Czytaj książkę: «Wild Wicked Scot»

PROLOGUE

Norwood Park, England

1706

WHEN MISS LYNETTA BEAULY challenged Miss Margot Armstrong to name what she liked most about the young gentlemen who buzzed about them as bees to honey—taking for granted, of course, a fortune and suitable connections—Miss Armstrong could not name a single thing with any confidence.

Because she liked everything about them. She liked the tall ones, the short ones, the broad ones, the slender ones. She liked them in powdered wigs and with their hair in natural queues. She liked them on horseback and in carriages and strolling about the massive gardens at Norwood Park, where she happened to reside with her father and two brothers. She liked the way they looked at her and smiled at her, and how they laughed with their heads tilted back at all the amusing things she said. Which, apparently, she did with some frequency, as one or five of them seemed always to laugh and say, “How clever you are, Miss Armstrong!”

Margot liked young gentlemen so much that, on the occasion of Lynetta’s sixteenth birthday, she convinced her father to allow her to host a ball in her dear friend’s honor at Norwood Park.

“Lynetta Beauly?” her father had asked with a sigh of tedium, his gaze on a letter bearing news from London. “She is not yet out.”

“But she will be presented this Season,” Margot had hopefully reminded him.

“Why do her parents not provide her with a gathering?” her father had asked as he stuck the point of an ink quill beneath his wig to scratch an itch.

“Pappa, you know they haven’t the means.”

“You haven’t the means, either, Margot. I am the only person at Norwood Park who has the means to provide this young woman, for whom I have no particular regard, with a ball.” He’d shaken his head at the absurdity of it. “Why are you so keen for it?”

Margot had, apparently, blushed. Lynetta said that was one of her true faults—it was impossible to hide what Margot was thinking because her fair skin changed from cream to pink to red with only the slightest provocation.

“I see,” her father had said sagely, and had leaned back in his chair, resting his hands on his belly. “Some young gentleman has caught your eye. Is that it?”

Well...she would not belabor the point, but all of them had caught her eye. She’d fussed with a curl at her collarbone. “I wouldn’t go so far as to say that,” she’d muttered as she’d studied the pattern of brocade on a chair in her father’s study. “No one in particular, really.”

Her father had smirked. “Very well. Amuse yourself. Give this ball,” he’d said, and had waved her away.

* * *

A FEW WEEKS LATER, everyone within a fifty-mile radius of Norwood Park descended on the area, as it was well known in northern England that a Norwood Park ball was unparalleled in luxury and company with the exception of London’s Mayfair district.

Beneath five gilded wood and crystal chandeliers blazing with the light of dozens of beeswax candles, young ladies dressed in a dizzying array of colors spun around the ballroom floor to the lively tunes provided by the six musicians brought up from London. Their hair, masterpieces of wire and netting, was piled high and artfully in gravity-defying styles. Their dance partners, all handsome young men of privilege, were dressed in brocades and silks, their coats and waistcoats intricately embroidered. Their wigs were freshly powdered, and their shoes shined to such a sheen that they reflected the candlelight from above.

They drank embargoed French champagne, dined on caviar and slipped in behind potted ferns to steal a kiss.

Margot had donned a gown made especially for the occasion—a pale green silk mantua that Lynetta said complemented her green eyes and auburn hair. To her tower of hair, she’d added little songbirds carefully crafted from paper. She wore her late mother’s glittering diamond-and-pearl necklace at her throat.

Margot had commissioned a cake in honor of Lynetta’s birthday, a three-foot-tall edible structure that resembled Norwood Park, placed in the middle of the dining room to be admired by all. The iced parapets were topped with dancing marzipan figures. In one corner were the tiny figures of two girls, one with auburn hair, one with blond hair, that were meant to be Margot and Lynetta.

There were so many people in attendance that there was scarcely room for everyone to dance at once. Margot in particular had done very little dancing that night. Nevertheless, she’d kept her eye on Mr. William Fitzgerald in hopes that she might change her luck.

Oh, but Mr. Fitzgerald was quite dashing in his silver brocade and curled wig. Margot had admired him from afar for a full fortnight now and had rather thought, given his attentions to her, that the interest was mutual. But tonight, he’d stood up with every unmarried woman except her.

“You mustn’t take it to heart,” Lynetta had advised, her face still flushed from the exertion of having danced three sets. “It’s clearly one of two reasons—either he is saving the best dance of the night for you, or he can’t bear to ask because you’re such a terrible dancer.”

Margot gave her friend a withering look. “Thank you, Lynetta, for I cannot be reminded often enough of my wretched dancing.” According to Lynetta, that was Margot’s second most obvious fault—she had no natural tendency toward rhythm.

“Well?” Lynetta said with a shrug. “I mean only to offer an explanation for why he’s not shown you any true regard this evening.”

“Please, darling, you mustn’t exert yourself to help me understand his utter lack of interest in me.”

“Better it’s because of your dancing than something perhaps even worse,” Lynetta cheerfully pointed out.

