Chapter 5 #2
Madeleine was taken aback. Such words from an Englishman? If she did not know better, she might have considered his statement to be some sort of an apology. Yet smooth words only made her more suspicious of him.
“What troublemakers do ye mean, captain?” she asked tightly, a vision of her father flashing before her.
“Do ye refer to the brave clansmen who fought and died for the rightful heir to the throne of Great Britain, King James? Or perhaps ye mean the ones who’ve escaped the noose and yer filthy gaols, only to be hunted mercilessly in their own homeland by the lot of ye bloodthirsty cowards. ”
Garrett felt a quickening of anger, but quelled it. He knew she was baiting him. He would not give her the satisfaction of justifying her preconceptions about all English officers. He decided a half truth was better than none.
“I admire bravery in any man, friend or foe,” he said.
“I’ll not speak ill of those who fight for their beliefs.
The troublemakers are the thieves and brigands who now prey on the Englishmen and Scotsmen loyal to King George.
Whether they commit their crimes for profit or revenge, the outcome is the same.
It is the innocent people who will suffer and bear the blame if these brigands are not stopped. ”
Madeleine had to force herself to breathe steadily. His cryptic words fell together like pieces of a puzzle in her mind.
God’s wounds! This officer and his men had been sent to look for her! That had to be it. They must have been traveling to Farraline when she and her kinsmen raided their camp. Yet it was clear he didn’t suspect her, or she would have surely been arrested already.
“So what ye’re saying, Captain Marshall, is that some of these…troublemakers are in Strathherrick?” she asked innocently, belying her inner turmoil.
Garrett perceived he had given more information than he had intended. It seemed his hostess was very inquisitive.
“As I said, Mistress Fraser, we’ve been stationed here to keep the peace.
You and your people have nothing to fear from us.
” He quickly changed the subject. “Perhaps you might accompany me through the house,” he ventured.
“I’d like to show you that my men have taken great care not to damage your property.
” He paused, then added dryly, “Unlike the soldiers who have been here before us.”
“Aye, yer brothers in arms already did a fine job of it,” she muttered under her breath. She was frustrated that he hadn’t answered her question. Yet she sensed her intuition was correct. She would have to speak with Angus and Ewen at once, that very night, and warn them of this new danger.
Garrett held out his arm to her. “Shall we go, then, Mistress Maddie?”
Madeleine shot him a look of pure venom.
“Only my kinsmen call me by that name, Captain Marshall,” she said hotly.
“Ye may have taken over my house, but ye dinna have the right to consider yerself part of the family. Ye and yer men are unwelcome here, and not a day shall pass that I dinna tell ye so. Now, if ye’ll kindly step out of my way. ”
He did so, and she brushed past him into the narrow hall.
“And I dinna need yer invitation to survey my own home,” she flung over her shoulder. “I’ll see to yer men’s clever handiwork m’self!”
Garrett stared after her, surprised by the ungentlemanly direction of his thoughts and the quickening of his desire. God, but she was lovely!
He admired the provocative sway of her skirt—the lustrous fabric skimming her slender hips and the teasing hint of lace petticoat peeking from beneath the hem.
It pleased him that she wore no hoops, a ridiculous fashion which had obviously not made it to the Highlands.
Her simple gown stirred his imagination, conjuring a tantalizing vision of her hidden charms.
An amused grin lit his face. He had never been so intrigued by a woman before, and the devil knew he’d had his share. Everything about her fascinated him—the way she moved, the timbre of her voice, and her flashing blue eyes. Her every gesture and her every word bespoke passion and spirit.
She was so different from the passive beauties he had known in England, with their carefully schooled smiles, empty heads, and conniving mothers who were eager to wed their daughters to a fortune.
Even his memory of Celinda paled in comparison.
This woman spoke her mind, and with a vengeance. Damn, it was refreshing!
A curious thought struck him. Other than the obvious act of leaving her home, what would he have to do to bring a smile to the beauteous Mistress Fraser’s lips?
he wondered wryly. Could kindness, gallantry, gentle wooing, and a healthy dose of patience win her favor?
Perhaps his earlier plan when he had thought her a maidservant was not so far off the mark after all.
If he could gain her trust, even her slightest affection, she might be able to help him. As the mistress of Farraline, she probably knew a great deal of what went on in Strathherrick. Perhaps she even knew where to find Black Jack…
Garrett strode after her, eager to put his new plan into action. From what he had seen of her so far, he had no doubt Mistress Madeleine Fraser would fight him every step of the way. Yet the thought did not daunt him.
His Scots grandmother had told him once there was no woman more stubborn and headstrong than a Highland wench. Yet when her favor was won, however hard fought, there was never a woman more true.
Such a woman’s trust was more than worth the challenge…if it might lead him to Black Jack.