Highland Moon #1 (BBW Scottish Werewolf / Shifter Romance) Read Online Free Page A
Author: Mac Flynn
castle. Another hall traveled straight in front of the stairs and into the west wing. The passage along the balcony faced the north.
Bean Lyel handed me the linen and turned to the stairs. "Follow me."
My stoic guide directed me up the stairs and to the west wing. I paused and glanced down the balcony to the north. Memories of the tales of the young laird came to mind, and I had the sinful desire to search the north wing to find what truths lay in the stories.
"Girl," Bean Lyel scolded me from ten yards down the western hall.
"Coming," I replied as I hurriedly followed.
I caught up to Bean Lyel, but she didn't press on. She stood against one of the walls, and her eyes flickered between the northern hall and me.
"You're not to go into the north wing without my husband or myself accompanying you. Do you understand?" she questioned me.
I lowered my eyes and bowed my head. "I do."
"Good. Now don't let me catch you wasting time again," she warned me.
"Yes, Bean Lyel," I replied.
Bean Lyel guided me down the passage into the depths of the large castle. There were large wooden doors on either side of us that led into the rooms. At the end of the hall was a large window that garnered a rear view of the castle and the hill on which it had been built.
The silence between us was deafening. Only the sounds of our footsteps on the smoothed stones subdued the unease inside me.
"Have you served the Campbell family long?" I asked Bean Lyel.
She stiffly shook her head. "Nay."
"Did you serve the late Lady Campbell?" I guessed.
Bean Lyel's face grew strained and the corners of her lips turned down. "No. I came after her death, and to serve another purpose."
We came to an open door on our right, and Bean Lyel turned to face me. She gestured to the room. It was a large chamber with a hearth and a tall four-post bed. Two windows stood tall and thin on the opposite wall from the entrance and on either side of the bed. They each had plain glass panes in them to keep out the worst of the cold of the moors. The small hearth with its crackling fire lay to the left.
"I'll be needing you to fix up the bed. Can you do that?" she questioned me.
"The covers need turned out and new sheets?" I wondered.
"Aye, and the air needs some cleaning, so dust all that you see and open the windows," she ordered me. "Can you do all that?"
"Aye. It's no worse than spring cleaning with Mother," I told her.
"Good. I will be back to inspect your work in a short while," Bean Lyel warned me.
She strode past me and I was left alone in that wing of the castle. I slipped into the room and readied the space for one of the laird's two guests. The space was dusty, but not ill-kept. The laird had a great many visits from his vassals that required a great deal of space and expense. I wondered that he didn't return the favor by visiting them, for I never heard of him leaving the castle these last ten years since the Lady Campbell passed on.
I shook the sheets and coughed as a storm of dust rose up. The bed, and now the room, was in dire need of an airing. I hurried over to the right window and threw it open. I had to give pause to the view.
The castle was built in fits and starts. The north wing was the oldest, and the west wing was the newest. The west wing jutted out of the rear of the castle and the window at which I stood faced the north wing and the mountain. Far beneath me lay a large terraced garden. A spring ran down the mountain and through the center of the stone pathways. The water sank beneath the castle and to the well accessed in the stables, and provided those of us within its walls a reliable source of fresh water. Benches were placed along the walks with their backs turned to the wide, tall beds of flowers. Though the autumn was full upon us the plants were still green and the flowers still held some faded colors to them.
The view was wonderful, but my eyes were kept on the north wing. I could see the line of windows along that wing, and I
Bean Lyel handed me the linen and turned to the stairs. "Follow me."
My stoic guide directed me up the stairs and to the west wing. I paused and glanced down the balcony to the north. Memories of the tales of the young laird came to mind, and I had the sinful desire to search the north wing to find what truths lay in the stories.
"Girl," Bean Lyel scolded me from ten yards down the western hall.
"Coming," I replied as I hurriedly followed.
I caught up to Bean Lyel, but she didn't press on. She stood against one of the walls, and her eyes flickered between the northern hall and me.
"You're not to go into the north wing without my husband or myself accompanying you. Do you understand?" she questioned me.
I lowered my eyes and bowed my head. "I do."
"Good. Now don't let me catch you wasting time again," she warned me.
"Yes, Bean Lyel," I replied.
Bean Lyel guided me down the passage into the depths of the large castle. There were large wooden doors on either side of us that led into the rooms. At the end of the hall was a large window that garnered a rear view of the castle and the hill on which it had been built.
The silence between us was deafening. Only the sounds of our footsteps on the smoothed stones subdued the unease inside me.
"Have you served the Campbell family long?" I asked Bean Lyel.
She stiffly shook her head. "Nay."
"Did you serve the late Lady Campbell?" I guessed.
Bean Lyel's face grew strained and the corners of her lips turned down. "No. I came after her death, and to serve another purpose."
We came to an open door on our right, and Bean Lyel turned to face me. She gestured to the room. It was a large chamber with a hearth and a tall four-post bed. Two windows stood tall and thin on the opposite wall from the entrance and on either side of the bed. They each had plain glass panes in them to keep out the worst of the cold of the moors. The small hearth with its crackling fire lay to the left.
"I'll be needing you to fix up the bed. Can you do that?" she questioned me.
"The covers need turned out and new sheets?" I wondered.
"Aye, and the air needs some cleaning, so dust all that you see and open the windows," she ordered me. "Can you do all that?"
"Aye. It's no worse than spring cleaning with Mother," I told her.
"Good. I will be back to inspect your work in a short while," Bean Lyel warned me.
She strode past me and I was left alone in that wing of the castle. I slipped into the room and readied the space for one of the laird's two guests. The space was dusty, but not ill-kept. The laird had a great many visits from his vassals that required a great deal of space and expense. I wondered that he didn't return the favor by visiting them, for I never heard of him leaving the castle these last ten years since the Lady Campbell passed on.
I shook the sheets and coughed as a storm of dust rose up. The bed, and now the room, was in dire need of an airing. I hurried over to the right window and threw it open. I had to give pause to the view.
The castle was built in fits and starts. The north wing was the oldest, and the west wing was the newest. The west wing jutted out of the rear of the castle and the window at which I stood faced the north wing and the mountain. Far beneath me lay a large terraced garden. A spring ran down the mountain and through the center of the stone pathways. The water sank beneath the castle and to the well accessed in the stables, and provided those of us within its walls a reliable source of fresh water. Benches were placed along the walks with their backs turned to the wide, tall beds of flowers. Though the autumn was full upon us the plants were still green and the flowers still held some faded colors to them.
The view was wonderful, but my eyes were kept on the north wing. I could see the line of windows along that wing, and I
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