Free Kiwi Bride Series: Highland Kiss by Alexia Praks Page A

“All
right, lassie, ya watch ‘im though. ‘E’s a naughty one, that
terrier,” she said as she closed the door.
    Ruby heard the click and felt a tightness within her chest.
She tried to ignore the claustrophobia of being imprisoned by
picking Westies up and playing with him. Throughout the rest of the
day, the dog amused her; and the books of British history kept her
from becoming bored to death. From time-to-time, she kept a close
eye on the door, anxiously awaiting the return of her
captor.
    By evening, that bloody
captor of hers still hadn’t shown his goddamn handsome face. That
night, she still couldn’t sleep properly because of the blasted
storm. Luckily, this time, she had Westies sleeping beside her. His
warm, breathing, little body soothed her, alleviating her fear of
the noises outside. The windows worried her; and she feared any
moment they’d crack from the relentless, nasty, howling
wind.
    By lunchtime, she finished
two books, and now, as Westies lay asleep on her lap, she picked up
the third. She just read through the second page when she heard the
door being unlocked. She didn’t even look up as Mrs. McKenzie came
in.
    “ Enjoyin’ yer books?” the
woman asked.
    Ruby glanced up and
nodded.
    The housekeeper smiled. Master Alec was right. Books kept
her occupied and quiet, just as he predicted, and made her less
likely to stir up trouble. She wondered if Master Alec, himself,
knew that he was harboring deep feelings for the girl, what with
the way he treated her, so nice and gentle as that. She never saw
him treating his other lady guests so intimately tender before. He
was always very aloof since his divorce, and finding out about his
ex-wife’s affair with another man.
    “ Come, lassie, yer lunch
is gittin' cold,” Mrs. McKenzie said.
    “ Oh, yes, thank you,” Ruby
replied.
    “’ Ow was yer sleep last
night?”
    “ Horrible, that blasted
storm,” Ruby commented absentmindedly, looking out the window at
the aftermath. The grass was still wet, and some branches of the
trees were broken, which dangled awkwardly in the air like broken
arms, and the grey sky… her spirit dropped immediately.
    “ Aye, lassie, very common
up ‘ere. Was the window all right? Very noisy? The ones in this
room are most ‘orrible. Very thin an’ weak. Any moment, they could
break when the storms git that bad. This room faces the north,
where most of our storms come from.”
    Ruby snapped her head up.
“Very thin, did you say?”
    “ Aye, lassie, very thin.
These windows, it wouldn’t surprise me if they all break one o’
these days.”
    Ruby grinned, her eyes
gleaming as a plan sprouted in her head.
    “ Ah, ya haven’t changed
sheets fer a week now,” Mrs. McKenzie said, looking at the bed.
“I’ll bring in new sheets when I come back ta git the
trays.”
    Ruby nodded. Mrs. McKenzie
strolled to the door and said, “Tell me if ya need more books,” as
she looked at the stack piled on the round table beside Ruby. With
a nod, she closed the door, and locked it.
    Ruby glanced at the door
and then at the bed. A perfect plan was forming in her
head.
    She placed the sleeping
Westies on the seat beside her and strolled to the bed, pulling the
duvet away.
    Bed sheets!
    She smiled and knew what
to do. But first, she needed to eat. She didn’t want to run away on
an empty stomach now, did she?
    Sitting down, she began to
have her lunch. She ate slowly, savoring every taste in her mouth,
taking her time. Then, half an hour later, it was not Mrs. McKenzie
who came to get the empty tray, but Lizzie, who looked withdrawn
and not as friendly as before.
    Ruby noticed that and wondered why, but she didn’t have
time to ponder it. She made up her mind to run away and was sure
she would not see Lizzie again.
    “ Ya finished all yer food,
so ya musta been ‘ungry,” Lizzie commented.
    “ Yes, I was,” Ruby
replied, surprised she could understand Lizzie’s accent more
clearly. “Er, Lizzie, can you bring me new