by Nora Roberts
“Father.” There was nothing to do but hang her head before his glowering eyes and wait for the worst.
“Have you lost your mind?”
She sighed. Because she was looking at the ground, she didn’t notice that Brigham shifted just enough to put himself between Serena and her father’s wrath. “My temper, Father.”
“There was a slight accident, Ian,” Brigham began. Taking out his handkerchief, he wiped milk from his face. “Serena lost her footing while she was carrying the milk.”
“It wasn’t an accident.” It would not have occurred to Serena to claim it as one and save herself. “I poured the pail of milk on Lord Ashburn deliberately.”
“I had eyes to see that for myself.” Ian planted his feet. At that moment, with the sun rising behind his back, his plaid tossed over one shoulder and his face hard as granite, he looked fierce and invincible. “I’ll apologize for the miserable behavior of this brat, Brigham, and promise you she’ll be dealt with. Into the house, girl.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Please.” Brigham put a hand on her shoulder before Serena could make her humiliated retreat. “I can’t in good conscience allow Serena to take the full blame. I provoked her, also deliberately. I called you a mule, I believe, did I not, Serena?”
Her eyes kindled as she lifted her head. She was careful to lower it again quickly lest her father see she was unrepentant. “Aye.”
“I thought that was it.” Brigham wrung out his sodden handkerchief. What Parkins would say to this, Brigham couldn’t even surmise. “The incident was as unfortunate as the insult, and as regrettable. Ian, I would take it as a favor if you would let the matter drop.”
Ian said nothing for a moment, then made an impatient gesture toward Serena. “Take what’s left of that milk into the house and be quick about it.”
“Yes, Father.” She sent a quick look at Brigham that was a mixture of gratitude and frustration, then ran, milk slopping at the lip of the pail.
“She deserved a whipping for that,” Ian commented, though he knew he would laugh later at the memory of his little girl dumping milk all over the young English buck.
“That was my first thought.” Brigham glanced idly at the ruined sleeve of his coat. “Unfortunately, on further consideration, I’m forced to admit I quite deserved it. Your daughter and I seem unable to maintain a polite demeanor with each other.”
“So I see.”
“She is stubborn, sharp-tongued, and has a temper that flares faster than a torch.”
Ian rubbed a hand over his beard to hide a smile. “She’s a curse to me, Brigham.”
“To any man,” Brigham murmured. “She makes me wonder if she was put here to complicate my life, or to brighten it.”
“What do you intend to do about it?”
It was only then Brigham realized he had spoken his last thoughts aloud. He glanced back to see Serena disappear into the kitchen. “I intend to marry her, with your permission.”
Ian let out a long breath. “And without it?”
Brigham gave him a level look. “I shall marry her anyway.”
It was the answer Ian wanted, but still he hedged. He would know his daughter’s mind first. “I’ll think on it, Brigham. When do you leave for London?”
“The end of the week.” His mind returned to the letter and his duty. “Lord George Murray believes my presence will help gain more support from the English Jacobites.”
“You’ll have my answer when you return. I won’t deny that you’re a man I would be content to give my daughter to, but she must be willing. And that, lad, I can’t promise you.”
A shadow came over Brigham’s eyes as he dug his hands into his pockets. “Because I’m English.”
Ian saw that this ground had been crossed before. “Aye. Some wounds run deep.” Because he had a generous heart, he clapped a hand on Brigham’s damp shoulder. “Called her a mule, did you?”
“I did.” Brigham flicked his sodden lace. “And should have moved more quickly.”
With a rumbling laugh, Ian gave Brigham’s shoulder another slap. “If you’ve a mind to marry her, you’d best be a fast learner.”
* * *
She wished she were dead. She wished Brigham were dead. She wished fervently that he had never been born. Setting her teeth, Serena scowled at her reflection as Maggie fussed with the curling irons.
“Your hair is so thick and soft. You’ll never have to sleep in papers all night.”
“As if I would,” Serena mumbled. “I don’t see why any woman goes to so much fuss and bother just for a man.”
