“You are no such thing.” Maude kept her arm wrapped with Prudence’s upon entering. “But we will get to that soon enough.” Although her expression was tainted by a pinched brow of concern, she managed another one of her infamous beaming smiles and gestured at the spacious great hall. “Welcome to my home. I cannot tell you how happy Blake and I are to have you here.”
A more welcoming and grand space than she’d anticipated, it smelled of freshly baked bread and faint wood smoke from the crackling fire.
“I am so grateful to you both for having me.” Prudence kept her tone cordial, sure to address the viscount correctly as they strolled through the hall to a sizable drawing room. “I look forward to meeting Lord MacLauchlin.”
“And he, you.”
Much to Prudence’s mortification, Maude actuallythankedthe servant who delivered a tray of refreshments, then even went so far as to offer said servant anhors d’oeuvrebefore he returned to the kitchens.
“Have you learned nothing, Maude?” she muttered sharply under her breath. “I understand you were lowborn, but you should know better by now, having married so well.”
She had married well, indeed, too, according to her tastefully decorated surroundings. The castle might be old, but its interior reflected a fine eye for décor, from the mammoth, exquisitely crafted tapestries to the heavy well-polished, ornate mahogany furniture.
“For shame, Prudence.” Maude’s countenance donned a seldom-seen seriousness. “The sister I once knew would have offered her servant a bit to eat as well. Would have shown kindness no matter her station.” Her eyes narrowed. “In fact, the sister I once knew would have done such if for no other reason than her own sister had been lowly born, so she would not see such looked down upon.”
Had she once thought like that? She supposed she had, in another life. In a reality prior to the one she had suffered for over a decade. She tried to reply that those days were long gone, but nothing came out. Instead, her throat went dry at an unanticipated surge of emotion. Feelings she was sure to squelch straight away.
As though she understood her internal struggle, Maude’s disappointment vanished in the blink of an eye, and she offered the sort of smile Prudence had forgotten she missed. One that said,all was forgiven for now. Nothing was too difficult to overcome.
“Here.” Maude handed her a glass of claret. “It has been a long day of traveling. Refresh yourself and come sit by the fire with me.”
“Or better yet,” came a booming voice with a brogue. “Come sit with us.”
Prudence could admit she was surprised by Viscount MacLauchlin when he strolled in, lifted the back of her hand before she offered it, and dropped a quick press of his lips before issuing a charming smile and gently letting go. Kissed was quite handsome She had expected a ruffian like Rothesay the Scoundrel, but instead, he was decently dressed and quite handsome with a thick crop of dark hair and pleasing facial features.
“She looks surprised by me,” Lord MacLauchlin said out of the corner of his mouth to Maude, telling Prudence two things. He intended she hear him, and perhaps he was not nearly as civilized as she had originally thought.
“Oh, she is surprised, my love,” Maude assured her husband, yet again shocking Prudence with her lack of formality. “But she will get used to all of us in no time.”
It was as if they were all some sort of rebel Scottish clan from the dark ages.
“I do hope so, as there are more of my ilk desperate to make her acquaintance again.” Viscount MacLauchlin was so uncouth, he winked at his wife. “Someone who did not believe me when I told him she would be our houseguest for a day, let alone longer.”
Our?As if his castle and all its belongings were every bit as much Maude’s. Had she ever heard a man speak that way to his wife? Given her that sort of equality?
“And who might that be, husband?” Maude said in a sing-song voice. A tone that meant she was up to no good and, once again, meddling where she should not.
“Someone Prudence met years ago and, by the sounds of it, loathed on the spot.” He chuckled and waved over who had just walked through the door. “Someone determined she rethinks the nickname she coined for him. One that became quite prominent in all the wrong circles.”
Prudence went weak in the knees at the sight of the tall, broad-shouldered man striding their way. He wore a daunting look of determination she by no means trusted. Wanted nowhere near her. Especially when his sinfully dark eyes locked on her, and her heart fluttered into her throat.
“Whatever do you mean?” she said, mortified her question came out as a weak squeak.
“You know exactly what Lord MacLauchlin means.” The Duke of Argyll stopped directly in front of her, a tad too close to be considered proper, and bowed ever-so-slightly. His steady, dangerous gaze never left her face. “According to the whole of London, you once named me Rothesay the Scoundrel.”
Chapter Two
Jacob had longedfor this moment for years. Hoped he would someday come face to face with the woman who had tried to ruin his good name. Who could have very well ruined his marriage, had his late wife not trusted him.
Much to his pleasure, it seemed Lady Barrington remembered him. So said the flash of alarm in her eyes and the flushing of her cheeks when she offered a crisp nod upon being introduced. Potential enemy or not, there was no denying her stark beauty. From her dainty, delicate features to her plush, kissable lips, she could win over any heart if she tried.
Yet trying to win over hearts was something he suspected she had long given up. And her plush lips? A whole lot less kissable when set in the grim line that greeted him despite how hard he imagined she worked at a cordial smile. Or so he assumed, based on the minuscule twitch of the corner of her mouth. But then, it was to be expected, considering he had just called her out on her bad behavior years ago. Made clear she had coined his unfortunate nickname, Rothesay the Scoundrel.
He could tell by the brief frustration in her almond-shaped sky-blue eyes that she was tempted to reiterate her assessment of him but held back for the sake of propriety.
More so for the sake of his new title.
After all, rumor had it Lady Barrington was, if nothing else, appreciative of those who were a cut above the rest, however flirtatious she might have thought them once upon a time.
