A Beauty at the Highland Court: A Star-Crossed Lovers Highlander Romance (The Highland Ladies Book 7)

by Celeste Barclay

  “I wish yer father didna keep hurting ye as he does. But, Belle, even in the best of situations, if ye marry a Highlander, it would be rare for ye to see yer clan once ye move north. He wouldnae be part of yer life anymore, anyway. We can go as soon as ye wish, his blessing or nae. Ye dinna have to face him again if ye dinna wish.”

  “I don’t want to slink away as though I ran away in disgrace,” Arabella countered as she shook her head. It no longer felt like a hammer striking an anvil.

  “We will do what ye want, Belle. But ye willna be well as yer body purges itself of the need for whisky. Ye canna be here to do it. That’s too big a secret to hope to keep. Ye will look like ye are vera ill, so someone is bound to summon the healer. I trust Father Gormal to keep yer secret, but people will doubt his healing skills if he comes and ye dinna get better.”

  “I don’t want to jeopardize his reputation, or the faith people have in him. I can’t hide in my chamber without the queen growing angry or without everyone talking.”

  “Aye. We have to leave, even if ye dinna want to go to Dunrobin.”

  “I want to go to Dunrobin,” Arabella blurted, then slowed down. “But I don’t want your parents to meet me like this, or when I’m looking like I’m on death’s doorstep.”

  “Will ye let me speak to the king and queen? I will ask for King Robert to dissolve the agreement between yer father and Beathan, and I will ask Queen Elizabeth to let ye go from her service. But I need to tell them why.”

  “Yes, but I want to go too. Lachlan, this is my responsibility. You may be the rock I’m leaning on, but I won’t hide behind you.”

  “Vera well. But it needs to be sooner rather than later,” Lachlan warned.

  “Do you think we could gain an audience with them again?” Arabella asked.

  “We can try the antechamber once more. We’d be pushing our luck, but it’s the most likely way to find them together and alone.” Lachlan glanced at the window embrasure and the shadows cast on the floor. “We will need to go soon.”

  Arabella bit her bottom lip, and Lachlan felt all the blood rush to his cock. He pulled her lip free, and heat filled the look they exchanged. Their mouths neared one another’s, but they both paused. “I love you,” they said as one, both smiling before they kissed. Hunger flared within them both, and Arabella clung to Lachlan as his hand grabbed her backside none too gently. He pulled her against him. With a grumble, he pushed his sporran out of the way. Arabella’s instincts told her to hook her leg over Lachlan’s hip, bringing them closer. She felt the length of his rod brushing against her mound.

  Arabella paused and drew back from their kiss. “Am I the whore my father said for wanting you so much? I’m a maiden. I shouldn’t ken such desire, but it’s burning a hole into me.”

  “Do nae ever use that word to describe yerself again, Belle. I dinna want to hear it. Ye are nae one. Ye are a woman, one who I pray loves me as much as I love her. There is naught wrong with desiring the mon ye love, the mon who wishes more than aught to make ye his wife.”

  “But women aren’t supposed to be this way,” Arabella argued. Her face crumpled when he chuckled.

  “Och, Belle. I’m nae laughing at ye, but at what ye said. Maude has three bairns, and she’s been married barely four years. Blair has a bairn on the way and only married a couple of months ago. Ma parents had three children and would have had more had Mama’s pregnancy with Blair nae been so trying. It terrified Da into swearing to be more careful, but that hasnae slowed them down. Embarrasses Maude, Blair, and me nearly daily. Uncle Liam and Aunt Kyla had five children. Mairghread has four, Callum has three as does Alex. Magnus and Tavish each have one with another on the way. Ma family isnae so big because the women turn their husbands away. Wait until ye meet ma cousins. Ye will see within a moment of meeting them that their wives are vera demanding.” Lachlan grinned and waggled his eyebrows. “I hope ma bonnie bride is just as demanding.”

  Lachlan froze when he realized Arabella might not appreciate the phrase bonnie bride if it reminded her too much of being called Bonnie Bella. She smoothed back the hair from his temple and kissed Lachlan’s cheek.

