The Highlander's Yuletide Love by Alicia Quigley Read Free Book Online Page B

refuse
a woman as kind as Lady Glencairn appears to be.”
    “You will like
Glencairn as well; he is my father’s age, but he’s a hale fellow and, while he
can be intimidating, he is kindly at heart. His son, Kincraig, will be more
than pleased to discuss horses and pugilism with you. I’ve known him since he
was a boy, and he promises to be a fine man.”
    “And what of
Lady Sophia?”
    “She’s a
beautiful and charming woman, though, as with Douglas, I remember when she was
a mere slip of thing. It hardly seems possible that she has grown up. Harriet
has raised her well.” Francis’s eyes narrowed. “What is your interest in her?”
    “I have none,”
said Ranulf calmly. “I think I mentioned to you the other day that girls her
age hold little appeal for me. I was surprised to hear that she fancies herself
an artist.”
    “Yes, she can be
found painting every chance she gets,” said Francis. “Her father would like to
see her married, but she will have none of the London gentlemen. She has
convinced her parents to allow her to pursue her craft, at least for now.”
    “A fortunate
girl, to be able to follow her passion,” murmured Ranulf.
    “She’s not like
most of the flirtatious chits one encounters during the Season in London, you
know,” said Francis. “Perhaps you will grow as fond of her as Isobel and I are.”
    “Fond? I have no
intention of becoming fond of any young women. Not to mention that Lady Sophia
clearly regards me with distaste.”
    “Yes, I wondered
about that,” said Francis. “I don’t understand it. You’ve spoken to her only a
handful of times.”
    “Oh, young women
are inexplicable. It will do us no good to ponder the workings of her mind, as,
in the end, it will turn out that she does not care for the color of my coat or
that I remind her of her dancing master, whom she held in abhorrence.”
    A reluctant
laugh was wrung from Francis. “Sophy is not like that,” he protested.
    “Don’t be
ridiculous. They are all the same, even Lady Sophia.”
    “So I thought
once,” said Francis. “Then I met Isobel.”
    Ranulf smile at
him indulgently. “Your judgment is suspect my friend, as you deem yourself to
be in love. However, I will allow Lady Exencour to be a fabulous rebuke to my
statements. Lady Sophia, I think, is not.”
    “Someday Ranulf,
I’ll see you humbled by a woman,” said Francis.
    “Will you?”
asked his friend imperturbably. “Be sure to call my attention to it when it
happens.”
    When the
Exencours and Colonel Stirling were ushered into Lady Glencairn’s drawing room
a few days later, Isobel looked very fetching in shimmering sea green silk that
clung slightly to her figure. Its bodice sported an elegant passementerie made
of pale copper colored gauze, and four rows of the same fabric trimmed the hem.
The puff sleeves had lace insets, and her maid had wound copper ribbon through
her curls, along with two small, pale green plumes. The two gentlemen
accompanying her were no less elegant, if slightly more sober, in their black
evening clothes.
    Isobel greeted
Harriet with a hug. “Thank you for inviting us. I can think of no more
delightful way to spend the evening than with your family.”
    “Thank you, my
dear.” Harriet smiled upon Francis and Ranulf before turning to her husband. “Glencairn,
may I present Colonel Stirling?”
    Ranulf stepped
forward to shake the earl’s hand. “It is an honor to meet you, sir. My friend
Exencour has told me much about you. I understand you were with the Royal Scots
Greys in the Flanders campaign.”
    Glencairn, who
had been fixing Ranulf with a suspicious glare, unbent amazingly at these
words. “I was indeed. It was an honor to serve, though little enough came of
it.”
    “Never say so,”
said Ranulf. “It was an early salvo in the war we just concluded. I’m sure you
know the Greys acquitted themselves admirably at Waterloo.”
    Glencairn glowed
with pleasure. “Harumph. Yes, Sergeant Ewart captured