Lord Dashwood Missed Out
Page 10
She was about to learn she'd been wrong.
Verra wrong.
"Oh, dear," she muttered. "I think I'll be sick."
"I must say, this is a fine welcome home."
"This isn't your home."
It will be, lass. It will be.
Logan decided to give her a moment to compose herself. He made a slow circle of the room. The castle itself was remarkable. A classic fortified tower house, kept in a fair state of repair. This chamber they currently occupied was hung with ancient tapestries but was otherwise furnished in what he assumed to be typical English style.
But he didn't care about carpets and settees.
He paused at the window. It was the surrounding land that interested him. This glen was ideal. A wide, green ribbon of fertile land stretched alongside the clear loch. Beyond it lay open hills for grazing.
These were the Highlands his soldiers had known in their youths. The Highlands that had all but disappeared by the time they'd returned from war. Stolen by greedy English landlords--and the occasional fanciful spinster.
This would be home for them now. Here, in the shadow of Lannair Castle, his men could regain what had been taken from them. There was space enough in this glen to raise cottages, plant crops, start families.
Rebuild a life.
Logan would stop at nothing to give them that chance. He owed his men that much. He owed them far more.
"You," she announced, "have to leave."
"Leave? Not a chance, mo chridhe."
"You have to leave. Now."
She took him by the sleeve and tried tugging him toward the door. Unsuccessfully.
Then she gave up on the tugging and started pushing at him instead.
That wasn't any help, either. Except, perhaps, as an aid to Logan's amusement.
He was a lot of man, and she was a mere slip of a lass. He couldn't help but laugh. But her efforts weren't entirely ineffectual. The press of her tiny hands on his arms and chest stirred him in dangerous places.
He'd gone a long time without a woman's touch.
Far too long.
At length, she gave up on the pulling and pushing, and went straight to her last resort.
Pleading. Big, brown calf's eyes implored him for mercy. Little did she know, this was the least likely tactic to work. Logan wasn't a man to be moved by tender emotion.
However, he was a man--and he wasn't unmoved by a pretty face. What with all her exertions, he was starting to see a flush of color on her cheeks. And an intriguing spark of mystery behind those wide, dark eyes.
This lass didn't belong in gray. With that dark hair and those rosy lips, she belonged in vibrant color. Deep Highland greens or sapphire blue.
His own smile took him by surprise.
She was going to look bonny wearing his plaid.
"Just go," she said. "If you leave now, I can convince my aunt this was all a mistake. Because it was a mistake. You must know that. I never meant to bother you with my silly ramblings."
"Perhaps you didna mean to. But involve me you did."
"Is it an apology you want, then? I'm sorry. So very, very sorry. Please, if you'll just give me the letters back and be on your way, I'll be most generous. I'd be glad to pay you for your troubles."
Logan shook his head. She thought a bribe would appease him? "I'm not leaving, lass. Not for all the pin money in your wee silk reticule."
"Then what do you want?"
"That's simple. I want what your letters said. What you've been telling your family for years. I'm Captain Logan MacKenzie. I received every last one of your missives, and despite your best attempts to kill me, I am verra much alive."
He propped a finger under her chin, tilting her face to his. So she would be certain to hear and believe his words.
"Madeline Eloise Gracechurch . . . I've come here to marry you."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
TESSA DARE is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thirteen historical romance novels and five novellas. Her books have won numerous accolades, including Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA(r) Award and multiple RT BOOKreviews Reviewer's Choice Awards. Booklist magazine named her one of the "new stars of historical romance," and her books have been contracted for translation in twenty languages.
A librarian by training and a book-lover at heart, Tessa makes her home in Southern California, where she lives with her husband, their two children, and two cosmic kitties.
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.
By Tessa Dare
Castles Ever After
Romancing the Duke
Say Yes to the Marquess
When a Scot Ties the Knot
Standalone
The Scandalous, Dissolute, No-Good Mr. Wright (novella) Spindle Cove
A Night to Surrender
Once Upon a Winter's Eve (novella) A Week to be Wicked
Beauty and the Blacksmith (novella) A Lady by Midnight
Any Duchess Will Do
Lord Dashwood Missed Out (novella) Do You Want to Start a Scandal (Coming in 2016) Stud Club Trilogy
One Dance with a Duke
Twice Tempted by a Rogue
Three Nights with a Scoundrel
Wanton Dairymaid Trilogy
How to Catch a Wild Viscount (novella prequel) Goddess of the Hunt
Surrender of a Siren
A Lady of Persuasion
COPYRIGHT
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Excerpt from When a Scot Ties the Knot copyright (c) 2015 by Eve Ortega.
LORD DASHWOOD MISSED OUT. Copyright (c) 2015 by Eve Ortega. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition DECEMBER 2015 ISBN: 9780062458285
Print Edition ISBN: 9780062458292
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia www.harpercollins.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Canada 2 Bloor Street East - 20th Floor Toronto, ON, M4W, 1A8, Canada www.harpercollins.ca
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive Rosedale 0632
Auckland, New Zealand www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF, UK
www.harpercollins.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
195 Broadway
New York, NY 10007
www.harpercollins.com