  “I much prefer being called your bonnie bride than Bonnie Bella. ‘Bonnie bride’ is a title I can be proud of,” Arabella assured him. “And if a demanding wife is what you wish, then I aim to please. Kiss me again, Lach. Please.” She added the courtesy at the last minute before Lachlan’s mouth descended on hers. Lachlan gripped her thigh, keeping it wrapped around his hip as he rolled Arabella onto her back.

  “One day soon, I shall show ye the real passion that lies between us, Belle.” Lachlan thrust his length against her mons, imitating what he wanted to do without their clothes in the way. Arabella moaned as she ran her hands over his back until she reached his buttocks. She gripped the hardened muscles, feeling them flex under her fingers. She pressed Lachlan against her as she rocked her hips beneath him. She could feel the friction pushing her toward the same sensations she’d felt when he brought her to release.

  “Don’t stop,” Belle panted.

  “Do ye feel it too?” Lachlan asked as he felt his climax tightening his bollocks.

  “Aye.” Arabella barely breathed the word before her head tilted back, the chords in her neck straining as pleasure drew her core into a tight knot before it radiated throughout her. Lachlan groaned as he rocked his hips faster, his release surging through him until he spilled within his plaid.

  “The next time, I will burry maself inside ye because ye will be ma wife.”

  “Aye. I want that too.” Arabella cupped his cheeks and kissed him with all the love she could pour into the exchange. She felt Lachlan receive it and reciprocate. He held her in his arms as they both drifted back down to earth. Reluctantly, Arabella tapped Lachlan’s back. “If we are to attempt an audience with the king and queen before the evening meal, we must go. And I still have to change into an appropriate gown.”

  Arabella bit her bottom lip again but released it with a grin when Lachlan growled a warning. He rolled off her and stood, offering her his hand. She went to her wardrobe and selected a gown, then turned back to Lachlan.

  “I need help, please,” Arabella confessed.

  “Lord, ye do test me,” Lachlan muttered. “I’ll unlace and lace ye, but ye had better go behind the screen to dress. I can only withstand so much temptation, lass.”

  Arabella raked her eyes over Lachlan, making it clear that he was not the only one struggling with restraint. Lachlan made quick work of undoing her laces, and Arabella disappeared behind the screen. They were ready to leave in less than five minutes. Arabella peered into the passageway and noticed no one nearby. She led Lachlan through the servants’ passageway, the same way she’d gone to meet Edwin. He raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. When they came to the royal antechamber, they squeezed one another’s hand before Lachlan pulled the door open.

  Twenty-Two

  “You are making a rather nasty habit of entering where you are not welcome, Lachlan. I’m certain your mother taught you better than that,” King Robert snapped. Lachlan and Arabella stood before him and Queen Elizabeth. Lachlan and Arabella had interrupted the royals’ conversation but hadn’t intruded upon another private moment.

  “I ken, and I apologize, Your Majesty.” Lachlan bowed. “May we have a word with Uncle Robert and Aunt Elizabeth?” Lachlan signaled that he wished to talk to them as members of his extended family rather than as their sovereigns.

  “Nay,” King Robert snapped. “You and your sisters are making this an all-too-frequent habit.”

  Lachlan stiffened to his full height and raised his chin. “I am nearing six-and-twenty. In all my life, I have asked for three audiences as your godson. My sister Maude could have begged for you to make the other women cease their harassment, but she never did. She dealt with it herself. Maude only wished to marry the mon she loved. Blair only wanted the same and to help the mon she loved when his clan threatened to destroy him. You said yourself my family
has a habit of marrying for love. That’s why I’m here.”

  “My dear,” Queen Elizabeth laid her hand on King Robert’s forearm and leaned to whisper something in his ear while Lachlan and Arabella waited. King Robert’s lips turned down, but he nodded.

  “Your godmother pointed out that not only do you speak the truth, but if I’m not prepared to be your godfather from time to time, I never should have accepted the privilege and the duty. What is it that you seek?”

  “Your Majesty,” Arabella spoke up. She swallowed. “It’s not Lachlan who seeks something. I mean, not him alone. I need to confess something to the queen before we can move forward.”

  Arabella glanced at Lachlan before stepping away. She moved toward the queen but stopped a respectful distance from her. She kneeled before Queen Elizabeth and bowed her head. She swallowed again, forcing herself to find the strength to confess what she’d only told Lachlan.

