Highlander Unmasked by Monica Mccarty Read Free Book Online

impossible.
    There was only one thing the ladies at court liked to gossip about more than a handsome man, Meg realized: a handsome unmarried man. Add a hearty dose of rugged Highland masculinity, a touch of the forbidden, a dash of mystery, and the subject proved absolutely irresistible. As was evidenced by the not so minor sensation created by Alex’s arrival at Holyrood.
    Speculation was rife about the nature of his business at court. Not a few ladies Meg had spoken to hoped he was in search of a wife. She didn’t have the heart to disillusion them. They would find out soon enough.
    He was a mercenary. A sword for hire looking for a job. A man with no loyalties.
    Meg didn’t want to believe it.
    She almost wished he were an outlaw. At least then she could believe that he was a man of principle, fighting for something he believed in. That he’d chosen to use his considerable skills to barter to the highest bidder was some heavy tarnish on his shining armor, to say the least.
    What was it about Alex MacLeod that so intrigued her? That still intrigued her despite what she’d learned of his profession?
    More than once tonight, she’d caught herself unconsciously seeking him out. He wasn’t difficult to find. Head set high above the rest, a shock of golden brown hair glistened in the candlelight. His wide shoulders and dark clothing set him apart, as did the strength and power that radiated from him. He appeared remote, untouchable. An inscrutable expression fixed eternally on his handsome face.
    He didn’t belong here. He was a Highland warrior in the midst of Lowland courtiers. But it was the courtiers who suffered from the comparison. He was like a great tawny lion holding court among a sea of silk-clad parrots.
    Women flocked to him, but he seemed to show no particular favor toward any one. Including Meg. He hadn’t looked at her all night. It didn’t bother her. Truly. She could hardly expect to compete with the steady stream of beautiful women throwing themselves at his feet. Not that she wanted to, she assured herself.
    But she knew that for the lie it was when he tossed back his head and laughed at something his companion said. The smile on his face stopped her heart. She drank in the sight of amusement transcending the darkness that normally shaded his expression. There was the smile that she remembered from his visit to Dunakin long ago; she’d wondered where it had gone.
    Surely it was a sin to be that glorious? When her gaze shifted to see which lucky woman had brought a smile to his face, Meg was shocked to discover that he was talking to her mother.
    Turning back toward the night air, Meg shook her head, a wistful smile playing upon her lips. She didn’t know why she was surprised. Rosalind Mackinnon was exceptionally beautiful and charming, two qualities to which Meg could hardly lay claim. Meg’s features were perfectly acceptable, even pretty in the proper perspective, but downright bland compared with the vividness of her mother’s. Rarely did Meg pay much attention to her appearance; it simply wasn’t that important to her. Her mother had tried to get Meg more interested in clothes, hair, and other feminine accoutrements—repeatedly—but most of the time, Meg was too busy to bother. As for charm, well, her oft blunt tongue precluded any suggestion of that.
    Her lack of courtly accomplishments had never concerned her before. It was highly disconcerting to realize that they did so now.
    She barely had time to ponder the meaning of her strange melancholy before a familiar voice sounded in her ear.
    “Margaret, look who I’ve brought for you to meet. Our delightful neighbor from Skye.”
    Meg cast a cautious glance over her shoulder, only to see her beaming mother bearing down on her with a stone-faced Alex pulled along in her wake. That was quick, Meg thought with reluctant appreciation, even for her mother. Unfortunately for Meg, it was too late to hide.
    She didn’t miss the horrified look on