Mad About the Marquess (Highland Brides Book 2) (53 page)
Read Mad About the Marquess (Highland Brides Book 2) Online
Authors: Elizabeth Essex
“You are quite welcome. I know I shall come to value you just as greatly as his grace does.” And speaking of her duke. “And his grace?”
The steward pleated his lips between his teeth. “It pains me, my leddy—“
“I am here.”
Greer turned and felt the warm smile freeze to her face.
This couldn’t be her Ewan. Nothing about the sharp-faced, unsmiling man in the grey powdered wig and black embroidered silk suit—which, by the way needed tailoring to make it fit him properly—was familiar. His hair was not blond. His eyes were not green. He was not so tall and ungainly that he might frighten children, as Ewan had once told her he was.
And furthermore, no spark of welcome, no soft flare of recognition lighted his eye. Everything was stiffness and unease.
“Welcome to Crieff, my lady.”
He was as correctly polite and formal as if they were strangers. As if she did not already know the private longings of his heart, and he hers.
Greer curtseyed because she knew she should, and because several other men, Creiff’s—and very soon her own—retainers had come out into the forecourt. But she could not keep from asking, “Are you Ewan Cameron?”
Perhaps it was her patent disbelief, but there was a twinge, a twitch of narrowing at the corner of his clear blue eyes, as well as a clenching along his jawline, before he covered his discomfort with a pleasant smile. “I am his grace.”
Which was not what she had asked.
Because she had been raised to be everything polished and polite, Greer did not allow her annoyance to show. But neither did she falter—she stuck to her point like
a burr. “But you are not Ewan Cameron. You cannot be.” Everything about him was wrong—different. Unless…
An unwelcome, entirely disloyal thought jumped into her head—what if all his letters, all the words she had cherished and practically memorized for the past eight years, were a lie?
His answer was another almost imperceptible twinge—this one at the corner of his wide, mouth—before the man finally spoke. “No,” he admitted. “I am Murdock Cameron, his cousin, and Duke of Crieff now.” He looked away, as if he did not like to meet her eyes. “Ewan Cameron is dead.”
Thank You for Reading
Thank you for reading
Mad About the Marquess.
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The Highland Brides
Mad About the Marquess
is the first full-length novel in The Highland Brides. While each book reads as a stand-alone, the series is best enjoyed in chronological order.
Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Marry
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Books By Elizabeth Essex
Dartmouth Brides
Reckless Brides
Highland Brides
Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Marry
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elizabeth Essex is the award-winning author of critically acclaimed historical romance including the Reckless Brides and her new Highland Brides series. Her books have been nominated for numerous awards, including the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award and Seal of Excellence Award, and RWA’s prestigious RITA Award. The Reckless Brides Series has also made Top-Ten lists from Romantic Times, The Romance Reviews and Affaire de Coeur Magazine, and Desert Isle Keeper status at All About Romance. Her fifth book, A BREATH OF SCANDAL, was awarded Best Historical in the Reader’s Crown 2013. When not rereading Jane Austen, mucking about in her garden or simply messing about with boats, Elizabeth can be always be found with her laptop, making up stories about heroes and heroines who live far more exciting lives than she. It wasn’t always so. Long before she ever set pen to paper, Elizabeth graduated from Hollins College with a BA in Classics and Art History, and then earned her MA in Nautical Archaeology from Texas A&M University. While she loved the life of an underwater archaeologist, she has found her true calling writing lush, lyrical historical romance full of passion, daring and adventure.
Elizabeth lives in Texas with her husband, the indispensable Mr. Essex, and her active and exuberant family in an old house filled to the brim with books.
Elizabeth loves to hear from readers, so please feel free to contact her at the following places:
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