Read Online The Royal Scamp by Joan Smith - Free Book Online Page B

flat in London for the dull winter months. Perhaps some obliging relative might even find her a parti....
    Esther wrapped herself in last year’s pelisse and put on her oldest walking shoes for the short trip. Once she was off the beaten path, the tall grass hampered her walk. The barn was so overgrown with vines that only its roof was spotted between the trees, and thorn bushes had sprung up along the way. She’d have to cut a new path to the barn if she decided to turn it into a stable. Her hem was wet with dew by the time she finally reached the structure.
    It was a low, spreading building, stone at the bottom, with the top finished in lumber. Whatever paint might have once decorated it had long since worn away, leaving weathered wood that looked rather pretty peeping out behind the vines.
    She took a step through the broad opening into the dark, cool space. There was no wooden floor, just damp earth underfoot. The earth and the vines at the window openings gave her a feeling that she was not in a building at all but in some leafy glade. Sunlight filtering through the perishing roof completed the effect.
    But what was it that lent that feeling of eeriness? A definite shiver tingled up her spine. Some sixth sense told her she was not alone in the deserted building, and her heart pounded.
    As her eyes adjusted to the dimmer light, she looked to the far corners of the barn but didn’t advance farther into the building. What was that shadow? It moved, and her heart leapt to her throat.
    “Did I frighten you? I’m sorry, ma’am.”
    Esther swallowed her heart as a tall shadow detached itself from the far corner and advanced toward her. It quickly took on the form of a man.
    “What are you doing here, Mr. Meecham?”she demanded.
    He stepped into the light, smiling sheepishly at being caught. “Merely satisfying my curiosity,”he said. “When I learned Mr. Fletcher was touring the inn, I assumed it was with the intention of purchasing it. If it is for sale, I am interested as well.”
    “Who said Mr. Fletcher was touring the inn?”He gave her a laughing look that caused the light in his brown eyes to dance most attractively. “I am neither deaf nor blind, Miss Lowden. After a short ride I returned to the inn. I saw the two of you coming down from the attics and entering the kitchen. But please don’t be embarrassed at having conned me. Actually it was Fletcher who told the lie. You were only an accessory after the fact.”
    Esther felt a warm flush suffuse her cheeks. “It was a business tour. I didn’t know you had any business interest in my inn, or you would have been welcome to join us. I expect Mr. Fletcher wanted my total attention. Naturally he had a great many questions to ask.”
    “What sort of thing was he interested in?”
    “Everything,”she said comprehensively.
    “Secret passages, that sort of thing?”
    “That possibility always arises in these ancient houses."
    “And does the Lowden Arms have any such features?”
    “No, it hasn’t. If I’d realized there was such an interest, I would have had a few installed while I was renovating.”
    “It has plenty of space at any rate. This barn might be turned into a dance hall for guests at the inn.”
    “I hardly think so. Only servants dance in barns.”
    “Horn and hoof, Miss Lowden,”he said, wagging a shapely finger at her. “The farmer’s creed, but it ought to be followed by us all.”
    “But you’re not a farmer. Mr. Ramsay mentioned you were looking for a private house only.”
    “That’s true, but my being a gentleman farmer’s son makes me alive to farming possibilities.”
    “Where does your family farm?”
    “In Devonshire,”he said vaguely. “It will screw Fletcher up to a good price for the inn if he thinks he has some competition.”
    The truth of this was not slow in registering. Esther began walking around the barn. “I had thought I might rebuild this into a stable for myself,”she mentioned.
    “I hardly think