Her Highness and the Highlander: A Princess Brides Romance (43 page)

“No, not today,” she answered, glad her cheeks were already flushed.

“Good. You’ll let me know if anything changes?”

“I will.”

He smiled and moved away to dress.

She watched, knowing she should get up as well and officially begin the day.

Suddenly Daniel grumbled a few indistinguishable words under his breath, his hands
buried inside his old leather valise as he searched for something. “I can ne’er find
my spare shirt studs when I’ve need of them. They’re always slipping out of their
box and into the bottom of the luggage.”

“You wouldn’t have this trouble, you know,” she said, “if you would simply hire a
valet. He would keep all your belongings arranged.”

Daniel said something in Gaelic that she knew must be a curse. “I’ve no need of a
valet. I’ll no’ have some man dressing and undressing me, let alone helping me in
my bath. Hiring one would be a plain waste of money.”

“Nick has a valet,” she pointed out. “He doesn’t seem to mind.”

“I like Lyndhurst, and no mistake. But he’s an earl and archduke and just doesn’t
know any better.”

She bit her lip to keep from laughing, deciding not to comment further. This was,
by now, a very old argument.

Clearly tired of digging in the case, he began extracting the items in heaps and setting
them to one side. As he did, a crinkled rectangle of parchment slid to the floor.

It was a letter.

Still too busy with his search to notice, he didn’t see it lying on the Aubusson carpet.
With a small sigh, she rose from
the divan and picked it up. Turning it over, she noticed his name and direction written
neatly on the face, along with a return address from a firm named Sutton and Sutton,
esquires.

“Daniel? What is this?” she asked.

He glanced around and studied what was in her hand. “Oh, that. To be honest, I’d forgotten
all about it. Some solicitors are trying to contact me.”

He returned to his search, giving a small “aha” of satisfaction a few moments later.
Clearly he had found his missing shirt studs.

She looked at the letter again, opening it this time to read. “It sounds as if they
are most eager to speak with you. Why have you ignored it for so long?”

“It’s likely some boring legal detail to do with my father’s will. Paperwork to sign
and a great lot of bother.”

“Even so, you really should take care of this while we are here in Town. We’re leaving
in only a couple more days, and it will be some months before we return.”

He lifted a brow. “Ne’er say you’re going to turn into a scold.”

Her mouth tightened. “Never say you’re going to shirk your responsibilities. You are
a far better man than that, as I’ve good reason to know.”

He fixed her with a long look, then sighed. “Och, all right. I suppose I ought to
see to it. But ne’er say I didn’t warn you when it turns into nothing but tedious
hours away when we could be attending to other matters.”

Smiling, she folded the letter closed, then went to wrap her arms around him. “If
it is, I’ll find some means of making it up to you.”

His eyes twinkled with a familiar light. “Be warned, lass. I’m going to hold you to
that promise.”

Daniel walked out of the solicitor’s office the following day, absolutely dazed. He
waved the coach aside so he could walk, reviewing the astonishing news he had just
received.

He was still trying to make sense of it all as he ascended the stairs at Lyndhurst
House and went to find Mercedes.

She was seated on the sofa in the family drawing room, her eyes closed, her cheeks
a shade paler than they ought to be. But he wasn’t surprised, considering she was
with child.

Oh, she hadn’t told him yet, but he wasn’t daft. She had all the symptoms of pregnancy,
and even more telling, she hadn’t had her monthly since they’d been wed. Secretly,
he was ecstatic, but he would give her the pleasure of telling him in her own time.
He didn’t want to spoil her surprise.

And now he had a surprise of his own—one he still couldn’t believe.

Sensing his entrance, she opened her eyes. Whatever she saw plainly alarmed her. “Daniel,
what is it? What’s wrong? Did you get bad news from the solicitors?”

“Nae, no’ bad news. No’ bad at all.”

She stood up, swaying for a second but recovering quickly. He went to her and laid
a hand on her elbow to keep her safe.

“Well, what is it, then?” she demanded. “What did they say?”

He thought for a moment, trying to decide how best to phrase it, but there really
was no right way. “They said that I’ve inherited all the old ancestral lands, the
MacKinnon holdings in Skye. The ones my grandfather used to own.”

Her mouth fell open. Quickly she shut it again. “But how?”

“It seems the man who took possession of the lands after the forfeiture had deeded
them back to me. They went to his son and grandson first, but they’ve both died, with
no heirs. From what the Suttons told me, he was a cousin of sorts and always felt
a bit guilty over the holdings. His will states that in the event there are no direct
heirs, the original heir will gain the lands again.”

Mercedes’s face pinked with pleasure. “Oh, Daniel, that’s wonderful.”

“And it’s even better. They were bluidy rich, so now I am too. No’ as rich as your
father—well, few people are as rich as
that—but I’m a fair way closer to being more than comfortable.”

He laughed and wrapped her in his arms, swinging her in a short circle. “I’ve always
wanted to give you a castle, and now I can. The old ruin belongs to me—to us—now as
well. I’m going to restore it to its old glory, only with modern heating and plumbing
added in.”

“Are you laird again as well?”

He shook his head. “Nae. The title cannot come to me. But it does no’ matter, lass.
I’ve everything I want, so I can provide for you now.”

“But you know I don’t care about riches. And I don’t require a castle.”

“Maybe no’, but you deserve one. You’re a princess,
my
princess, and nothing less seems fitting. So come, Princess Mercedes, and give me
a kiss, and then we’ll sit and make plans for our own little kingdom.”

Swinging her up again in his arms, he pressed his lips to hers and together their
hearts soared.