He would not fail.
Meg Mackinnon could make things difficult for him. Especially since she appeared to be close to one of the men he was targeting for information—Jamie Campbell, the Earl of Argyll’s cousin and right-hand man. If there was a plan to colonize Lewis, you could be sure Argyll was aware of it. The greedy bastard undoubtedly had a hand in it.
Befriending Jamie was a key part of Alex’s plan. Though admittedly Jamie was different from the lad he remembered. Harder. Not easily duped. Alex could see why Argyll had begun to rely on his young cousin to enforce his dubious policies in the Highlands. It was a shame, Alex thought. Though nearly eight years his senior, Alex had always liked the lad. But Alex’s interests had changed, and now he and young Campbell were at odds. Although he’d prefer it if Jamie didn’t realize that fact. Which brought him back to the Mackinnon lass.
Keep your identity hidden.His brother’s warning that he not let anyone know he had traveled to Skye was coming back to haunt him. Still, he could not regret coming to her aid, even if it had made his task more difficult. He would just have to convince her that she was mistaken as to his identity.
Now. Before she had the opportunity to voice her suspicions.
Alex allowed Jamie to lead him across the hall to where she stood with Jamie’s sister, Lizzie.
He could feel the Mackinnon lass’s eyes on him as they approached, studying him with an intensity that would have put an eagle to shame. Avoiding any signs of recognition, he checked her with his gaze, hoping to embarrass her. But she appeared completely unrepentant to have been caught blatantly staring.
Apparently, Meg Mackinnon was not the sort of woman to back down. But Alex wasn’t overly concerned. He could be persuasive. Very persuasive. He hardened his expression, keeping his mind focused on the task at hand—and not on her troubled little face.
The closer he drew, the more he sensed her wariness. He was used to his size eliciting a certain amount of consternation among the lasses, but he knew she had even more reason to fear him. She’d seen him in the heat of battle. He didn’t want to frighten her, but he realized that a certain amount of caution on her part would be beneficial to his goal. Perhaps if she were a little off balance, she would be less confident in her memory.
It wasn’t until he was standing right in front of her that he realized she was even smaller than he’d thought. The top of her head wouldn’t even reach his shoulders. Behind the stiff stomacher, farthingale, and voluminous skirts, she was a wee slip of a thing. So frail, she looked as if she might break. But he knew the frailty was deceptive. He’d seen her courage.
He could probably span her waist with his hands, and he had a sudden urge to prove it. He yearned to wrap his callused palms around the silky, soft skin of her waist and hips, lifting her over his hard…
He nearly groaned. Living like a monk had obviously addled him, making him lose focus. In his youth, he’d been insatiable. But like many of the things in his carefree youth, the regular bedding of lasses had given way to steely determination and undaunted purpose. So focused on his task, he’d didn’t have much time for anything else. Clearly, he’d been too long without a woman; the faint scent of roses that wafted from her hair was doing strange things to him.
Jamie began the formal introductions. After so many years of living in virtual squalor, most nights without a roof over his head, Alex found the pomp and ceremony of court maddening and the social niceties absurd. Court was about the last place a warrior wanted to be. But he had a job to do, so he would set aside his distaste. For the moment.
He could still feel the heat of her gaze on his face. She was trying, not very subtly, to get him to look at her. Clearly, she found his lack of response vexing. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her lips purse. She looked so charmingly befuddled, he fought a strange urge to laugh.
When it was her turn, and Alex was forced at last to acknowledge her, she looked him squarely in the eye and said, “We’ve met before.”
Forthright,he realized.
Indeed, her frankness took him momentarily aback. It was not a characteristic he typically associated with ladies at court or with one so young.
And there was no mistaking the undertone of challenge in her voice. Though he admired the direct attack, given that she had to lift her chin to prodigious heights just to look at him, he also found it somewhat amusing.
“I’m surprised you remember,” he said. “You were but a child the last time I enjoyed the hospitality of Dunakin.”
She frowned, and adorable little lines appeared between her furrowed brows. “But that’s not—”
He cut her off by addressing Lizzie. “It’s good to see you again, Lizzie.”
The poor girl blushed to her roots and murmured something unintelligible. Apparently, Elizabeth Campbell had not lost the extreme shyness that he remembered from when she was a girl.
Jamie must have noticed Meg’s confusion at Alex’s casual greeting, because he explained, “Alex and his brother were fostered with our cousin Argyll. My sister and I spent quite a bit of time at Inveraray Castle in our youth, as did Alex’s sister Flora.”
“And if I remember correctly,” Alex said to Lizzie, “you and Flora were always underfoot. Scampering around getting into some sort of mischief.” His mouth quirked at the memory of the pretty flaxen-haired child who’d traipsed after his willful wee hellion of a sister. It had been too long since he’d seen Flora, he realized. He wondered if she’d fulfilled her earlier promise of beauty. He hoped so. With a temper like hers, she’d need it. Lizzie was still pretty, in a quiet, understated fashion. Much like her friend.
“Flora?” Meg asked.
“My youngest sister.” At her look of surprise, he explained, “She lived with my stepmother, Janet Campbell, Argyll’s aunt, after our father died.”
“Then your sister is—”
“Argyll’s cousin also, yes,” he finished. It was hardly a connection he could forget.
Alex turned back to Elizabeth. “How long has it been, Lizzie?”
“O-o-ver fi-i-ifteen y-years,” Lizzie stammered, her cheeks flaming.
