Page 5 of Wedded to the Scottish Duke

Breathless, she stilled. That hand, it was domineering. She should be frightened of it, scared of that power—she knew that, and yet she wasn’t. She was more fascinated than anything else, trying to make out through the darkness the way his strong fingers rested on her arm.

“Ye owe me now, lass. Remember that.” He pressed the chemise she had forgotten into her other hand.

“Owe you?” She laughed and turned, freeing herself from his grip. “I said thank you, didn’t I?” she called back challengingly as she ran away.

She sprinted back up to the house, her bare feet covered in mud and grit from the gravel paths. When she reached the house, she halted, turning back to look out toward the lake.

At a distance, she could just about make out his silhouette against the lake. Even so far away, he still looked tall.

As she rested her hand on the door handle, ready to make her way back inside, she thought of what had just happened. As much as she tried to focus on just how outrageous the incident was, she could not.

Her mind thought of strong arms instead. She thought of the arm that had brushed against the underside of her breasts, and the way he had so easily lifted her out of the water to carry her. She thought of his deep baritone voice, unlike any other she had ever heard. The mere memory of his voice made her bite her lip.

“I am not some foolish girl falling for the first man she finds attractive,” she muttered to herself and turned to enter the house.

She’d flirted before, she knew how to play the game, but this was unlike anything she had ever known before.

As she hastened to her chamber, doing her best to avoid being seen by anyone, one question kept plaguing her mind.

Who was that man?

CHAPTER 2

“Oh my goodness! Your son, my Lady—quite striking, is he not?” The giggling voice of Lady Caroline Arundel was already irritating Keith.

He sighed, doing his very best not to look annoyed or exasperated that he was here at all. Clearly, he failed, for as he and his mother walked into the breakfast room, his mother elbowed him in the ribs.

He looked at her with laughing eyes, only to find her glaring at him.

It means a lot to her that I’m here. Aye, I know that.

He nodded ever so slightly, showing he would at least attempt to be on his best behavior.

“I am so glad you could meet my eldest son at last, Caroline,” his mother said. “It has been too long since I last saw you.”

“Too long, but what are years to good friends?” Lady Arundel asked as she patted Elizabeth’s arm. “Now that you are a little… freer…” She clearly chose the word with great care, shooting Keith an uneasy glance. “… I hope I shall see much more of you.”

“Indeed, you shall.” Elizabeth took her hand warmly.

Keith looked away, trying not to intrude on their moment.

He knew very well that his mother had not been free for almost her entire adult life. It was a fact that hung over him like a shadow. She was free of the worst now, but Keith wanted to set her free of worry as well. That meant putting her mind at rest about many things, including their financial situation.

He knew deep down that one of the things she cared for most in the world was the English home she had longed to return to for so many years.

Keith was familiar with the world of a rough Scottish laird, but this world of the ton was something else now that he had been made a duke.

Yet, this world of stiff collars, where men drank brandy and spoke of what they read in the newspaper every day, was not remotely interesting to Keith. He’d grown up a trained soldier and warrior, ready to defend his clan. He drank whisky, not port, and he talked about real life, not whether a lady had made a particularly fine lace hem to her gown.

“Come, come, Your Grace,” Lady Arundel said, fluffing up the loose locks of her graying her. She ushered him closer to the breakfast table, her ruddy cheeks gleaming as she smiled. “Let me introduce you to my friends here. I am sure they will soon be your friends as well.”

“Are ye really so sure?” Keith muttered.

He earned another sharp elbow from his mother, though fortunately, Lady Arundel merely took his words as some jest and giggled like a lady much younger than her years.

“Here we have Lady Alicia Newton.” She gestured to a particularly willowy young woman with bright blue eyes.

Lady Alicia put down her teacup at once and smiled ridiculously at him.

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