Claiming the Highlander's Heart by Lily Maxton

Author:Lily Maxton [Maxton, Lily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Scandalous, Entangled, romance, highlander; opposites attract; enemies to lovers; hidden identity; revenge; Scotland; outlaw; military; Historical Scottish Fiction; Scottish Historical Romance; Regency Romances; Historical Regency Fiction; Historical Romance; Historical romances; Historical Fiction; Historical European Fiction; Enemies to lovers; Redemption; Revenge; In disguise; Scottish Highlands; Castle; Adventure
ISBN: 9781640636309
Amazon: B07DT9VYZZ
Goodreads: 40519085
Publisher: Entangled: Scandalous
Published: 2018-07-09T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Twenty pairs of eyes were staring at Mal. Most were heavy-lidded, bored. A few were narrowed, outright disdainful. None of them looked happy to be there, exactly, except for a couple of younger children, who probably still assumed learning was fun.

Lady Arden had introduced him to the class and then gone off to do something with a vague promise that she’d return in a few minutes…after they became acquainted with one another. Mal had no desire to be acquainted with the little brats.

Mal had stared down the barrel of a gun. He’d dodged the sharp point of a bayonet. He’d killed for his country and nearly been killed in return. He’d been shot through the shoulder, for Christ’s sake. And yet he’d never felt quite as uncomfortable as he did standing in front of twenty unimpressed children.

Mal looked down at the girl closest to him. The school had both boys and girls attending, which was rare. Lady Arden must have been gifted in persuasion to convince some of the tenants to send their daughters out for an education.

Some people were under the misconception that girls were the sweet antidote to their male counterparts—the girl in the front, who eyed Mal balefully, was quickly setting the record straight.

“What are you waiting for?” She muttered a curse in Gaelic. “Don’t stand there gawking at us!”

Mal ran his hand down his face, already feeling haggard, and he’d only been here for five minutes.

Names. He thought suddenly. He should ask their names.

It went well enough. Until the children grew restless about halfway through and began making up names. One boy claimed he’d been christened Thomas MacFartsmore, and the rest of the little bastards erupted into laughter.

“Where’s George?” the girl in the front asked. “She was more fun than you.”

“And Frances gave us sweetmeats!” someone in the back added.

Sweetmeats, bribery…not a bad idea.

Unfortunately, he didn’t keep sweetmeats in his pockets on the off chance that he’d run into unruly children. And who the hell were George and Frances?

“George and Frances are gone.”

That hushed them up.

“Gone?” One of them asked. “Do you mean…dead?”

Mal shrugged. “Could be.”

In hindsight, Mal probably shouldn’t have said that to a boy who looked to only be six or seven. A strange change came over his face. His chin dimpled. His bottom lip wavered. His wide eyes welled with moisture.

And then he broke into the noisiest sobs Mal had ever heard.

“Christ,” Mal muttered.

The girl in front—Abigail—pointed at him. “You swore!”

“So did you.”

“But I swore in Gaelic.”

“That doesn’t mean—” He stopped when he realized he was getting into an argument with someone who was probably fifteen years younger than him. The children weren’t even paying attention to him anymore. The room was a cacophony of sound—chatter and laughter and sobbing. A scream here and there for good measure.

Mal, who’d always thought of himself as a patient enough fellow, experienced a moment when said patience simply snapped in half.

“Enough!” Mal roared, thumping on the wall behind him with his fist for good measure.

A few children jolted in their seats.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.