underneath the castle windows.
    ‘Who looks after the grounds, Callan?’
    He turned, his hand gesturing towards another set of steps. ‘Bert mostly. He has a few of the local boys who come and help him, but he generally scares them all off within a few months.’ He pointed back at the perfect green lawn. ‘Last year Angus persuaded him to let another company come in and cut the lawns and do the edging.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘You’ve no idea the fight that caused.’ There was a real affection in his voice.
    She walked down the steps that were sheltered by some thick foliage. When she reached the bottom she let out a little gasp. She turned to face Callan. ‘When you said swan pond I was thinking of