Betrayed Read Online Free PDF Page A

upon. Gowned in a concoction of saffron-colored velvet and her golden hair glistening like sunshine, she appeared a picture of feminine grace. In opposition to current fashion, her dress was laden with only modest panniers. Her waist was exceedingly trim, so much so the gown fit loosely. He’d stake his share of the next China silk run that she didn’t wear a corset.
    â€œDo not expect me to welcome you, and stop staring at me.”
    â€œWas I?”
    â€œYes. You gawk like a shepherd down from the hill in spring.”
    Michael chuckled, but inside he struggled for something intelligent to say.
    Cool disdain gave her a queenly air. “Do you find me entertaining?”
    He turned to give his right side a chance to thaw at the fire. “Not at all. I’ve a Brodie under my command. His Highland speech is not so refined as yours, but the flavor of it is the same. His mother’s brotherwas a shepherd. Brodie tells stories about his uncle’s less-than-decorous behavior after a winter spent in isolation.” Turning, he treated his left side to a delicious wave of heat. “So I have a basis for comparison of your remark, and I found it humorous.” Humor was actually the last trait he had expected to find in Sarah MacKenzie.
    â€œOh.”
    Michael nearly preened. “So, if I may respond to your observation, I stare at you because you are uncommonly lovely, and I have been in India for the better part of two decades. Comely Scotswomen are a rarity there.” That flattery should melt her reserve and put her on the path to yielding her considerable dowry.
    It ignited her temper. Skirts rustling softly, she marched up to him. “Take your pretty words and speak them at a shrine to Siva. I am not for sale.”
    Good Lord, this MacKenzie lass had a fire in her, and intelligence, too. How else would she know about Hindu goddesses? She’d have her man shirking his duty to find ways to ignite her passions. Never one to shy from a challenge, Michael eagerly moved closer to her flame. “I take it you told the countess as much.”
    â€œAnd more. Good day, sir. I’m sure your regiment misses your guidance.”
    â€œYou refer to the Complement.” Ah, yes. Now he knew where he’d seen those blue eyes. “You were standing beside that young street reiver who asked me if the king were dead.”
    She gripped his arm just above the elbow and moved to show him to the door. “Notch is not a thief; at least I don’t think he steals now. Either way, it’s none of your concern. The Complement, however, is,and I wish you well of it, although I’m deeply sorry you brought them here for nothing.”
    Her hand was surprisingly strong, and Michael planted his feet. He must stall for time, then get back to the business of convincing this woman to hand over her dowry and marry his brother—either one first. “Then this outspoken fellow named Notch did not rob you.”
    She sighed noisily and withdrew her hand, crossing her arms at her waist. “Of course he did not rob me. Will you please leave? Your brother deserves the disgrace he suffers, and I want nothing more to do with the Elliots.”
    A belief Michael tended to share, after the brief audience with his mother. But this occasion did not require truth from him. Sarah MacKenzie had made a contract. He would convince her to honor it. Then he’d get on with his new life as a civilian.
    If his mother and brother had blackened the family name, Michael would do what he could to rescue them, but he would not allow Sarah MacKenzie or anyone else to question his character. “How can you be certain that you want nothing to do with me when you don’t even know me?” A bit of verbal finesse might win his victory. “ ’Twould seem my mother was correct, though.”
    Anger simmered in her eyes. “The only thing the countess of Glenforth excels at is her high opinion