Maggie smiled the wise smile of a woman in love and engaged. “What other reason is there?”
“I wish I could wear mine up.” Gwen scooted around to the mirror to study her own hair. “You did make it look so pretty, Maggie,” she said, afraid of seeming ungrateful. “But Mother said I couldn’t pin it up until next year.”
“It looks like sunbeams,” Serena told her, then went immediately back to frowning.
“Yours looks more like candlelight.” Gwen sighed and tried a few dance steps. This would be her first ball, and her first gown. She could hardly wait to put it on and feel grown-up. “Do you think anyone will ask me to dance?”
“Everyone will.” Maggie tested the iron.
“Perhaps someone will try to kiss me.”
“If they do,” Serena said grimly, “you’re to tell me. I’ll deal with them.”
“You sound like Mother.” With a light laugh, Gwen twirled in her petticoats. “It’s not as though I would let anyone kiss me, but it would be so nice to have someone try.”
“Keep talking like that, my lass, and Father will lock you up for another year.”
“She’s just excited.” Expertly Maggie threaded a green ribbon edged in gold through Serena’s hair. “So am I. It feels like my very first ball. There.” She patted Serena’s hair before she stepped back to study her handiwork. “You look beautiful. Or would, if you’d smile.”
In answer, Serena bared her teeth in a grimace.
“That should send the men scurrying to the hills,” Maggie commented.
“Let them run.” Serena almost smiled at the thought. “I’d as soon see the back of them.”
“Brigham won’t run away,” Gwen said wisely, earning a glare from her sister.
“It’s of no concern to me what Lord Ashburn does.” Serena flounced away to snatch her gown from the bed. Behind her back, Gwen and Maggie exchanged delighted grins.
“Well, he is rather stuffy, isn’t he?” Maggie put her tongue in her cheek, then moved over to check her own gown for creases. “Handsome, certainly, if one likes dark, brooding looks and cool eyes.”
“He isn’t stuffy at all.” Serena turned on her. “He’s—” She caught herself, warned by Gwen’s giggle. “Rude is what he is. Rude and annoying, and English.”
Dutifully Gwen began hooking Maggie’s gown. “He was kissing Rena in the kitchen.”
Maggie’s eyes went as round as saucers. “What?”
“Gwen!”
“Oh, it’s just Maggie,” Gwen said with a move of her bare shoulder. “We always tell her everything. He was kissing her right in the kitchen,” Gwen continued, turning dreamy circles as she remembered it. “It was so romantic. He looked as though he might swallow her right up, like a sugarplum.”
“That’s enough.” Hot and flushed, Serena struggled to step into her gown. “It wasn’t romantic at all, it was infuriating and, and—” She wanted to say unpleasant, but couldn’t get her tongue around the lie. “I wish he would go to the devil.”
Maggie lifted a brow. “If you wished him to the devil, why didn’t you tell me he had kissed you?”
“Because I’d forgotten all about it.”
Gwen started to speak, but was hushed by a quick gesture from Maggie. “Well, I daresay there wasn’t anything special about it, then.” Calmly she began to hook Serena’s gown. “My cousin Jamie is coming tonight, Rena. Perhaps you�
��ll find him more to your taste.”
Serena only groaned.
* * *
By the time Brigham escaped from Parkins’s perfecting hands, he was frazzled and impatient. With the rumors and the unrest in both Scotland and England he felt little like partnering a bunch of simpering girls and plump matrons at a country ball. His summons back to London weighed on him. The support the Prince expected from his English followers wasn’t as immediately forthcoming as he had hoped. There was a chance that adding his own voice would sway those who were straddling the political fence, but it would be a dangerous mission.
He had no way of knowing how long he would be gone, how successful he might be or, if he were found out, what would be the fate of his lands and title.
There would be dozens of Highland chiefs under the same roof that night. Loyalties would be tested, oaths would be sworn. What he learned here he would take with him to London in hopes of stirring fighting blood among those English loyal to the Stuarts. It was a war that still dealt more in talk than in the sword. Like Coll, he was growing weary of it.
