Posh Doc, Society Wedding Read Online Free Page B

hospital. I remembered from last time we were here.’
    Izzy sat down to eat her toasted sandwich with Lorna and the children, chatting to them about life up at the castle. ‘Are you settling in all right?’ she asked.
    Molly nodded. ‘It’s kind of exciting. There’s loads of rooms and we can go in any of them.’
    ‘And there’s a winding staircase that goes up and up,’ Cameron said. ‘And there are lots of doors. I nearly got lost, and Uncle Ross had to come and find me. He said I was in the pantry, but it was big—like a room.’
    A few minutes later Izzy left them talking to Lorna while she went into the hall to phone Ross in private. It was a while before he answered.
    ‘Did I wake you?’ she asked.
    ‘No. I was some distance from the phone.’ His voice was deep, warm and soothing, and to hear him was a little like sipping at rich, melting chocolate. ‘I was checking the rooms to see where the children might be hiding. They’ve taken to disappearing of a morning, and usually I manage to find them in what used to be the servants’ quarters. They seem to like playing in the smallerrooms. I’ve never known such early birds. Where on earth do they get their energy from?’
    ‘The fountain of youth, I should imagine.’ She hesitated. ‘So I take it you’re still looking for them? Have you tried the kitchen?’
    ‘I’m heading there now.’ He made a soft intake of breath. ‘I should have taken time to dress properly—these stone floors are cold. I need to get some carpets in here…or install under-floor heating.’
    She imagined him padding barefoot over the floor, but her mind skittered away from delving any further into what he might be wearing—or not wearing, as the case may be. ‘You should try living in my cottage,’ she said, her tone dry. ‘We don’t have the luxury of central heating at the moment, since your estate manager hasn’t attended to our requests for repairs, whereas you at least have the comfort of a range cooker in your kitchen, if I remember correctly.’ She had ventured up to the castle in search of her errant cousin one day years ago, and the memory had stayed with her ever since.
    ‘You’re welcome to come and share it with me any time, Izzy. I think I told you that once before, but you were reluctant to take me up on the offer, as I recall. I guess you were worried about what your father might think if he found you there.’ She heard a door hinge creak. ‘Nope, they’re not in here.’
    ‘I expect you’ll find a note on the table,’ she murmured.
    He was silent for a moment, taking that in, before he said on a disbelieving note, ‘Are you telling me you know where they are?’
    ‘That’s about the size of it. Molly wanted to keep youinformed.’ There was a rustling of paper from the other end of the line. ‘Have you found it? What does it say?’
    He laughed throatily. ‘Well, you’re perfectly right—there are some weird hieroglyphics scrawled on a scrap of paper, if that counts. I’ll see if I can decipher it.’ There was a pause, and she could imagine his frown. ‘Here we go, it says, “U wudnt wayk up, so we is gon down the ill to get sum fink to eet. Luv, Molly nd Camron.” Brilliant.’ There was a smile in his voice. ‘I suppose that’s not bad for a five-year-old.’
    ‘There you are, you see. What could be clearer? The children were starving, and you were off in the land of nod, so they had to fend for themselves. Fortunately for them we were able to give them breakfast and make sure that they’re warm and looked after, but I daren’t think what might have happened if we hadn’t been here.’ She used a stern tone, but Ross was still chuckling over the note, and that served to make her crosser than ever.
    ‘I know what you’re saying,’ he said, amusement threading his voice, ‘and you’re right, it’s definitely not a good state of affairs…But you have to give them full marks for initiative, don’t you? I’ll come over