The Laird (Captive Hearts) (44 page)

“My mother was a lady fallen on hard times. I am a poor relation who would make her own way rather than burden my cousins any further.”

“Kicked you out, did they?” Her ladyship’s tone suggested she did not approve of such cousins. “Or perhaps they realized that underneath all that red hair, you’re quite pretty. One hopes you aren’t delicate?”

“I enjoy excellent health, thank you, your ladyship.” Excellent physical health, anyway. “And I prefer to call my hair auburn.”

The baroness snorted at that gambit, then poured herself more tea.

“Eat up. When Sebastian gets back from his morning ride, he’ll go through that sideboard like a plague of locusts. If you prefer coffee, you’d best get your servings before he comes down in the morning. The man cannot abide tea in any form.”

“The plague of locusts has arrived.”

Milly’s head snapped around at the mocking baritone. She beheld…her opposite. Whereas she was female, short—
petite
, when the occasion was polite—red-haired, and brown-eyed, the plague before her was male, tall, green-eyed, and sable-haired. The divergence didn’t stop there.

This fellow displayed a casual elegance about his riding attire that suggested time on the Continent. His tailoring was exquisite, but his movement was also relaxed. The lace at his throat came within a whisker of being excessive, and the emerald winking from its snowy depths stayed barely on the acceptable side of ostentatious, for men seldom wore jewels during daylight hours, and certainly not for so mundane an undertaking as a hack in the park.

This biblical plague had…sartorial éclat.

Again, the opposite of Milly, who generally wore the plainest gowns she could get away with, and had never set foot outside London and the Home Counties.

“Miss Millicent Danforth, may I make known to you my scamp of a nephew, Sebastian, Baron St. Clair. St. Clair, Miss Danforth—my new companion. You are not to terrorize her before she and I have negotiated terms.”

“Of course not. I terrorize your staff only
after
you’ve obligated them to a contract.”

Milly did not regard this as humorous. Her ladyship, however, graced her nephew with a smile.

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About the Author

New
York
Times
and
USA
Today
bestselling author Grace Burrowes hit the bestseller lists with her debut,
The
Heir
, followed by
The
Soldier
,
Lady
Maggie’s Secret Scandal
, and
Lady
Eve’s Indiscretion.
All her Regency and Victorian romances have received extensive praise, including starred reviews from
Publishers
Weekly
and
Booklist
.
The
Heir
was a
Publishers
Weekly
Best Book of 2010,
Lady
Sophie’s Christmas Wish
won Best Historical Romance of the Year in 2011 from RT Reviewers’ Choice Awards.
Lady
Louisa’s Christmas Knight
was a
Library
Journal
Best Book of 2012, and
The
Bridegroom
Wore
Plaid
, the first in her trilogy of Scotland-set Victorian romances, was a
Publishers
Weekly
Best Book of 2012.
Darius
, the first in her groundbreaking Regency series The Lonely Lords, was named one of iBooks Store’s Best Romances of 2013, and
Once
Upon
a
Tartan
won Best Scotland-Set Historical Romance for 2013 from RT Reviewers’ Choice Awards.

Grace is a practicing family law attorney and lives in rural Maryland. She loves to hear from her readers and can be reached through her website at graceburrowes.com.

For the latest information about Grace Burrowes’s romances, sign up for her newsletter here: http://graceburrowes.com/newsletter.php

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Contents

Author’s Note

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Nineteen

Acknowledgments

Excerpts from The Captive and The Traitor

From The Captive

From The Traitor

About the Author

Back Cover