Her Highness and the Highlander: A Princess Brides Romance (30 page)

He let out a laugh, then crossed the room to dress. As he did, she caught sight of
his wedding clothes folded over the back of a chair, the special bonnet with its pine
twig and silver badge laid on top.

“Daniel?” she mused in an inquiring voice.

He pulled a shirt over his head, then reached for his everyday kilt. “What?”

“I was only wondering…Sara called you laird yesterday and I couldn’t help noticing
the eagle feathers on your badge. Don’t those indicate the rank of clan chief?”

His expression closed in, the carefree look he’d worn fading from sight. “Aye, that’s
right. How is it you’re so knowledgeable of such matters?”

“I’m quite well read—for a woman—and since I attended school here in Scotland for
several years, I developed an interest in the place.”

He sat on the foot of the bed and pulled on a pair of plain oatmeal-colored stockings.
She waited for him to say something further, but he did not speak.

“So? Are you?” she urged after another few silent moments.

“Am I what?” He reached for his neckcloth.

“A laird? Are you the leader of a clan?”

His green eyes flashed briefly before they became resigned. “Nae. I’m no laird.”

“Then why—”

He stood, his movements quick and economical as he tied the neckcloth around his throat.
Only when he’d finished did he meet her gaze. “Why did I wear a chief’s badge? ’Twas
simple pride, no more, no less. Foolish pride, most would say.
I’ve no legal claim to the badge and it should have been handed over as forfeit long
ago. It belonged to my grandfather as rightful clan chief, handed down to my father
and then to me—”

“But if your grandfather and father were laird, and you are the oldest son—”

“Then I should be laird now too? Nae, wife. My family’s lands were stripped from us
when my father was a small boy, the MacKinnon holdings divided up among the Sassenach
dogs and Scottish traitors after Culloden. If you know our history, you must know
of that.”

Her stomach clenched with sorrow and she bent her head. “I do know.”

She’d read about the bloody battle between the rebel Scots and the conquering English
forces, a terrible butchery that had served as the final, decisive defeat of the Scottish
people. Before now, her knowledge had been strictly academic, with Culloden just one
more battle out of the many she’d learned about in her study of history. But Daniel
and his family weren’t just a set of dry facts. They were real, Daniel was real, and
for the first time she knew someone personally affected by the conflict.

“I am sorry.”

He rolled his shoulders in a shrug. “Doona be. It was all long ago and best left in
the past. If only my father could have left it in the past as well, but it ruled his
life. Not a day went by that he didn’t make some mention of the castle or the lands
that would have been his.

“I guess knowing what he might have had ate at him like a cancer and he never got
over the loss. I didn’t have any such expectations, not even as a child, so it was
easier for me.”

She stretched out a hand and took hold of his. “But still there is a part of you that
regrets.”

He looked surprised, contemplative, as if he had never thought of it that way. “Perhaps.
I don’t know.” One corner of his mouth turned up. “My only real regret is that I doona
have a castle to offer you.”

She made a dismissive sound. “Castles are vastly overrated. On the whole, they’re
cold and drafty and not in the least bit cozy, not like a house.”

He chuckled. “Spent a lot of time in castles, have you?”

Suddenly serious, she met his gaze. “Yes, I have.”

His humor melted away, his voice gentle. “You can tell me now, you know.”

“Tell you what?”

“Who you really are and who it is you’re fleeing.”

She tried to draw her hand away, but he wouldn’t let her. “I have told you who I am.
As for who I’m fleeing, I do not know. I never did.”

“Mercedes,” he said in an indulgent tone, “we’re married now. I’ll protect you no
matter what you may say. You don’t need to be afraid anymore. You do not have to pretend
to be a princess either.”

Disillusionment stung her as she realized that even now he did not believe her. How
could he still think, after everything that had passed between them, that she was
lying? Or that she remained “confused”?

This time she yanked her hand free, her posture rigid, regal, despite the fact that
she didn’t have on so much as a stitch of clothing.

