The Laird's Lady

by Patti Schenberger

  March 11, 1604

  Diary, Braedon is a big boy now. He turned one today. There is concern among my husband’s family diary. Braedon’s blue eyes, fair hair and winning smile have earned him the scrutiny of the villagers. What I had not thought of has now come to pass in a most unusual manner. The child to which I gave birth last March was not Duncan’s. It is unmistakably Lord Kyle MacLay’s child. He is the spitting image of his father. I had failed to see this, blinded as I was by the truth of the conception. I had no inkling that a woman could get pregnant the first time she was with a man. The maids back at Castle Loch Haven assured me of this. I had no others to turn to for guidance. It is clear now that the child I carried was my Lord’s and that I have done him a grave injustice by spiriting myself and the child away under the cloak of darkness. Pray he forgives me. But that is not possible, as he is at rest with the heavens. I have sinned the greatest sin of all, and I must atone for my mistakes. I fear this will be my last entry.

  Elsbeth

  Devin turned the page, but it was blank. Just like the last time. “No, it can’t be. There has to be more.” She rifled through the pages, searching for another entry, searching for something. But there was nothing to be found.

  “I believe this is what you’re looking for.”

  Devin started, turning toward the sound of Connor’s voice. He held out a letter in his hand and laid it within her grasp. “This will tell the rest of the story.” He turned from her and settled himself with a chair.

  April 1, 1604

  We lay to rest Elsbeth Amelia Morehead MacPherson at the vase of Castle Loch Worden. She sleeps peacefully now, among the angels. Her death was quick, her body found among the trees in the forest. Hemlock on her lips, the remains of the fatal poison still in her grasp. She was loved by her husband, I, Duncan MacPherson, and I shall set to rights the identity of the small child. He was mine to raise and he will be mine to bear the burden of his mother and father’s untimely demise. Forgive me Lord MacLay, it was not my intention to take both your wife to be and your child from your home. I shall forever remain in your debt for allowing me the time I had with Lady Elsbeth MacPherson. Forever saddened, Lord Duncan MacPherson

  Devin closed the diary and the tears cascaded down her cheeks. “The baby was Kyle’s. She left without knowing the child was his. He never knew.” The tears came in a hot rush, falling unheeded down her face.

  Connor rose from his chair and moved to the window-seat. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her close.

  “No one knew the truth till the child started to grow up.”

  He rested his chin on the top of her head and let her cry. She needed to get it all out, everything that had been bottled up inside since before he came along. Stroking his hand over her head, he held her without saying a word, till the sobs turned to hiccups.

  She pulled back from his embrace and looked up at him. “How long have you known?” A hiccup emphasized her words.

  “For about a month and a half now,” he answered honestly. “The diary must have been passed down from generation to generation in my family and no one thought anything of it until my grandmother was on her death bed. She summoned me to her side from Australia and gave me the book. She told me to read it and go after my legacy. I didn’t know if I wanted to do that, to disrupt a man’s home and life after all this time. But I went ahead and had my barrister send a letter to Lord Roland, informing him of my existence. By the time I got to Scotland, I had learned of your cousin’s death and that you had taken over the running of the castle. And when I arrived, well….”

  “You arrived just in time to save my life,” Devin stated, looking up at him from beneath tear-soaked lashes.

  “Right,” he looked away, hiding the blush he was sure was on his face.

  “So…” Devin said slowly. “Now what? I presume you’ve read the first diary.”

  Connor nodded. “I have indeed. It boggles the mind, I must admit.”

  “That it does,” Devin agreed. She shifted back, removing herself from his embrace. Instantly, his arms felt cold, devoid of the warmth that had filled them when he held her.

  “Lady Noone.”

  “Lord Connor.”

  He shook his head. “Ladies first.”

  “You are the true owner of the castle, not me. You have it in your ancestry. I just inherited the title. We have to let people know.”

  “Lady Noone, by all rights you are the owner. My ancestors didn’t come forward to claim it as they should have once the error was made known.”

  Devin moved from the window-seat and walked about the room. “I can’t stay here knowing what I know.”

  “Why not? Why not stay here while we figure out what really is the right thing to do. The villagers adore you; I heard it in their voices when I arrived. They would die for you.”

  “Please.” She waved her hand at him.

  “Mrs. Goode, she is a formidable foe if you cross her against you.” He grinned.

  “Okay, that one I’ll give you.” She smiled back at him.

  Connor liked it when she smiled. It lit up her whole face. He mentally shook his head. Get back to the business at hand. The last thing Lady Noone needed right now was for him to hit on her. Wait a minute, he told himself. He wasn’t hitting on her. He was just…he paused for a second, internalizing the thought. What exactly was he doing?

