Highland Honor by Hannah Howell Read Free Book Online Page B

back a grin. Her short hair was a mass of wild curls, several tumbling alluringly onto her forehead. No man could look at her now and think that she was a boy, despite her clothing. He reached into his bag and pulled out a cap.
    â€œI think ye had best put this on,” he advised.
    Gisele frowned as she took the dull, brown cap made of a rough, homespun cloth. “It is not cold.”
    â€œNay, but I think that will now aid your disguise. Trust me, lass. Your hair now makes ye look verra much like a woman.”
    â€œOh.” She reached up to touch her damp hair, felt all the thick, wild curls, and grimaced as she tugged on the cap. “I should have recalled how it grows after it has been cut. I had to have it all shaved off once when I was but a child, because of a wretched fever I was suffering with, and it grew just like this. It was most unmanageable until it gained some length and weight. Then these foolish curls became waves. Mayhap I should cut it again.”
    â€œNay. Soon it willnae matter if all who see ye ken that ye are a lass. The cap isnae verra bonny, but it will do what is needed for now. Next I shall ask ye to allow me a wee moment or two of privacy.” He removed some clean clothing from his saddlepack.
    â€œOh. You wish to bathe?”
    â€œWe Scots do so from time to time.”
    â€œAnd from all I have heard of your land you should be well accustomed to cold water.”
    â€œAye, it can be colder in Scotland. The weather doesnae pamper us there as it does ye French. Now, I best be about my bath. Turn your back, lass,” he said, as he started to walk away. Then he looked over his shoulder at her before she had completely turned around. “Of course, if ye wish to take a wee peek, I willnae fault ye for it,” he added, and winked.
    Gisele decided not to grace that impertinence with a reply, and completely turned her back on him. Despite her best efforts, however, a small grin crossed her face. It quickly disappeared when she realized that she was tempted to look at him, strongly tempted. It was that which made her hesitate to take ‘a wee peek’. That could be all that was needed to dangerously enhance an already growing attraction. His face was certainly pleasing to her eye. She knew it could be perilous indeed to discover that his body was, as well.
    It could, however, be a good test of how deep and pervasive her fears were, she mused as she idly stroked her horse’s nose. Her husband had used his manhood like a weapon, hurting her and debasing her. Gisele knew that the cruel things he had done to her had made her afraid of a man’s embrace. If that fear could also be stirred by simply viewing a naked man, it could prove that she was far more deeply scarred than she had guessed. When she realized that she could not recall a time since her husband’s death that she had seen a man unclothed despite her rough travels, Gisele wondered if she had been purposely avoiding such a sight. The fact that she had not glimpsed even one in the time she had been with the army—not even Guy, despite sharing a tent with him—seemed to confirm that. She did not like the thought that DeVeau had made her that much a coward.
    Although a small voice told her that she was just making excuses so that she could look at a man who intrigued her, Gisele moved to stand in front of her horse. With her side toward Nigel instead of her back, it would be easier to steal a look or two and not be caught. Curiosity also drove her to take the risk, she decided, and grimaced, for it had always been a fault of hers. Gisele just wanted to know what she would feel if she caught a look of his partly or fully unclothed form.
    She moved so that her horse’s nose was between her and Nigel, praying that that would be enough to hide her indiscretion. A deep breath steadied her, and she raised her gaze toward the river. She had dawdled for so long in deciding that he was already