Page 63 of The Highlander's Kilted Bride
Charlie eyed him with concern. “Do you need me to thump on your back? You look like that went down the wrong way.”
He cleared his throat. “No, I’m fine. And I must say that’s a hell of a nasty legend even for the Highlands. You don’t really believe that, do you?”
She waved a hand. “Of course it’s all stuff and nonsense, but Melissa has gotten it into her silly head thathermarriage is now cursed, as is the rest of the family. She’s convinced that the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse will shortly be descending on Laroch Manor.”
Kade tried to smother a laugh. “How unfortunate.”
“If you’d been in my sister’s bedroom this morning, you’d be employing considerably stronger language thanunfortunate.”
“I completely understand. Angus has a revolting Highland bonnet he pulls out on special occasions. He claims one of our ancestors wore it at the Battle of Culloden, and any attempt to correct the historical record is inevitably met with dramatic eruptions. But do your parents also believe this nonsense?”
“Mamma isn’t generally superstitious, but she and Melissa are very close and this has unnerved both of them. As for my father, he’s exceedingly annoyed at the loss of a family heirloom and the fact that he has to listen to my mother and Melissa harp on about it.” She shrugged. “I can’t really blame any of them, since the brooch is my responsibility.”
“So, it’s up to you to find it.”
“Yes.” She held up a finger. “Although I intend to hold off until Richard leaves. If I don’t have the brooch, he can’t court me.”
Kade laughed. “That’s certainly convenient.”
“Mamma has already accused me of losing the brooch for just that purpose. That was also a delightful discussion, as you can imagine. Believe me, losing it wouldn’t be worth the trouble. At some point I’ll simply tell poor Richard to bugger off and be done with it.”
“Miss Charlotte Stewart, you are the most extraordinary girl.”
Charlie gave him a cheeky smile. “Aren’t I just? Still, I’d best get to it and find the blasted thing before my family throws me out on my ear.”
Although Kade would only be here for a few days more, he resolved to help her as best he could. The likeliest explanation was that someone had stolen it, but it made sense to undertake a full search of the house and look for other explanations.
“I’ll help you look for it, then.”
“But you’re leaving in a few days,” she replied, sounding rather wistful. “And, truly, it’s not necessary. I’ve imposed on you enough with my tale of woe.”
“And, truly, it’s no imposition.”
Hedidwant to help her, and for more than a few days. The prospect of saying farewell to Charlie, likely forever, was a starling and unwelcome realization.
She hesitated. “Really?”
“Really.”
He was also realizing that he wanted to kiss her now, and keep on kissing her. Charlie had the most delightful mouth, pink and luscious and with a lovely shape that was perfect for smiling. All he had to do was lean a bit closer. Rather astonishingly, she seemed to be leaning in toward him, too, and it would only take a few more inches—
She jerked upright and threw a panicked glance at the door. “Oh, thunderbolts. Someone’s coming.”
It took a moment for Kade to pull his wits out of his Charlie-induced haze. But, yes, footsteps were coming their way down the hall.
She scrambled for her shoes. “Hell and damnation.”
Kade did a bit of scrambling, too, straight to the piano. “I’ll tell whoever it is that I’m in here working.”
She barely had time to acknowledge his remark before the door opened and Sir Leslie Morgan, one of the wedding guests, sauntered into the room.
“Ah, there you are, my dear. I have come to—” Morgan came up short when he spotted Kade at the piano. “Kendrick, what the devil are you doing in here?”
Kade put down the pencil he’d just picked up and subjected Morgan to a calm perusal.Dandy pratwas how Angus had described the man after meeting him yesterday. Kade wagered that Morgan spent more time and money on his wardrobe than did most fashionable ladies. But underneath his stylish if slightly absurd appearance Kade suspected lurked a hardened roué. He also cultivated an air of cynical amusement, which was both hackneyed and tiresome.
“I’m obviously working,” Kade replied. “What’s your excuse for wandering about the house looking for young ladies?”
“I’m looking for only one lady,” Morgan answered in a supercilious tone. “And at Lady Kinloch’s request. She tasked me with finding Miss Charlotte.”
