Highland Deception (Highland Pride)

by Lori Ann Bailey

  Because her father had monopolized all his time, he’d not had a motherent alone with Maggie since he’d gotten her back to the keep. Lachlan was already fuming that her father demanded he not have her in his bed until they were wed, and they would have to sleep apart tonight. His fists clenched in frustration as Gavin Murray stood and announced to all what had been decided.

  He hadn’t wanted her to find out this way. He’d wanted to hold her in his arms after they made love and ask her, to know marriage would please her. Looking at her now, biting her lip and holding back tears, it appeared the news was anything but pleasing. She’d gone pale and silent, not the reaction he’d hoped for. She had never said anything about marriage. What if she did not want him?

  The announcement coming from her father had frustrated him. He couldn’t wait to marry Maggie and send the man home. He now understood her misgivings about men playing games with other people. The duke was an expert.

  All during dinner she kept her eyes averted, and her reaction disconcerted him further. He wanted to growl that he could not get to her, but Gavin had pulled him into one political conversation after another, and when he turned back, she was gone. Her brothers had whisked her away. He’d given them several rooms, and there was no way he could find Maggie without coming right out and asking which one they’d put her in.

  They would probably laugh if he did, and he was fair certain they would have the room guarded. They had all made it perfectly clear he would sully her name no longer.

  Thank the saints they were able to get Father Fergus to agree to perform the ceremony the next morning.

  His mother cornered him after dinner. “She doesnae think ye want her.”

  “What would give her that idea? I just fought a man for her.” Was she daft? Mayhap her head was still addled.

  “Have ye told her how ye feel?”

  “I havenae been able to get near her since we got back,” he ground out between clenched teeth.

  “Nae. Before now, have ye given her any indication ye care for her?”

  “Aye, I have.” But then he thought back to her silent confession while she thought he was sleeping.

  She’d professed her love for him, albeit when she didn’t intend for him to hear. He’d not missed it when she’d said it again today after saving his life.

  He had not said anything to her either time, but damn it, didn’t his actions count?

  …

  Maggie rubbed her dry, sore eyes. Sleep had evaded her all night. Between the tears and her youngest brother, Roland, in the bed beside her snoring, she was dead tired. But the worst was remembering the expression on Lachlan’s face when her father had announced their wedding. He’d looked as if he’d been given a death sentence.

  Lorna and Elspeth had already been in this morning to bring her an elegant yet simple gown of the softest wool she’d ever felt. The cut of the dress was low, and she felt as if too much of her chest was on display, but she had to admit the deep red with lighter stripes running down its length was a good color for her. They helped her dress and then pinned her hair up with matching ribbons. Now she was just waiting for them to tell her it was time.

  When the knock came, it startled her. The door swung open without an invitation, and Lachlan loomed in the frame. He walked in slowly and shut the door with an audible click. He turned and locked it.

  His brow was stern and crinkled. His golden mane had been meticulously combed, but a lock fell into his face. Although she wanted to reach out and run her hands through the thick strands and feel the silky curls slide through her fingers, she ached that he might not want her any longer and clasped her hands together to fight the urge. She couldn’t even begin to guess what emotions his hooded blue eyes were hiding.

  After thoroughly scanning her, he smiled. “Och, lass, ye look lovely.”

  Saddened, she studied him through lowered lashes. Maggie had wanted him to marry her because he loved her, because he wanted no other. Now she only hoped she could make it through this marriage without spending her life utterly heartbroken.

  “Thank ye,” she finally managed as the painful constriction of her heart and throat eased.

  “I didnae get to speak to ye yesterday. There is so much I wanted to say, but I couldnae get away from yer father. The man has a way of taking over.”

  She couldn’t help but giggle at his exasperation, a feeling she’d dealt with her whole life.

  “I see it didnae take ye long to get his measure.” The easy banter relaxed her as he took her hand and guided her to sit on the bed beside him. Her heart beat faster at his touch.

  “Ugh, and yer brothers! They wouldnae let me out of their sight.” He rolled his eyes in exasperation. Aye, her brothers could be stubborn, but they looked out for her.

  “They can be a wee bit much, too.” She smiled.

  “Maggie, what I’m trying to say is, I wanted to speak with ye before yer father made the announcement. I didnae even get to hold ye after we got back to the keep.” His hands, holding hers, squeezed firmly and his warmth soaked in and relieved some of the tightness that had been eating at her all through the night.

  “I was under the impression ye no longer wanted me,” she said and looked away.

  He gently turned her face back to his. “Listen to what you’re saying, Maggie. If I didnae want ye, I wouldnae have fought so hard to get ye back.”

  “And Arabella?” There, she’d voiced it. Now he’d know how the jealousy clawed at her heart. Wetness filled her eyes. Damn, she had not wanted him to see her water up about it—she looked like a simpering fool.

