How to Marry a Royal Highlander

by Vanessa Kelly

  “So you really don’t mind that I’m going to marry her?”

  “Alasdair, I want you to be happy, as does your grandfather. And Miss Whitney seems like a truly splendid girl. I’m sure she’ll make you a fine wife.” Walter smiled. “Better than Donella, I suspect, since Miss Whitney will no doubt bring you to heel whenever it’s necessary.”

  Alec snorted. “Aye, there’s no doubt about that. Speaking of Grandfather, what blessed piece of luck kept him from landing in the middle of all this?”

  “After that distressing meeting in the library, I convinced him to go for a nap. I am supremely grateful that his rooms do not overlook this part of the gardens, because such a shocking sight would have been extremely deleterious to his health.”

  Alec sighed. “Well, I’d better go explain what happened before he hears it from one of the servants.”

  His father rose. “I’ll do that. Why don’t you stay here and . . . ah, here she is now.”

  Alec turned as the door opened and Edie came into the room. He went to meet her. “How are you, love?”

  She slipped into his arms. “I’m fine, all things considered. It’s not every day that one faces a murder attempt at the hands of a madwoman.” She glanced past him toward Walter and winced. “Oh, dear. Forgive me, sir. That was an exceedingly indelicate thing for me to say about one of your relations.”

  “Also exceedingly accurate,” Walter said. “How is poor Donella?”

  “The surgeon dressed her wound and gave her a dose of sleeping powders to help her settle. He said she can return to Haddon House in a day or two.”

  Walter shook his head. “The poor lass. I cannot imagine what she must be feeling. And what will we do with Glenna?”

  Alec clasped his shoulder. “We’ll figure it all out together, Father. As a family.”

  His father blinked several times, then smiled. “Dear me, you cannot imagine how happy it makes me to hear you say that. Well, I’m off to speak with your grandfather. I suppose I’ll see you at dinner.”

  After the door closed behind him, Edie sighed and laid her head against Alec’s chest. “It seems odd to be speaking of dinner, after all this. How utterly dull and normal to sit down to lamb and peas.”

  “Dull and normal sounds rather splendid at the moment. Although perhaps we should bring our pistols to the table, just in case.”

  She laughed. “I can’t wait to write to Evie and tell her everything that’s happened. Now she’s not the only one who sneered in the face of death and lived to tell about it.”

  Alec hugged her close. “Christ, don’t even joke about it. It was the worst moment of my life when I saw you up on that bloody wall. I thought I was going to lose you.”

  She leaned back in his arms, staring earnestly up at him. “I felt the same about you. I wanted to shake you for putting yourself in harm’s way like that.”

  He cradled her sweet face between his hands. “I would do it a thousand times over if it meant saving you. Never doubt that.”

  Her gaze went soft and misty behind her spectacles, and her lips trembled just a bit. “Then I suppose that means you must love me,” she said, gently mocking his earlier words in the library.

  Still, he heard the faint, questioning note in her voice. It suddenly occurred to him that he had yet to tell her how he truly felt about her. What a fool he was.

  He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “Lass, I adore you—more than life itself. I’ve adored you from the moment I first saw you.”

  She laughed. “Now that is a lie. I remember that moment as if it happened yesterday. You thought I was the most dreadfully rude person you’d ever met.”

  “True, but also the most adorable. And the prettiest.”

  When she scoffed, he walked over to the door, turning the key in the lock. She tilted her head to study him, one corner of her mouth kicking up in a questioning smile.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  When he swept her up in his arms, she let out an endearing little squeak. “I’ll just have to show you what I mean,” he said as he carried her to a very large, very plush chaise in the corner of the room.

  A slow, sensual smile curled up the corners of her mouth. He felt the power of it race through his body, straight to his groin.

  “Now who’s being the masterful one?” she said.

  “I am Master of Riddick, after all. It’s my job.”

  She grinned. “How could I have forgotten that?”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll be happy to remind you frequently.”

  And settling her onto the chaise, Alec took his time doing exactly that.

