Read Online Trondelaine Castle by April Lynn Kihlstrom - Free Book Online Page A

cry. The two men glared
at each other silently until her wavering voice said,
“Please, Roger, it doesn’t matter what he thinks. Don’t
fight about it. I suppose it-it does seem strange to
him.”
    The tension eased perceptibly. “I don’t deny the
injury was real,” Richard said wearily. “But why were
you in the tower, Wendy?”
    Both men stared at her expectantly. Roger gave her a slight, encouraging smile. But she could only sit there
staring back. She would not tell the Earl about the
children.

    After several moments, Roger looked away and
Lord Richard sighed again. “Come, Roger, let’s go into
the garden for a game of chess.”
    The doctor rose with alacrity. “Thank you, Richard,
but I must be going. Cheers, Wendy!”
    She nodded, pained by the false note of gaiety in his
voice. Lord Richard walked him to the door and she
was left alone. With a sigh and a silent curse, Wendy
turned back to her work.

Shortly after breakfast next morning, Wendy
timidly proceeded to the library. Dinner, the evening
before, had been a strained affair and she half expected
to be ordered out of the library as soon as Lord
Richard saw her. But he was not yet at his desk and
Wendy decided to complete as much work as possible
before he arrived.
    On her desk there was a letter. It was from Kevin and
she opened it eagerly, suddenly aware of how much she
missed him. Had anyone been watching, they would
have seen her smile fade and change to a frown, then
finally, to obvious dismay. At last, biting her lower lip,
Wendy slowly set down the letter and closed her eyes.
    She could almost hear Kevin’s voice starting with
puzzled amusement, then changing to suspicion, then anger and back again. He would send up her valise, of
course, but he couldn’t understand why she must stay
there. He teased her about the possibility of her chasing
the Earl of Loftsbury. But the teasing had a note of
pettishness and suspicion. Then he asked why she had
said he was not to consider coming to visit on the
weekend. If the Earl was so agreeable as to invite her to
stay at the castle until she had recovered, why should he
object to Kevin’s presence for a few hours? Or did he
have designs on Wendy? Ha ha. That was absurd, of
course.

    Why absurd? Wendy wondered with irritation.
Perhaps Kevin would arrive incognito, with one of the
tours, to see her.
    Wendy could easily picture him doing so. And if he
did, she would not be able to conceal the true situation,
or her own dismay. And Kevin was the sort to cause
trouble with Lord Richard. She was still sitting, staring
gloomily at the letter, when a nearby footstep startled
her.
    “Anything wrong?” Lord Richard asked.
    He stood, dressed as usual, in casual slacks and
pullover, both clearly expensive. His hands were in his
pockets and there was the familiar mocking smile on
his face. Wendy deliberately did not look at him.
    “No, nothing is wrong,” she said lightly. “In fact, I’m
quite pleased. I just received a letter from Kevin. He’ll
have my things sent up on Friday with the tour. Poor
fellow, he’s quite concerned about me,” she added with
a false sigh. “People in love do worry, you know.”
    A look of exasperation crossed Lord Richard’s face,
but only for a moment. “Of course,” he said casually, as
he walked over to his own desk.
    Privately, however, he felt some satisfaction. He
knew Wendy had lied to him about the letter, but he was not sure why. He would catch her out yet! And
then, Miss Pratt, beware. With a secret smile, he
reached for the latest problem he had been sent. Wendy
forced herself to take up her work where she had left off
the day before. As usual, it proved good therapy and
she was soon lost in concentration.

    As on the previous day, Lord Richard left as soon as
Gwen entered with Wendy’s lunch tray. Gwen’s eyes
rested with curiosity on the manuscript Wendy was
translating. The other servants would be