Kidnapped Highland Bride: Ladies of Dunmore Series (A Medieval Scottish Romance Story)

by Freya, Bridget

  Adeline watched as his eyes conceded before his words had to.

  “Well then…”

  “Well what, Camry?” Adeline prodded.

  “Well then, I suppose I have no other option than to let ye be with yer…husband,” he said, adding the final word as if it were painful for him to speak.

  “That’s wise of ye,” Adeline replied. She turned to Richard. “And ye? What do ye have to say for yerself?”

  “Only that I’m too frightened of you right now to allow myself to die at the hands of this boy. I’m quite certain that if I allowed him to shoot me, you would bring me back to life only so that you could take your own revenge,” Richard laughed.

  “Right. So it’s settled. There will be no duel. Camry, ye’ll let me go?” she asked.

  “Aye. I’ll let ye go. Although it isnae easy,” he replied, still looking angry and embarrassed by accepting orders from a woman that he had planned to make his slave-wife until this moment.

  “Then be off with ye. I dinnae want to see ye anywhere near us. And if ye do come to us, at any time, without notifying us beforehand, I will give me husband full permission to shoot first,” Adeline warned.

  Camry nodded. Then, as if too shamed to remain any longer, he turned on his heels and left.

  Adeline turned back to Richard again and saw that he had a great smile, filled with pride for his bold and daring wife.

  Adeline felt pride swell within her in that moment as well. She had never been so brave. She had never taken a stand for herself like that. To know that she could, to know that she had been brave, was thrilling and caused her to feel like she would be able to take on anything.

  Just as suddenly, the shock of the whole ordeal hit her. Adeline found that her legs were weak and she started to collapse. Joanna was up quick as lightning from her place seated near Richard and she grabbed Adeline, bringing her over to the seat so that she might be made comfortable.

  “Ye need to rest,” Joanna said, pointing out what should have been obvious to them all by this point. Adeline had been pushing herself too far and too hard.

  “No, I have to speak with me uncle,” Adeline replied.

  “It’s one of his meetings and ye ken how long those go for! There’s no sense in waiting forever. Let me call for Arabella to take ye to rest. In the meantime, I’ll show yer husband and his man a room where they might also be able to take a rest. When yer uncle is ready for ye, I will come,” Joanna said.

  Adeline was frightened to accept, wanting to get the stress of not knowing her uncle’s answer out of the way as quickly as possible. However, she knew that Joanna was right, and more than that, she was shocked that Joanna cared enough to put aside her abrasive manner.

  “Alright then, I suppose that is wise,” Adeline agreed.

  Arabella was called for and she was greatly relieved to see Adeline. “Ye’re well! I kenned that Joanna was in on the whole thing, but she is a perfect vault for keeping secrets, as ye ken, so she didnae tell me a thing,” Arabella said, with a gentle complaint.

  Adeline felt bad for not keeping Arabella more updated with all that had been happening. Nevertheless, she had not had a great deal of time to do that and had just assumed Joanna was informing her of everything.

  Knowing that Joanna had kept it all a secret made Adeline trust her more. Despite her acerbic nature, Joanna was a good friend to have when trying times came.

  Arabella led Adeline to her rooms and Adeline watched as Joanna and Mr. Hudson helped Richard go to one of the empty rooms that was saved for guests. She hoped desperately that her uncle wouldn’t mind that they had been put up there when she didn’t know yet whether or not he would approve of the marriage.

  “And are ye doing better now?” Arabella asked.

  “Oh, much! I mean, I am still a bit shaken, but I think I did just need rest after all,” Adeline replied. She had rested for a full hour when Joanna came to inform her that the laird was finished with meetings for the day and would see her whenever she wished.

  Arabella helped her dress and was a sounding board for all that was on Adeline’s mind in that moment.

  “Well, I suppose I am now going to learn of our fate. If the laird allows us to be husband and wife, me life will be made more beautiful than anything I ever dreamt of. But if he refuses, then I will have to abandon all I ken here and run off as a rebel to be with me husband,” Adeline declared.

  “Ye ken we are all wishing the best for ye! We think the laird will honor yer marriage. He has grown so soft over the last year. First his daughter, then his other niece. Ye’re the next one. And he kens that Camry’s not right for ye; he was just hoping it’d work out,” Arabella said, trying to encourage her.

  Adeline smiled hopefully, but doubt remained under the mask. She made her way to her uncle’s meeting room and knocked.

  “Enter,” came the voice on the other side. Adeline walked through and saw the laird of the Clan MacGowan seated at the end of the large table.

  “Uncle,” she greeted, coming to kiss him on the cheek.

  “And to what do I owe the honor of conference with me niece? I have heard a great deal of rumors of late. Is it true that ye’ve denied Camry?” he asked forthrightly.

  Adeline took a deep breath. “Aye, me laird, it is true. I never did agree to wed him. He had made it up in his mind that I would and was unable to accept when I informed him that it was untrue. So ye see, that was never truly going to be,” Adeline began.

  “Moreover, laird—and this is the part that I dinnae think ye will be happy with—I am already wed,” Adeline said, aware that the words might lead her to her destruction.

