Free The Hellion and the Highlander by Lynsay Sands Page A

kind of darkness. The yawning darkness before her was so silent and still she could almost believe there was a whole pack of rats or some other nasty creatures in the tunnel ahead, holding their breath to see if she would enter.
    Feeling a shudder run down her back at the thought, Averill decided that was most unhelpful thinking and forced herself to move forward into the tunnel. She then turned right toward the room Kade was occupying. He happened to be in a room Averill had used as a playroom as a child. She had often made this journey and thought she knew the way by heart. However, as a child, she’d never done so without a candle, and now thought she must have been much smarter then.
    The floor in Averill’s room was covered with fresh-smelling rushes that were changed when necessary. The floor in the tunnel was not, and she grimaced at the gritty feel of the dirt and detritus that had gathered over time as it ground into her feet. It made her wish she’d taken the trouble to dress after all. At least then she would have thought to don shoes as well.
    Averill no sooner had the thought than she set her foot down on something that was neither stone nor dirt. It was soft under her heel and—with visions of dead rats in mind, or possibly even liveones—she squealed and scampered forward willy-nilly for several feet before realizing how foolish that was and forcing herself to a halt. Standing completely still, she waited for her heart to stop racing, her ears straining for any little scampering sounds that might tell her what she’d encountered. When nothing but the sound of her own breathing reached her ears, she bit her lip and tried to work out how far she might have run.
    Had she passed the entrance to Kade’s room? Surely she’d not gone that far? Damn! She had no idea where she was now.

Chapter Six
    “Did you hear that?”
    Kade raised his eyebrows at Will’s question. They had been sitting talking quietly in his room since coming above stairs after celebrating Lord Mortagne’s acceptance of his proposition to marry Averill. Will seemed pleased at the coming union, and Kade was feeling rather pleased himself. He liked the girl, he enjoyed talking to her, thought she was attractive, and—now that he knew she wasn’t the sweet, weak flower he’d thought—was happy to take her to wife. Any lass who had survived a childhood of cold baths to cool her temper should have no problem with a Scottish winter.
    “It sounded like…”
    “A squealing pig?” Kade suggested, his gazemoving to the wall where the sound had seemed to come from.
    “Aye,” Will muttered, and moved to the wall.
    Kade watched curiously as he stopped beside the mantel and counted several rocks over. He did something to a stone and eased the wall open a crack.
    “What—?” Kade began, but paused when the other man raised a hand for silence. He then got to his feet and moved toward the wall when Will paused to listen, a frown cresting his face. He was next to Will before he heard the voice coming from the crack in the wall. He listened briefly, stiffening when he recognized Averill’s voice. She appeared to be talking to someone. Kade had just deduced that she was muttering to herself about never finding his room, or her own for that matter and being lost in the walls forever when Will eased the wall closed.
    “What’re ye doin’? Averill is lost in there,” Kade muttered, pushing on the wall and frowning when it didn’t move.
    “I thought you would want me to leave first,” Will explained. “She obviously wishes to speak to you.”
    The Englishman turned back toward the wall and reached for the rock he’d touched earlier to open the door, and Kade quickly caught his arm. “Aye. Mayhap ye’d best leave. She may wish to talk about the weddin’ and may be embarrassed does she ken ye know o’ her creepin’ around in the night.”
    Will nodded, then gestured to the rock he’dfiddled with the first time he’d opened the door.