“And what might that be?” Margot demanded, slightly affronted.

“I mean only that I’d rather be faulted for my dancing than for my inability to make engaging conversation,” Lynetta said sweetly. “You have always made engaging conversation.”

Margot was set to discuss that, but at that very moment, a wave of awareness rippled through the crowd. Both Margot and Lynetta glanced around them. Margot saw nothing obvious. “What is it?”

“I can’t see a thing,” Lynetta said as she and Margot craned their necks in the direction of the door.

“Someone’s come,” said a gentleman nearby. “Someone unexpected, from what I gather.”

Margot and Lynetta gasped at precisely the same moment, their eyes widening as they gaped at one another. There was only one person of import who was not in attendance tonight—the highly desirable Montclare, who had sent his deepest regrets that he could not attend, as he had been called away to London. Lord Montclare had all the requisite attributes that made him a desirable match: he had a fortune of ten thousand pounds a year; he would one day assume the title of Viscount Waverly; he had thick-lashed doe eyes and a winsome smile; and he was utterly without conceit. Rumor had it that Montclare had set his sights on a London heiress...but that did not keep Margot and Lynetta from hoping.

The girls, quite in tune with one another’s thinking, fled the ballroom for the balcony above the foyer to have a look at the unexpected guest, arriving so hastily that their gloves slid on the polished stone railing as they leaned over it.

It was not Montclare. “Oh, bother,” Lynetta muttered.

It was not even one of the many men who often came up to Norwood Park from London to conduct business with Margot’s father and brothers. Frankly, the men who had walked through the front doors and onto the marble tile of the foyer were unlike any men Margot had ever seen.

“Goodness,” Lynetta murmured beside her.

Goodness, indeed. There were five altogether, all of them tall and broad-shouldered and quite muscular, their natural hair tied in long queues. Except for the man in front of them all—his dark hair was a wild tangle of curls around his head, as if he hadn’t bothered at all to dress it. Their coats, splattered with mud, were long and split up the back for riding. Their breeches and waistcoats were not silk or brocade, but rough wool. They wore boots that were scuffed and worn at the heels.

“Who are they?” Lynetta whispered. “Are they Gypsies?”

“Highwaymen,” Margot murmured, and Lynetta giggled a bit too loudly.

At the sound of Lynetta’s laugh, the man in front instantly lifted his head, almost like a beast sniffing the wind. His eyes locked on Margot. Her breath caught; even from this distance she could see that his gaze was ice blue and piercing. He held her gaze as he methodically removed his riding gloves. She thought she ought to look away, but she couldn’t. A shiver slipped down her spine; she had the terrible thought that those eyes could see right into her soul.

Someone spoke, and the five men began to move forward. But just before the man in front disappeared under the balcony and from view completely, he looked up at Margot once more, his gaze frighteningly intelligent and potent.

Another shiver ran down her spine.

Once they were gone, Margot and Lynetta returned to the ballroom, jointly disappointed that the arrival of strangers had not brought Montclare into their midst, and quickly fixed their attentions elsewhere.

Lynetta danced, while Margot stood about, trying not to appear anxious. Was her dancing really as horrible as that? Apparently so—no one had asked her to stand up.

After what seemed like hours of waiting about, a bell was rung and the cake was served. A footman handed Margot a flute of champagne. She liked how it tickled her nose and sipped liberally as she and Lynetta stood together, waiting for Quint, the Norwood Park butler, to bring them a piece of the cake.

“Oh my!” Lynetta whispered frantically, nudging Margot with her shoulder.

“What?”

“It’s Fitzgerald.”

“Where?” Margot whispered just as frantically and dabbed at her upper lip to blot away any champagne.

“He’s coming this way!”

“Is he looking at me? Is it me he approaches?” Margot begged, but before Lynetta could answer, Mr. Fitzgerald had reached her side.

“Miss Armstrong,” he said, and bowed over his extended leg, his arm swirling out to the side. She’d noted lately that several young men just up from London bowed in that fashion. “Miss Beauly, may I offer felicitations on the occasion of your birthday?”

“Thank you,” Lynetta said. “Umm... I do beg your pardon, but I mean to, ah... I think I shall have some cake.” She awkwardly stepped away, leaving Margot and Fitzgerald standing together.

“Ah...” Good God, Margot’s heart was fluttering. “How do you find the ball?”

“Magnificent,” he said. “You are to be commended.”

“Not at all.” She could feel an absurd grin forming at the compliment. “Lynetta has helped me, of course.”

“Of course.” Mr. Fitzgerald shifted to stand beside her, and through the tight sleeve of her gown, Margot could feel her skin sizzling where his arm brushed hers. “Miss Armstrong, would you do me the honor of standing up with me for the next dance?”

Margot ignored the swell of panic that she might very well break one of his toes. “I would be delighted—”

“Miss Armstrong.”

“Pardon? What?” she asked dreamily as someone touched her elbow.

