Page 51 of Addicted to His Highland Bride

Instead, Kenney looked ashen, and his eyes had a wildness about them as if he had witnessed something to boil his blood. Edwina was no fool; she immediately assumed that John and Felix had dealt with him, giving him a warning that he could not ignore.

“The sooner this is over, the better,” Kenney muttered. “I’ll leave ye with these animals, where ye belong.”

Edwina frowned. “Animals?”

“Aye, animals.” He shuddered. “I only wanted what was owed.”

“And what is it ye think ye’re owed?”

He glowered at her. “The coin for bearin’ the burden of ye for so long. It’s my right to have due compensation, but these… country folk, they’re swindlers and cheats and tricksters. Even if ye wrung them like a cloth, ye wouldnae get a coin out of them.”

“Seems like someone needs to look in a mirror,” Edwina shot back.

Kenney sneered. “And ye seem to think ye’re marryin’ some fine Laird, but he’s nae garnered a reputation for bein’ ruthless without reason. If he lays a hand on ye, daenae think ye can come runnin’ to me. The moment these vows are done, ye’re his concern, and nay longer any of mine.”

“Sounds like perfection.” Edwina wondered what Felix and John had done to rattle her cousin so much, though she could not deny that it was deeply satisfying to see him squirm.

She was certain that Felix would tell her later, and quickly put it from her mind. As long as Kenney was behaving, that was all that mattered, for nothing was going to ruin this day for her. Nothing.

Tugging hard on Kenney’s arm, she dragged him up the steps and into the Kirk’s vestibule, where they would wait until they were summoned through. She did not know what Melissa and Meredith had arranged, only that she should listen for the sound of music.

* * *

“Do ye think it worked?” Felix whispered to John.

Both men were stood at the end of the Kirk’s aisle, waiting for the doors to open and reveal Edwina.

John smiled. “Aye, I think so.”

“His face was a picture, eh?” Felix did not normally like to enact revenge, especially as he was usually the recipient, but Kenney had deserved what was coming to him. Even without the poisoning, he needed to know where he stood, Earl or not.

John nodded discreetly. “Yers would be too if ye had ice water chucked at ye while ye slumbered, and I do believe he was nursin’ a headache.”

Their threat to Kenney had been simple enough, and all the more potent for its lack of violence. They had snuck into Kenney’s chamber, entirely aware that he would be sleeping late, and thrown two full buckets of freezing, dirty water upon him. He woke, spluttering and yelping, to find John and Felix looming over him with their swords drawn. Swords that were never going to be used, but Kenney did not know that.

The message was simple,“Leave as soon as the weddin’ is done, and this will be the only revenge I exact upon ye. Linger and cause trouble or misery for my wife, and ye’ll taste somethin’ far worse than old water from the horses’ trough. Do we understand one another?”

The shock and the sight of two glinting broadswords drained the color from Kenney’s face. He nodded so hard that Felix thought his head might wobble off.

“I’ll go. I’ll go and when I do, you willnae hear from me again”, Kenney said feebly, withdrawing underneath the sodden coverlets, shivering in fright while anger burned in his eyes. “But can ye blame a man for wantin’ insurance?” he muttered.

“Yer actions were a strange sort of insurance, Lord Beckingdale. Then again, I suppose ye are a strange man.”Felix pondered Kenney’s words for a moment or two, before settling on an explanation: in the first instance, Kenney wanted to make sure that his cousin would be miserable, while his pursuit of them last night was likely to gain material for a scandal, in case the wedding did not proceed.

Kenney’s nose wrinkled, no doubt smelling the foul odor that drenched him. “I only want what’s owed, but as you’re clearly an unreasonable brute, I’ll take what I can get—wavin’ farewell, farewell, for good, to that useless sow of a cousin as well as the rest of ye. I’ll be keeping’ all that she left behind though.”

A sudden thought came to Felix. An opportunity that he could not miss, even if it meant swallowing some of his pride and giving Kenney a sliver of what he wanted. A gift that would prove Felix’s affection for Edwina. However, it remained to be seen if Kenney would agree, though he said he would contemplate the offer.

Just then, pipes began to play, filling the Kirk with rousing music that brought the small congregation to their feet. There were not many guests in attendance, as most of those who had attended the Masquerade Ball had returned home, with no inclination to return so soon. However, Felix sensed there was another reason for the small gathering—as Edwina no longer had any family aside from Kenney, and no real friends, it was not as obvious among fewer guests.

But Felix was not concentrating on the congregation. His eyes widened and his chest swelled with pride as the doors opened. The sunlight shone bright behind Edwina, offering just the silhouette of her at first. A collective gasp whispered through the Kirk from those who stood nearer, seeing her properly before he did.

Then, the light shifted, and he saw his bride in her full glory for the first time. She looked as if she had wandered out of a myth, too perfect and too beautiful to be real. Her gown was of dark green, the color of the forests and hills, with golden accents and what appeared to be tiny, embroidered thistles across the flowing skirts and tight bodice.

Her hair was a fiery halo, fashioned half up and half down, and adorned with thistles and wildflowers. The long, copper tendrils curled down over her pale bosom, making him think of later that night. How divine it would be to see her bare again, with her hair draped over her exquisite breasts.

Immediately, his eyes snapped back up to her face, which was the most astonishing part. He knew she had barely slept, yet she looked radiant and rested. Her eyes sparkled, her lips seemed redder, and her cheeks were flushed with a pleasing pink, and as those lips curved into a smile, he knew that smile was for him.

What was I ever afraid of?It seemed so foolish to him now, as she continued to make her way toward him. In place of old fears, he felt a ripple of excitement. She was everything he had ever wanted; he had just not known it until he met her. No, she was everything he ever needed.

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