  “Some time again, I developed a fondness for the drink, whisky in particular. It started out as a wee dram once in a while to calm my nerves before the evening meal. I didn’t notice the stares and whispers as much. When I realized the evenings I had a tipple were easier to manage than those when I didn’t, I started having a dram or two before the nightly meal. When I drank, the attention from men and the snide questions from women no longer made me self-conscious. Then my father informed me by missive that he was looking for a betrothal.” Arabella looked back at Lachlan. “I didn’t—I don’t—want to marry anyone but Lachlan. I became anxious that my father would marry me off before I could see Lachlan again. Then each time he came to court, neither of us dared confess how we felt for fear of hurting Maude and Blair. I started needing more than just a dram each evening to feel the same ease.”

  Arabella stopped speaking for a moment as she sniffled, trying to keep her composure despite her humiliation.

  “The more my father pressured me to find a mon, then threatened to find one for me, the more anxious I became. He expected me to be perfect. Everyone did because of how I look. I became scared of choosing the wrong gown, doing my hair in a way that wasn’t flattering, of saying something idiotic. I wasn’t perfect, but everyone kept saying I was, kept expecting that of me.”

  Arabella paused again to catch her breath. She felt the tears pricking at her eyelids, but she didn’t dare cry before the royal couple. She was already making a fool of herself by having to confess her sins. She wouldn’t add to it to by being a watering pot.

  “I’ve gotten to where I need at least one stiff drink to get through the day. I was in the gaol because I went to the Merry Widow to buy more whisky. I was too ashamed to ask the person who usually bought it for me because it was too soon. I thought I could slip out and return with no one knowing. Obviously, that was a grave error on my part. But even after two nights and a day in prison, I still crave it.” Arabella looked up at the queen and blinked several times. “Your Grace, I missed Mass and the morning meal today because I went to collect more whisky. I left our walk early because I was too drunk to walk through the gardens. I’ve been absent all afternoon because I was sleeping off the drink.”

  Lachlan stepped forward and gripped Arabella’s elbow as he helped her to her feet. He pulled her against him and turned her face into his chest. He shot the king and queen a warning glare, but he saw the shock and sorrow in both of their faces.

  “I am not pretending when I say I want to marry Arabella. I have since I met her, but we made the scene last eve to distract from anyone learning aboot her time in the dungeon. I learned of Arabella’s problem when I arrived here with Blair and Hardi. I didn’t realize how serious it was until the sheriff arrested Arabella. Uncle Robert, you heard how Mitcholm and Beathan spoke to Arabella, but you didn’t hear what Mitcholm said to Belle last night. It was horrible. It made me want to drink. If that’s what Belle has heard even once, I don’t blame her for the pressure she feels to be perfect.”

  “Lady Arabella,” Queen Elizabeth reached out her hands as Arabella turned to look at her. Arabella stepped away from Lachlan and accepted the queen’s gesture. “It’s no secret how I came to be married to the king. My father and King Edward pinned their hopes on me remaining loyal to them, to me sharing the king’s secrets. We know what became of me for choosing my husband over my father and the English king.”

  Queen Elizabeth grimaced as she recalled her eight years under house arrest. She, King Robert’s daughter and sisters, and Isabella MacDuff had all been part of the failed escape. King Robert lost two brothers for their attempt to aid the women. King Robert lowered his eyes as he too recalled one of the darkest moments in his life.

  “I tell you this because I understand what it is to have your family’s hopes and plans pinned onto your shoulders. It’s a significant burden to bear, especially for someone so young. I turned to prayer because it was all I had. But I confess I can easily see how you turned to the drink. I likely would have too, had it been available. Solace and oblivion is what we both sought. I wish I had known sooner. I have failed to look after the women who attend me, and that is my failing as your queen.” Queen Elizabeth looked at Lachlan, pulling one hand free to offer it to him. “It was a tremendous honor when your parents and your aunt and uncle asked us to be godparents to you, your sisters, and your cousins. It hasn’t been easy to balance our relationships when we’re at court, but I should have done more for you and Maude and Blair. I regret that. I offer you my humble apologies.”

