Page 46 of Married to the Highland Devil
“I let the hours slip past me,” he answered with a sigh. “What do ye need?”
“Ye arenae yet completely healed from yer wounds,” Elspeth said as she walked to his chair and touched his shoulder. “Ye bled a lot.”
“The healer says I am all right. Ye have nothin’ to worry about.”
The crease lines etched into his mother’s face told him that her worry was not about his health or his work.
“What has happened?” he inquired.
Elspeth started with a deep sigh. “The rumors worry me.”
“Rumors?”
“The servants speak of rumors in Plockton and Bune. They say a seer has spread rumors of the mischief brewin’ in the castle to the villagers. They say she is dangerous, Duncan. That Amelia shall bring mischief to our clan.”
“Do ye believe in such superstition?”
“Nae for a second,” Elspeth said vehemently. “But I fear for her safety. It isnae unusual for the villagers to react out of fear. If she isnae safe her, her faither shallnae let this marriage happen.”
“Amelia is safe here,” Duncan assured. “Ye neednae worry. I shall speak to her about these rumors also, so it doesnae come as a shock to her.”
Elspeth still did not move from where she stood in front of Duncan, and so he knew there was more.
“What else?”
“She is lonely,” she answered.
“What?”
“Amelia spent her entire life alone in her father’s estate, and now that she has a family, she is still alone. Go to her, Duncan. I ken ye think this isnae a love match, but that lady worried about ye when ye were injured. I can tell ye care about her too. I see the look in yer eyes whenever she is around. It is how yer faither used to look at me.”
His mother’s words touched his heart. Duncan had been contemplating spending the entirety of the next day with Amelia, but he was not certain it was the right move.
The little moments they had shared were enough to keep him thinking of her. What would happen if he deliberately sought her out?
“She loves lavender flowers,” his mother said with a smile now. “And mutton happens to be her favorite dish. She also loves strawberries. Plan a picnic and take her with ye. The clan can survive a day without ye worryin’ about us.”
She smiled when Duncan sighed then walked out of his study and left him with a choice to make. It was what Duncan wanted, and so he set the plan in motion by hurrying to find the chief cook.
“Plan a picnic,” he instructed once he found the woman in the kitchen. “I want strawberries and mutton in the picnic basket. Those are Lady Amelia’s favorite.”
“Aye, My Laird,” the cook answered obediently.
Duncan walked out of the kitchen when he saw Amelia walking in with Yvaine. For a moment, he paused, so he could stare at her, and Yvaine noticed his longing gaze and smiled at him.
He quickly suppressed the urge to go to Amelia and steal her away from his sister.
I will have her all to myself soon.
That night, Duncan spent most of his time in his father’s study going through old scrolls and tax records. He needed to find out what made his father owe Laird MacGregor such a huge debt.
What exactly happened? Why did my faither join his insane war and take all the blame for it?
It had to be something huge, and Duncan knew that once he figured it out, he could beat Laird MacGregor.
21
“Apicnic?” Amelia asked when Duncan came to her chamber early the next morning with his proposition. She sat stiffly on the edge of her bed, her hands on her lap, and her lips parted slightly. “You and me?”
