Free Tempted by the Highland Warrior by Michelle Willingham Page A

wife, creating a comfortable home for him and bearing
children.
    But everything had changed since she’d spent time with the
MacKinlochs. Despite the danger and the terrifying battle, she’d shattered the
glass of her protected life. Another woman lived inside her skin, someone with
courage. A woman who had seized her own escape from Cairnross.
    When her father had brought her to Duncraig, she’d expected to
resume her old life, like a familiar shadow. Instead, the past haunted her,
making her dream of a silent warrior who had torn apart her defences, awakening
her.
    And now he’d come back.
    She knew little of Callum MacKinloch, nor could she guess what
he thought of her. Yet the need to see him again overwhelmed her, filling her
mind with impossible thoughts.
    ‘We’ll hunt this morning,’ her father said. A warm smile
crinkled the edges of his eyes. ‘I want a little more time with my youngest
daughter before she leaves me as a wedded woman.’ He summoned a servant and
ordered their horses to be readied. ‘While I’m away, you are not to leave these
grounds. Is that understood?’
    You are not to think for yourself or make
any decisions that contradict mine , she thought bitterly. But she
gave the expected response, ‘Oui, mon père.’
    ‘You will also spend your time sewing or in prayer,’ he added.
‘Do not trouble yourself with the needs of the household. I have appointed Lady
Beatrice to oversee the servants and to guide you in my absence.’
    Marguerite suppressed a groan. Though outwardly kind, her
mother’s sister Beatrice had a thin air of superiority that didn’t sit well with
her. The next fortnight would, no doubt, be an exercise in patience.
    ‘Obey her, Marguerite,’ he insisted.
    In spite of her nineteen years, he still treated her as if she
were only seven years old. Marguerite veiled her frustration and rose from the
table, ignoring the rest of her food. At his enquiring look, she gave the
expected response, ‘If that is your will, Papa.’
    Approval settled into his expression and he dismissed her with
a hand. ‘Go now, and we’ll ride out together in an hour.’
    * * *
    She found her father waiting for her near the stables.
He sent her a welcoming smile while she mounted her horse. ‘The others are not
yet ready to join us on the hunt. If you’re willing, we’ll go out for a short
ride together.’
    It meant that he wanted to speak with her in private, she
guessed. With a nod, she followed him outside the gates.
    Within her bodice, she’d tucked the frail ribbon Callum had
given her last eve. Her skin tightened with the desire to see him again. Why had
he come back? Knowing that he was here had opened up the Pandora’s box of her
forbidden wishes. Marguerite stared at the trees around them, wondering if he
was nearby.
    The Duc led her along the perimeter of the forest, toward the
open fields. When she drew her mare alongside his, he suggested, ‘Shall we race?
I’ll grant you a small lead.’
    She suspected that he intended to let her win, as he’d done
when she was a young girl. Though she returned his smile, she guessed that he
had other news to impart that she would not like.
    ‘I don’t need an advantage,’ she countered, adjusting her
skirts. ‘I can win without it.’
    The challenge brought a smile to her father’s face. ‘What shall
we wager? A length of silk or a golden chain with a jewel to match your eyes?
Perhaps a fur-lined cloak to keep you warm in winter?’
    She shook her head. There was no need for luxuries, not when
he’d granted all of that in the past. ‘A favour to be granted at a time of my
choosing.’ With the reins in her hand, she added, ‘What do you want, if you
win?’
    His face softened. ‘A visit, from time to time. Your sisters
hardly ever come to see me any more.’ For a fleeting moment, she spied the
loneliness in his expression. He’d lost her mother years ago and had not
remarried, though she was not naïve enough to believe