  Lachlan squeezed the older woman’s hand and leaned forward to kiss her cheek, just as he had as a child. He stepped back and wrapped his arm around Arabella’s waist as Queen Elizabeth released her hand. “Thank you, Aunt,” Lachlan whispered.

  “I disagreed with Beathan Gunn as your father’s choice, Lady Arabella. But it is a tenuous line that I must tread with allowing lairds to choose their alliances. Unifying Scotland has always been my goal. When a Lowland laird wishes to marry his daughter to a Highland laird, it strengthens that unification. The individual isn’t what I must consider as king. But as a father and a godfather, I ken that what I want and what is good for Scotland are often at odds. When you and Lachlan came to us before, I felt it was too late to jeopardize severing the alliance your marriage to the Gunn would form. Your father still is not wholly trustworthy. I don’t fear him allying with the English, but he seeks power in the Marches. Granting the marriage and holding that over him reels him in,” King Robert explained.

  He looked at Lachlan and shook his head. Lachlan noticed for the first time just how much the king had aged since seven-year-old Lachlan once tailed after the king, his father, and his uncle to go hunting. He hadn’t been able to sit for a week. Duty, war, and great family loss had worn away the once youthful warrior and left a wisened but aged monarch.

  “Mitcholm and Beathan’s behavior in the Privy Council chamber worried me before you showed up, Lachlan. Once Lady Arabella joined us, I was deeply perturbed. And while I didn’t hear what Mitcholm said last night, I’ve heard of it.” King Robert cast a long, hard look at the couple before nodding. “Lachlan, you spoke the truth. Your family nearly never asks for aught from us. When you have, it has always been with a just reason. Lady Arabella, your story troubles me. I know the lure of whisky and how it eases pain no one can see. You are a brave young woman to confess so much, especially when you do so before your king and queen. Your humility convinces me that you will be an excellent Countess of Sutherland when the time comes.”

  Lachlan’s mouth fell open before he wrapped his arms around the king. His tight embrace squeezed the wind from King Robert’s chest. But the monarch returned the embrace, remembering what it had felt like when Lachlan was a child and clamored on his lap, begging for more war stories, the gruesomer the better.

  “Thank you, Uncle Robert,” Lachlan whispered as he eased his hold on the older man.

  “You remind me so much of your father when he fought alongside me all those years ago. While I pray that my auld friend remains with us for a long t
ime, I ken you will make a powerful Earl of Sutherland in your day.” King Robert clapped Lachlan on the back, the sound echoing through the quiet chamber. “There is still much to resolve with the Johnstone and the Gunn, but you have our blessing to marry.”

  “Thank you, Your Majesty, Your Grace,” Arabella whispered as she curtsied.

  “Lady Arabella,” Queen Elizabeth smiled softly. “Once you marry Lachlan, you will be my goddaughter-by-marriage of sorts. While we don’t make it north as often as we would like, I would very much appreciate it if you address me as Aunt Elizabeth when we visit Dunrobin and Dunbeath.”

  Arabella nodded, stunned at the gesture. She didn’t intend to address the queen by anything but her royal title, but the offer left her speechless. Lachlan grinned at Arabella and drew her back into his embrace, knowing she was feeling overwhelmed by everything that transpired.

  “Do you wish to marry here or at Dunrobin?” King Robert asked.

  “Dunrobin,” Arabella answered without thought. Lachlan turned to look at her, and she nodded. Her hopeful smile lit up her face, and in that moment, there was nothing Lachlan would have denied her.

  “I will send a messenger ahead of you to have the banns posted. I will speak with Mitcholm and Beathan after the evening meal.” King Robert announced. “Now, we shall adjourn. Lach, you ken how I dislike missing my evening meal. I did that more than enough times over the years.”

  “Aye, Uncle Robert. Thank you to you both.” Lachlan paused as he looked at the man and woman that he’d known since birth. He hadn’t understood the significance of their position or the honor of their familial connection when he was a child. But he knew he’d cared about them both for as long as he could remember. “I love you both.”

  “As we do you, Lach,” King Robert clapped his hand on Lachlan’s shoulder again before he and Queen Elizabeth led the way to the Great Hall.