  He gently placed his palms on her cheeks and tilted her face up to look into his blue eyes. She found herself wanting to drown in the earnest emotion she saw there. “I dinnae want her. I want no one but ye. I’m not certain what ye saw, but think back. ’Twas no’ what it seemed.”

  His sincere gaze remained locked on hers. “She went into our room and left a note that made it look like ye were scheming with Conall. She planned it so that ye would think I’d betrayed ye. All along her plan was to send ye out where the bastard could get his hands on ye. I caught her trying to steal the evidence. ’Twas why the bastard wouldnae just exchange ye for the letter on the first day. Arabella was going to take it and then try to turn Robbie over to him. Not only is she a traitor to the clan, she put ye at risk, and I cannae forgive her for either. She is gone and ye’ll never have to see her again.”

  She believed him, but the tears came anyway, dripping down her cheeks.

  He caressed them with his thumbs and leaned in to place a soft kiss on her lips. “I swear to ye, Maggie. Ye are the only one.”

  She fell into him, relishing the feel of his body as she wrapped her arms around him. He was warmth and security and home. Hope blossomed in her chest, but doubts remained, because he had never promised he had any more than passing desire for her, and she didn’t delude herself—he might still want her, but he’d sworn he would never marry.

  “Ye dinnae have to marry me.” The words rushed out before she could stop them.

  He pulled back and stared at her. He looked hurt. “Do ye not want me?” Reverently, he carefully drew his fingers along her bruised cheek.

  “I want ye like I have never wanted anyone else. Ye are the air I breathe,” Maggie managed to say. “Ye cannae let my father force yer hand. Nor the babe. I dinnae want ye if that is why ye are doing this.” She motioned to the gown.

  His head quirked sideways as if she had shocked him. And she realized too late—he didn’t know she carried his child in her womb.

  …

  “Babe?” Lachlan studied Maggie as she closed her eyes and bit her lip, obviously waiting for his response, but he was still trying to wrap his arms about what she’d said.

  A bairn. She looked so beautiful, sitting there with her black curls pinned up, a couple of ringlets escaping to frame her heart-shaped face. Her long, dark lashes almost brushed her cheeks, and she looked down as if she were ashamed.


  She was carrying his child. Pride swelled somewhere deep within him.

  Whether or not she carried his child, she was his. She’d kept it from him—she hadn’t wanted him to choose her because she carried his child, and it only made her more beautiful in his eyes.

  Finally, she returned his gaze and nodded. Lachlan moved to his knees on the floor right in front of her. She was everything. He had no words to explain how his heart leaped every time he saw her and how she had become his world.

  He didn’t know how he would face a day without her passion for life and her reckless behavior that drove him to distraction. For her and the babe’s safety, he was already running through in his mind what he would no longer allow her to do.

  He placed his hand on her still flat abdomen and looked deep into her sapphire-blue eyes. “I cannae say this doesnae make me the happiest man alive. To ken a life we created lives inside ye.”

  “I dinnae want to be an obligation.” Stubborn defiance shown in her eyes.

  He laughed. “From the first day, I have kenned ye were the one for me. When I held ye in my arms, it was right. I fought it because I was scared.” He’d never admitted to anyone in his life he’d been afraid of anything.

  “Why would ye want to tie yer life to me, when I overheard ye swear to Alan never to do so?”

  “I was a fool for ever believing that, but when I made that promise, I didnae ken ye.”

  “I dinnae want ye to marry me because my father says ye have to.”

  “Yer father has nothing to do with it. I wrote to him last week and made plain my intentions to take ye as my wife. That is why he came. I didnae want to say anything to ye until I had his blessing.”

  Her eyes lit as his words sank in.

  “I love ye, and there will never be another for me.”

  She smiled at him, a heart-rending, soul-searing smile that left him speechless. “I love ye, too, Lachlan Cameron.” She threw her arms around him, and her lips dipped to his for a bold, confident kiss.

  “I love ye, Maggie.” His fingers lovingly played with the ringlet that tickled her cheek.

  “Now, let’s go get married. I cannae wait any longer.”

  Epilogue

  Kentillie Castle, January 6, 1643

  “Dinnae even think about it.” Maggie turned at her husband’s voice as he entered the sick room and saw her about to hoist a bucket of water to take outside and dump.

  “’Tis no’ so heavy, ’twill be fine.”

  Staying true to his word, after they had married, he had listed tasks that he didn’t want her doing until the babe was born, and the list grew with each day that passed. Knowing he meant well, she tried but scoffed at most of his demands—after all, what was so dangerous about going up to the turrets to look at snow that topped Ben Nevis, the loch as the moon glimmered off the mirrorlike surface, and the stars that filled the sky at night when the clouds stayed away? Last time he’d caught her up there, he’d made her promise to at least not go up without him, and that was just fine, because she adored hearing him talk about the land he loved so much.

