Love in the Highlands by Barbara Cartland

He was very good-looking and seemed only a little older than Lavina.
    "This is my son, Andrew," Sir Ian said. "Now, Andrew, here is your Cousin Edward, whom you haven't met since you were very young, and your Cousin Lavina whom you've never met at all."
    By this time the coachman had handed Lavina down, and the Marquis had followed. Now he was standing watching the commotion with an expression of faint amusement.
    The young man held out his hand.
    "Cousin Edward, Cousin Lavina, it's wonderful to meet you at last."
    Then the Earl suddenly remembered they had a guest with them and said,
    "I want you to meet our guest, the Marquis of Elswick, who has come with us to Scotland. He wants to see if it is as wonderful as we have told him."
    This remark was very well received. The McEwuans ushered them joyfully through the front door into the castle.
    "Welcome! Welcome!" Sir Ian said to them all. "I've been hoping for years that you would come and visit me. Now, almost as if you had dropped down from heaven, you have arrived."
    "We are very pleased to be here," the Earl replied. "As we left England unexpectedly we didn't have the time to warn you of our arrival."
    "We need no warning," Sir Ian said. "This is Scotland. The door is always open to friends and family."
    Sir Ian took them up the stairs to what Lavina thought must be the drawing-room where their hostess was waiting to receive them.
    She was a handsome woman in her early fifties, with red hair and a smiling face.
    "This is a great surprise," she said to the Earl, "but a delightful one. I'm having rooms prepared for you at once, and in the mean time, let us have sherry."
    Looking around, Lavina realised that the inside of the
    house was charming, and far more comfortable and pretty than she had expected. She had thought that because it was in the far north, that the house would be somewhat chilly and austere.
    Instead she found everywhere comfortably furnished with pictures which she was sure were very valuable. There were curtains and carpets which would have been acceptable in any drawing-room in Mayfair.
    "I do hope that you'll stay long enough for our friends to meet you," Lady McEwuan said.
    "We want to see as much of Scotland as we can," Lavina said.
    "But we have another reason for coming," the Earl added. "And that is, to announce the engagement of Lord Elswick to my daughter."
    Everyone expressed their delight. There were toasts and more toasts. The Marquis stood beside Lavina, receiving congratulations with an air of ease, but she wondered how this felt to him.
    Even after last night, when they had played music together and she had felt a sweet communication between them, she had no insight into his mind.
    He had withdrawn into himself again. Although his manner this morning was coolly friendly, the wonderful moment might never have been.
    Yet now he played his part to perfection, apparently the devoted fiancé. But when she looked into his eyes, she saw nothing there.

CHAPTER SIX
    Dressing for dinner that evening, Lavina took great care about her appearance. She wanted to make an excellent impression on her new relatives.
    It was only when she went downstairs that she discovered that there were other guests for dinner, who had been out fishing that day.
    "Cousin Lavina," said Andrew, "let me introduce my friend, Sir James McVein, whose estate runs next to this one."
    Sir James was six feet tall and had been, she learnt later, in the army until he came into his father's title. He had then retired to look after his very large estate.
    She found herself sitting next to him at dinner, and realised that he was definitely one of the best looking young men she had ever seen. Also one of the most amusing.
    He kept her laughing by telling her the things which had happened in the north since he had served in the army and the difficulties he had encountered since he became a land owner.
    "My father was Scottish and my mother was English," he told Lavina. "So when I have a