Page 7 of The Highlander’s Hellion Wife (Legacy of Highland Lairds #1)

7

“ W hat do ye mean, nay?” Duncan asked, staring down at his wife, who was still pressed against the wall.

Her lips were swollen from the force of their kiss, and her brown eyes were narrowed on him.

“I mean, I dinnae want yer lips on mine. I want ye to stop.”

Duncan blinked at her, confused.

Had it not been her who had first moved toward him? He thought he had read the situation correctly, that he had felt the energy between them change. But her words told him something else entirely.

He stepped away from her, feeling the absence of her warm body the moment he did so.

“That shouldnae have happened,” Alison explained, wrapping her arms around herself. “I was angry and worked up. I’m nae used to havin’ a husband around to rile me up like that.”

“Did I rile ye up?” He raised his eyebrows, but she shook her head, refusing to play his game.

“I just…” she trailed off, her eyes darting around the room. “I have been through a lot these past few days. Me mind is rattled.”

Duncan nodded, forced to concede that what she said made sense.

He turned to glance at the bed, wondering if it would be smart for the two of them to climb back into it after the kiss they had just shared.

Mayhap I should have just slept on the floor.

It would have been simple enough, just a request for an extra blanket. Over the past five years, he had slept on the ground more times than he could count. A clean floor in a warm room would have felt like a luxury.

But he had wanted a bed. He had wanted to sleep next to his wife for the very first time, even if all they did was sleep. And, if Duncan was being honest with himself, he had wanted to remain close enough to sense any kind of movement, so he could act should someone try to take her from him again.

But now, as she stood across from him, so frazzled and vulnerable, he could not help but wonder if that had been a mistake.

“I want to see Rosie,” Alison said, pulling him out of his reverie.

He turned to look at her, finding her wearing the softest expression he had yet seen. Her dark hair shone in the moonlight, her eyes gentle as she thought of her daughter.

She’s me daughter, too.

He had been so quick to remind her of that, to correct her when she’d called Rosie her own, that he hadn’t stopped to consider how the two of them might have bonded.

“Ye call her Rosie now, eh?”

Alison nodded. “Roslin was too harsh for a bairn. Besides, Rosie fits her better.”

“How so?” Duncan asked, suddenly excited to hear her answer.

“Ah, well, she’s as pretty as a petal, for one,” Alison began, her features transforming as she spoke about the child. “And as soft as one, too. Wicked imagination and the kindest heart.”

Duncan’s heart began to pound as he considered her words. He had spent many a night imagining his daughter during the years he had been away.

Her mother was killed barely a month before he had left. Had the war not loomed over them, he would not have remarried at all. At least, not as soon.

But loom it had, and he had decided to marry Alison. He stared at the woman who had, for all intents and purposes, become the mother of the daughter he had been unable to raise.

A daughter who, for the first time, was starting to take shape in his mind.

Duncan glanced over his shoulder, noticing that the sky had become lighter as night slowly gave way to dawn.

“Sunrise isnae that far off,” he said, turning back to Alison. “We can ride out now. We should be home by midday.”

Her face lit up with joy at that. A moment earlier, she had appeared worried and frazzled, but she had instantly transformed upon hearing his announcement, shining with the inner light of a mother.

They made quick work of readying themselves.

Perhaps it was because of her haste to return home and see her child. Or maybe it was because they had just been locked in each other’s arms, wearing nothing more than their underwear. Whatever the reason, Alison did not demand that he leave the room while they dress like he thought she would. Instead, she simply turned her back to him, ignoring him entirely while she tugged on her dirty clothes from the day before.

He took it upon himself to do the same.

The rest of the inn was quiet, since almost all the guests were still asleep. As they left, Duncan dropped the key on the bar counter. He could hear noise in the kitchen, imagining the cook whipping up breakfast for the lodgers.

A portly woman exited the kitchen, and as soon as she spotted them, she broke out into a wide smile.

“Takin’ off already?” she asked, her eyes darting between Duncan and his wife.

“Aye, we have a long day of ridin’ ahead of us.”

The woman nodded. “Stay tight. I’ll get ye a little somethin’ for the road.”

Duncan gave her a grateful look as she disappeared back into the kitchen. She reappeared moments later with a cloth sack that could be easily stowed in his saddle bags.

The smell of fresh bread and pastries wafted from it. He thanked her and fished a few coins from his pocket before setting them on the counter.

It took no time at all for the two of them to ready their horse while savoring the rolls the woman had just given them.

For the last five years, his daughter had been more of an ideal than an actual person to him. She had been so small when her mother died, then he remarried and had been compelled to leave.

When he left for the war, she was still being tended to by a wet nurse and the maids, as he had no inkling what to do with a child that small.

But through Alison’s words, his daughter had finally started to take shape in his mind. Rather than the blurry-faced infant from his memories, she was a person who had thoughts and feelings and a mind of her own.

With all of this bouncing around in his mind, Duncan was more eager than ever to arrive at the castle and meet the daughter he had been dreaming about for so long.

The town was just as sleepy as the inn had been, with only a few people milling about. Before long, they were beyond the town’s borders.

I wonder if she will recognize me .

They were quiet as they rode, hours passing with only the sounds of their horse’s hooves hitting the ground and the twittering of birds to keep them company.

The sun rose fully, making its way across the sky, while they counted down the minutes until they were home. Duncan grew increasingly impatient with each passing second.

He glanced down at Alison, noting her stiff posture and how she occasionally winced as the horse moved beneath her. If he thought she could stand it, he would have galloped the rest of the way to the castle.

Even if it was slower than he would have liked, the castle eventually appeared in the distance. Alison drew in a quick, excited breath and seemed to sit up a little straighter.

The closer they got, the larger and more opulent the castle became. Duncan felt his chest swell as he took it all in.

Marsden Castle had been his home his entire life, and yet he had not stepped foot in it for five years. Guards atop the parapet called down to him, and he called back, announcing his arrival.

The gate that secured the courtyard and the stone structure that lay beyond began to rise as he guided their horse forward. There was a flurry of activity as stable hands and maids rushed out of the castle to greet them.

Duncan spotted the men who had been at his side for the past five years, relieved to see that they had also made it home.

He stared in awe at the place, quickly noticing everything that had changed during his absence, but it still felt like home. It was still the place that had raised him, and he felt something inside him loosen.

“Maither!”

The doors burst open, and the shouts of a small child filled the air. Duncan’s heart rate quickened as he watched the girl sprint out of the castle doors.

His stomach sank at the sight of her. Red hair, identical to that of the woman who had borne her, tumbled around her face in ringlets. She had round, cherubic cheeks that were currently bright red from the exertion of running to the woman who had raised her—the only mother she had ever known.

“Maither, why did ye leave me?”

She stopped just shy of the horse, her eyes focused entirely on the woman sitting in front of him.

“’Tis all right, lass,” Alison reassured her, sliding down from the saddle the instant the horse had been secured by one of the stable hands.

She kneeled in front of Rosie, her hands on the girl’s shoulders as she comforted her.

Rosie threw herself into Alison’s arms, her small hands fisting into her mother’s gown. “I thought ye’d gone forever, just like me faither,” she wailed.

Duncan’s stomach sank all over again.