A Laird to Hold by Angeline Fortin (free children's ebooks online .TXT) 📕

legitimate one though. His father had already wed Rhys’s mother and was with child herself before Laird had been born. His father’s legitimate heir, Patrick, was but a few months younger than he.

“Nay but I spent most of my life wi’in those walls.”

Rhys coughed, reminding him of who he was talking to, but Laird shrugged. His revelation spilled no secrets.

“Your mother worked there?”

Laird took the excuse. “Aye. Now ye ken why I dinnae need to go on a tour.”

Jack appeared intrigued. “No, but you could probably give us one. If you cared to come along.”

Laird turned down the offer with a firm shake of his head. “Nay, as I said, I will stand guard o’er my wife and children.”

“I still can’t believe you’re married to Scarlett Thomas,” Jack said with a broad grin. “I would love to know how you snuck it past everyone. Talk about clandestine!”

Laird took no offence at the lad’s forward manner. It was just his way. At once familiar and awestruck. Laird had become used to such behavior in Rhys’s new friend and in many others over the past weeks. His bonny wife captivated all. The arrogance she’d displayed when they’d first met was perhaps the only thing that made more sense since their arrival here.

“Ready to go?” Scarlett called as she came out of the attached bedchamber with Hermione chasing at her ankles.

Laird’s breath caught at the sight of his wife. She radiated serenity. And sensuality. Her long auburn hair hung down her back in loose curls. She wore a long sweater of heathered purple cashmere and boots that came up to her knees. His eyes lingered with appreciation on the expanse of thigh between the two, encased in indecently tight leggings. For all the years she’d been with him, Scarlett had continued to exercise daily in the yoga technique. Those deliciously toned legs of hers were any man’s dream. Even so, he’d never get used to seeing them displayed thusly.

“Laird?”

Reluctantly he lifted his gaze to hers. Her amber eyes danced with humor but a trace of banked desire burned there as well. She came to him, slipping her arms around his waist until her breasts pressed against his chest. As she snugged against him, the plump mounds shifted from side to side.

Och, the lass was purposefully rousing his lust!

“My poor Laird. Can you bear to wait a few more weeks?” She teased her tongue along the edge of his earlobe, making the answer all too clear. His roaring blood denied the idea vehemently.

“I’ve ne’er been a patient man,” he murmured close to her ear. “The days cannae pass quickly enough.” He longed to touch her, arouse until she was as randy as he, but they had an avid audience to stay his hand. “I’ve a mind to test out what ye said aboot the possibilities of showers before we leave this place.”

“Mmm, I can’t wait.” She nipped at his earlobe before stepping away, jumping with a squeal when he lightly smacked her luscious bottom on the way. “Enough, I want to get there before they run those blood tests this morning.”

“Aye then,” Laird answered, snatching his daughter up and tossing her into the air. She squealed with delight as she reached up and touched the ceiling.

“Again. Again,” she insisted the moment her feet touched the ground, and because it pleased him so to make her laugh, Laird did it again. His wee daughter was dressed much like her mother this day. Every day appearing more and more as Scarlett’s mini me. An absurd term but it suited his bonny lasses.

“We could take her with us today if you like,” Jack proposed unexpectedly. He glanced first at Scarlett then Laird before smiling up at Rhys. “We should, aye?”

Rhys looked surprised but delighted by the offer. He did enjoy his niece but Laird knew many men didn’t feel the same. “Ye wouldn’t mind?” Rhys pressed.

“Not at all,” Jack answered. “I’d be right chuffed. Besides, they’ve enough on their plate already and a hospital is no place for an active toddler.”

Scarlett laughed at that. “And neither is a castle tour. I overheard your plans. She’d be a handful. There or anywhere else you’re likely to go.”

“There’s a science museum called Dynamic Earth here in town I bet she’d enjoy,” Jack persisted. “I confess I’ve always wanted to go when I’m here on business but never had a young enough companion to validate the visit.”

“What is a science museum?”

Laird was grateful Rhys asked the question for him, for the combination of the two terms intrigued him.

Jack laughed again as if Rhys were a never-ending source of delight. “Have I told you how adorable it is when you ask questions like that?”

“A science museum has interactive exhibits about all sorts of scientific theories,” Scarlett explained. “You might really enjoy it. Maybe learn a thing or two.”

She phrased this lightly enough to sound teasing to their guest but Laird knew his wife well enough to know she was serious as well.

“They’ve got a movie at the IMAX called the Deep Time Machine,” Jack added.

“They’ve a time machine?” Laird cursed himself for voicing the question aloud.

Jack fell into another bout of hilarity. “You chaps are really quite amusing. It’s priceless. No, it’s 3D film on a large screen that immerses you into the experience. Supposed to be like watching the evolution of the earth from its birth to the separation of Pangaea through the ice age and all that. Could be interesting.”

Rhys and Laird both looked to Scarlett to gauge whether this made any sense to her. Her nod was discreet but her tenor when she spoke again were once again light. “I don’t think Hermione’s ready for IMAX yet. It may frighten and confuse her, but the rest could be a fun time. If you take her through