  “Connor?” She repeated his name.

  Pulling himself from his wayward thoughts, he looked up at her. “Yes, milady.”

  “Do you think you could call me Devin? This milady stuff gets a bit daunting.”

  “I think that could be arranged.” He grinned at her. “So how about one of my cinnamon rolls now, Devin?”

  “I’d like that,” she smiled at him. “Lead the way.”

  Connor rose from the seat and offered her his arm. At the first touch, he felt a jolt of electricity surge through him. He paused for the briefest of seconds and fought the urge to look at her and see if she felt it too.

  “Right this way, mi…I mean, Devin.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Damn it, Rollie, you did this on purpose. You and Kyle. You ganged up on me and now what am I going to do?” Devin paced the length of the office, alternating between kicking at the fringe of the Persian rug and yelling at the ceiling in her frustration. For the past two weeks, she had been in a state of turmoil. Not knowing which end was up, whether she was coming or going.

  “You both planned this, didn’t you? Get me to fall for the guy so I could move on with my life. Well, it’s not going to work. It’s just not….” Wait a minute, falling for the guy? No, not her, she was just. She was just being nice to Connor? So why did her insides turn to mush every time he smiled at her, and why did she get all giddy inside every time he took her arm and lead her in to dinner? This would never do. There was no way she was falling in love with the guy. Was there?

  She paced the length of the office and muttered a word even Rollie would be appalled to hear her say.

  “Things can’t be that bad, Lady Noone.”

  Devin stopped short, nearly an inch from Connor’s broad chest. “When did you come in?” And more importantly, how much did he hear of her previous conversation?

  “Just now, why?”

  “Nothing.” She let out a long sigh.

  “Problems?” He inquired, settling himself on the sofa.

  “No, nothing I can’t handle.” She smiled in spite of her own objections. “You?”

  “Fine, fine.” He crossed his legs and leaned back, linking his arms behind his head. Damn, the man looked good sitting there. A dozen thoughts ran through Devin’s mind and not one of them was proper. Shaking herself from her errant thoughts, she moved to sit behind the desk, busying herself with a stack of papers.

  “That photo, is that Lord Roland and the Laird?” He motioned to the credenza.

  Devin swiveled around in the chair. “Yes, that’s the two of them, though as you can see, Laird MacLay is invis
ible.”

  “Yes, I noticed.” His voice came from directly behind her. Devin forced herself to stay facing the photos. She refused to look at him.

  “Lady Noone, am I making you nervous?” Connor toyed with a strand of her hair, twisting it around his finger.

  “Of…of course not,” she lied, still facing the wall.

  “You make me very nervous,” he said softly.

  She turned to face him, her lips scant inches from his. “I do?” she whispered, unable to take her eyes off his.

  He nodded. “Very much so.”

  “But why?”

  Connor shrugged. “I’m not sure, but I’d like the opportunity to find out.”

  Without conscious thought, Devin lifted her hand to his face, and pushed back a strand of auburn hair that had fallen across his brow. Connor caught her hand and lifted it to his lips. “Bad idea, milady.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because it makes me want to do this.” He lowered his head and captured her mouth with his. Devin sighed, allowing herself to be drawn into the kiss. His arms tightened about her as she snuggled closer. His tongue teased the corners of her mouth, awaiting access and she granted it. He tasted like cinnamon and spice. A heady combination all rolled into one.

  A groan fell from her lips as he deepened the kiss, igniting her senses. She wanted more, needed more.

  He pulled back and rested his forehead on hers. “Wow.”

  A simple one word response. “Definitely, wow,” she smiled against his neck, inhaling the scent of his cologne.

  “Milady, something tells me this is not over, not by a long shot.”

  ****

  Taking the last two steps at a trot, Connor rounded the corner of the battlement.

  “So this is where it all began, eh Lord MacLay?”

  Leaning over the edge, Connor peered down at the murky waters below. “Long way down. No one deserves to die like this. Regardless of the circumstances.” He walked the length of the tower, then back again.

  “Lord MacLay, I feel a bit odd doing this, but I need your advice. That and Lord Roland if he’s available.” Connor glanced around, to make sure he was truly alone.

  “I came fully intending to seek claim to the castle and now I find I don’t want to do that, it isn’t a priority for me anymore. I...I don’t know what I mean and I’m sure I’m bumbling this all about, but the question is this. I wish to seek the hand of Lady Noone in marriage. I find myself enamored of the lass and I love her.” He paused. “I love her,” he repeated with a goofy grin on his face. “So, my Lords, I wish to ask your permission to do so. She will be well cared for, and never want for anything within her lifetime.”