She lifted her chin. “I am not pretending. I
am
a princess.”

He studied her, his expression impassive. “Then I take it you still want to go to
London?”

“Of course I want to go to London. I have to let my friends know I am all right.”

Not to mention my family.
She wasn’t entirely sure how she was going to tell them about Daniel and her hasty
marriage, but she would deal with that when the time came.

“I had thought mayhap you might like to go north to Skye instead,” he suggested. “You
could always write letters to your friends to explain.”

But she couldn’t. Emma and Ariadne were as close to her as sisters and she couldn’t
imagine telling them about her marriage in a letter. No, she owed them an explanation
in
person. Additionally, they were expecting her to arrive in the city soon, and if she
did not, they would worry. Besides, how could she possibly put everything that had
happened into a letter? She could see them now, goggling with incredulity, wondering
if she had taken up storytelling since leaving school.

Even more important, she needed to prove to Daniel that she was telling him the truth
about her identity. Nothing less than meeting Ariadne and Emma in the flesh would
serve; otherwise, he would continue to doubt.

So south to England it must be.

“You said you’d take me to London,” she stated, “and that’s where I want to go. Are
you refusing to honor your promise?”

His jaw tightened. “Nae, I always keep my promises. If a journey to London is the
only way to settle matters, then London it is.”

A fresh silence fell between them.

Abruptly, he stood. “I should be on my way.”

Her brows creased. “What about breakfast? Aren’t you hungry?”

He paused, his eyes moving over her with bold possession. “Only for you, so be sure
to take a good long soak in the tub. I’ll have Sara bring you something to eat and
see to the bath.”

“Very well, although I don’t want to trouble her unduly.”

“Why not? You’re a princess. You should be used to troubling people to see to your
needs.”

“Daniel,” she said in a chastening tone, unable to conceal her hurt. “That is most
unkind.”

He released a slow sigh and dropped down next to her on the bed. “You’re right. Forgive
me.”

She shouldn’t; he was making mock of her, refusing to believe what ought to be right
before his eyes. But perhaps she expected too much of him. In his defense, she supposed
there weren’t many princesses to be found roaming the Scottish Highlands. If their
positions were reversed, she doubted
she would believe him either. But soon he would know the truth. She could not wait.

She gave him a tight smile. “We wed only yesterday. I don’t want us to be cross with
each other.”

“Neither do I, Mrs. MacKinnon.” Drawing her into his arms, he claimed her lips for
another fiery kiss. Whatever else might lie between them, there were no barriers when
it came to this.

By the time he set her away from him again, their small disagreement was all but forgotten.

“Have a good morning,” he said, as he got to his feet again. “I shall return shortly.”

“And I shall be waiting.”

T
he next three days passed by happily but far too quickly for either Mercedes’s or
Daniel’s liking. By unspoken agreement, neither of them mentioned their dispute over
her being a princess, content to simply enjoy their new married life together.

They shared evening meals with the Camerons but otherwise kept to themselves, walking
the fields hand in hand with Robbie racing exuberantly behind in search of rabbits
and mice. They talked endlessly about all manner of subjects and on the second day,
ate a picnic nuncheon of cheese, bread, wine, and fruit while they lounged atop a
blanket Sara had lent them for the occasion.

And they made love, as often as the mood struck—and it struck them often.

The hot bath had worked wonders and when Daniel took her to bed that night, Mercedes
found nothing but pleasure in his embrace. He frequently surprised and delighted her
with his bold inventiveness, his touch leaving her exquisitely satisfied and desperately
aching for more. She found herself enthralled, wrapped up in him in ways she would
never have imagined possible. She found herself loving him even more.

But their idyll soon came to an end, Tommy arriving with the newly repaired curricle
late the third day. They shared a wonderful farewell meal with the Camerons that evening,
then spent a final night alone making love in the little hut that had become almost
like a home.

It made no logical sense, but Mercedes’s anxiety returned the next morning as she
finished packing her few belongings, then walked the short distance to the carriage.
She had felt safe here, relaxed and carefree in a way she could not remember ever
feeling before.

