Ann Lethbridge - Falling for the Highland Rogue

He had neither wealth nor style. The only attributes she looked for in a man. The first thought in her mind had been charming rogue. The worst kind of man for a woman like her.

Was it the sheer male beauty of him, then, that had held her attention a fraction too long? The long, lean frame, the shoulders wide but not brutally so, the narrow waist tapering to hard, firm flanks in tight buckskins that had seen better days? While his form was lovely, she’d seen others equally fine.

She closed her eyes briefly to break the spell that seemed to see all the way through her with a blinding purity.

Unsettling thought. Horrifying when she inspected her own darkly stained soul. A dark, twisted creature from a gothic novel, drawn to his light like the proverbial moth to a flame and the inevitable burning of wings.

One more such singeing and she’d float away as ashes.

This is my third book about the Gilvrys of Dunross. In 1820 the visit of King George IV to Edinburgh was a momentous occasion. I have been able to give you only a small taste of the impact this event had on the city. He was the first monarch to visit Scotland since before Bonnie Prince Charlie made his unsuccessful attempt to regain the throne for the Stuarts.

King George—who was previously Prince Regent, as I am sure you know—was a great admirer of the Stuarts and enjoyed his visit and the enthusiastic welcome immensely. One local gentleman actually wrote a book detailing almost every minute of every day of the visit and I have tried to be faithful to his record. I only took deliberate artistic licence on one occasion: the description of the King’s pink tights. In truth, he wore this particular outfit to the Levee, but since only men were invited it did not fit well into my story of Logan and Charity. On the other hand it was just too deliciously funny to leave out altogether, so I reclothed him in his kilt for the Drawing Room, where he was introduced to the ladies. I hope you will forgive me.

I hope you enjoy Logan and Charity’s story. If you want to learn more about me or my books please visit me at http://www.annlethbridge.com

ANN LETHBRIDGEhas been reading Regency novels for as long as she can remember. She always imagined herself as Lizzie Bennet, or one of Georgette Heyer’s heroines, and would often recreate the stories in her head with different outcomes or scenes. When she sat down to write her own novel it was no wonder that she returned to her first love: the Regency.

Ann grew up roaming Britain with her military father. Her family lived in many towns and villages across the country, from the Outer Hebrides to Hampshire. She spent memorable family holidays in the West Country and in Dover, where her father was born. She now lives in Canada, with her husband, two beautiful daughters, and a Maltese terrier named Teaser, who spends his days on a chair beside the computer, making sure she doesn’t slack off.

Ann visits Britain every year, to undertake research and also to visit family members who are very understanding about her need to poke around old buildings and visit every antiquity within a hundred miles. If you would like to know more about Ann and her research, or to contact her, visit her website at www.annlethbridge.com. She loves to hear from readers.

Previous novels by this author:

THE RAKE’S INHERITED COURTESAN † † linked by character ** The Gilvrys of Dunross Did you know that some of these novels are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk

WICKED RAKE, DEFIANT MISTRESS

CAPTURED FOR THE CAPTAIN’S PLEASURE

THE GOVERNESS AND THE EARL

(part of Mills & Boon New Voices … anthology)

THE GAMEKEEPER’S LADY * * linked by character † linked by character ** The Gilvrys of Dunross Did you know that some of these novels are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk

MORE THAN A MISTRESS * * linked by character † linked by character ** The Gilvrys of Dunross Did you know that some of these novels are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk

LADY ROSABELLA’S RUSE † † linked by character ** The Gilvrys of Dunross Did you know that some of these novels are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk

THE LAIRD’S FORBIDDEN LADY

HAUNTED BY THE EARL’S TOUCH

HER HIGHLAND PROTECTOR ** ** The Gilvrys of Dunross Did you know that some of these novels are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk

And in Mills & Boon ®Historical Undone! eBooks:

THE RAKE’S INTIMATE ENCOUNTER

THE LAIRD AND THE WANTON WIDOW

ONE NIGHT AS A COURTESAN

UNMASKING LADY INNOCENT

DELICIOUSLY DEBAUCHED BY THE RAKE

A RAKE FOR CHRISTMAS

IN BED WITH THE HIGHLANDER

ONE NIGHT WITH THE HIGHLANDER ** ** The Gilvrys of Dunross Did you know that some of these novels are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk

And in Mills & Boon ®Historical eBooks:

PRINCESS CHARLOTTE’S CHOICE

(part of Royal Weddings Through the Ages anthology)

And in M&B:

LADY OF SHAME

(part of Castonbury Park Regency mini-series)

*linked by character

†linked by character

** The Gilvrys of Dunross

Did you know that some of these novels are also available as eBooks? Visit www.millsandboon.co.uk

Falling for the

Highland Rogue

Ann Lethbridge

www.millsandboon.co.uk

I would like to dedicate this book to my husband, who chauffeured me all around the Scottish Highlands to help make the settings for this and the other Gilvry stories come alive.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Epilogue

Chapter One

Edinburgh—August 1822

‘Ye’re late!’ the voice on the other side of the door grumbled to the sound of a grating metal bolt being withdrawn from its socket.

There’s gratitude, Logan thought, glancing back down the line of ponies filling the dank and dark alley behind him. ‘Aye, well, let us in quick, man, or your whisky’ll be filling the revenue man’s cellar come morning. Either that or McKenzie will have it off ye.’ Above him, the darkness in the narrow slit between the tenement buildings gave way to the grey of morning. At any moment they could be seen. ‘Hurry, man. McKenzie’s men are up and down the Royal Mile from Holyrood to the gates of the castle.’ He wouldn’t help the man out again in a hurry if this was his welcome.

Finally, the door swung back.

A hugely fat man, with a day’s growth of beard on his heavy jowls and a sagging belly covered in a stained white apron, peered out. ‘Good heavens. Is Gilvry so desperate for men he must needs take them from their mother’s teat?’

Logan ground his teeth. All right, so he was younger than most in the trade, but at twenty-two, he’d been at it for years and he was tired of people commenting on his youth. ‘You are Archie, right? Do you want the whisky or no?’

‘Aye, bring it in.’ The man stood back.

At a quick gesture, Logan’s men leapt into familiar action, pulling barrels from their racks on the ponies, passing them down the line with one or two of them running them down the cellar steps. The innkeeper, his eyes as shrewd as a stoat, counted each barrel as it passed. ‘Twenty?’ he said as the last of the wooden casks passed him. ‘Is that all you can spare me?’