  Epilogue

  December

  Blairgal Castle

  “That was a splendid wedding ceremony,” Evelyn said as she fussed with the ribbons in Edie’s hair. “I loved the way you and Alec were piped around the castle grounds with all the Grahams and the entire village following behind.”

  “It was fun, wasn’t it?” Edie said, gazing at her twin’s reflection in the mirror. “Even though it was rather cold and blustery. I’m certain my nose turned as red as a beet.”

  “Don’t worry,” her twin said in a droll voice. “I’m quite sure Alec was looking down the front of your bodice, not at your nose.”

  “Evelyn Endicott, you will refrain from making vulgar remarks to your sister,” their mother said. “You’re a married lady now.”

  Evelyn widened her eyes at Mamma, who was seated in a comfortably padded chair in the small but luxurious retiring room down the hall from Blairgal’s ballroom. They’d repaired there after the wedding ceremony to lay aside their wraps and freshen up before the festivities began in earnest.

  “Mamma, that makes no sense,” Evelyn said. “If we can’t make that sort of joke after we’re married, when can we?”

  Surprisingly enough, their mother seemed to ponder the question as she sipped her whiskey. Mamma had grown rather fond of whiskey over the last several weeks, ending most evenings sitting with Lord Riddick in the drawing room indulging in a wee dram, as the earl called it. It was one of the only times those two weren’t arguing over something, although Edie suspected they both rather enjoyed twitting each other.

  “I suppose it’s acceptable to make a naughty jest or two when alone with one’s husband,” Mamma admitted. “In fact, your father and I have been known to indulge on occasion. Why, just the other night, shortly after your dear Papa arrived here at Blairgal for the wedding—”

  “Mamma, I think we’d better join our guests,” Edie said, hastily breaking in. “Alec and I are expected to lead the first reel.”

  “Oh, yes, I suppose so,” her mother said.

  As Mamma tossed back her whiskey, Evelyn threw Edie a wide-eyed, laughing glance. Their mother rarely let down her hair, so Edie was sure that her twin was finding Mamma’s behavior something of a revelation. In truth, their sojourn in the Highlands had been almost as good for her mother as it had been for Edie. Mamma had been growing rather bored with life in London, Edie suspected, and their time in Scotland had been anything but.

  “There, pet,” Evelyn said. “Your hair looks perfect, as do you.”

  Edie gave her reflection a critical once-over. “My nose still looks rather red. Do you think I should send Cora for some powder?”

  “I’m sure all our noses are red,” said Mamma. “December in the Highlands is certainly not for the fainthearted. Why we all had to march around in the middle of a snowstorm is beyond me.”

  “Mamma, there were only a few flurries,” Edie said. “Besides, it’s tradition for the clan and the villagers to accompany the bride and the groom from the kirk to the festivities.”

  “I wish those dreadful shrieking bagpipes were not part of that tradition,” her mother replied. “I don’t see how anyone could avoid a headache after listening to that din.”

  “Better not let Lord Riddick hear you say that. You know what he’s like about the old clan traditions,” Edie said as she came to her feet.r />
  “Well, I like the traditions,” Evelyn said, fluffing out the back of Edie’s wide skirts. “I found it especially moving when his lordship pinned that lovely tartan sash over your gown. I think almost everyone in the kirk got teary-eyed, even the men.”

  “The Scots do tend to get rather sentimental about such things,” Mamma said. “But I have to admit the tartan looks quite nice with your gown.”

  “And the clan badge is simply gorgeous,” Evelyn said.

  Edie ran a hand over the wide sash, made of the finest wool in the colors of Clan Graham. It draped over her shoulder across the front of her gown, secured with the clan badge, a silver brooch. When the earl had pinned it on right after she and Alec had taken their vows, it was one of the most emotional moments of the entire ceremony for Edie. She’d felt truly a member of her new family and clan. When Alec had bent down to whisper that the beautiful old pin had belonged to his mother, she’d slipped her hand into his, blinking away tears.

