Page 120 of To Wed an Heiress
A moment later she asked, “Are we terribly rude? Should we have offered them all tea? Or whiskey?”
“Let them get their own,” he said. “I want to be alone with my wife.”
She felt exactly the same way.
She hadn’t given it any thought, but when he led her through the Clan Hall, down one corridor door and then to another, she realized that he was headed for the tower.
“We’re going to your bedroom,” she said.
“It’s not just mine, Mercy. It’s ours from now on.”
So many different emotions cascaded through her at once. Gratitude, that this wasn’t a dream or her imagination. Joy, that they were married. Excitement, that she would soon be in his arms.
They slowly climbed the curving tower steps. Once in the tower room, Mercy moved away from the staircase and looked around. The bed, double the size of hers in New York, sat against one curved wall. A screen concealed the bathing and dressing area while an armoire and bureau made up the rest of the furnishings. Two windows faced the loch, revealing a view of the water and beyond, to Ben Uaine.
She stood there marveling at the sight. Just think, she’d wake to this view every morning. The thought brought a smile to her face.
“Will you mind being disinherited?” Lennox asked, coming up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her and she leaned back against him. This moment couldn’t be any more perfect—except for one thing.
“I have a confession,” she said, turning in his arms. “I don’t think you’re going to be happy about it.”
One of his eyebrows arched upward. “A confession? Are you already married?”
She shook her head.
“That’s the only thing that matters, isn’t it?”
“I hope you feel that way after I tell you,” she said.
“Then what is it?”
“It doesn’t matter if my father disowns me.”
“I concur,” he said, bending to kiss her.
A minute later she shook her head. “No, I mean it really doesn’t matter. My grandfather already left me a fortune.”
He pulled back and stared at her.
“I could give it all up, but wouldn’t that be foolish, especially since the chapel needs a roof? Wouldn’t it be better to use it to repair the castle?”
“Just how large is this fortune?”
When she told him, he actually flinched.
“I didn’t marry you for your money, Mercy.”
“Oh, everyone knows that, Lennox. If anything, you married me despite my fortune. But it seems a shame not to use it, don’t you agree?”
Before he could answer, she continued. “And Lennox, another thing.”
“What now?”
“You should always wear a kilt,” she said. “You have spectacular legs.”
If she didn’t know better, she would think that Lennox was embarrassed. He glanced away and then back again, his face deepening in color.
“I’ve been outmaneuvered,” he said. “Outfoxed. I had all these grand plans about how I was going to support you.”
