hostage.”
Book Two
Seducing Robbie
Chapter 1
M oonlight slid along the walls and cobbled streets, giving the city a ghostly glow. A waist-high mist made the buildings appear like something out of a macabre fairy tale, as if Edinburgh floated on a supernatural cloud like a lost mythical kingdom. In the shadows, Julia Cameron shivered as she heard a creature scurry by, feeling something actually brush her skirts.
“A cat,” she told herself firmly, murmuring under her breath, stifling a surge of despair. She’d been waiting now for hours, and not only was it ill- advised for a woman to be out alone in the middle of the night even in a fashionable neighborhood such as this, but she was chilled and exhausted. Perhaps this had been a fool’s errand. . . . God knew the infamous McCray spent the night often enough in someone else’s bed, if all reports were accurate. He might not come home at all.
Was she really going to follow through with this rash, reckless plan?
Yes, you are . She squared her shoulders resolutely.
Then, as if on cue, the sound of a horse approached, just as she was actually contemplating giving up. Within moments, a silhouette loomed above her, the tall rider and sleek black stallion emerging from the mist. The stables were behind the house, and he headed that way, coming within a few feet of where she stood in the shrouded alcove of an angled wall. Julia waited, knowing the man had spotted her when he started in surprise and gave a sudden low curse, his skittish horse dancing sideways in reaction, rearing up like an ancient statue.
As she stepped out into the moonlight, she cleared her throat, staring upward. “Robert McCray?”
“Whoa, Solomon.” Hooves clattered to the cobbles. Patting the neck of his animal to soothe it, the man astride said harshly, “Blood and thunder, what the devil are you trying to do, lass? Scare me out of my wits?”
It is him , Julia thought, standing so close she could reach out and touch the muscled shoulders of the restive stallion. Even in the uncertain light, she could see the man’s legendary masculine good looks, the stories not exaggerated. Tousled dark hair brushed his wide shoulders, and his long, lean body looked powerful and athletic. Eyes as dark as midnight stared down at her with a startling vitality. Even though it had been years and she was little more than a young girl the last time she saw him, he was not a man one could forget.
She said with remarkable composure, considering her nervousness, “It was not my intention to startle you, but I need to speak with you. It’s . . . urgent.”
“So urgent you lurk in the dark like some brigand?” McCray retorted, holding the reins in one long-fingered hand, staring down at her. “Have we met?”
He was at a disadvantage, since from his height on the huge horse, he couldn’t see her clearly. Julia nodded. “We’ve met. It has been quite a while, but we have met. I am Julia Cameron. My father counted your father as one of his closest friends.”
How much the weight of that friendship would hold would be tested this evening if the infamous McCray would just hear her out.
His attention sharpened. She could see it in the thin moonlight. “Laird Cameron’s daughter?”
“The same,” she acquiesced.
“But she is a child.”
Apparently he could see a little of her, enough to notice she was not a child. She smiled in a tremulous effort. “I am almost twenty. The years pass quickly.” After a deep breath, she added, “And I need your help. I’ve traveled from Hawick by public coach to see you, arriving after dusk, but was told you were not home. I decided to wait.”
“You traveled by yourself and waited here in the dark, alone? Are you daft, lass?” He sounded both astounded and disapproving.
She lifted her chin, the sting of tears pricking her eyes from both fatigue and the awful stress of the past year. Her hands were shaking and she clenched them into fists. “Perhaps. But when
Book Two
Seducing Robbie
Chapter 1
M oonlight slid along the walls and cobbled streets, giving the city a ghostly glow. A waist-high mist made the buildings appear like something out of a macabre fairy tale, as if Edinburgh floated on a supernatural cloud like a lost mythical kingdom. In the shadows, Julia Cameron shivered as she heard a creature scurry by, feeling something actually brush her skirts.
“A cat,” she told herself firmly, murmuring under her breath, stifling a surge of despair. She’d been waiting now for hours, and not only was it ill- advised for a woman to be out alone in the middle of the night even in a fashionable neighborhood such as this, but she was chilled and exhausted. Perhaps this had been a fool’s errand. . . . God knew the infamous McCray spent the night often enough in someone else’s bed, if all reports were accurate. He might not come home at all.
Was she really going to follow through with this rash, reckless plan?
Yes, you are . She squared her shoulders resolutely.
Then, as if on cue, the sound of a horse approached, just as she was actually contemplating giving up. Within moments, a silhouette loomed above her, the tall rider and sleek black stallion emerging from the mist. The stables were behind the house, and he headed that way, coming within a few feet of where she stood in the shrouded alcove of an angled wall. Julia waited, knowing the man had spotted her when he started in surprise and gave a sudden low curse, his skittish horse dancing sideways in reaction, rearing up like an ancient statue.
As she stepped out into the moonlight, she cleared her throat, staring upward. “Robert McCray?”
“Whoa, Solomon.” Hooves clattered to the cobbles. Patting the neck of his animal to soothe it, the man astride said harshly, “Blood and thunder, what the devil are you trying to do, lass? Scare me out of my wits?”
It is him , Julia thought, standing so close she could reach out and touch the muscled shoulders of the restive stallion. Even in the uncertain light, she could see the man’s legendary masculine good looks, the stories not exaggerated. Tousled dark hair brushed his wide shoulders, and his long, lean body looked powerful and athletic. Eyes as dark as midnight stared down at her with a startling vitality. Even though it had been years and she was little more than a young girl the last time she saw him, he was not a man one could forget.
She said with remarkable composure, considering her nervousness, “It was not my intention to startle you, but I need to speak with you. It’s . . . urgent.”
“So urgent you lurk in the dark like some brigand?” McCray retorted, holding the reins in one long-fingered hand, staring down at her. “Have we met?”
He was at a disadvantage, since from his height on the huge horse, he couldn’t see her clearly. Julia nodded. “We’ve met. It has been quite a while, but we have met. I am Julia Cameron. My father counted your father as one of his closest friends.”
How much the weight of that friendship would hold would be tested this evening if the infamous McCray would just hear her out.
His attention sharpened. She could see it in the thin moonlight. “Laird Cameron’s daughter?”
“The same,” she acquiesced.
“But she is a child.”
Apparently he could see a little of her, enough to notice she was not a child. She smiled in a tremulous effort. “I am almost twenty. The years pass quickly.” After a deep breath, she added, “And I need your help. I’ve traveled from Hawick by public coach to see you, arriving after dusk, but was told you were not home. I decided to wait.”
“You traveled by yourself and waited here in the dark, alone? Are you daft, lass?” He sounded both astounded and disapproving.
She lifted her chin, the sting of tears pricking her eyes from both fatigue and the awful stress of the past year. Her hands were shaking and she clenched them into fists. “Perhaps. But when
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