Free The Highlander's Yuletide Love by Alicia Quigley

shuddered.
“You as earl,” she scoffed. “I’ve never been happier that Papa is so hale. I
shall live at the dower house, and paint, and entertain intelligent, worldly
people.”
    “It sounds damn
dull.” Douglas stretched his legs out in front of him. “You can busy yourself
with your intellectuals and I shall go fishing with Francis and Ranulf.”
    “I’m sure you
shall,” said Sophy with disdain.
    The door opened
and the beaming butler carried in the tea tray, placing it on the table in
front of them. Sophy reached eagerly for a cup.
    “I’m parched,”
she declared.
    Sophy was just
pouring a second cup of tea for herself and her brother when a stir in the hall
indicated that the Earl and Countess had arrived as well. In a few moments,
Harriet and Glencairn joined them, looking every bit as pleased to be home as
the children were.
    “How clever of
you to have tea ready,” Harriet said contentedly. “What a dear girl you are,
Sophy.” She sank down on the settee and took a sip from the cup Sophy offered
her. “It is good to be home. All we need now is to hear that the Exencours have
arrived and we shall have nothing more to wish for!”
    “Be patient, my
dear,” the earl advised. “They were not planning to depart London for a few
more days, but you can be sure you will hear from Lady Exencour immediately
upon their arrival.”
    “I’m looking
forward to seeing Francis again,” said Douglas. “We shall go fishing, while
Sophy looks down her nose at us.”
    Harriet looked
from him to his sister, mystified. “Whatever are you talking about?” she asked.
    “Douglas is
being silly,” said Sophy. “I’m sure it matters to me not at all what the lot of
you do. I shall paint, of course, and help Isobel at her excavations.”
    “I think we
should have a dinner party, perhaps with dancing afterwards, to celebrate our
return,” mused Harriet. “Wouldn’t that be lovely? The days are so long now, and
we could throw open the doors to the terrace. We shall invite several
neighboring families and their children, and of course the Exencours and
Colonel Stirling. I’m sure he must be an excellent dancer.”
    “No doubt,” said
Sophy tartly. “He excels in all things, as I recall.”

Chapter 9
    Several days
later, Sophy rose to the sound of raindrops beating on her windows, and the
tapping of branches against the roof and walls as the wind blew wildly. Knowing
she would not be able to go outside to paint, she made no effort to rise early
or hurry downstairs. When Sophy finally made her way to the breakfast room, she
found her brother and stepmother, almost done with their repast, sitting over
their cups of coffee and talking.
    “Aren’t you the
lazy one,” Douglas said derisively as she entered.
    Sophy eyed him
severely. “If you are so industrious, why aren’t you out on the Dargenwater
already? You can fish in the rain, but I cannot paint.”
    “Angling is
exactly what I plan to do today. But surely I’m allowed to eat breakfast first?”
    “Well, if you
aren’t even finished with breakfast, I fail to see why you should accuse me of
indolence. It’s not as though there is a trout you caught this morning sitting
on the table poached in cream.”
    “At least we can
eat the fruits of my labors!”
    “That will be
quite enough,” the countess broke in. “Let us have some civil conversation if
you please.”
    Sophy and
Douglas subsided, and there was silence for a few minutes as Sophy filled her
plate with bread and fruit.
    Harriet, having
worked through her little pile of letters and invitations, looked up. “I wonder
when we will see dear Isobel? She wrote me last week to say that she and Lord
Exencour were expecting to leave London very soon. I have been looking for a
message saying they arrived for the last two days!”
    “I will have
some company for my fishing, then,” said Douglas, delighted. “Do you suppose
Ranulf is an angler?”
    “I’m sure he is,”
Sophy replied