The Snow White Bride Read Online Free PDF

innate skills had clearly withered in the past year. Indeed, his ability to beguile a woman had eroded to nothing at all. Never had he watched a woman turn her back upon him, never had he seen a woman dismiss his presence so readily.
    But this lady strode resolutely away, choosing a night in the snow over him and the pleasures of his hall.
    It was little consolation that she was the most intriguing woman that he had ever encountered. Not only was she lovely, but also her wits were quick, and she had already surprised him more than once.
    He wanted to know more of her, not have her walk away and disappear forever.
    Alexander shoved a hand through his hair. He might have seized her arm and forcibly halted her, but he recalled how she had cringed from his touch.
    So, he was loathsome as well. His charm was lacking, to be sure.
    “Have you no horse?” he called after her.
    She did not turn, as if she thought the answer evident.
    Nor did she slow her pace, much less halt. He might never have spoken.
    Alexander cursed that he was apparently so forgettable, then strode after her. He swung his cloak from his own back and dropped it over her shoulders. She was finely wrought and even her luxuriant cloak could not be sufficient against this night’s cold.
    She glanced up at this slight courtesy, the surprise in her expression telling him that she had not bed.
    Twice wed and poorly served both times, he would wager. His determination to show her that all men did not fit her experience redoubled.
    “You cannot walk away from Kinfairlie on Christmas Eve,” he said with false cheer. “As laird of this holding, I forbid it.”
    “You were the one who chose to put your obligations aside. If you are not laird this night, then you cannot command my doings.”
    Alexander smiled. “True enough. Then I argue on grounds of concern for your welfare. You will not find a hearth to welcome you on this night.”
    “On Christmas Eve? You have a low opinion of the charity of your fellows!”
    “They are all at my board, not home to answer your knock. It is but the truth of the situation.”
    She bit her lip to consider that. Then a shadow touched her features, as if she recalled some matter of urgency, and she quickened her pace. “All the same, I dare not linger.”
    “Am I so fearsome as that?” Alexander demanded. “I will ensure that no man plagues you in my hall.”
    Her sidelong glance was wry. “What of you?”
    “But I seek only a smile. It will cost you little to entertain my quest for a single night.”
    She hesitated before she replied, then spoke with care. “Surely your lady wife will take exception to you seeking such a favor from another woman.”
    “Surely not, as I have no lady wife.”
    “Whyever not?” Her tone revealed that she was not surprised. “You possess a holding, thus can wed. You are of an age to marry and clearly possess some increment of charm.”
    Alexander grinned at that, but when she did not share his delight, he shook his head. “The matter is not so simple as it might appear. I have three sisters yet to see married happily and much to learn yet about managing my estate. My uncle counseled that I wait to wed until I had ensured stability for Kinfairlie, though I fear that goal may not be readily won.”
    He granted her a glance, fearful that he bored her, but caught her watching him, assessment in her eyes. “But why do I burden you with such details? My worries are not yours.” He shook a playful finger at her and she abruptly returned her attention to the snow. “You are of little aid in my scheme to forget my obligations this night.”
    “Perhaps then you should let me depart.”
    “Ah, but there will be insufficient time to seek you out before the burden of my responsibilities returns in the morning,” he argued genially. “Indeed, it would be best for both of us if you returned to my hall for one night, the better that I might succeed in my quest, and you might be warm and safe. Can you