Read Online Kilgannon by Kathleen Givens - Free Book Online Page A

myself, thinking of their lightheartedness. It had been a wonderful evening. How silly I had been to worry.
    The next morning I woke to rain but refused to let it dampen my spirits. Louisa and I left after breakfast, returning well past midday. Ellen met us with the news that the Earl of Kilgannon was in the library. "He's been here for ever so long, Miss Mary, but he said he was happy to wait," she said. "And he brought you flowers, madam," she added to Louisa, gesturing to the bouquet I had not even noticed.
    Louisa nodded and asked if Alex had been invited to luncheon. When Ellen said Alex had eaten with Will and Betty, Louisa said then he could wait a little longer and sailed off in the direction of the dining room without looking back.
    Will and Betty were upstairs, Ellen said, her eyes twinkling. I went to the library.
    Alex was stretched out on one of the sofas, his long legs well past the arm, his nose in a book, and one of Louisa's cats on his chest. I closed the door behind me, knowing full well I should leave it open. Alex looked over his shoulder and sprang upright, the book and cat flying. I laughed to see him try to catch the cat, succeed, and then let it go as it twisted out of his grip. It landed on the sofa and after a disdainful look at both of us began cleaning itself. Alex looked up with a smile as I approached.
    "Alex, what a surprise!" I said. "How long have you been here?"
    "Not verra long. Good day to you, Mary." He bowed, his discomposure short-lived. He wore his Highland clothing again, the dark blue of his vest making his eyes even more extraordinary.
    I moved to the sofa and picked up the volume he'd been reading. "Le Misanthrope", I read aloud. "Moliere? In French?" I raised an eyebrow. "You surprise me."
    "I dinna think ye'd mind if I read while I waited."
    "I don't," I said, and put the book down. "You read French?" He shrugged and nodded. "What other surprises do you have for me?"
    "Ah, let me think." He paused, rubbing his chin as though deep in thought. "Well, I can quote verse to you." "In French?"
    "Or Gaelic. Or English, if ye dinna mind my accent."
    "Your accent is lovely," I protested.
    "That's kind of ye. Some say I speak like a barbarian."
    "I do not," I said, and moved across the room.
    "Good." He grinned as he watched me.
    "Did you enjoy last evening?" I asked.
    He nodded. "Aye, Mary, I enjoyed myself hugely. Did ye?"
    "I did." I moved to the fireplace and toyed with a candlestick. "Why did you wear English clothes?"
    "To show ye that I could. I find that if I wear yer clothes I'm treated differently."
    "If you wore my clothes you would be treated differently."
    We both laughed. "Ye ken what I mean, Mary ."
    "Robert wore Highland clothing. I wonder where he found it."
    Alex shrugged, moving closer. "In his clothes chest, no doubt. He is a Campbell, ye ken. Even though we dinna like to admit it, Argyll is in the Highlands. Not the proper Highlands, to be sure." "But his kilt was different than yours. Yours today is different than the others you've worn." I gestured to his clothing. He glanced down at his kilt and then up at me. I wondered if anyone else had ever had eyes so blue or legs so long.
    "Well, each breacan is different," he said. "That's the weave. Each clan or sept has its own mix of colors, but the breacan depends on the weaver. All of mine come from Kilgannon weavers. They use the same patterns over and over. That's called a sett, when the pattern is always the same. Campbell setts are different, and that's what Robert was wearing. There are many who can tell a man's name by the pattern he's wearing. And each clan wears a different badge on their bonnets as well."
    "I saw your badge on your hat yesterday. And feathers."
    "Aye, each clan has its badge and a plant that marks the clan, but only the chief or the chiefs family wears the eagle feathers."
    "It's very different than in England," I said, thinking how foreign his world seemed to me. He shook his head and picked up