by Platt, Meara
“So, there is still no way out for me without risking the ruination of my parents? This is my fault again. I’ve made things worse, not better. I shouldn’t have been here. I only meant to talk privately with His Grace and Lady Melinda. Then you and Tilbury arrived and…”
Stoke approached him. “So, this was your brilliant idea, MacLauren?”
“Aye, I’ll take full responsibility for it. But I dinna make Lord Tilbury utter a word he did not mean. He loves yer daughter. Will ye just stand there and glower at me, or are ye going to do something about it? We are down to mere hours now to fix this.” He glanced at Melinda, who was still in tears as she opened the box and withdrew the ring with shaking hands.
At least she hadn’t yet tossed it across the room.
He and the duke watched as she slid it onto her finger. She kept it on and stood staring down at her hand through her veil of tears.
Lady Withnall finally rose and came toward him. “I suppose Tilbury’s taken himself off and left you behind. Ride back to Chipping Way with me and Heather. There’s nothing more you can do here.”
He spared a glance at Stoke. “Fight for yer daughter’s happiness.”
He kept his arm around Heather as he led her out of the duke’s residence, quite aware of Lady Withnall walking beside them. “Why did ye bring Heather here?”
The termagant did not appear at all remorseful. “Melinda and her father needed to hear the plea from her. You were too busy worrying about Tilbury to think about Melinda. But she needed a talking to as well. So did her father.”
“How did it go?”
“Heather spoke from her heart. She was honest and brilliant.”
Despite his irritation, he smiled. “Och, I dinna doubt it. The lass does no’ lie.”
“Except to herself,” Lady Withnall remarked.
“Aye.” He assisted Lady Withnall into her carriage and then gave a hand up to Heather. He climbed in last and settled beside the lass who had claimed his heart. “I’m willing to take her up to Scotland, ride out today if she’ll agree to it.”
“Robbie, I won’t do it. I cannot risk Tilbury suing my parents. He’ll do it, too. You saw the stubborn set to his jaw. He still won’t let me go, you’ve just confirmed as much. All is lost to him, and it has done nothing to sway his mind. He thinks he can recreate the woman of his dreams by marrying me.”
They rode in silence for several minutes before Heather turned to Lady Withnall. “Do you think the minister will allow me to deliver a speech?”
The older woman was smiling broadly now. “Don’t ask him for permission, just do it. It’s your ceremony. You can say whatever it is you wish to say. What do you have in mind?”
“I’m not sure of the exact words yet, but it will be an appeal of the heart. Surely, if Tilbury loves Lady Melinda, he has to know he cannot go through with marrying me, or he’ll lose her forever. He has to know that if he forces me to marry him, then how can I ever honor him? How can he ever know happiness when he and I will be the most miserable couple ever to marry?”
“Och, lass. I dinna think any of it will sink into his thick head if it hasn’t sunk in by now. Nor would I want ye to make war with yer husband. If ye will no’ ride to Scotland with me, then I’d want ye to be happy in yer marriage. I’d never wish sadness on ye.”
She curled against his arm. “It’s too late, Robbie. My heart will never heal from losing you.”
“Nor will mine ever heal, lass.”
“You could abduct him, MacLauren. Keep him away from the ceremony,” Lady Withnall suggested.
“I’ve already considered it,” he said with a nod. “But it won’t stop him from suing Heather’s family. It will land me in prison. And he keeps too many footmen close at hand. I canno’ take them all on.”
“It isn’t too late to kill him.”
Robbie rolled his eyes. “I dinna kill in cold blood, Lady Withnall. But I did briefly consider it as well. No, either Heather rides to Scotland with me or…”
“Can you not say it? Either she’s with you for Scotland, or she marries Tilbury.” The older woman studied him with her beady eyes. “Unless he has a change of heart.”
“Which he’ll no’ have, but we can always pray for a miracle.” He leaned forward. “Would ye mind dropping us at Joshua and Holly’s house? Heather may as well let her family know what’s happened.”
“Of course.” She thumped her cane on the roof and gave her driver the new direction.
