Read Online Undressed (Undone by Love) by Kristina Cook - Free Book Online

below . Her own face, slightly distorted and dancing in the rippled water, looked back. The whisper of soft wool brushed against her forearm, and, keeping her gaze on the waters below, she watched as Mr. Rosemoor’s reflection joined her own. He towered above her, the sunlight illuminating his fair hair, turning it into molten gold. He stood so close that, in their reflection, she could not tell where her person ended and his began. His nearness unsettled her, even as it excited her. Her pulse quickened; her hand trembled perceptibly on the sun-warmed iron. She took a deep, steadying breath and forced her voice to assume a neutral, conversational tone. “I must confess, I’m finding the constraints of London a wee bit stifling,” she said, unable to tear her gaze away from the pool. “’Twould seem I’m not allowed to engage in the activities I most enjoy. Instead, I’m encouraged to take up things in which I have neither interest nor talent.”
    “Tell me, what would you be doing now, if you remained at home in Scotland?”
    She looked up, off toward the horizon. “Oh, so many things. Riding the fields with my steward. Keeping the ledgers. Visiting my tenants, perhaps, and making certain that no one was in want of any comfort. ‘Tis a beautiful summer day, so perhaps I’d ride out to the glen and bathe in the river.”
    “Not alone, I hope.”
    “With no siblings, I’ve grown accustomed to my solitude.”
    “But bathing in the river ? Alone?”  He shook his head. “Certainly not safe for a lady.”
    She turned to face him, surprised by such a statement . “Why ever not? I’m a strong swimmer. And there’s nothing more peaceful than lying on the stones by the river in the warm summer sun, listening to the chatter of birds while waiting for my gown to dry.”  Brenna sighed wistfully. How she longed to enjoy such an afternoon. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, imagining that the golden sunlight that warmed her face shone down from Glenbroch’s clear summer sky instead, that the breeze that stirred the hem of her gown and ruffled the trimmings on her bonnet had blown across the loch and through the glen, redolent with the honeyed scent of heather.
    In her mind’s eye, she could see a single, majestic golden eagle arc across the sky, its wings spread wide as it glided above the loch’s dark waters . Her favorite mare would be grazing nearby, tossing her head with a whinny and enjoying the day’s freedoms as much as her mistress. Brenna shivered, remembering the feel of a cool, damp shift clinging wetly to her body as the warm rays dried her skin. Ah, the simple pleasures of home . She’d taken such days for granted.
    At last she opened her eyes, only to find Mr. Rosemoor’s blue-gray gaze studying her intensely, an almost wicked smile dancing on his lips .  
    “You must satisfy my curiosity at once,” he said, his voice a low growl . “Tell me, the gown—is it drying on your person or off?”
    Brenna gasped, heat flooding her cheeks at once .
    “I must apologize,” he said, his voice returned to its usual timbre and inflection . “I’m afraid I couldn’t help myself, not with such a mental image as that.”
    “Ye must think me terribly coarse and vulgar for saying such things to a gentleman.”
    “Actually, I find you quite refreshing. And perhaps I’m not such a gentleman, besides.”
    “Aren’t ye, Mr. Rosemoor?”  She tilted her head to one side and eyed him quizzically, watching as he arched one brow . A muscle in his jaw tensed.      
    “The ton no longer believes I am.”  His tone was cool, clipped. “I hope you’ll pardon my candor, Lady Brenna. I don’t generally go about airing my misfortune to those I’m so newly acquainted with. Still, I feel I must warn you that my reputation has recently come into question. In fact, one might say I’ve entirely fallen from grace.”
    “Then ye haven’t yet straightened out the misunderstanding ye spoke of ? Something