“That’s all right, Jamie,” Meg interrupted. “I don’t mind waiting.” Now that she’d found Jamie, she didn’t know exactly what she planned to say. She bit her lip. How exactly did one let a man know one was willing to accept a proposal that had yet to be made?
She felt Alex’s gaze upon her. His eyes were fixed on her mouth. They darkened, and suddenly self-conscious, Meg pressed her lips closed.
She stood beside the table in silence, trying—albeit unsuccessfully—to be inconspicuous in a room bereft of another feminine form. If she’d taken the time to look around before entering, she might not have been so hasty to barge in.
Rather than inadvertently catch any of the curious glances that flickered her way, Meg attempted to follow the play of cards. Although maw was the favorite card game of King James’s court, she preferred games of logic like chess. There was too much luck involved in cards.
It wasn’t simply being the only woman in the room that was bothering her. It was preciselywhowas in the room.
The men assembled were the elite of Scotland’s kingless government, those left in charge while the king wooed his new English subjects. Secretary Balmerino stood talking with Comptroller Scone and Lord Advocate Hamilton. The Marquess of Huntly, one of the “Great Lords,” was playing chess with the sole privy councillor from the Highlands, Kenneth Mackenzie. Several other privy councillors were dispersed throughout the room. The only men missing were Lord Chancellor Seton and the justice general—the Earl of Argyll—the other Great Lord.
These men were the rulers of Scotland—subject to the king’s directives, of course. Although Meg was aware that on occasion the king’s writ did not always run all the way to Scotland. Doubtless it was far easier to ignore the words of a king relegated to paper hundreds of miles away than it was to deny the king in person.
Overwhelmingly, with the notable exception of the two men before her and the Mackenzie chief, the men were Lowlanders. Jamie Campbell’s presence among the men could be explained by his close connection to his cousin Argyll, but what was Alex doing here? She would not have thought that the brother of a Highland chief would be sympathetic to the king’s Lowland leadership. And she knew enough of the clan feuds on Skye to realize that the MacLeods and the Mackenzies despised one another. Alex’s brother, the chief of MacLeod, had killed the Mackenzie’s father and older brother a few years back.
So why was a Highlander, and a mercenary to boot, socializing with his enemies?
Meg’s eyes widened at a disturbing thought. Unless they weren’t his enemies.
Alex was furious at Meg’s interruption. This was the closest he’d been to the king’s minions, the de facto rulers of Scotland, since he’d arrived. It had taken quite some maneuvering to insinuate himself among these men. But Meg Mackinnon had rendered all of his efforts for naught.
At every turn, she seemed to place an obstacle in his path. First, voicing her suspicions of his presence near Skye to Jamie, then taking his mind from his mission last night and embroiling him in a murderous plot overheard at a tavern, and now barging into a room in the midst of conversations he’d hoped to hear more of.
His lack of progress over the last week was frustrating. There was much to be gleaned from careful observation, but he’d hoped to catch at least a stray comment or two. But so far, he’d heard nothing of the Isle of Lewis or the Fife Adventurers.
Mayhap the silence said it all.
The king’s men were wary of him, and justifiably so. His task would require finesse. He did not want to over-play his part as the hired sword arm on the outs with his brother. But subtlety required time, a luxury he did not have. If he was going to discover any useful information, Alex knew he was going to have to take some risks.
He peered over the edge of his cards at Meg. She was doing her best to appear oblivious, but he could see by the slight flush on her cheeks and the brightness in her eyes that she was uncomfortable. Good. So was he. The lass had become a thorn in his side for more reasons than one. She drove him to distraction. Her mere presence toyed with his senses. Did she have to smell like damn roses all the time? And did she have to chew on her lip with that adorably pensive look on her face? He could almost hear her mind work. Worse, he found himself wondering what she would say next. He couldn’t concentrate on anything else when she was in the room.
The most innocent of movements or gestures seemed sensual and provocative when she made them. Captivated, he watched as she repeatedly attempted to tuck away a stray lock of hair that had loosened from its taut moorings, her dainty fingers drawing attention to the long ivory line of her neck and the tiny pink shell of her ear. He wanted to tear out the pins that bound her hair and bury his face against her neck and hair, inhaling the sweet fragrance that he knew would be intoxicatingly intense. He’d run his mouth along the smooth soft velvet of her neck, take her tiny ear between his teeth, and kiss her until she writhed in his arms. And he wouldn’t stop there. He felt the blood rush to his cock; he stiffened, imagining all that he’d like to do.
“Do I have a smudge on my face?” she asked.
Her question snapped him from his lust-filled trance, but the ache in his groin would not be so easily dismissed. He was hard as a damn rock. “No. Why?” His voice sounded rough, even to his own ears.
“You’re staring at me.”
Only Meg would be so innocently blunt. Alex nearly flushed like some besotted squire and not a man with enough experience, more than enough experience, to know better. What the hell was the matter with him? Holding his expression impassive, he carefully lifted one brow. “Am I? I didn’t realize. Nice of you to point it out.”
But Meg either missed or chose to ignore the sarcasm. “And you had quite a furious expression on your face,” she added primly. “You’re liable to scare people half out of their wits if you don’t temper those dark looks.”
“I’ll try to remember that,” Alex said dryly.
Jamie looked decidedly smug. Tossing him a fierce glare, Alex dared him to crack a smile.
Since she’d apparently ruined his chances of overhearing anything of import right now, he might as well do what he could to allay his other concern. Her safety.
Alex tossed another card on the table and glanced over at her. Briefly.
“Have you had word about whether they have captured any of the men who attacked you?”
She shook her head. “No. My father is certain they’ve left the area.” She beamed at Jamie. “Thanks to Jamie, his cousin sent his men to aid in the search. They’ve scoured every inch of Lochalsh, but to no avail.”
I’m sure they have,Alex thought. He knew from experience how thorough Argyll’s men could be. “Did you by chance recognize any of the men who attacked you?”
She appeared taken aback. “Should I have?”
