The Fearless Highlander (Highland Defender Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

a usurper? William and Mary could sail right back across the channel and stay there. Bring back King James VII, the true Stuart King of Scotland. Hugh didn’t need to be pardoned for any of his actions. He’d acted for right—supported his king as should have everyone else in all of Britain.
    “You’ve grown quiet.” Miss Hill handed him a cup of tea, the whiff of peppermint clearing his congested head.
    “Not much to say, really.” He shrugged and sipped.
    “Well then.” She stood. “I’ll put a bit more coal on the fire and I’d best be on my way.”
    Hugh’s fever hadn’t affected him so much he’d completely lost his wits. He eyed the fork and waited until Miss Hill reached for the tongs beside the hearth. With a sudden spike to his heartbeat, he slipped the fork off the tray and slid it beneath his thigh. “I do appreciate all you have done to help me. The tot of claret saw me through last eve. I’m certain of it.”
    Brushing off her hands, she turned and smiled. “’Tis good to hear.” Och, it wasn’t the lass’s fault she was on the wrong side of this miserable war.
    Hugh reclined against the pillows, doing his best to feign nonchalance. “I’ll wager they’ll send me back to the pit as soon as Doctor Munro returns.”
    She strolled toward him. “I could put in a good word with my father. Mayhap he’ll see fit to release you.”
    Right, put a noose around my neck is more likely .
    Hugh grasped her hand and met her gaze. “If only this were another time and place.” He bent his head and placed a gentle kiss atop her silken flesh. With an inhale, he closed his eyes and committed her intoxicating scent to memory. “Thank you for your kindness, Miss Hill.”
    Blushing red as an apple, Charlotte curtsied, picked up the tray and hastened out the door.
    Goodbye bonnie lass. I doubt our paths shall ever again cross .

Chapter Three
     
     
    Charlotte could scarcely breathe as she left the surgery. How on earth could a convicted prisoner—a Jacobite, no less—make the flesh on the back of her hand tingle? Goodness, it wasn’t only her hand that tingled from his brief peck. Her entire body felt like it was floating. Yes, she’d been kissed on the back of the hand numerous times, but never had such a gesture turned her knees into boneless mollusks.
    In that moment, her mouth had gone completely dry. Her lips had even puckered as if her betraying body actually wanted him to kiss her there. Heaven’s stars, it was a good thing Mr. MacLeod had recovered his health, else she’d not be able to visit the surgery again. As it was, she should stay away until Doctor Munro sent him back to the hold.
    Ascending the three steps to her father’s house, she paused and clutched her fist against her stomach. To think poor Mr. MacLeod would soon return to the vile pit—a mere hole carved into the damp ground. Why on earth King William hadn’t yet sent his approval to release the prisoners, she couldn’t fathom. Things had been relatively quiet in Scotland since Viscount Dundee had been killed. His troops had disbanded, and with her father leading the government forces in the northwest, law and order had resumed. She believed the king to be a reasonable man—he should know hanging the prisoners of Dunkeld would destroy the trust Papa had earned with the locals. But waiting bore a risk for the Highlander.
    I must argue for Mr. MacLeod’s release with Papa as soon as he returns. ’Tis the least I can do. If only he could resume his life, he might find the woman he’s been looking for and marry . Charlotte’s stomach squelched. For some reason the thought of the Highlander finding a wife did not sit well with her. Of course she wanted him to prosper. The back of her hand still tingled.
    She opened the door and headed up the squeaky stairs to her chamber. She really shouldn’t care who Mr. MacLeod married. After her father released the Highlander from Fort William, he would head north to his family in