Page 18 of Married to the Highland Devil
Their next stop was a small village, and even though Amelia was not certain of where they trotted past now, she knew they were no longer in England.
Most of the people here spoke in a thick accent similar to Duncan’s, and the air felt different. Even though it was noisy, it did not sound like there were coaches moving around or traders calling on every passerby to come buy their goods.
“We have reached Scotland?” she asked as they continued trotting on their horse. Soon, it stopped, and he helped her climb down.
“We are in McCulloch. It is a small clan bordering Scotland and England. The people here are more English than Scottish. They even wear corsets.”
“I would hate to live here, then,” she commented, earning another laugh from him.
They continued walking hand-in-hand, and he took her to some stall, asked her to open her mouth, then put the best food she had ever tasted in there.
After chewing, she hummed, closed her eyes, and savored the taste.
“What am I eating?”
Duncan chuckled loudly and fed her some more. “Plum pudding,” he answered.
“I have tasted plum pudding in England, and it tastes nothing like the heaven you just put in my mouth.”
“We Scots like to use different spices,” he told her.
“Well, you Scots know what you’re doing.”
They continued their short walk, and he made her taste different kinds of foods. She had their custard, pie, cakes, pudding, and some kind of biscuit that tasted more like the first pudding she had had.
By the time they finally continued their ride, she was full, and her feet hurt.
Once arrived at an inn and settled in their room, he helped her prepare for her bath, and this time, she let him take off her clothes and unpin her hair.
Amelia heard his low huff when he combed his fingers through her hair to straighten out her strands, and she turned towards him, slowly angling her face so they were eye to eye—as much as they could at least, given how much he towered over her.
“Do ye need any more help?” he asked, and she thought she heard his voice shake.
Amelia wanted to tell him to stay, but the thought of him seeing her fully naked made her quiver inside.
What if he does not think me beautiful when he sees the scars?
In the early days after she had lost her sight, she had hurt herself a lot. One time, she had fallen down the stairs of her father’s manor and hurt her head. Amelia could only remember the pain after that.
Lily had told her she had been unconscious for days, and her father had stayed at her bedside to watch her and make sure she was still breathing.
“I will be all right,” she told him. “But do not go far.”
“I am always here.”
His words were comforting, and once she heard him retreat, she took off her undergarments, bent down to make sure she was near the bath, and climbed into it.
Minutes later after she got into the bed with Duncan’s help, and she rolled to her side and curled around herself tight.
Amelia wondered what went through his mind.
Does he really not mind helping me like this? Why is he doing this?
When she had chosen him, it was because he had been the first of all her suitors to make her laugh. It was easy to talk to him, and when they had walked around earlier today, it had felt like he was a friend. She did not even miss Lily as much when she was with him. Except no friend had sparked such confusing emotions inside her or made her feel so flushed. She shook her head.
“Can I ask you a question?”
She rolled over like she wanted to face him and nearly fell off the bed because it was so small, but he caught her by the waist and pulled her back in.
