Dreamer (Highland Treasure Trilogy) Read Online Free PDF Page A
Author: May McGoldrick
intimate of touches? By lifting yourself to a lover’s caress...pardon me,
an assailant’s advances...and shivering at the touch of his lips against your
skin?”
By the Virgin, she had done that,
hadn’t she? She brought her cold, trembling hands to her cheeks to cool the
blazing skin. All she could do now was to whisper the truth. “I...I thought it
all a dream.”
She could have sworn a glint of humor
softened the hardness of his glare. But it was only for an instant. “For a
spinster, you certainly have interesting dreams. But tell me this...do you find
fulfillment in them, as well? Or are you simply another frustrated--”
“Don’t!” she snapped at him, though
more severely than she’d intended. But he was mocking her. In his roguish way,
he was trying to make her feel small, insignificant...a bit licentious, even.
Looking up and meeting his challenging glare, Catherine suddenly felt the urge
to strike back, to wash that arrogant hint of amusement off his face. “You are
taking great pleasure in insulting me, I see. But I know what lies behind your
boorish behavior.”
“Do you?”
“Aye. Though your male pride spurns
the truth, I believe you know who is responsible for everything that took place
here tonight.”
“I have no time for this
foolishness.”
“The truth is that you are
the cause of all this--though your arrogance denies it.”
“What do you mean by that?”
His eyes had once again turned
murderous, but Catherine was too riled to back down.
“You are a man on the threshold of
marriage--a man who obviously has had previous...previous knowledge of his
intended’s body. How is it possible that you did not know that the woman in
your bed was not Ellen Crawford?”
“‘Twas dark. A mistake I intend to
set right,” he growled. “But what has that to do with the wench crawling into
the bed of...”
“The connection is simple to see,
m’lord,” she interrupted. “To you, a woman clearly has no more value than a
mattress or a prize cow!”
“No more than a m...?” Athol stared
at her in disbelief, his words trailing off.
“Aye. And one woman is as good as
another, for all you care. So long as there is a willing body to bear your
weight, what does it matter who ‘tis?”
“You’re daft, woman!”
“Am I? Look at Ellen. It seems to
me she was quite aware of the man she was about to marry--a man indifferent to
her!”
“Indifferent? Does madness run
rampant in your family, mistress?”
“If it matters not a whit to you
whom you lie with, then what should hold her?”
“Even if what you say were
true--and I tell you ‘tis not...” Athol faltered. “Well, I’m a man, for one
thing, and she’s...”
“Aye?”
Even in the dim light of the room,
she could tell his face had turned pale. His brow appeared to be permanently creased
with a frown, and his eyes locked on her.
“Did Ellen tell you this?”
“Nay, m’lord,” she said quickly,
suddenly touched by the pain in his gray eyes. How Ellen could possibly have
preferred someone else’s bed over this man’s was certainly a mystery. “I
concluded all of this from my own observation. Though courtship and marriage is
not a subject I am well versed in, if you will recall from my mother’s
correspondence, my learning ...”
“Here in Scotland, we say a wee bit
of learning is a dangerous thing.”
“I know that you don’t believe
that. Nonetheless, if you will allow me to continue. With regard to your faults
when it comes to your relationship with Ellen.”
Catherine paused as he took a step
toward her. He looked about ready to throttle her. As she watched him, his face
gradually turned as deep a shade of red as his hair, and his voice was no more
than a menacing growl.
“I will be your husband, Mistress
Percy, and I command you never to speak again of this night nor of Ellen
either, for that matter! Is that understood?”
“I did not come to the Highlands for the purpose of marriage--to you or
an assailant’s advances...and shivering at the touch of his lips against your
skin?”
By the Virgin, she had done that,
hadn’t she? She brought her cold, trembling hands to her cheeks to cool the
blazing skin. All she could do now was to whisper the truth. “I...I thought it
all a dream.”
She could have sworn a glint of humor
softened the hardness of his glare. But it was only for an instant. “For a
spinster, you certainly have interesting dreams. But tell me this...do you find
fulfillment in them, as well? Or are you simply another frustrated--”
“Don’t!” she snapped at him, though
more severely than she’d intended. But he was mocking her. In his roguish way,
he was trying to make her feel small, insignificant...a bit licentious, even.
Looking up and meeting his challenging glare, Catherine suddenly felt the urge
to strike back, to wash that arrogant hint of amusement off his face. “You are
taking great pleasure in insulting me, I see. But I know what lies behind your
boorish behavior.”
“Do you?”
“Aye. Though your male pride spurns
the truth, I believe you know who is responsible for everything that took place
here tonight.”
“I have no time for this
foolishness.”
“The truth is that you are
the cause of all this--though your arrogance denies it.”
“What do you mean by that?”
His eyes had once again turned
murderous, but Catherine was too riled to back down.
“You are a man on the threshold of
marriage--a man who obviously has had previous...previous knowledge of his
intended’s body. How is it possible that you did not know that the woman in
your bed was not Ellen Crawford?”
“‘Twas dark. A mistake I intend to
set right,” he growled. “But what has that to do with the wench crawling into
the bed of...”
“The connection is simple to see,
m’lord,” she interrupted. “To you, a woman clearly has no more value than a
mattress or a prize cow!”
“No more than a m...?” Athol stared
at her in disbelief, his words trailing off.
“Aye. And one woman is as good as
another, for all you care. So long as there is a willing body to bear your
weight, what does it matter who ‘tis?”
“You’re daft, woman!”
“Am I? Look at Ellen. It seems to
me she was quite aware of the man she was about to marry--a man indifferent to
her!”
“Indifferent? Does madness run
rampant in your family, mistress?”
“If it matters not a whit to you
whom you lie with, then what should hold her?”
“Even if what you say were
true--and I tell you ‘tis not...” Athol faltered. “Well, I’m a man, for one
thing, and she’s...”
“Aye?”
Even in the dim light of the room,
she could tell his face had turned pale. His brow appeared to be permanently creased
with a frown, and his eyes locked on her.
“Did Ellen tell you this?”
“Nay, m’lord,” she said quickly,
suddenly touched by the pain in his gray eyes. How Ellen could possibly have
preferred someone else’s bed over this man’s was certainly a mystery. “I
concluded all of this from my own observation. Though courtship and marriage is
not a subject I am well versed in, if you will recall from my mother’s
correspondence, my learning ...”
“Here in Scotland, we say a wee bit
of learning is a dangerous thing.”
“I know that you don’t believe
that. Nonetheless, if you will allow me to continue. With regard to your faults
when it comes to your relationship with Ellen.”
Catherine paused as he took a step
toward her. He looked about ready to throttle her. As she watched him, his face
gradually turned as deep a shade of red as his hair, and his voice was no more
than a menacing growl.
“I will be your husband, Mistress
Percy, and I command you never to speak again of this night nor of Ellen
either, for that matter! Is that understood?”
“I did not come to the Highlands for the purpose of marriage--to you or