“Oh, good heavens. My parents will throw a fit when I tell them what went on today. It pains me to say this, but they will be delighted I’m still stuck with the marquess.”
Lady Withnall grunted. “They are social climbers, as are many parents. It is nothing new.”
Heather nodded. “Will you join us? I’m sure Holly will be pleased for your company.”
She cackled. “No, my dear. I shall drop you off, then be on my way. I’ll see you at St. Mary’s tomorrow.”
“Unless I take her to Scotland,” Robbie intoned.
“As I said, I shall see you tomorrow. You won’t carry her off to Gretna Green because it would put her parents in harm’s way, and you would not take her against her will. Are you certain you will not reconsider killing Tilbury?” She sighed. “No, I suppose you wouldn’t.”
The carriage drew up in front of Joshua and Holly’s residence soon after. Robbie was about to help Heather down when the lass turned to Lady Withnall and gave her a fierce hug. “I know this irritates you, but I don’t care. Thank you for helping me out. At least I got to speak to Lady Melinda and her father. Not that it did any good, but at least we tried.”
“Girl, you are impossible! Save your hugs for your big, handsome Scot.”
Robbie frowned. “I will no’ be—”
“Save your piety, MacLauren. True love cannot be denied. That is all I’ll say on the matter. Would you care to place a wager on the wedding taking place?”
He scowled at her.
“Too bad. I wonder if the local bookmakers are taking bets on you yet.” She thumped on her roof again. “Scranton, take me to the Strand bookmakers. This ought to be interesting.”
Robbie kept a light hold on Heather after helping her down from the carriage. They stood together and watched until the elegant conveyance disappeared around the corner. “Do you think she’ll bet for us or against us, Robbie?”
He arched an eyebrow. “Pixie, she believes in true love. For us, of course. She’ll wager her house that no wedding will take place. And it is time for ye to consider this seriously. There is a risk if ye break it off with Tilbury that he will sue yer family. But there’s also a chance he won’t pursue his claim, or if he does, that the judge would rule against him.”
“How much of a chance of a ruling in our favor do you think?”
He grimaced. “Slim to none, if ye’re asking my honest opinion. And yet, I cannot believe he would push it that far. This is a side of him I’ve not seen before. I’ve had a year’s dealing with him in my position as military liaison and have not known him to be vindictive.”
“That’s business. This is as personal as a thing can be.”
“Aye, lass. I know. But I dinna think a man’s nature can be so at odds.”
“If only it were true. Perhaps a cornice stone will fall on his head and bring him back to his senses. Do you think he might back down at the final hour?” Heather regarded him with hope in her eyes but also a mix of trepidation.
“I canno’ say for certain. What I do know is that yer worth to him is as his hostage. The game is over once he takes you as his wife. There’s no play to be had after you exchange vows.”
She nodded. “This is how I feel, like a hostage and not a bride.”
“We’ve tried to make him see reason, but it’s time to make our own plans. He canno’ control this game. I won’t let him. Let’s sort through the possibilities and the consequences. If the threat to ruin yer family does no’ work to hold ye, then he gains nothing by pursuing a l
egal action other than the cruel pleasure of exacting revenge on a helpless family.”
“Isn’t that enough?”
“Once ye are married to me, you will no’ be entirely at his mercy. Ye’ll have the clans of Scotland behind ye if he attempts to give yer family trouble. Caithness for certain. Probably Hume, since my cousin, Thad, is heir to the Earl of Hume. Ye would not be powerless.”
“I’m sure my Farthingale relations would also come to my aid.”
He nodded reluctantly. “Aye, but I dinna like to get them involved. They live in London, as does Tilbury, and must deal with each other socially and professionally. Ye dinna want these peers taking sides and brawling in the House of Lords.”
“How would it be different with only the Scottish lords involved?”
“Och, lass. We Scots live for a good fight, especially against the Sassenachs. We dinna like them, and they dinna like us. We are piss on their boots. But we Scots will no’ be threatened. We know how to fight back.”
“I see. Fight back? You aren’t going to do anything foolish when you leave here, are you?”
