Page 29 of His Highland Duchess
“A puppy?” Aurelia dove in next, caring not for how dirty she would become. “A puppy!”
Indeed, the source of the crying was a little puppy buried in the hay. It was no bigger than Margaret’s palm, brown with white spots, and ears far too big for its head. She did not know the breed, just that it was the cutest thing she had ever seen.
“Can we keep it?” Aurelia already had it in her arm. Its crying died down as it snuggled into her, licking her arm in a way that was so adorable that Margaret could hardly stand it.
“Yes!” Lenora added as she hurried to pet it. “Please, Margaret. You have to say yes!”
Good sense told Margaret that she should say no. No doubt the girls’ father would not want them keeping a stray puppy. But the look on their faces was hard to argue against, pure happiness and elation, love glimmering in their eyes.How can I possibly say nae…
“On one condition,” she warned them. “Ye father does nae find out.”
The girls were quick to agree, as she knew they would.
They spent the next hour finding a place to hide the puppy. They decided to keep it in the stables, in one of the spare stalls. They stacked it with hay and old rags, a few boxes too, so it looked as if the stall was being used for storage. Then they tucked the puppy away – after fetching a bowl of water – while Margaret promised she would return later to feed it.
“We must do everything we can nae to let ye father find out,” she instructed them as they made their way back from the stables and toward the manor. “He will one day, na doubt, but until then…” She winked. “It will be our little secret.”
“What shall we name it?” Aurelia asked.
“Oh! A name. Can I pick?” Lenora cried.
“I will leave that up to the two of ye,” she laughed, enjoying herself the most that she had since arriving. “And I cannae wait to hear it.”
It was because she was having such a good time that Margaret was distracted as they walked back through the garden. And it was for this reason that she did not see Lysander on the back porch watching them. He stood with his arms folded, a look of anger on his face; the reason for which did not need to be guessed at.
“What is going on here?” he demanded of them as soon as they were close.
“Father!” Aurelia cried.
“Father…” Lenora ducked behind her sister.
“Oh, guid morning,” Margaret said with more bravery than she was feeling. “Fancy seeing ye here.”
“I will ask again…” He walked down the steps and toward them. As he did, he looked the girls over, his expression darkening to see how filthy they both were. “What is going on here?”
“Naething to lose your temper over,” Margaret said simply, holding her smile because she did not wish to appear guilty. There was nothing to feel guilty about! “We were jus’ petting the horses and…” She laughed and shook her head at the girls. “They got a little carried away.”
“They are filthy.”
“Oh, it is not so bad,” she said. “Nothing’ a bath will not fix.”
“Girls…” He looked at them both. “Upstairs, now.”
“But Father –”
“Now,” he repeated in a tone that warranted no argument. “To your rooms. I will be up shortly.”
The two girls bowed their heads and hurried inside, knowing better than to argue with their father. This left Margaret and Lysander alone, which meant he was able to focus his anger on her entirely.You have done nothing wrong. And he needs to ken it.
Easy words to say. Harder words to believe…
“What was the one thing I asked of you?” he began, his tone stiff but not angered.
She frowned. “To be fair, ye have asked many things of meh. Some of which contradicted each other.”
His expression darkened. “To behave. That is all I wish for. I know I cannot keep you from seeing my daughters, nor will I try. But if you are going to insist on behaving this way around them…” He clenched his jaw. “Perhaps I will have to rethink that also.”
“There is nae need to be so upset,” Margaret began calmly. The duke’s anger was present, and it made her want to test its limits. But she also reasoned that in this, perhaps, she ought to be careful. “All we were doin’ –”