  “My gown does look splendid, doesn’t it?” Edie said, inspecting her cream-colored silk dress. It was an old-fashioned design, modeled on Lady Fiona’s wedding gown, with wide skirts and a low cut, crystal-trimmed bodice. It was the perfect canvas for the colors and badge of Clan Graham, and she’d loved it from the moment she’d put it on.

  From the look in Alec’s eyes when she’d joined him at the altar, he’d liked it too. And she had no doubt he’d like getting her out of it even more.

  Her twin reached over and took her hand. “You look incredibly beautiful, Edie. Will and I are just so happy for you and Alec.” Her eyes were rather misty-looking behind her spectacles, but then she flashed a grin. “Will had been predicting this for weeks, you know. He said you’d fallen head over heels for each other, but that you just hadn’t quite figured it out yet.”

  “I wish he’d told us,” Edie said in a dry voice. “It would have saved us a great deal of fuss and bother.”

  “Well, it’s all turned out for the best,” Mamma said. “Despite the trouble with that dreary Haddon family.”

  Edie sighed. “Mamma, we’ve been over this a dozen times. Donella has been nothing but kind and supportive, and Fergus has been as nice as can be expected under the circumstances.”

  Those circumstances were that his mother was currently under the care of a private physician in Edinburgh and was likely to remain so for the rest of her life. Various family members had admitted in retrospect that Mrs. Haddon had been emotionally unstable and prone to hysterical fits for quite some time. They’d gotten worse after the death of her husband, and she’d finally lost her grip on reality with the news that Alec was to return home. Apparently, she’d been hoping that he would be killed in the war. When he wasn’t, she’d paid a great deal of money to hire Lord Riddick’s former groom to murder Alec.

  Fortunately, the man had been as incompetent a villain as he’d been a groom. After his failed attempt at the hunting lodge, he’d clearly decided what little luck he’d enjoyed had run out and he’d disappeared. Lord Riddick had wished to run the poltroon to ground but Alec had finally talked him out of it. A trial would have drawn even greater attention to Mrs. Haddon’s tragic condition and embarrassed Donella and Fergus.

  Perhaps the worst part of the entire episode had been the heartbreaking scene when Alec told Fergus that his mother had attempted murder. The poor man had been stunned by the news and overcome with guilt at his mother’s villainy. After stammering out an apology to Edie, he’d broken down when he also tried to apologize to Alec. He’d offered to resign his position as estate steward, but Alec had simply given his cousin a quick embrace and told him not to be daft. He’d made it clear to Fergus that no one faulted him for defending his family’s honor.

  It would take time, but Edie had no doubt that the friendship between Alec and Fergus would be restored. Fergus had a good heart, though he was a tad too sensitive and emotional for his own good. Edie was convinced that her new cousin needed a nice vacation in London, where he would have the opportunity to meet new people and forget about his troubles. Perhaps she could convince Mamma to take him on as a special project now that all her children were married.

  “Oh, I suppose those two have redeemed themselves,” Mamma said, “but I think it will be good for everyone when Donella leaves to join that convent of hers. Then everything can get back to normal.”

  “If life in a gigantic old castle can ever be described as normal,” Evelyn said.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Edie mused. “It’s actually rather cozy.”

  She knew she sounded completely silly, but she’d come to love everything about Blairgal—well, except for the drafty hallways. She couldn’t help feeling how privileged she was to be a part of its history and traditions. Lord Riddick and the rest of his family had accepted her with open arms, and Edie knew how lucky she’d been to find such a gracious and welcoming home.

  And to find her forever home with Alec, the most wonderful man in the world. She could barely keep from bursting into tears of joy every time she thought about a future with him by her side.

  Evelyn tweaked the train of Edie’s gown and stood back to admire her. “There, you’re all set for your first dance with your husband. And he is a very lucky man to have you for his wife, old girl.”

  “Both Alasdair and William are very lucky men,” Mamma said. “I don’t say it often enough, but my daughters are the most beautiful girls in London and also the nicest.”

  The twins exchanged startled glances. Mamma had always doted on Edie, but she’d certainly never been prone to excessive sentimentality toward either of them, especially not Evelyn.

