The Laird Who Loved Me Read Online Free Page A

make ye a mite less stiff from all o’ the travel.”
    “Oh, yes, please.”
    “I’ll have one drawn fer ye. And I’ll see tha’ yer bags are unpacked and have a spot o’ tea brought up, as well.”
    Caitlyn’s stomach was already growling, and she knew from her time in London that it would be hours before dinner. “Thank you, Muiren. That sounds lovely.”
    The maid bobbed a curtsy and left, ordering one of the footmen to carry Caitlyn’s portmanteau and trunk up the stairs.
    The butler cleared his throat. “Miss Hurst, if you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to her grace. She and some of the guests just returned from a ride and are in the sitting room, discussing plans for their amusement tomorrow.”
    “Of course.”
    The butler took her to a set of wide double doors, threw them open, and announced in a monotone, “Your Grace, Miss Hurst has arrived.” With a bow, he stepped out of Caitlyn’s way.
    The room gleamed with glass and mirrors, fully three times as long as it was wide and decorated with furniture of the ancien-régime style. Down two walls, magnificent windows, framed by heavily swagged and tasseled bronze silk curtains, poured light into the room. The walls across from these were covered in intricate wallpaper with a delicate pink, brown,and white pattern, interspersed with floor-to-ceiling mirrors. Large, salmon pink settees flanked two of the three roaring fireplaces that warmed the room, while a deep-pile, fitted carpet of salmon, red, and brown covered the floor. Added to this luxury were three ormolu chandeliers, one as large as a settee.
    Caitlyn forced herself not to gape and focused on a small group clustered on two settees near the door. A striking red-haired woman measured her with a curious but cold gaze. She was dressed in a sapphire blue habit that made the most of her statuesque form, and her auburn hair was piled on her head, a rakish blue hat tossed to one side. Beside this magnificent creature sat a tall, handsome man with startlingly blue eyes, which traveled across Caitlyn in a bold manner. Across from them sat two ladies, one younger with brown hair and soft blue eyes, the other older with a sharp face and a significant nose.
    The lady with the red hair looked Caitlyn up and down. “Well, well,” she drawled in a low voice, as if speaking to herself. “I should have known.”
    Caitlyn, who’d been walking forward, paused. “I beg your pardon?”
    The woman’s expression closed and a tight smile touched her lips. “Miss Hurst, I am so glad you accepted my invitation.”
    So this is the duchess. She is lovely.
Caitlyn stopped at the foot of the couch and curtsied. “Your Grace, it was very kind of you to invite me.”
    The man at the duchess’s side had risen to his feet as Caitlyn approached. He bowed now, his eyes devouring her. “Georgiana, I believe introductions are due.”
    The duchess’s lips thinned, but she smiled. “Of course. Miss Hurst, this is Lord Dervishton. I must warn you that he is a very bad man.”
    “Georgiana, really!” Dervishton’s blue eyes gleamed with amusement as he took Caitlyn’s hand in his own and placed a warm kiss to her fingers. “Miss Hurst, it is a pleasure. Don’t listen to Georgiana. She’s just angry that I beat her while racing back to the house.”
    “You cheated,” the duchess said in her languid tone.
    Caitlyn removed her hand from the man’s grasp and dipped a brief curtsy. “Lord Dervishton, it’s a pleasure to meet you, as well.”
    The duchess flicked a hand toward the other two women, who’d both risen. “This is Viscountess Kinloss, a very dear friend of mine.”
    The sharp-faced women tittered. “Oh, Georgiana! The things you say!” She stood and ducked a too brief curtsy. As she did so, a small, thin dog darted from her skirts, a large, pink bow fastened to a tuff of hair between its large, pointy ears.
    “A dog! May I—” Caitlyn reached out a friendly hand but the dog growled and leaped at her,