Much Ado About Highlanders (The Scottish Relic Trilogy) Read online

Kenna tried to imagine how Alexander would suffer watching her die when there was a way to keep her alive. Kenna tried to understand her mother’s decision. A gift and a curse. Would she pass such a responsibility on to a child of hers to save her own life? Would she rob her own offspring of a childhood? Moreover, was there more to the curse that Kenna still didn’t know?

  She wiped the tears from her face. She felt at peace, sitting here with her father. Still, there was a great deal that they hadn’t talked about yet.

  “Do you know how she came to have the stone?”

  “From her mother. She inherited it on her wedding day, too,” he told her. “And like you, she had no one to show her what to do. Her mother had been dead for years. And yet she knew how to use it. When she needed it, the stone came alive for her.”

  Kenna looked up into his face. For years, she’d suffered from his coldness, his lack of affection. Now she wanted answers.

  “You can say what you will about blame,” she said. “But it was your heart that spoke loudest. You took out your anger on me. Why?”

  “Because you have been a constant reminder of her,” he said. “The way you look, your manners, your independence, your reckless courage. From that day to this, every time I’ve seen you, I could not help but think of Sine. And I couldn’t get past the belief that she should have still been a part of our lives.”

  Many told her that she was a mirror image of her mother.

  “And you could have handled the stone. You had the strength, even then. You had a spirit in you that was so much older than your years. But then it was too late.”

  She was surprised when he brushed the fresh tears off her face. Such a simple act, and yet how many years since he’d last shown her any affection? He stood up and walked across the room.

  “And in time, my anger and frustration turned to bitterness. I see that. I suppose I thought by holding back my affection from you, I could punish her. As if she would look down and understand how much pain I still felt.” He began to pace. “Your mother loved you. She loved you more than me. She loved you more than those newborn twins, I think. She loved you more than life itself.”

  Kenna dabbed at the tears that wouldn’t stop.

  “All the instructions on her deathbed were about you. All her worries were about what would become of you.”

  Kenna hugged her middle. Her grief over the loss of her mother was as fresh a wound today as the day it happened.

  “To her last breaths,” he said, turning to her, “she was consumed by what I needed to know, what I needed to do for you. I must choose a worthy husband for you. One with enough power and position to protect you and the responsibility you would be burdened with. She made me promise that the stone would be kept for you until you married. But even then, I was not to speak a word of it unless you asked. She told me, ‘The stone will show her the way. It will teach her what she needs to know.’ She said, ‘It would become one with her, in body and soul.’”

  And it had, Kenna thought. Her mother knew. And she also foresaw the dangers. Today, she had Evers and Maxwell chasing her. Tomorrow, it would be someone else.

  Kenna closed her eyes and wiped her face again. When she opened them, she found her father on one knee before her.

  “I never thought I would say this,” he said, taking her hand. “But it breaks my heart to see you and know I’ve failed in my promise to her. So lost in my own grief, I see now—though I suppose I’ve known it for a long time—that I’ve failed you as a father.”

  She couldn’t find her voice.

  “I do love you, daughter. And when you ask me, tell me, that you no longer want me in your life . . . this is death for me. Once again, I know I’m losing a piece of my heart.”

  She looked into his tearstained face. Her heart nearly broke to see him like this.

  “Tell me, Kenna. Tell me where we go from here.”

  One more minute and Alexander would have taken down the door.

  But when Kenna appeared, he took one look at her tearstained face and started past her to shove open the door again.

  “I’ll kill the bastard.”

  “Nay. Don’t. All is well.” She held his arm and turned him around. “All is very well. We talked, Alexander. We’ve settled our differences.”

  He drew her to him, holding her so tight that there wasn’t a breath of space between them. A year ago, six months ago, he didn’t think such a thing was possible. But he knew it now. His love for her ran deeper than the waters of Loch Ness, deeper than the western ocean itself. Just seeing her troubled made him want to tear something down. Only the smile on her lips calmed him, made him want to rebuild it again.

  “But what are you doing here?” she asked, pulling back far enough until she could look up into his face. “What happened to Robert?”

  “He came after me as soon as you went inside. He was terrified that he’d put you at a disadvantage somehow. He kept jabbering on about hotheadedness and knives and reputation.”

  She smiled. “He thought my father might stab me?”

  “He must think you inherit your temper from somewhere.” He kissed her brow, her damp cheeks, her lips. “Enough about Robert. What happened in there, and when is he leaving?”

  They started down the hallway.

  “He’s not leaving. Not right away. I told him I wanted him to go, and he agreed that he would. But then, after we talked, I asked him to stay.”

  “You want him here? Truly?”

  “Let’s go back to our chamber where we can talk privately.”

  He nodded.

  “Wait, you’re not going to lead me on a merry chase around the castle like Robert, are you?”

  “No chance.” He smiled. “But going back to the Roundtower Room is out of the question. My mother has an army of dressmakers and servants waiting for you there.”

  He ducked under a low archway and took her up a narrow, airless stairwell. He didn’t want them to see or be seen by anyone.

  “Is this one of those private spaces you warned me about?”

  “It could be.”

  “Seriously, where are we going?”