  “I was looking everywhere for ye. Why are ye out here?”

  Maggie hadn’t wanted to leave his side, but she’d rushed in to share the responsibility of preparing for the Epiphany dinner tonight with Elspeth.

  “I didnae get a chance to finish my work before dinner.” Space in the room was tight, and if she didnae keep things clean, there wasn’t enough room to mix up her medicinals for those who needed them.

  “Come, I have something to show ye.” Taking her hand, Lachlan drew her away from her task and out into the cool night air.

  When they passed by the entrance to the great hall, her head tilted to the side. “Where are ye taking me?”

  “I have a surprise for ye.” ’Twas worth leaving her chores to see the boyish curve of his lips as he smiled.

  He pulled her to a stop in front of a tower of the castle that lay unused, the one where she’d spent the night after he discovered her identity.

  “Wait here. I’ll light a candle.” When he disappeared through the door, she shuddered at the loss of the warmth that left with him.

  He returned and took her hand, drawing her near, but his smile had left and he seemed more apprehensive.

  What had once been a barren, cold room on the first floor was bordered by tables on two sides, and he tugged her closer to one of them. Between the candle and low evening light shining through the windows, she was able to make out glass vials and earthen pots. “What is it?”

  “A place for ye to work with yer herbs. Come.”

  Guiding her toward a small, dark room off to the side, he held the candle up to show ropes strung from the ceiling in planned increments. ’Twas the perfect environment for drying plants and flowers.

  “Do ye like it?”

  Her heart swelled and her eyes misted at all the effort it must have taken to put this together—for her. “Aye, I love it, husband.”

  “There’s more.” Guiding her to the stairs, he led her to the room she’d been locked in the day he discovered her secret. Pausing at the door, he smiled and pointed. “It can no longer be locked from the outside.” The bolt that had kept her inside had been removed from the door, and he pushed it open to reveal a room she didn’t recognize. A fire blazed in the hearth, the walls were covered with tapestries of couples in various scenes in nature, and a bed covered with plush blue blankets replaced the sad excuse for one that had been there before.

  “I didnae want ye to have any bad memories of any part of Kentillie. ’Tis yer home now, and every part of it should feel like it.” While he walked over and placed the candle down on a small table by the bed, she stepped into the transformed space and tamped down the happiness that was overwhelming her.

  “’Tis my way to say my heart is open to ye. I never thought I would be able to trust again, but ye gave that back to me. Now I plan to give ye everything yer heart desires.” Och, she loved this man. “And when ye are here working, I willnae have to drag ye to the other side of the keep to bed ye.”

  He took her hands and gazed into her eyes. “Do ye like it?”

  “I love it.” What she didn’t know how to put into words was the truth that had bubbled up to the top of her heart—he had restored her faith in men. “I love ye.”

  In the time they’d been married, not only had his eyes and heart remained faithful to her, but even as her belly grew and she lost her curves, he had made this room for her.

  She said it the only way she knew how—raising up on her toes, she kissed his lips, then her free hand pulled the pin from his plaid. “Let’s try it out.”

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  Acknowledgments

  Special thanks to:

  Robin Haseltine for seeing potential, sharing her knowledge and being my partner on this journey. She’s a shining star, and I am truly fortunate that our paths crossed.

  My husband for his love, support, and belief in me.

  My kids for putting up with takeout, dirty dishes and understanding when mother was working.

  My parents, Jo Ann and David Bailey, for being here since the beginning and for their faith, support, and unconditional love.

  Jennifer R. for being a sounding board and my first reader. I will always be grateful for our friendship.

  Toral P. for loving my first book and asking for more.

  My writing tribe, along with being great friends, they hold a wealth of knowledge and have shared their wisdom and support with enthusiasm and love of the craft. I will always be eternally grateful to: Harper Kincaid, GG Gabriel, J. Keely Thrall, Taylor Reynolds, MK Meredith, Denny Bryce, Julie Halperson, Angele McQuade, Jennifer McKeone, and Laurel Wanrow.

  The Fox Mill writers who were there when it all started: Julie, Lisa, Sheila, Michele, and Jules.

  Robert F. Dorr, a veteran, hero, and mentor, you will be missed.


  And for you, the reader who picked up this book and gave a new author a chance to share a piece of her heart.

  About the Author

  Lori Ann Bailey has a romantic soul and believes the best in everyone. She cries every time she sees a sappy commercial or when one of her kids does something to be proud of. She felt emotionally drained after reading sad books, so she started reading romance for the Happily Ever Afters. She was hooked.

  After working in business and years as a stay-at-home mom she has found something to be passionate about besides her family: her books. She lives in Northern Virginia with her real life hero, four kids who keep her on her toes, two dogs that are determined to destroy her house, and two cats that secretly plot the demise of those dogs.

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