Free Let Me Be Your Hero by Elaine Coffman Page B

done that ye would like to discuss?”
    Claire put her embroidery in her lap. “Aye, I havebeen troubled of late, Aunt Isobel, but not for the reason ye speak of. ’Tis a guilty conscience what eats at me.”
    “A guilty conscience? Och, how could ye have a guilty conscience when ye are a tenderhearted lass with a loving spirit? I canna believe you could be guilty of anything that would cause ye to harbor such feelings.”
    “Your kindness, understanding and gentle guidance has contributed much toward the easing of our suffering. It has caused me to regret my hastiness in judging ye, and I wish to offer ye my apologies for being too stubborn to accept ye from the very first.”
    “I knew it was yer grief what held ye back, and I willna have ye punishing yerself over it. Think no more upon it. I have forgotten it, and so should ye.”
    Lord Walter continued to spend his time going over the accounts in the library, or making trips to inspect the various holdings that her father had owned, for none of it was located on Inchmurrin, which was too small an island to provide much space for anything larger than a family garden, and certainly no large herds of cattle could graze there. He also found more time to spend with Kendrew, who by this point had grown quite fond of him. There were times when Lord Walter would leave for a week at a time, to inspect another Lennox property, and each time he did it was obvious to all how much Kendrew missed him.
    Claire was beginning to think she would never see Fraser again, when he wrote her that he was going to Edinburgh in three weeks time, with his brothers Calum and Tavish. He wrote of his longing to see her, and to feel the warmth of her sweet kisses. “I plan tocome to Inchmurrin for several days once we arrive in Edinburgh.”
    Anticipation was good for one thing, in Claire’s opinion, and that was to make time pass painfully slow. She did not know why she chose to do it, but she did not tell Isobel about Fraser’s plans to visit until a few days before he was due to arrive.
    “Fraser Graham is coming here for several days?” Isobel said. “I do not think that is a good idea, Claire. How will it look for a man to come to see ye specifically, and to reside in the same house as ye?”
    “We willna be alone,” Claire said, “and with three sisters and a brother like mine, I canna anticipate we will have any time alone.”
    “Why is he coming?”
    “The Grahams were friends of my father before he married our mother, and they continued to be. The last time they were here, we all became very close friends with Lord Monleigh, Fraser and Niall.”
    “Weel,” she said, “what is done is done, and we canna do anything aboot it now. However, in the future, do not be so lax in advising me of yer plans. There is a reason why a young woman yer age is placed under the guidance of an adult.”

Eight
    When a woman wants a man and lusts after him, the lover need not bother to conjure up opportunities, for she will find more in an hour than we men could think of in a century.
    Pierre de Bourdeilles, Abbé de Brantôme (c. 1530-1614), French courtier, soldier, author. The Lives of Gallant Ladies, “First Essay” (1659)
    H e knew Claire must have seen his boat as it approached the island, for she was waiting for him on the dock.
    When Fraser stepped off the boat, she came to him. “Welcome back to Inchmurrin, Fraser. We have missed ye sorely.”
    Fraser was speechless. She had matured, and was so breathtakingly beautiful that the words he had ready to say to her suddenly seemed inappropriate, and unworthy of such a woman.
    Her smile alone would put a thousand candles to shame, for it seemed to light up the world, or at leastthat small part of it that he was occupying at the moment.
    He could not believe his good fortune to have a woman such as Claire who loved him.
    “Ye came,” she said.
    “Aye, do ye think I would allow anything to stop me from seeing ye? Ye are more beautiful than