  “To the chamber I slept in before my mother made other plans for us.”

  “Why?”

  Alexander knew his father wanted to meet and welcome Kenna personally before the festivities tonight. His mother had threatened him to not detain her; the dressmakers were waiting. Tess was insisting on helping Kenna prepare so she could tell her what to expect. Colin was probably already off somewhere planning some mischief. And James . . . well, James wasn’t a problem. He just looked miserable and wanted to be left alone.

  Alexander knew he was being greedy with her time, and he felt no guilt whatsoever.

  “I want you all to myself.”

  With her hand in his, they ran up the curving stone stairs. Coming out into the hallway near the rooms, they nearly barreled into Robert, who looked tremendously relieved at the sight of them.

  “She’s alive, praise the Lord,” the steward exclaimed. “And I knew this would be where you’d bring her.”

  “Did you do as I told you?”

  “Aye. When have you known me to fail you? Why, I—”

  “Listen to me, you old rattle,” Alexander threatened. “You didn’t see us. You didn’t speak with us. You have no idea where we are. Is that clear?”

  The lanky steward considered his order.

  “I telling you, if you let on to anyone Kenna is here with me, I’ll nail your carcass to the stable door.”

  Robert turned to Kenna. “He always talks to me this way, mistress. I’m sorry you have to hear such nonsense. He’s actually quite—”

  “Robert,” Alexander drawled threateningly.

  “Very well. I never saw you. You’ll not be disturbed.” He began to turn away.

  “Wait.” Kenna put out her hand, palm up to the steward. The two eyed each other for a lengthy moment.

  “He’ll be safe with me,” she told Robert.

  Wi
th an amused shake of his head, the steward handed over the weapon. “I do believe you two deserve each other.”

  Once the door was closed behind them, Alexander could wait no longer. Pushing her up against the door, he kissed her hard. He explored ravenously, and her enthusiasm matched his own.

  As he’d expected, the moment she tore free to catch her breath, she spotted the huge tub filled with steaming water. She smiled up into his face.

  “You’re taking a bath.”

  “We are taking a bath. Robert had it delivered here for the two of us.”

  “But your mother expects me to return to my room.”

  “Of course, she does. But we do what we want,” he said, bolting the door.

  A soft blush immediately spread across her flawless cheeks. “But we can’t. It’s daylight. Everyone in the castle would know what we’re doing. And I have no clean clothes to put on after.” She shook her head. “If anyone were to see me, it would be a scandal.”

  Alexander wanted to laugh out loud at her innocence, but he wouldn’t hurt her feelings for the world. Where did she think they’d be sleeping after the banquet tonight?

  “As you wish. You wanted a place where we can talk. Here we are. Just the two of us. I’ll sit in the bath while we speak. I have enough road dirt on me to fill the moat. Tell me about the conversation with your father.”

  She moved into the spacious room, talking as she looked at everything.

  “My father knows about the stone. My mother told him. He says she inherited it from her mother. He knows nothing of its origins or how my grandmother came to have it.”

  He watched her as her fingers trailed along the bedclothes, as she looked out the window, tested the chairs, all the while telling him everything that was discussed with her father. She told him that Magnus wanted Sine to give up the stone so her life could be saved.

  “If it were the two of us, I would have forced you,” he asserted. “I would have pulled down the sky and torn the earth asunder to save you.”

  She paused. “You say this now because we have no children. Imagine the responsibility we would be putting on a child. Perhaps it would be too much for her to bear.”

  He didn’t want to think of it. He wouldn’t want to be in that position. He wanted Kenna with him forever. That’s all he knew.

  “You matter above all things,” he said quietly. “My love for you will rule any decision that I make, from now till the end of time. I’m telling you now that I will fight for you—and I will not fight fair.”

  She came across the room and embraced him, pressing her face against his chest. “I love you, Alexander. And today, right now, I will not fight you over choices that I hope we never have to make.”

  He pulled her hair back until her face turned up to his. This woman was the very air in his lungs. “You love me.”

  “I love you.”

  And his lips met hers.

  “I have other things to tell you,” he said, unfastening his brooch and yanking his shirt over his head.

  She stared at his chest.

  He sat on the edge of the tub and pulled off his boots. “I’ve learned that all of that business in the west—the ship, the kidnapping, leaving us in the wilderness—it was all arranged. The whole thing was just to get you and me back together.”

  “I heard the same thing earlier today.”

  “To be honest, I’ve known it since we boarded my ship at the Hermit’s Rock. Diarmad told me.”

  “And you made no mention of it.”

  He stood and pulled his hair free of the thong holding it back.

  “Nay, I didn’t. I think I was too grateful at the moment to James for being so cunning . . . and happy that our clans wanted it so badly.” He smiled. “Also, my thoughts were too intent on ravishing you in my cabin. I didn’t want you to be distracted.”

  “I also learned today that you never requested an annulment.”

  He gazed at her for a long moment.

  “Aye, lass. That’s true.”

  He unfastened his belt, and the dark wool of his kilt pooled at his feet.

  “Why?”

  Her eyes drifted over his chest, stomach, and lower.

  Alexander turned away. He was starting to enjoy this.

