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As Meg drew the brush slowly through her hair, she allowed her mind to drift

The general, her father, would be wondering how she was faring She did not like the thought of leaving hiood health he had held firm the reins of Glen Dhui, and no one had dared to threaten theile in body and hland wolf in particular had been most insistent

It was not wise to deny powerful men, and such a man was the Duke of Abercauldy The Duke believed he would soon be adding Glen Dhui to his sizeable estate—he already ownedto his household, as his wife

But he had underestiaret Mackintosh was no ordinary woman She had never been one to be tied down by the beliefs and strictures of the society in which she lived, or by what the men of her acquaintance told her she should or shouldn’t do

Her father blamed himself for her stubbornness and her deterht her up to value her oorth and follow her own inclinations, and often bewailed his ignorance of the consequences of doing so No born and bred gentleround, he had land That wealth had bought hieneral in the Hanoverian forces in the late Rebellion He had wanted but oneto make his rise cohter, to entleman

Ever since she had coentlemen, most of them penniless and with an eye to her father’s fortune She was not the sort of woht with a wry sent, and she was not beautiful And perhaps worst of all, she valued honesty; she was no gullible fool when it came to the motives of men They did not want her, only what came with her, and she was not prepared to pretend otherwise

She had deter only—love

It was ironic that the general had caused the destruction of her vow His wits, once so sharp, had been dulled by illness He was vulnerable, and his weakness had led hi had learned of their agreened She was officially engaged to the Duke of Abercauldy She and her father had argued, bitterly, until Meg caht to protect her; because he loved her

So, Meg had accepted her fate

And then other matters had arisen, serious matters, that had shown her father his mistake was not just in his ht possibly involve Meg’s life…

“I’m an old fool,” he’d wept, head in his hands “What have I done to you, ?”

Meg had been frightened then, for hiht, and in the end the general’s solution had been si him back to Glen Dhui, and her father would do the rest

With a sigh, Meg climbed beneath the covers A servant had placed a hot brick wrapped in a thick cloth just where her feet cale of contentment as she warmed her toes The journey would be a success, she assured herself Gregor Grant would return with her to Glen Dhui and help her father stand firainst the duke All would be well She must believe that Because, frankly, the alternative didn’t bear consideration

Chapter 4

Gregor woke in the sharp predawn air For awhere he was, for this was certainly not the narrow, uncomfortable bed in his quarters at the barracks And then he tried to ht back his memory with a jolt