As he descended the steps toward the ballroom, he was the picture of the fashionable aristocrat. His lace was snowy, foaming from his throat, falling over his wrists. His buckles gleamed, as did the emerald on his finger. A matching one winked out of the lace at his throat. His black waistcoat was threaded with silver, topped by a silver-buttoned coat that fitted without a wrinkle over his shoulders.
At a glance, it would have appeared that he was a young, wealthy man, used to the finer things and unhampered by any care. But his thoughts were as bright and as dangerous as his dress sword.
“Lord Ashburn.” Fiona curtsied as he entered. Since that morning she had been fretting over what her husband had told her of Brigham’s feelings for her oldest daughter. More than Ian could, she understood the warring emotions Serena must be experiencing.
“Lady MacGregor. You look stunning.”
She smiled, noting that his gaze was already sweeping the room. And she thought as she softened that the love in it was unmistakable. “Thank you, my lord. I hope you will enjoy the evening.”
“I shall, if you promise me a dance.”
“It would be a pleasure. But all the young ladies will be angry if I monopolize your time. Please, let me introduce you.”
She laid her hand on his arm and led him into the room. It was already scattered with people, dressed in their best. Satin gowns glimmered and silk shimmered in the light of the hundreds of candles that floated in the chandeliers overhead or rose from high stands. Jewels gleamed and winked. Men were wrapped in dress kilts, plaids of bright reds and greens and blues contrasting with doublets of calfskin. Buckled brogues and silver buttons caught the light, vying for brilliance with the shine of women’s jewels.
For the ladies’ part, it was apparent that in the Highlands French fashions were watched closely. The more opulent styles were preferred, with an abundance of tinsel and silver lace in evidence. Hoops swished and swayed like bells. Heavy brocades in vivid shades were worn by both men and women, with thick gold ornamentation worked into dress coats and huge cuffs that covered the elbows. Stockings were white or clocked and worn with dressy garters.
Glenroe might have been remote, with the nearest shop half a day’s ride away, but the Scot’s love of fashion was no less than that of the Frenchman or the Englishman.
Brigham was introduced to the pretty and the plain by his hostess. When the music began, he would do his duty. For now, he curbed his impatience as he continued to scan the room for the one face he wanted to see. Willing or not, he was determined to lead her out in the first dance, and for as many others as he could manage.
“The little MacIntosh lass has the grace of a bullock,” Coll confided in his ear. “If you find yourself shackled with her, best to offer to fetch her a drink and sit out the dance.”
“I appreciate the warning.” Brigham turned to examine his friend. “You look quite self-satisfied. Shall I take it that your interview with MacDonald went as you wished?”
Coll’s chest puffed out. “You may take it that Maggie and I will be wed by May Day.”
“My felicitations,” Brigham said with a bow. Then he grinned. “I shall have to find someone else to drink under the table.”
Coll snorted and fought off a blush. “Not likely. I wish I could ride with you to London.”
“Your place is here now. I’ll be back in a matter of weeks.”
“With cheering news. We’ll continue to work here, but not tonight. Tonight’s for celebrating.” He clapped a hand on Brigham’s shoulder. “There’s my Maggie now. If you want a turn with someone light on her feet, ask Serena to stand up with you. A foul temper she might have, but the lass can dance.”
Brigham could only nod as Coll strode away to claim his betrothed. Beside the demure Maggie MacDonald, Serena stood like a flame, her hair dressed high, the rich green silk of the dress trimmed in gold and cut square at the neck to reveal the smooth swell of her breasts. There were pearls around her throat, gleaming dully, no whiter, no creamier, than her skin. Her skirts flared out, making her slender waist seem impossibly small.
Other women were dressed more opulently, some with their hair powdered, others with jewels glistening. They might have been hags dressed in burlap. Serena looked up at Coll and laughed. Brigham felt as though he’d taken a stroke of the broadsword across his knees.
As the strains of the first dance began, several young ladies cast a hopeful look in his direction. Brigham found his feet and moved across the room to Serena.
“Miss MacGregor.” He made her an elegant bow. “Might I have the honor of this dance?”
