Beguiled Read Online Free

sedentary future in Tain.”
    â€œNay.”
    â€œThen I’ll betroth you to Revas Macqueen.”
    Revas Macqueen was the richest and most devout bachelor in Scotland. Although not yet thirty, the Highland earl epitomized the old patriarchal chieftain.
    Lady Agnes huffed in mock laughter. “You’d sell me to him?”
    â€œI’ll give you away to the first man with the wherewithal to control you.”
    â€œDo,” she spat, “and you shall never see me again.”
    Anguish and determination made a battlefield of Lachlan MacKenzie’s expression.
    Guilt swamped Edward, for he was to blame for the enmity between the duke of Ross and his unconventional firstborn daughter.
    Edward leaned over her. “I order you to rest.” Watching her, he admonished the duke. “As her physician, I insist that you leave her alone for now. She’s not going anywhere.”
    â€œAs your better, I command you to hold your tongue.”
    â€œLeave off, Papa.”
    Edward had enough. “Stop! Both of you.”
    A change came over the duke of Ross. He squared his shoulders, tipped back his head, and stared down his regal nose at Edward. “You overstep yourself, Cathcart. Should you do it again, you’ll be very sorry.”
    Not since his first year at Oxford had anyone spoken so disrespectfully to Edward. His pride smarting, he gazed at the beautiful and brave Agnes MacKenzie.
    â€œDo not let my father bully you, Lord Edward.” Her friendly tone belied the tension in the room.
    Edward had ceased practicing medicine in noble circles for precisely these reasons. The poor appreciated his help; the ruling class disdained him for his efforts in treating the person—above and beyond the illness.
    â€œStand aside, Cathcart.”
    Agnes murmured, “My father thinks himself a king.”
    Her strength and determination drew Edward like iron to a magnet. “Then it follows that you are a princess.”
    â€œWithout a kingdom at the moment. Have you room in Glasgow for an exiled Highlander?”
    â€œI forbid it, Agnes MacKenzie!”
    Her smile grew radiant. “Please, Lord Edward?”
    His guilty conscience reigned. “Very well.”
    The duke turned livid. “You cannot live unchaperoned in his household. Think what it will do to your reputation.”
    â€œAuntie Loo and the earl’s honor are enough chaperon. Isn’t that true, Lord Edward?”
    Now that the danger had passed and his patient would recover, Edward had second thoughts.
    â€œI do so love Glasgow,” she said.
    â€œIf you step one slippered foot into that city, I’ll betroth you to Macqueen.”
    As if her father hadn’t uttered the dire ultimatum, she said, “Take me with you, Lord Edward.”
    â€œBut I cannot come between you and your father.”
    Lord Lachlan slapped the table. “Well said, Cathcart.”
    â€œYou can, and you must take me with you.”
    â€œWhy must I?”
    â€œBecause you owe me your life.”

2
    â€œP ISCINARIAN !”
    â€œWeasel brain!”
    â€œHannah! Christopher!” Lord Edward glared at his children. “Behave yourselves.”
    To hide a smile, Agnes used her free hand to pick up her teacup. She sat with the earl and his children at a corner table in the public room of the Dragoon Inn. Three days had passed since the attempt on his life, and this luncheon was the first outing he had allowed her. In further compliance with his instructions, she had fashioned a sling from cotton cloth to cradle her right arm against her breast. The wrapping eased the pain in her shoulder, and she could use her left hand as well as her right.
    â€œâ€Šâ€™Tis your fault,” Christopher grumbled.
    â€œâ€Šâ€™Tis yours,” Hannah argued.
    Until moments ago, the Napier children had behaved surprisingly well. Now they were restless and eager for dessert.
    Hannah wore a pink satin gown fashioned