Hannah Howell Read Online Free

be quite the lothario, she mused.
    His face fascinated her. Its lines were so cleanly drawn. A long straight nose cut its way between highboned cheeks to point to a nicely shaped mouth, the lips not too thin. Gently arched black brows topped his thickly lashed green eyes. He had a strong chin and a wide, intelligent forehead. His thick ebony hair was slowly easing free of its tidy queue. His looks perfectly suited the finery he wore, but she could see that he already found the clothes confining.
    There was no denying that his appearance alone was probably responsible for putting her wild idea in her head, that and her desperate need, but she knew that was not all of it. Although she did not know him, she had already seen evidence of several positive aspects of his character in their brief but tumultuous first meeting. Ballard MacGregor could be gallant, rushing to the rescue of a woman he did not know. He could also be violent, yet if Big Jim had not attacked him, he would have been willing to avoid a battle. He could be teasing, sarcastic, and, she thought with an inner smile, he could sulk when he did not get what he wanted.
    “Just how old are ye?” he asked abruptly.
    “Nineteen,” she replied with a little smile.
    “Ye certainly are a little bit of a thing, are nae ye?”
    “Perhaps you are just oversized.”
    He grinned. “I am a tall drink of water, but it doesnae change the fact that ye are a wee lass. That fellow I just met, has he been courting Miss Sarah for verra long?”
    “Well, he was engaged until this morning, but he could have been calling on her before he was free.”
    “What happened to the lass he was promised to?”
    “She got poor, Mr. MacGregor,” she replied, fighting to keep her lingering bitterness out of her voice.
    “That’s all?”
    “Yes. That is all.”
    “Maybe I should have bounced him around a wee bit like I was feeling inclined to do.”
    His obvious outrage gave Clover some hope, but she tried not to let it grow too big. A lot of people mouthed admirable principles but balked when the time came to act on them. People were often sincere when they spoke, but reality could wreak havoc with sincerity. Since her family’s troubles had begun she had seen that proven time and time again.
    At that moment Thomas and Sarah emerged from the Marsten house. Clover watched Ballard’s face harden and his eyes narrow as he watched the pair stroll by. She thought that Sarah and Thomas were being irritatingly audacious, even cruelly inconsiderate, to walk past their rejected lovers arm in arm. It was rather like rubbing salt in open wounds. The intensity of Ballard’s reaction troubled her a little.
    “Did you love her?” she asked with a soft abruptness, her own audacity making her blush.
    “I dinnae ken. Did ye love him?” He smiled in response to her look of surprise. “There was a hint of something in your voice when ye spoke of him thattold me ye were probably the one he had been promised to.”
    “I fear I was. I was jilted only this morning. He sent me a letter. I have not had time to get beyond being very angry.”
    “Aye, I reckon. I am a mite angry myself. I spent a fair bit of silver on these courting clothes.”
    “You look very fine in them.”
    “Thank ye, ma’am.” His lips twitched as he suppressed a smile.
    “You are quite welcome,” she replied with extraordinary politeness.
    He laughed softly, set down his now empty glass, and stood, his careful movements suggesting he was reluctant to leave. “I thank ye kindly for the lemonade, lass, but I really must be on my way.”
    Clover felt her heart clench with panic. Their meeting was ending far too soon. She had wanted gradually to present her proposition to him. It was her plan to ease slowly into the subject of a wife and matrimony, but he was not going to give her that luxury. She frantically tried to think of what to do next, but panic made her mind go blank.
    “Mr. MacGregor,” she cried when he started to