Darkest Dreams by Jennifer St Giles Page A

basket for me, then turned back. “Will Miss Gemini or Mrs. Killdaren be joining you?”
    â€œNo.”
    Her brows lifted again before she stepped a little closer to me and studied my face. “Not to be intruding where I shouldn’t, lass, but is everything all right with you? I heard about the events in town yesterday. I can imagine ye’d be a mite upset over it.” Her warm eyes were just as inviting as the kitchen and almost tempted me to spill everything that I had locked up inside of me. But I also knew Mrs. Murphy would then feel compelled to tell Cassie, and the last thing my sister needed now was to shoulder my burdens.
    â€œI’m fine, but thank you for your concern. And when you see Cassie, tell her I’ve gone to see about the errand we spoke of, will you?”
    â€œI’ll be sure to.” Mrs. Murphy stepped back, and the maid handed me the warm package of wonderful smelling scones, but I was too nervous to eat. Smiling and waving my thanks, I hurried from the kitchen to make my way to the stables, a little unsure of what to do next.
    In Oxford, my family and I most often walked the short distance we needed to go, or if there was need of a carriage, we’d send a servant to hire one for the event. We hadn’t the funds or the space to afford horses. Since coming to Killdaren’s Castle, we’d always had the carriage brought to the house. I’d ridden a horse once or twice, but was nowhere near comfortable enough on horseback to attempt riding alone.
    The best I could do was go to the stables and make my need known. Stepping into the bright sun of the morning, I drank in the tangy scent of the sea and fresh scents of forest and flowers. Morning always dispelled the darkest dreams of the night, but it seemed to me here on the coast that was truer than anywhere else on earth. The salty air washed the day to a brighter shine, and the pulse of life beat in tandem to the constant music of the sea. A flock of pelicans swooped overhead, going out to find their morning meal amid the energetic blue waves.
    Edging along Killdaren’s rich gardens and the dark shadow of the maze, whose legacy I deliberately ignored any time I was alone, I hurried to the stables. Blinded by the sun, I stepped into the open door, unable to see, and ran right into Bridget. The words in her mind shouted at me, shocking me. Bloody, stubborn arse of a man! It’d serve him right if found myself another man. A vampire lover!
    Bridget was Miss Prudence and Miss Rebecca’s lady’s maid and my sister Cassie’s dear friend. She’d been an unfailing ally for my sister when Cassie had come to Killdaren’s Castle as a maid at the beginning of the summer. The turmoil in Bridget’s mind jolted mine. She warred between elation and despair, happy that she loved Stuart Frye and that her brother and her mother now lived at the castle since her mother had been declared consumption-free, and yet hurt and saddened over Stuart’s noble rejection of their love and the continued silence from her sister Flora. Flora had left in the spring for a new performing career in London and had yet to write.
    With both his mother and brother under arrest for Mary’s death, Stuart refused to allow Bridget to involve herself with him. Bridget also wondered if Stuart would be so quick to reject her if he found her naked in his bed.
    I immediately backed away before I could see more.
    She blinked. “Miss Andrie, forgive me. I didn’t see you.”
    â€œNor I you, Bridget. I’ve some errands to attend to. Who should I see about a carriage?”
    â€œThat would be me.” The deep voice came from just a few feet away. Stuart Frye stood with his back against a stall and his arms crossed tightly, as if in the midst of weathering a storm. I didn’t doubt that Bridget’s red-haired fury was a force to be reckoned with, but cut from the same cloth as Sean and Alexander,