Page 83 of A Virgin for the Icy Highlander
Oh…
He stopped her with a soft kiss. His hand cradled the back of her neck as his arm wound around her waist.
“I do ken ye,” he murmured, pulling back. “Ye are mine.”
She blinked, dazed. “Was that a… test?”
“Nay, love,” he said, brushing a lock of hair from her face. “That was me givin’ ye one last chance to leave, lettin’ ye hate me enough to go without regret.”
“I could never hate you,” she whispered, holding his face. “And as I told you at that bridge, you can give me all the chances in the world to leave, and I will take none of them. But our deal is off, I’m afraid. I can’t just be a convenient bride to you, I won’t. I want all of you.”
He smiled. “Then ye should ken that I agree. And if anyone tries to separate us or come between us, I’ll always find ye and bring ye home to me.” He brushed his thumb across the apple of her cheek. “I’ll never let any harm come to ye again, love.”
“I think you more than proved that,” she said. There was a slight tremor in her voice. “What will happen to us now? When they find him… what will happen to us? They’ll try to take you away. They’ll separate us. They’ll?—”
He kissed her again to quieten her.
“Dinnae worry about such things,” he said softly, taking her by the hand. “I didnae come here without a plan, love. He started a war when he took ye and Ellie. And I ken how to win a war.”
It did nothing to ease her nerves, but she allowed him to lead her along the hallway and down the stairs. Gathered in the entrance hall, making quite the odd group, she was surprised to find her family conversing with Oscar and Thomas.
The conversation came to a halt at the arrival of Grace and Hunter.
Marianne stepped forward.
“What happened?” she asked, offering a smile to Hunter.
“He’s dead,” Hunter replied. “He threatened to kill Grace. Confessed that he’d killed his first wife, too.”
Grace’s father gasped. “What?”
“This is what I have been trying to tell you,” Grace said, glowering at the older man. “He was evil.”
Marianne nodded, showing more authority than Grace had thought possible. “I will stay behind and tell the constables that I saw it all. That it was an honorable and justified action—a duel to spare the virtue and life of my sweet sister.” She gestured to the front door. “My husband is waiting in the carriage; I will bring him in to bear witness and testify. He had dealt with Lord Huston before. He is… not fond of the man.”
“Marianne!” their father protested.
“If Laird MacLogan had not arrived in time, your youngest daughter might have been found dead in her room! At the very least, that awful Earl would have killed her within a matter of years!” Marianne shot back. “She tried to tell you. You would not listen. So, yes, I shall do this, and you shall also tell the constables that it was a justified action.”
She pointed at her brother. “You, too, for you were foolish enough to let yourself be manipulated by the Earl. For three years, I have watched him slither into a friendship with you, and you have been blind to his intentions.” She tutted like a disappointed mother. “He was scheming from the beginning.”
Grace’s father paled. His gaze grew sheepish as he looked toward his youngest daughter. “Was he really so cruel?”
“He was,” Grace replied. “I cannot begin to repeat the things he said to me before I broke his nose, but if you had heard them, Iknowyou would have punched him for me. The trouble was, he was an earl, and I was a troublemaker. Who was anyone going to believe? Now, I am still a troublemaker, but I am not the same girl I was. Whether you like it or not, Father, I am going to Scotland to be married to Hunter. I would like to have your blessing, but it matters not if you won’t give it.”
Her father gulped loudly and raised his gaze to Hunter. “You saved her…”
“I will always keep her safe,” Hunter replied.
Her father nodded. “And… this wedding?” He cleared his throat. “Do you think there might be a place for a fool? A fool who is… so very sorry for the hurt he has caused and the grave mistake he almost allowed to happen?”
“That is up to me bride,” Hunter said, glancing down at Grace.
She smiled back at him. “Yes, Father, I think there might be a place for a fool who is sorry, as long as he isgenuinelysorry.”
“Make that two fools, Gracie,” her brother said sheepishly.
“And a sister?” Marianne asked.