Mr. Fitzgerald smiled. “Your butler,” he said, nodding at someone over her shoulder.

Margot forced her gaze away from Mr. Fitzgerald and around to Quint. “Yes?” she asked impatiently.

“Your father asks that you join him in the family dining room.”

Margot blinked. Of all the rotten timing! “Now?” she asked, endeavoring to sound angelic but hissing a bit.

“Shall I hold your champagne until you return?” Mr. Fitzgerald asked.

Margot hoped she didn’t look as ridiculously pleased as she felt. But still, she didn’t trust any number of the young women who were presently circulating about them like sharks. “Umm...” She looked pleadingly at Quint. “Perhaps Pappa might wait?”

But as usual, Quint returned her look impassively. “He asks that you attend him at once.”

“Do go on,” said Mr. Fitzgerald with a warm smile. “We shall have that dance when you return.” He took the flute from her hand and politely bowed his head.

“You are too kind, Mr. Fitzgerald. I shan’t be but a moment.” Margot whirled about, and with a glare for poor old Quint, she picked up her skirts and sailed out.

When she entered the family dining room, the smell of horse and men assaulted her, and Margot had to swallow her aversion to it. She was surprised to see her father seated with the rough-looking men who had arrived at Norwood Park earlier. Her brother Bryce was there, too, watching the five men as one might observe animals in the wild. Four of the men were devouring their food, sounding a bit like a pack of animals who had not eaten in quite a long time.

“Ah, there she is, my daughter, Margot,” her father said, standing and holding out his hand to her.

She reluctantly walked forward and took it, curtsying to him. Up close, she noticed the man with the ice-blue eyes bore the dirt and grime of what she guessed was several days on the road. He wore a dark, unkempt beard, and she wondered idly if perhaps he’d lost his razor. His gaze presumptuously raked over her, from the top of her coiffed hair—the paper birds seemed to interest him—to her face and bodice and down the length of her body.

How rude. Margot narrowed her eyes on him, but her glower seemed to please him. His blue eyes sparked as he came slowly to his feet, towering almost a foot above her.

“Margot, may I introduce Chieftain Arran Mackenzie. Mackenzie, my only daughter, Miss Margot Armstrong.”

One corner of his mouth turned up. Did he not know that to stare so intently was impolite? Margot dipped another perfect curtsy and extended her hand. “How do you do, sir?”

“Verra well, Miss Armstrong.”

His voice had a deep, lilting brogue that was quite unexpected and tingled at the base of her skull.

“And how do you do?” he asked, taking her hand in his. It was huge, and his thumb felt calloused as he stroked it across her knuckles. Margot thought of Mr. Fitzgerald—with his long, slender and manicured fingers. Mr. Fitzgerald had the hands of an artist. This man had bear paws.

“I am well, thank you,” she said, and lightly pulled her hand away. She looked expectantly at her father. He seemed in no hurry to dismiss her now that he’d introduced her to these men. How long was she to remain here? She thought of Mr. Fitzgerald standing in the ballroom just now, with two flutes of French champagne in his hands. She could imagine any number of young ladies who were closing in around him, ready to cart him off like so many buzzards.

“Mackenzie is to receive a barony,” her father said. “He shall be Lord Mackenzie of Balhaire.”

Why on earth should she care about that? But Margot was ever the dutiful daughter and smiled at the man’s throat. “You must be pleased.”

The man tilted his head to one side to catch her eye before he responded. “Aye, that I am,” he said, and his gaze moved boldly to her mouth. “I verra much doubt you will understand just how pleased I am, Miss Armstrong.”

A strong shiver ran down Margot’s spine. Why did he look at her like that? He was so brazen, so unguarded! And her father, standing just there!

“Thank you, Margot,” her father said from somewhere near her—she wasn’t really sure where he was, as she couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away from this beast of a man just yet. “You may return to your friends.”

What was this? She felt like the prize county sheep, paraded in for viewing. Look at the fine wool on this one. It vexed her—there were times her father seemed to forget that she was not a bauble to be held up for admiration.

She stared steadily into those icy blue eyes and said, “It is a pleasure to have made your acquaintance.” It was not a pleasure at all—it was a nuisance—and she hoped the man could see it in her gaze. Well, if he couldn’t see it, his companions certainly could. They’d all stopped eating and were staring at her almost as if they’d never seen a woman before. Which, judging by their clothing and wretched table manners, was almost believable.

“Thank you, Miss Armstrong,” he said, that voice so deeply lilting that it felt like a feather stroking down her spine. “But the pleasure has been completely mine, aye?” He smiled.

Those words and that smile made Margot feel strangely warm and fluid. She hurried out, eager to be as far from those men as she could.

By the time she reached the ballroom, however, his name was forgotten, because Mr. Fitzgerald was dancing with Miss Remstock. Margot’s champagne was nowhere to be seen, and every other thought she had flew out of her head.

The next afternoon, her father informed her that he’d agreed to give her hand in marriage to that beast Mackenzie and then turned a deaf ear to her cries.