Seduced by a Highlander Read Online Free

just a little. She could tell by his clothes that he was not poor. Would he look down his nose at her because she was?
    “It must be difficult fer yer mother raisin’ all those sons with so few cattle to bring in any coin,” he said, proving that he was no more concerned with their stations than he was about kissing ladies in public.
    “My mother died giving birth to Tamas.”
    He stopped her as they came to a long stone bench at the gate wall. “Ye raised them all on yer own then?”
    “Patrick and I did. We still do. Tamas is only ten and one. There have been difficult times, but wonderful ones, as well.” She smiled at him when he offered her a seat before he gained his.
    “Have ye gone hungry?” The concern in his expression was quite endearing now that she knew “what he did best.”
    “Put away yer shining armor, knight. There is no need to offer up yer aid. Patrick has always made certain there is enough food on the table.”
    His charismatic grin returned and flashed across her gaze, convincing her once and for all that no woman in all of Scotland or England could likely resist him. “Armor is too cumbersome a suit to don. Besides, mine would be rather rusty.”
    “It can be polished.”
    She wasn’t prepared for the way his eyes went soft on her or for the sudden silence that followed. “That is true,” he said after a long moment that made her breath stall in her chest. “ ’Tis odd ye would speak of such things to me.”
    “No one else has, I presume.”
    They shared the same arcane smile between them before he answered. “My uncle used to speak of knights and their chivalrous deeds all the time. I have no’ been reminded of his tales in a verra long time.”
    “Ye know the story of Arthur Pendragon then?”
    “Of course. Would ye like me to tell it to ye?”
    She really shouldn’t. Alex and Cameron were probably already looking for her. “I would.”
    The few moments Isobel had intended to spend with her handsome stranger turned into hours, but it was only when the sun began its descent that she realized how long she had been gone. “I must go. My brothers are probably sick with worry.”
    “Meet with me tomorrow.” He grasped her hand as she rose from the bench and turned to go. “In the garden by the stone dial.”
    She shook her head, acutely aware of his fingers leaving hers as she backed away. “I shouldn’t. I do not even know what ye are called.”
    “Tristan,” he told her.
    She smiled playfully, feeling more lighthearted than she had in months… years. “I do not know the tale of that knight,” she called out as the distance between them grew. “But ye may call me Guenevere.”
    “Nae,” he laughed. “Iseult was Tristan’s lady.”
    Turning back toward the palace, Isobel’s smile widened. “Even better.”



Chapter Two

    T ristan watched her leave, enjoying the sway of her hips as she grew smaller in the distance. Who the hell was she? A Lowlander for certain. Briefly, he wondered which clan she belonged to. Despite the faded saffron of her gown and the fact that she had only one bull, she’d been invited to the coronation, so she couldn’t be a peasant. Whoever she was, he found her utterly delightful. He was certain he’d never seen eyes as green or as wide as hers when he appeared from behind the statue and startled her. She wasn’t as beautiful as some of the other women at court, but Tristan found the spray of freckles across her unpowdered nose and the blaze of her temper when she spoke about singing her enemy to hell quite beguiling.
    His first thought, as was usually the case when he discovered a lass who piqued his interest, was how to get her out of her clothes the quickest way possible. Normally, he never pondered a woman past that point. Most didn’t care what he was about. A few dashing smiles and well-placed compliments were enough to get him what he wanted. But this one challenged him with clever questions andreplies almost as quick as his