She had made up her mind to refuse him, should he ask. Now she found herself wordlessly offering her hand. The strains of a minuet floated through the room. Skirts rustled as ladies were led to their places by their partners. Suddenly she was certain she would never remember even the most basic steps. Then he smiled at her and bowed again.
It seemed her feet never touched the floor, and her eyes refused to leave his. She had dreamed of this once, standing in the chill air of the forest. There had been lights there, too, and music. But it hadn’t been like this. This was like floating, like feeling beautiful, like believing in dreams.
His hand held hers lightly, fingertips to fingertips. It made her feel weak, as though she were caught up in his arms. They stepped together sedately, moved apart. Her heart thundered as though they were wrapped together, tumbling into an intimate embrace. His lips curved as she sank into her final curtsy. Hers warmed as if they had been kissed.
“Thank you.” He didn’t release her hand, as they both knew was proper, but brought her fingers to his lips. “I’ve wanted that dance since I found you alone by the river. Now, when I think of it, the only difficulty will be deciding whether you look more lovely in your green gown or in your breeches.”
“It’s Mother’s. The gown—” she said quickly, and cursed herself for stammering. When he led her off the floor, she felt like a queen. “I want to apologize for this morning.”
“No, you don’t.” Boldly he kissed her hand again. More than one murmur arose because of it. “You only think you should.”
“Aye.” She shot him a quick, amused look. “It’s the least I can do after you saved me from the threat of a beating.”
“Only the threat?”
“Father only has the heart to threaten. He’s never taken a strap to me in my life, which is probably why I’m unmanageable.”
“Tonight, my dear, you’re only beautiful.”
She flushed and lowered her eyes. “I don’t know what to say when you speak like that.”
“Good, Rena—”
“Miss MacGregor.” Both Brigham and Serena looked impatiently at the intruder, a young son of one of the neighboring Highland lairds. “Would you honor me with this dance?”
She would have preferred honoring him with a kick in the shins, but she knew her duty too well. She laid a
hand on his arm, wondering how soon it would be proper to dance with Brigham again.
The music played on—reels, country dances, elegant minuets. Serena danced with elderly gentlemen, sons, cousins, the portly and the dashing. Her love of dancing and her skill kept her in constant demand. She had one other set with Brigham, then was forced to watch him lead out one after another of the pretty guests.
He couldn’t keep his eyes off her. Damn it, it wasn’t like him to resent watching a woman dance with another man. Did she have to smile at them? No, by God, she didn’t. And she had no business flirting with that skinny young Scot in the ugly coat. He fingered the hilt of his dress sword and fought back temptation.
What had her mother been thinking of to allow her to wear a dress that made her look so … delectable? Couldn’t her father see that that young rake was all but drooling on his daughter’s neck? Her bare neck. Her soft, white, naked skin, just at the point where the fragile line of her collarbone swelled into her breast.
He swore under his breath and earned a wide-eyed stare from Gwen. “I beg your pardon, Brig?”
“What?” He dragged his eyes away from Serena long enough to focus on her sister. He had no notion that his stormy looks had prevented half a dozen young swains from approaching Gwen for a dance. “Nothing, Gwen. It was nothing.” He drew a deep breath and struggled for a casual tone. “Are you enjoying yourself?”
“Very much,” She smiled up at him and secretly wished he would ask her to dance again. “I suppose you go to many balls and parties.”
“In London, in the season, you can barely turn around without one.”
“I would love to see London and Paris.”
She looked very young at that moment, and he was reminded of how devotedly she had nursed her brother back to health. Some man, one day, he thought, and delighted her by kissing her fingers. “You, my dear, would be all the rage.”
She was young enough to giggle without simpering. “Do you think so, really?”
“Without a doubt.” Offering his arm, he led her onto the floor again and told her as many stories as he could recall about balls and assemblies and routs. Even as he spoke, his eyes were locked on Serena as she danced with her skinny partner. When the dance was over, Gwen had enough to dream on for years. Brigham had worked himself into a fine, shining, jealous rage.