Read Online The Highlander's Yuletide Love by Alicia Quigley - Free Book Online Page B

it. It’s
a long trip from London, and we all wish it over.”
    A mile down the
road, Sophy and Douglas pulled up at the stone bridge, their horses breathing
hard.
    “I won!” Douglas
declared.
    “Not at all,”
Sophy disagreed. “If you were slightly ahead of me, it’s only because I had no
notion you were about to start. It was unfair.”
    “Weak stuff,
Sophy,” he said. “You must learn to acknowledge when you have been beaten.” He
grinned at the annoyed look on her face. “Oh, I wish we didn’t have to stop,”
he continued. “I’m so tired of traveling. I just want to be at Glencairn.”
    “As do we all. But
we can’t gallop through the village.”
    “Well, we could,”
her brother disagreed. “But I don’t care to think what our father would have to
say if we did.”
    They walked
their mounts sedately down the cobbled street of the village, and then trotted
away again when they reached the outskirts, not slowing until they reached the
road that led down a steep hill to Glencairn’s sheltered location on the
Dargenwater. The castle, clearly originating in the Middle Ages, but much added
onto in the centuries that had passed since its building, lay before them,
occupying a high spot above the river, and overlooking a wide and fertile
valley. The Earl’s colors fluttered from the tower, indicating that they were
expected. As the road flattened out, the pair picked up a trot again, and very
soon pulled up in front of the wide steps leading to the vast door. The butler
stepped out to greet them, as Kincraig dismounted and a groom ran to help Lady
Sophia down.
    The butler
beamed at them as they walked through the massive doors and into the hall. “Lord
Kincraig, Lady Sophia, it’s a pleasure to see the two of you. Glencairn is
always happiest when the earl is in residence.”
    “Mama and Papa
are just a few minutes behind, MacDonald,” Sophy said, her eyes bright with
exhilaration. “Kincraig and I couldn’t resist galloping the last mile or so to
the bridge.” She tossed her hat on the demi-lune table, and glanced into the
large looking glass as she carelessly pushed her curls into some semblance of
order. “I’m sure that we would all love a cup of tea when they arrive, MacDonald,”
she said. “Could you bring a tray to the drawing room?”
    “Certainly, Lady
Sophia,” he replied, as he led the way to the drawing room and opened the door
for the pair. With a bow he departed for the kitchen, and Sophy flung herself
into a silk-covered chair.
    “Oh, it is
delightful to sit on something that isn’t moving!”
    “We sat on
stationary chairs in every inn that we stopped at,” her brother disagreed.
    “It’s not the
same,” she replied, inarguably.
    He dropped into
a chair across from her. “I think you’re right, this is much better. It’s
because we’re home. I tell you, Sophy, as much fun as London is, I am always
happy to return here.”
    Sophy nodded
pensively. “Home is where the heart is,” she observed. “I know it is trite, but
all the things I love are here, after all. Mama and Papa, of course, and you
and I were both born here. Our mother died here as well, and all of our
ancestors back to the founding of the house. In the end, it’s hard to leave,
and easy to return to.”
    Douglas laughed
and tossed an embroidered cushion at her. “You are so solemn,” he teased. “Someday
you’ll leave here and go to your own home.”
    “I can’t imagine
loving another place as much as I love Glencairn,” she replied.
    “Well, you’ll
have to,” said Douglas frankly.
    “No, I won’t. You
know I don’t plan to marry.”
    He shrugged. “You’ll
change your mind. Women always do.”
    “I will not!”
    “You will!”
    The pair glared
at each other for a moment, and then Douglas grinned. “If you don’t marry,
you’ll have to put up with me as earl one day. I shall wed someday, of course,
and have a passel of children. You can help care for them, I suppose.”
    Sophy