“Depends.”
“On what?”
He cast her a devilish but gorgeous smile. “On yer definition of foolish.”
Chapter Fifteen
“Robbie, let’s take a walk around the square first. I need a little more time to think before I face my parents.” Heather dreaded the possibility of having to talk to them just yet. However, there was little chance of avoiding them and not only because they had settled in with Holly and Joshua. They deserved to be told what was happening since they were the ones who stood to lose everything by her actions.
There were mere hours left, less than twenty, before everyone headed off to St. Mary’s Church and the dreaded ceremony in the morning.
“Still hoping for a miracle, lass?”
She nodded as he tucked her arm in his, and they began to stroll. “As you said, it isn’t over until Tilbury and I exchange vows. Oh, Robbie. I don’t know if I can form the words. I do. I think my heart will burst if I have to say them.”
“Then don’t say them, Heather. We’ll deal with the consequences as they arise, assuming there are any.”
“I hate that we are caught up in Tilbury’s game. And what of Lady Melinda? She’s played plenty of games of her own. I hate that we’ve been dragged in. I don’t think I shall sleep at all tonight. I’ll just stay on my knees and pray until daylight breaks, and then I’ll pray some more.”
“Fretting and agonizing will accomplish nothing. Get a good night’s rest, lass. Ye’ll need it.”
She laughed mirthlessly. “Why? Are we going to make a run for it?”
He shrugged. “If ye wish. Ye have only to say the word, and I’ll take ye up to Scotland.”
“They’ll put you in prison. I’m not putting you in harm’s way.”
“Do I no’ have a say in the matter?”
She sighed. “Walking isn’t helping much to clear my mind. Dahlia and Holly will be waiting for me, I’m sure. You said that you and Tilbury dropped Dahlia here before going on to visit Stoke. I might as well let her know the plan was a disaster.”
“It wasn’t. Ye dinna know that for certain. Good things happened as well. The pair finally confronted each other. Stoke is now aware of all that’s been going on between Tilbury and his daughter. He may have suspected, but I’m sure he was surprised by some of what was said. She put on his damn ring. It has to mean something.”
“I hope so. This is so frustrating, Robbie.”
He arched a golden eyebrow, looking quite handsome as a sliver of sunlight broke through the clouds and shone down on him. Of course, it would. This was Robbie, and the sun couldn’t help but shine on him. “Lass, just remember, this game is not in their control. Aye, we have indulged them in the hope of a peaceful reconciliation. But in fact, the outcome is entirely in your hands. There may be consequences. I’m willing to suffer whatever may fall upon me. But I will no’ force ye to do anything ye dinna wish to do.”
He glanced around and saw that no one was on the street, so he led her into the small park in the center of the square and kissed her behind one of the lush trees. The kiss was gentle and soft, yet there was a smolder in his gaze. “I’ll be at the church for the ceremony. Ye have only to say the word, and I’ll take ye away. Gallant will enjoy a good run.”
She tugged him closer, enjoying the feel of his body against hers and the musk scent of his skin. “Tell me about your Highlands, Robbie. Why do you love it so much?”
He kissed her brow. “It is a glorious place. A rugged land of hills and glens and soaring peaks. Ye can hear the sea batter the coast from miles inland. Ye can hear the whistle of the wind as it blows across the hills and through the fields of heather. There is no finer sight than a hawk soaring above a mountain valley, its wings outstretched against the bluest sky ye’ve ever beheld.”
She closed her eyes and tried to imagine what he was describing.
“The water in the lochs and rivers is the color of blue ice. It’s cold enough to shrivel a man’s bollocks. Sorry, lass. But this is what we Scots do. Fight the cold. Fight nature. But we also respect it. There are faerie pools and waterfalls hidden within the glens that will be more to yer comfort, for the sun warms those waters. I’ll take ye to one of those faerie glens once we’re married.”
She smiled while listening to him.
“The lore says if the faeries come upon a couple truly in love, they’ll bless them with beautiful children.”
“And if the couple is not in love?”
He grinned. “They’ll send the wife’s mother to live with them.”