  The laird’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped. “Wed? Whatever do ye mean? When did this happen? And to whom? Of what do ye speak, niece?” he asked, utterly shocked by the information.

  “Laird, I met me husband at the wedding of yer niece, Grace. I never expected to see the man again, but during the shooting at Emily’s wedding, the man came and rescued me. He is honest and true. He did not accompany me to the castle after the rescue because he did not wish to call me reputation into question.

  “He is very honorable. He worried that bringing me here would cause people to believe something that did not occur. So I returned on me own with only a lie about me escape.

  “But in truth, I loved him then as deeply as I do now. And we have since wed. Camry tried to separate us after that, but I cannae let go of me husband. So I lay me case before ye and beg ye, me laird, to allow us to live our lives together in peace. I ask that ye allow us the freedom not to be banished from yer sight, but to take our place in his ancestral lands,” Adeline said, concluding her tale and her wish.

  The laird took in all the information and seemed at first hesitant to speak. Finally, he inhaled and prepared his words. “Dare I ask who this man is and where his ancestral lands might be?”

  Adeline felt her cheeks flush with the question she dreaded most. “His name is Richard Holloway, and his ancestral lands are among our enemies,” she replied.

  “An Englishman.” It was not a question or an accusation, but a statement.

  “Aye, laird,” Adeline replied.

  “Well then, I should like to meet him. I do ken that yer cousin married a man who was half the blood of an Englishman, but this is a far different situation,” the laird replied.

  Adeline nodded.

  The laird had Richard brought in and he sent Adeline out of his council chambers while he spoke with Richard. Finally, after what seemed a lifetime, she was called back into the room.

  Adeline looked at her uncle hopefully and held her breath when he opened his mouth to speak.

  “Well, me dearest niece, it is me decision to allow ye to be the free wife of this man, no matter his ancestry,” the laird announced.

  Adeline released a shriek of joy and threw her arms around Richard’s neck. He hugged her in return and, despite the presence of the laird, kissed her softly, just once, before leaving the chambers.

/>   “Come to me room,” Adeline instructed once they were out of the laird’s range of hearing.

  Richard smiled, knowing what those words meant. He followed her up to her bedroom and, once inside, kissed her fully and passionately.

  Adeline then moved over to the bed and Richard came and lay beside her. “We are free, me love! We are free to live as we please,” she exclaimed, staring into his green eyes.

  “Indeed we are. Through all that we have faced, it has come to this. That you are my wife and I am your husband, and now there are none who will try to prevent us from living as such,” Richard replied, clearly relieved by all that had taken place.

  Feeling the fullness of joy in their permission to be together and love one another completely, Adeline and Richard allowed their bodies to seal the covenant anew.

  EPILOGUE

  Several Months Later

  “My dear, the Wilsons have invited us for dinner on Thursday,” Richard said, bringing the card over to Adeline. She looked at it and then looked up at Richard, rolling her eyes.

  He laughed. He had known exactly how she would respond to the invitation. The Wilsons were always seeking to gather with Richard and Adeline because they found it so fascinating that he would marry a Scottish woman.

  “Don’t worry, my darling lass, I will inform them of our other plans,” Richard promised. He gazed at her with his hopeful eyes, wanting to see her live in the joy that he felt so consistently in their marriage.

  “Thank ye, me love,” she replied.

  While they had only been gone a few months, Richard knew the Adeline was thrilled to be returning to Dunmore for a visit the next week. She had heard rumors of another friend potentially falling in love and wanted to be there for her.

  Additionally, they had planned to take some time to travel north to visit Colla and Grace. Richard had not seen the Highlands in all their beauty yet, and he had not seen Grace and Colla since the wedding when he had met Adeline in the first place.

  It would also be good to reconnect with Douglas and see his old friend. In all, the trip would be lovely and would give Richard and Adeline the time to enjoy the honeymoon that they had planned after their wedding.

  Now they could truly have the time together to enjoy. They were looking forward to every moment and of also having plenty of alone time.

  Richard believed that Adeline meant it when she said she enjoyed spending time with his family, but he also understood that they needed enough time for just the two of them.

  It was both their hopes that a child would come soon, so Richard felt it necessary to visit Dunmore, and Scotland in general, as often as possible in the meantime, so that Adeline could enjoy it before the duties of motherhood set in long-term.

  “I have a very grand surprise for you this evening, my dear,” Richard announced just before dinner was set to be presented.

  “Oh? And what might that be?” Adeline asked, excitement brimming in her voice.

  “A dinner prepared by a certain Louise McCloud,” Richard replied.

  “Oh, dinnae tell me that ye had me favorite done up for us tonight?” Adeline asked with the joy bursting through.

  “Indeed, my love. You know Louise has loved having another Scot living nearby! So I spoke with her yesterday and, indeed, she is making haggis for us this evening,” Richard confirmed.

  He watched Adeline’s excitement fade into gratitude and was pleased that he had arranged for it. While he didn’t think he would ever truly like haggis, or the turnips served along with it, he knew his wife was thrilled by it.

  He himself would indulge in the potatoes and take only the smallest of bites of the others to satisfy her.