  Connor stood silently, awaiting something, anything from the heavens. He looked left, then right. Nothing. “I take it I have your blessings, my lords?” Again, he paused. “Well, at least you didn’t send down a thunderbolt to deter me.”

  He waited another second, then grinned and headed for the stairs. “No time like the present.”

  ****

  “More wine, Lady Noone?” He inquired, reaching out with the bottle.

  “No, nothing more, thank you. I’m stuffed.”

  “It was a wonderful meal Mrs. Goode prepared.”

  “Yes, very much so. I don’t think I’ll eat another bite for at least a week.” She smiled across the table at him.

  The door to the dining room swung inward and Mrs. Goode entered the room, carrying two glasses of champagne.

  “I do hope you’ve saved room for one more thing. It’s a special toast. To celebrate Lady Noone’s recovery.”

  Devin inwardly groaned. But she knew she wouldn’t hurt the woman’s feelings by refusing. “Of course.”

  Mrs. Goode set the crystal goblet down in front of her, and then moved to give Connor one. “I’ll be leaving you now. Have a good evening.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Goode, we’ll see you in the morning.” Connor nodded at her.

  “Goodnight, Mrs. Goode.” Devin reached for the goblet and moved it to her lips. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glint of something. Lowering the glass, she looked through the side and gasped.

  “Connor.”

  “Yes, milady.” He smiled at her.

  Devin tilted the glass and fished out the object. Holding it in her hand, she stared at it. “It’s a ring.”

  “Really, what kind of ring?”

  “Diamond,” Devin replied, drying it off with her napkin.

  Connor pushed back his chair and crossed to her side. “Well, I guess there’s only one thing to do, then.” He took the ring from her hands and dropped to one knee.

  “Lady Noone, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

  Devin stared at him incredulously. She opened her mouth, and then promptly closed it.

  Connor shifted, uncertainty filling his face. “Lady Noone?”

  “Yes,” she whispered, then threw herself in his arms.

  On the other side of the door, Connor heard the kitchen staff erupt in cheers.

  Epilogue

  Four years later

  Devin smiled down at her red-haired daughter and gave her a gentle push.

  “Off you go, Ellie. Find some more Easter eggs for your basket. Watch Mrs. Goode, she knows where the best ones are.”

  The little girl smiled broadly up at her mother, then ran over to where the housekeeper stood.

  “Look, Momma, I found another one.” Little Kyle proudly held up the blue plastic egg for his mother to see.

  “Good job, sweetheart.”

  She watched as the two children ran off in search of more treasures, trailed by Algee. As time had gone on, the once scared mongrel had turned into a fierce some watchdog. No one dared mess with “his” three year old charges, Devin thought fondly, watching the dog lope across the grass in hot pursuit.

  “Our children are smart and adventurous, just like their mother.”

  His words were whispered against her ear, as Devin snuggled back into the warmth of her husband’s broad chest. “And they know just how to wrap me around their little finger, just like their father,” she replied. Her three year-old-twins were the delight of her life, next to their father.

  Four years ago, when she had come to in her bedroom in the castle, she found Connor standing over her. It was Connor who had saved her from a fateful fall off the battlement. Kyle was gone, for whatever reason finally able to pass on to a peaceful existence on the other side.

  Slowly, she found herself falling for the enigmatic Lord, and within a year’s time span, said yes when he asked for her hand in marriage.

  Devin couldn’t believe her good fortune. She knew to whom she owed it all. She also knew that somewhere, somehow Lord Kyle MacLay was looking down and smiling at the happy couple and their two children.

  Looking skyward, she whispered, “Wherever you are Lord MacLay, thank you for everything. I hope you’re finally at peace.”

  “So, Lady MacLay, what are the odds that we might be able to sneak away for say a half-hour. I’ve got an Easter surprise of my own planned for you.” Connor kissed her cheek and turned her around in his arms.

  Devin wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself closer to his chest. “I think the odds are quite in our favor, my Lord husband. But really, another surprise. You spoil me too much, my Lord.” She thought of the surprise she had in store for him and felt a flutter in her stomach. Another child due in February. “I think that could be arranged.”

  “Anything for my Lady. For forever and ever.” Connor murmured as his lips took hers. Lost deep in their own passion, neither noticed the shimmering images of Laird Kyle MacLay and Lord Rollie Noone atop the battlement smile at one another and slowly fade away.

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