The housekeeper caught the direction of his gaze and waved a dismissive hand. “Whist! Tis naught, that leak. Ye should see the one in the dining hall. It fair gushes when there’s a good rain.” The housekeeper moved forward to finger the linen on the bed. “Seems to me ’twas three months or so ago when last we changed this bed, so it can’t be too bad.”

Months? Devon raised his brow.

Before he could form a reply, she sighed. “It won’t do, for ye might catch yer death of the ague. I daresay the linens could do with an airing.”

To say the least. Devon struggled to control his impatience. “Are there no other bedchambers?”

“This is a large castle, make no mistake,” she said proudly. “There are ten guest chambers on this floor alone.”

“Good! Surely one of them is made up.”

“Och, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that. Indeed, ’tis a sad truth to admit, but as Her Ladyship prefers to stay in Edinburgh, we’ve no reason to upkeep every room.”

Devon had to clamp his mouth over a curse. “It’s late. I’m tired. There has to be one room, at least.” He took the lamp from the housekeeper and began walking down the hallway, throwing open doors and peering inside. “I’m not picky, I just want something dry and—” He paused inside a doorway. Unlike the other rooms, it didn’t smell musty.

Best of all, an especially large bed draped with thick blue velvet curtains and piled high with white lacy pillows filled the center of the room. While there was no fire, logs were already in place, ready to be lit. The air, too, was refreshingly clean and spicy, smelling of lavender and something else.

“Perfect,” he said. And it was.

The housekeeper appeared at his side. She took the lamp, grasped his arm, and firmly led him out of the room. “Perfect or no, ye canno’ stay here.”

Devon planted his heels in the doorway. “What’s wrong with this room?”

“Nothing but—”

“Are the linens clean?”

“I changed them meself just yesterday, but—”

“Any leaks in the floor, walls, or ceiling?”

“No, but—”

“I’ll take this one.” He reclaimed the lamp and held it over his head to better illuminate the room. “Yes, this will do nicely.”

“Yes, but the room is—” She bit her lip, faltering at his stubborn expression. “I suppose one night won’t hurt. I can always get another room ready on the morrow.”

“Of course you can,” he said, though he had no intention of giving up what he suspected was the only decent room in the entire castle.