Free The Hellion and the Highlander by Lynsay Sands

murmured as she got carefully to her feet. “But I’ll not risk the discontent on his face when he realizes what a poor bargain he made.”
    “Hmm,” Bess muttered, then raised an eyebrow as Averill peered down at herself.
    “I am in my nightgown,” she said, surprised, though she supposed she shouldn’t be. After all, she had been in bed. She was just amazed that she hadn’t woken up for it.
    “Aye, you are, and I am not going to the trouble to dress you at this hour.” She pulled a fur from the bed and hung it over Averill’s shoulders. “There ye are, now go on.”
    “But ’tis not decent,” she protested.
    Bess shrugged. “What can they do if they catch the two of you together like this but order you to marry?”
    Averill narrowed her eyes on the woman. “You would like that, would you not?”
    “Aye, I would, and so should you,” Bess said firmly. “He’ll be a much better husband than any of theothers your father has dragged here to Mortagne.”
    Averill scowled at her briefly, acknowledging that it was true. Kade would make a much better husband than any of the rude, cruel men who had rejected her to date. He was kind, and sweet, and funny, and she enjoyed talking to him, and thought him handsome, and…She couldn’t bear to see the same disgust on his face as had been on the others. She had to talk to him, but Bess obviously would be of no help. Averill half suspected that if she did go to Kade’s room like this, the woman would go fetch her father and bring him to the room to ensure the marriage had to take place.
    “The morning is soon enough to talk to him,” she announced grimly, throwing off the fur and climbing back into bed. “I shall just have to be sure to wake early and speak to him before he and Father can sign the contracts.”
    Bess relaxed and nodded as she began to tug the linen and furs up around Averill. “A sound idea, and I shall wake you.”
    Averill snorted with disbelief at the claim but closed her eyes and forced herself to relax.
    “Good sleep, my lady,” Bess said quietly.
    “Good sleep,” Averill answered grimly, and listened to the rustle of the woman crossing to the chamber door. She heard it open, and close, then the patter of footfalls as the maid moved away up the hall. She waited another moment before opening her eyes.
    The room was dark and still. Bess had taken the candle with her, and it was summer, so there was no fire in the hearth. Unlike her old nursemaid, Averill did not care for a fire in the summer. ’Twas a damned shame, she thought now, for the light would have been helpful.
    Grimacing, she sat up and peered around the room, hoping her eyes would adjust. She had no intention of waiting until morning to speak to Kade. She didn’t trust Bess to wake her in the morning in time to stop the signing of contracts either.
    Her eyes weren’t adjusting any, Averill acknowledged with a small sigh, and forced herself to start moving. She knew her room well and should be able to find her chest and don a gown without light to aid her.
    Averill found the chest by stubbing her toe on it. Crying out, she grabbed for her foot and hopped twice on the other foot before crashing into the second chest and tumbling to the floor with a curse. She lay still for a moment, taking inventory, but once assured she’d done herself no permanent injury, crawled to her feet and felt around until her hand brushed against stone. It only took a moment for her to realize she’d found the edge of the fireplace. Averill set her hand flat on the rock at the top of the mantel, trailed her fingers over one block, then two, but paused at the third to feel around for the tiny indentation at the bottom. Sighing her relief when she found it, Averill pulled on it, the breath whooshing from her when the wall beforeher slid away, sending a gust of damp and dusty air puffing into her face.
    Wrinkling her nose at the smells of age, cobwebs, and mildew, she hesitated and peered into this new