  “Thank you, Mamma,” Evelyn said. “That’s exceedingly kind of you.”

  “It’s simply the truth, my dears. Although I suppose I can’t persuade the two of you to leave off your spectacles for the ball, can I?” Mamma asked, ever hopeful.

  “It’s my wedding day,” Edie protested. “I’d like to be able to see it.”

  “And we’re both married now,” Evelyn pointed out. “No one will mind if we go about looking like a pair of fusty old bluestockings.”

  “Very well, although no daughter of mine could ever be termed a fusty old bluestocking,” Mamma said. “Now, I suppose we’d best get out there before the men start wondering where we are.”

  They followed their mother out and down the long hallway toward the ballroom.

  “What did you slip in her drink?” Evelyn murmured to Edie. “I’ve never seen her in this good a mood.”

  “She’s finally married us all off and rather well, too. It’s no wonder she’s so happy.”

  “Rather well is an understatement when it comes to you,” her sister said with a laugh. “Your new husband’s family is so rich it’s almost vulgar.”

  “I know. Isn’t it splendid?”

  “It certainly is.”

  “When you and Wolf get back from his assignment on the Continent, you must come live with us,” Edie said, imitating her mother’s grand manner. “I’m sure we must have an extra hunting lodge or estate hanging about somewhere that you could use.”

  Evelyn rolled her eyes but didn’t answer, since their husbands were waiting for them outside the ballroom. Wolf stepped up, took his wife’s hand, and gave her cheek a brief nuzzle. Evelyn’s eyes half-closed with pleasure as she melted into her handsome husband’s embrace.

  “Have you sorted out all the problems of the world?” Wolf asked. “You three were certainly in there long enough.”

  “We were talking about you and Alec,” Edie said. “And how best to drive you both crazy.”

  Alec, who’d been speaking to Mamma, turned to look at Edie, giving her a smile so wicked and sensual that she almost broke out in hives. He strolled over and slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her against his brawny body.

  “I hardly think you two have to plot about that,” he said. “You’re already very accomplished at it.”

  She smiled up at him. “Practice makes perfect.”
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  He dipped down and brushed a soft, delicious kiss across her lips. “Lass, you can practice making me crazy all you want later tonight when we’re alone. And naked.”

  Her knees went weak at the seductive note in his voice, but she forced a stern expression. “Alasdair Gilbride, behave yourself. What will everyone think?”

  He tilted her chin up, smiling at her. “I only care what you think, Edie, my love. You’re the most important thing in the world to me and don’t you ever forget it.”

  She melted into his arms, ready to have him carry her up to his bedroom right this second.

  “Enough of that, Alasdair Gilbride,” his grandfather barked as he bustled up to them. “You’ll have plenty of time for that nonsense later. Now you have to lead the opening reel.”

  Edie choked back a laugh at the annoyed look on her husband’s face. She dug an elbow into his side before he could object to his grandfather’s interruption.

  “Yes, your lordship, we’re ready,” she said.

  “It’s Grandfather, lassie,” the old man said. “No need for titles now that you’re part of the family.”

  Edie had to blink several times after that unexpected declaration, but her new grandparent was already shooing them all toward the door.

  “Come along now,” he said. “The pipers are in place and ready to start.”

  “Oh, no,” groaned Mamma. “Not more bagpipes.”

  “Dreadful things, aren’t they? Can’t stand them myself,” Lord Riddick said, taking her arm. “One must keep up with tradition, though. The clan expects it.” He led Mamma into the ballroom with Evelyn and Wolf following behind.

  Edie and Alec gaped at each other and then laughed.

  “Your grandfather hates bagpipes?” Edie asked. “How is that even possible?”

  Alec shook his head. “I’d forgotten that. I’d forgotten so much, idiot that I was.”

  She slipped her arm through his. “Like how much you love your family and how much you love Blairgal?”

  He nodded. “Aye, but with your help I remembered. Thank you, sweetheart, for helping to return it back to me.”