Free Borrowed Dreams (Scottish Dream Trilogy) by May McGoldrick, Jan Coffey, Nicole Cody, Nikoo McGoldrick, James McGoldrick Page A

even had a good idea that she was somewhere nearby,
waiting for him to leave.    
    “Perhaps we can somehow reason with
the lady through the earl’s lawyer.”
    Hyde dismissed Platt’s comment with
a wave of his hand as a brilliant idea presented itself to him. “The doctor.
Find out for me the name of the doctor who is attending to Aytoun while he is
at Melbury Hall. I want you to arrange a meeting with him.”
     
    ****
     
    Violet wasn’t aware that her boots
were wet. She paid no mind to the quilted petticoats and the white apron, all
mud-stained and soaked through as well.She didn’t even realize that she
was shivering violently. As she fled along the path through the woods by the
Grove, though, tears continued to roll down her cheeks.  It was still dark when
she emerged from the woods, and she quickly moved up the knoll toward the back
of the house.  
    Vi had no complaints about Ned. He
had not forced her to go back to the inn. When the cold rain had begun, she’d
gone willingly, giggling like a little fool the whole way. Once there, he had
not rushed her, either. He had taken his time, teasing and kissing her and
saying such sweet things to her. And like a wanton hussy, she had cried out in
ecstasy as he had been doing all those wicked things to her.
    Once she’d left him and come out
into the night, though, shame had washed through her like icy rain. She became
more and more horrified as she ran home, thinking how she had simply spread her
legs. What made it worst of all, though, was that he’d had his way with her
without any definite commitment.
    As she neared the gardens, she
thought back over the things he’d said. He’d said he was her man. He’d said she
was his true love. He’d said…
    She stopped and leaned against the
garden wall, covering her face with her hands. He’d never said he would marry
her.
    “Oh, God,” she said in a moan. What
if she was with child now? 
    Her mother, long a widow, was no
whore. She had always been poor, but they’d always lived decently in St. Albans. And her grandmother had always been so proud of her. Years ago, her grandmum
had spoken almost boldly to Lady Wentworth about how Vi must be treated before
allowing her to serve as maid to the mistress.
    Vi stabbed away at her tears,
remembering how her grandmum always referred to her as her own innocent thing.
Where had that innocence gone? Before the squire had died, Violet had been
ready to kill herself rather than let him touch her. She recalled how she had
hidden in one of the slave huts in the Grove so he wouldn’t find her. She had
been terrified, but she had survived. She had kept her maidenhead. And now she had given it up like some slut.
    She had to talk to Ned. She had to
make sure he understood what kind of a girl she was. But perhaps ‘twas too
late? A sob caught in her throat.
    The house loomed in the dreary predawn light. Pushing away from the wall, Violet ran toward it. As she reached the open garden
gate, though, a tall, dark figure suddenly appeared in front of her, and she
ran straight into a man, who grabbed her arms to keep her from falling.
    She gasped and looked up at the
scarred face. “Moses!”
    The man’s hands dropped back to his
sides.
    “What are you doing out here at
this hour of the morning?” she asked gently. She knew that Moses served as a
watchman at night, but she had never returned this late and had not expected to
run into him.  
    “Vi hurt?”
    The gruff tone could not mask his
concern, making her feel doubly guilty. She shook her head at him. “No, Moses.
I’m not hurt.”
    “Why is Vi crying?”
    “’Tis nothing, Moses. I was just a
little sad. But I’m better now. Truly.” She touched his arm before going around
him and heading quickly up the hill. When she reached the door to the house,
she turned and looked back at Moses. Though she couldn’t see his face, he was
still standing where she’d left him, watching over her until she’d gone