  * * *

  It was morning and Adeline sat up in bed. Richard was still asleep beside her. She looked at his peaceful face, at the way his hair shaded his chin and his eyelashes resting upon his cheek. Peace had come over him since his days in the army.

  Adeline could not believe it had been such a short time since he had fought her people. A matter of mere months. The whole of their lives had changed dramatically.

  She was now used to helping him walk when he needed extra assistance, although his leg had gotten far better and he typically needed only the crutch to get around. It had healed rather well with Joanna’s persistent application of balms and salves, and now he had recovered as well as could be expected.

  Life in England was very different. There were days she missed home terribly, days she wished that she could run back and find shelter in the comfort of what she knew.

  However, those days were but fleeting moments in light of her love for Richard. There was nothing about that life that she could ever wish for more than being with him. He was her everything and she was perfectly fine with keeping it that way.

  Being away from battles had been a relief and a joy. Sneaking out of the castle to ride through potential danger to be with Richard seemed but a distant memory as well. It was now a life of being wealthy and, oftentimes, somewhat idle.

  In those moments of idleness, Adeline had the opportunity to further her education via the many books available to her in Richard’s family library. She went at least once per week to look through all the books there and had been given permission to take them as she wished.

  Richard’s family had been lovely. They accepted their foreign daughter-in-law with open arms. Richard had predicted as much, but Adeline had been afraid that it would not come to pass.

  She was learning from his mother how to be a proper English wife, although Richard begged her not to change at all, but to remain exactly who she was no matter the outside pressures she might feel.

  She was treated with great pride for being a strong woman who’d left her own culture to live in England. The Holloways gave her a place of honor among them and Adeline felt loved and cherished. It was as if she had parents again for the first time since her own had passed away.

  Richard stirred in the bed beside her and Adeline looked down at her husband as he stretched and opened his eyes.

  Immediately they sensed her and turned to her.

  “Good morning, me love,” Adeline greeted.

  “Good morning, my beautiful,” Richard replied.

  “Ye slept a long time,” she said.

  “You kept me up late,” he laughed suggestively.

  “Aye, I suppose I did. But ye dinnae have work today, so it’s alright that ye rested,” she said nonchalantly.

  “Saturday? I do love Saturday. And on Monday we leave for your family’s home. I suppose the rest is going to do me well. This job has been rather exhausting to learn,” Richard admitted.

  Adeline nodded, knowing that he considered it exhausting for his mind, but also understanding that the business he and his father were working toward was a far better position for him than that of being a soldier.

  His body was certainly more rested, but Adeline also saw the way he eagerly enjoyed the tasks of his day. Richard had never before tapped into his business mind, but now that he was using it regularly, he was clearly thriving. In addition, the business had taken off instantly, it seemed.

  “Has it been as exhausting as the way we’ve been spending our nights?” Adeline asked, bringing back her suggestive desires.

  Richard answered by placing a loving kiss on her lips and expressing that his desires matched her own.

  Adeline felt that it was the best way to wake up in the morning and to start their day. Their expression of passion for one another was free and without concern for culture or family or any outside threats. For now, they could finally show their love for one another in a way they had previously not been free to do.

  A few days after, they made their way to visit Dunmore. Adeline was joyful to see her friends and her uncle again. The time was spent with dancing and feasting. The whole clan had accepted Richard as one of their own now and the sons of the earl of Firbrook did not interfere or visit whenever they heard that Adeline would be present.

  From Dunmore, Adelin
e and Richard went north to visit Grace and Colla, with their husbands Douglas and Beiste.

  While the men went and sat to look over the ocean with their whisky, the women remained inside to relax and discuss their lives.

  So much had changed for each of them, but their friendship had remained the same. They understood one another better now than they ever had.

  “Ye mean ye’re pregnant?” Adeline asked. Grace looked at her with a sheepish smile.

  “Not many people ken about it yet, it’s still early,” she confessed. Colla had clearly already been made aware, but the proximity of their homes probably helped with that.

  Colla had already had her first child and was planning for the second. She hoped it would happen very soon, but Beiste had said they should allow their first to get a little older before bringing a sibling into the world.

  “But I completely disagree,” Colla said proudly.

  “Of course ye do!” Grace replied, rolling her eyes.

  The rest of the evening was spent enjoying friends and finally resting in Colla and Beiste’s spare bedroom.

  A few days later, they began their travels south, back down to their home in England. Along the way, they stopped at a few inns and had one more night in Dunmore before arriving home.

  “Has it been a pleasant week for ye, me love?” Adeline asked, rubbing Richard’s shoulders as he sat on the bed to remove his shoes.

  “Yes, my dear. It was a marvelous time with all your friends. And seeing Douglas again brought me so much happiness. He and Grace seem to be doing very well,” Richard remarked.

  “Indeed, they are. And did he tell ye their news?” Adeline asked subtly.

  “What news?” Richard asked.

  “About the third member of their family?”

  “Truly? Grace is with child?” Richard asked, a smile spreading widely across his face. His joy for his friend was palpable.

  “Ye’re happy to hear it?” Adeline asked.

  “Indeed, I am very happy to hear this news for them,” he answered her.