Heather laughed. “You are making it all up.”
He held up his hands in mock surrender. “It’s all true. My brother, Malcolm, will confirm it. He and his wife have been popping children out so fast, they’ll need to add another wing onto the castle just to accommodate them.”
“The castle?”
“Aye, lass. We have castles in Caithness. Where do ye think the Earl of Caithness and his family would live?”
She nibbled her lip and fretted. “Would we live there, Robbie?”
“Aye. My granduncle is earl, and Dornoch Castle is his. Malcolm will inherit it along with the title eventually, so he’s there with Anne and their children. Malcolm and I call our granduncle our grandda because he raised us, and he likes to have us all under his roof. He has been more of a grandfather, even a father, to us than our own.”
“He sounds like a wonderful man.”
“Aye, but he can also be hardheaded and stubborn. Meddlesome, too. If ye wish for more privacy, we could settle at Brora Castle. It is another of his castles, and I know he would no’ mind. They aren’t grand like the English castles. Just big piles of weathered, gray stone, and drafty whenever it turns cold or rainy…and it is often cold or rainy. ’Tis a hard land for farming, too. A man can break his back trying to make something grow out of the stubborn soil. But we are never far from the sea, and the fish are always plentiful.”
“It sounds wonderful.”
They returned to Holly’s house, and Heather’s thoughts turned to her parents. Perhaps the mention of living in a castle, no matter how old and dank it was, might convince them to allow her to marry Robbie.
Not that they would agree to it straight away, even if Tilbury was no longer a threat to them. They were snobs and wanted better for her. To them, it was all about rank and prominence in London society. Marrying a soldier and living in a remote Scottish castle would not do.
True love had no place in their aspirations.
“Pixie, are ye all right?”
“My heart is raw, and I do not look forward to a confrontation with my parents. I hope they are out visiting relatives. I’d like the chance to talk to Holly and Dahlia alone first. Dahlia will be curious about the flowers, of course.”
Indeed, what a sight it was to see hundreds of flowers, all with a romantic significance, piled in the Duke of St
oke’s home. Red carnations, tulips, and roses. Purple lilacs.
But fortune did not smile on her. Both of her parents were seated in the parlor with her sisters and looked up with disapproving expressions when she and Robbie walked in.
“Oh, dear.” Holly set down her teacup and rose to give her a hug.
Heather nodded. “It has all fallen apart.”
“What happened?” Her father set aside his cake, his brow furrowed in worry as he also rose. “Is Tilbury attempting to back out of the wedding?”
“No. Quite the opposite. He won’t release me from our betrothal.”
Her mother inhaled sharply. “Why ever would he do such a thing? And why would you want him to?” She glared at Robbie. “Captain MacLauren, I see you’ve had a hand in this. I’ll ask you to leave now and cause no more trouble for my daughter.”
Heather put a hand on Robbie’s arm to keep him exactly where he belonged…by her side. “Trouble? He’s been trying to unravel the trouble I’ve caused. I do not love Tilbury, and he does not love me. If you must know, he is madly in love with the Duke of Stoke’s daughter, Lady Melinda.”
Her mother did not appear moved in the least. “So what? You have him, and she does not.”
She made a choked sound and shook her head in disbelief. “That is entirely the point. I cannot marry someone who does not love me. Would you wish this on me? Having to spend the rest of my life knowing my husband is dreaming of someone else, pining for another, and thinking of this other woman whenever he looks at me? I am trying to be rid of him. He is being most uncooperative about it.”
Her father resumed his seat beside her mother. “Then the wedding will take place?”
Heather cast him a stubborn look. “No, I’m going to stop it.”
“Out of the question.” Her father stormed to his feet. “Do you realize the consequences to us?”
Her mother’s teacup rattled as she set it down hastily, almost spilling its contents over the lip. “You are not stopping it, Heather. Do be serious. Have you packed yet? Is your wedding gown carefully stored and ready for tomorrow? You’ll have to do something with your hair. You cannot put it up in so simple a fashion. It must be something elegant, something fitting for a marchioness.”