  She aroused him with a mere look. He stepped into the tub, sitting down.

  “By the devil!” he cursed, lifting up and then slowly settling back into the water. “That bastard Robert just scalded my scallops!”

  She laughed and then grew serious again. “Why didn’t you go to the bishop for the annulment?”

  “Because I knew this would be the way between us. And if James hadn’t acted as he did, in another month I would have kidnapped you myself from those nuns at Loch Eil.”

  “You wouldn’t have,” she said. “I know you now. You would never have forced yourself or the marriage on me.”

  “Perhaps.” He leaned back. “But I might have spirited you away and kept you locked in a tower somewhere and forced you to watch me bathe.”

  “And you think that would have won me over, I suppose.”

  “No doubt. How is it working now?”

  She reached up and slowly pulled at the laces that secured the front of her dress.

  “You’re not the only one who can be tempting by sitting naked in that tub. Two can play that game.”

  His eyes followed the movement of her hands. “You have on far too many clothes. I’m not tempted at all.”

  She pulled at the neckline of the dress and started pushing the garment over one shoulder, holding on to the strap of her shift. “How about now?”

  Alexander fought the urge to jump out and drag her back in the tub with him. “Not even close, woman.”

  Kenna pushed the dress over her other shoulder and down over her hips. The garment fell to the floor.

  “And now?”

  His gaze traveled down her body. Although he had a thorough knowledge of what lay beneath her thin shift, that knowledge did nothing to diminish the desire he felt now.

  “I’ll be honest. You’re getting close.” He smiled faintly and nodded. “But you’re still wearing more than what I have on. Not the same level of temptation, I shouldn’t think.”

  She approached the tub. “Well, that’s all you’ll be tempted with today. As I said, I don’t plan on getting wet. The only reason why I removed the dress was to wash your back.”

  He shifted in the tub and her eyes widened at the sight of his wet and fully aroused manhood.

  “As you can see, I may not have been completely honest. You are a wee bit of a tease, Kenna.”

  “Am I?” she replied coyly.

  He studied the rich brown hue of her long gleaming hair, the violet-blue eyes that he fell asleep thinking of, the dark nipples pushing through the shift, the long legs extending from beneath the thin fabric.

  “Tease or no, you can’t touch me,” she ordered. “I’m only washing your back.”

  He held up a wet cloth.

  “My gratitude knows no bounds, to be sure. Here you are, lass,” he said. But as she reached for it, his other hand darted out, and she was on his lap in the water before she could even cry out.

  “Ah! Now this is so much better,” he growled. “I love it when I get my way. I think I’ll wash you first, my sweet.”

  With her feet still dangling on the outside of the tub, and her arm around his shoulder, she looked up and met his gaze.

  “Why do you have to be such a temptation? I can’t believe I just walked into your trap.”

  “It’s a gift. The water’s not too hot for you?”

  She shook her head slowly.

  Alexander poured bowls of warm water over her breasts, soaking the thin garment until it was transparent.

  “But how am I going to face everyone when I leave here? They’ll all know what we did.”

  “Aye. It’s safe to assume they all know.” He pressed his lips to the bare skin of her neck. “Robert had his folk deliver the tub and this water
to this room. And drying cloths enough for two.”

  Kenna went limp for a moment in his arms. Then, turning and placing both hands on his shoulders, she looked into his face. “And he won’t hold his tongue?”

  “I could threaten him with torture at the hands of Torquemada himself—the man couldn’t hold his tongue.”

  “So who knows we’re here together?”

  “The entire household. My parents,” he lied. “They’re probably all gathered in the hallway outside at this very moment, waiting to celebrate your moans and cries of marital fulfillment.”

  She laughed. “You are the devil, Alexander Macpherson.”

  He pulled her against him, and she shivered as his hand caressed her breast. He placed soft kisses on her face.

  “I’m glad we’ve settled that. Now, let’s work on those moans and cries.”

  His hand dropped into the water, and his fingers slid up along the skin of her thigh. Kenna held her breath and curled into him.

  “If you insist.”

  Chapter 28

  Use it for my love some other way than swearing by it.

  Kenna looked at herself in the mirror.

  This was as fine a gown as the one she had worn on her wedding day. The dress of pale yellow laced with threads of gold clung to her body and then flared to a long, full skirt below her hips. The tight sleeves hugged her arms, and velvet cuffs extended over her fingers.

  This had been one of Fiona’s dresses. And the seamstress had worked her magic in letting out just enough material to make the gown fit her body like a second skin. Kenna eyed the neckline. It was far too revealing.

  For six months now, she’d been wearing the pouch with the healing stone around her neck. Now, she was wearing the stone at her belt. Understanding the power of the relic, she was constantly alert as to where it was. She would not lose it.

  Looking in the mirror again, Kenna gathered her long brown hair and pulled it over one shoulder, trying to hide some of the exposed skin. She didn’t want another exhibition. This afternoon, after they’d made love, Alexander had brought her back up here using secret hallways and hidden stairwells. Still, quick exchanges of looks and the averted eyes of the maids and dressmakers waiting for her left no doubt that they knew what the two had been doing.