But the world that awaited them beyond was uncertain and fraught with potential peril.
Still, there had been no sign of the brigands who had attacked her coach and guard,
murdering her men and her cousin that dreadful day that now seemed a lifetime ago.

As she’d told Daniel, she did not have so much as a clue as to who they might have
been or why they had wished to harm her. Perhaps the guard captain had been wrong
about them wanting her specifically. Maybe the highwaymen’s goal had had nothing to
do with her being a princess and had been just a robbery—a particularly bloody one
certainly, but a robbery no less. Maybe the thieves had judged it easier to kill those
aboard so they could not be identified. Mayhap she had been nothing more than a loose
thread that needed tidying up.

A cold shiver ran through her, her old nightmares flashing through her mind afresh.

But that had happened days ago and miles distant, she assured herself. Even if they
had searched for her initially, they would have given up the trail as dead by now.

She was safe.

And she had Daniel. Nothing and no one would harm her while Daniel was at her side.

Shaking off her worry as needless, she went to make her final farewells to the Camerons,
whom she knew she would genuinely miss. She shook hands with Dougal, then hugged Sara
and the children, accepting a daisy bracelet from Mary that she slipped onto her wrist.

“Before this wilts, I shall press it in a book. That way your gift will last forever,
a remembrance of this precious time we had together,” she told the child.

Wiping a bit of moisture from her eyes, she let Daniel help her into the curricle.
He called for Robbie, who raced happily toward them. The dog jumped aboard and settled
into a comfortable spot on top of the luggage boot.

Daniel gave a low whistle to the horse and they were away.

Turning, she waved until the family and their small homestead disappeared from view.

She and Daniel drove all morning, reaching the main road a short time before noon.
They stopped at a coaching inn to change horses and have a meal. Rested and well fed,
they set off again, Daniel determined to make it to Tyndrum by day’s end.

“If we keep to a reasonable pace, we should be able to reach Edinburgh in three more
days,” he told her. “From there, I thought we would hire a post chaise with a proper
complement of horses and a coachman. We’ll make much better time than we ever will
in this curricle.”

She leaned sideways and tucked her arms through his. “I rather like traveling with
you in our little curricle. It’s very cozy.”

He gave a light chuckle. “It will be even cozier inside the confines of a well-upholstered
coach. And with someone else driving, who knows what pleasurable ways we might find
to pass the time?”

Tilting her head back, she stared at him. Surely he didn’t mean what she thought he
meant. But when he turned his head again to meet her gaze, she caught the wicked twinkle
in his eyes.

He laid his hand on her knee and gave it a squeeze. “Have I shocked you?”

“Well…yes,” she admitted.

He laughed.

“I’m beginning to think you like shocking me,” she said.

“From what I’ve observed, you rather like being shocked.”

She would never admit that to him, but she did like it, since his shocks were always
of the blissful variety.

As to prove his point, he bent close and licked her ear. Then he blew into it.

She gasped loudly, her nipples drawing into tight, aching peaks. “Stop that,” she
scolded weakly, “or you’ll run us off the road.”

He chucked again. “Aye, exactly. That’s why I’m looking forward to that coach and
driver. Until then, we’ll have to confine ourselves to nights only.”

She said nothing, flutters of anticipation tingling through her. “How much farther
to that inn?”

His eyes widened and this time she saw that she was the one who had done the shocking.

Dropping a quick kiss on her mouth, he flicked the reins and set the horse to a fast
gait.

Much later that night, Daniel lay in bed and held Mercedes as she slept.

Keeping to his earlier promise, he had pleasured her well into the night, driving
her to her peak so many times she had collapsed exhausted and replete against him,
too tired to do more than fall into a deep, contented slumber.

He smiled, more than well satisfied himself.

When he’d thought of marriage before, it had always been in the abstract, a thing
he would do someday because that’s what people did. They got married. But to his delighted
surprise, as each day passed, he found more and more that he liked being married.