Amanda Scott (54 page)
Authors: Highland Treasure
“It’s bad then, sir,” MacKellar said, adding with a frankness that Sir Renfrew would put up with only from one who had served him long and faithfully, “I feared it. The earl’s a proud man, they say. Still, he offered me hospitality, so I couldna be certain of his mind.”
“He’s a Highlander, MacKellar. He’d not deny ye hospitality, even if he were one that still acts as if the incident at Glencoe happened yesterday instead of nigh onto seventy-five years ago.”
“I’m kin wi’ the Campbells,” MacKellar said, “so I’d no blame him if he refused me. My family had naught tae do with it, mind, but it was a Campbell who began it by claiming hospitality and then betraying his hosts when he led the soldiers in to murder them in their beds.”
Grimacing, Sir Renfrew said, “Ye’re but one man, MacKellar, and if ye think that even an army could attack Mingary in the middle of the night without warning, ye paid little heed to the place.”
“Nay, then, it couldna. I saw no men-at-arms on the walls, but the castle sits on a promontory high above sea and forest, and his dogs would give warning, sure enough. I never saw the like o’ them, I can tell ye. As big as ponies, some are.”
“Aye, so I’m told.” Sir Renfrew stared at the missive in his hand. “We must do something to bring Kintyre to his senses, though. I ha’ made him a generous offer, and this reply offends me. I must show him it’s not wise to do that.”
“Will ye write him again, then?”
“Nay, I willna repeat myself, MacKellar. Did ye see Lady Bridget?”
“Aye, sir, I did, for she was in the courtyard with her maid when I arrived, and I’m thinking she’s as bonnie as ever they say she is.”
“Then I shall wed her.”
“Um…begging yer pardon, sir, but I did hear…” MacKellar fell silent.
“Speak up, man. What did ye hear?”
“Well, they do say that Lady Bridget has a temper, sir, that she is not kind.”
Sir Renfrew dismissed the criticism with an impatient gesture. “What about it? D’ye think I canna tame the lass and bend her to my will?”
MacKellar smiled. “Nay then, sir. The lass will learn what’s good for her soon enough.”
Sir Renfrew chuckled. “I wouldna mind if it takes a bit o’ time. I enjoy a challenge, MacKellar. I’ll most likely enjoy it more than the wee lassie will.”
His smile fading, MacKellar said, “Aye, sir, ye will that.”
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 1998 by Lynne Scott-Drennan
cover design by Mimi Bark
978-1-4804-0639-1
This edition published in 2013 by Open Road Integrated Media
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New York, NY 10014
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