Highland Scoundrel (Highland Brides)
Page 36
“I… I…” She winced. “I never said he wasn’t the king.”
“You knew the king’s life was in danger,” he said, obviously figuring things out as he spoke.
“You knew he was in danger, so you substituted this lad to take his place. You disregarded this boy’s life as if he were of no more consequence than a rag doll? I know how that feels, Shona. For I was once just such a lad who—”
The boy laughed suddenly, interrupting his soliloquy. “Ye think playing at being king was some great hardship, do ye?”
“Your life was in danger all the while,” Dugald said.
“And what do ye think tis like on the street?” asked the real Kelvin, “where any drunk may be the one to slit your throat? When I first laid me eyes on Lady Shona, I was debating whether to eat the rotted cabbage the butcher’s wife had thrown out, or venture on to the milkmaid’s slop heap.”
Dugald scowled then turned his eyes to Shona. “You lied to me,” he repeated, his voice softer.
“And… and ye to me,” she sputtered.
“I could hardly tell you I’d come to kill you. It’d ruin the element of surprise.”
“Well, I could hardly tell ye I had the king by my side. It would ruin…everything.”
“Everything?”
“Someone was trying to murder him, so we moved him to Blackburn and gave him servants that did not recognize him. Only Hawk knew him there. So we closeted him away with Kelvin. They learned each other’s idiosyncrasies, each other’s lives. He was happy in the Highlands, safe—”
“Safe?” He laughed. “With you? You are the most dangerous woman in all of Christendom. In all the world!”
“Then mayhap ye dunna have the balls to marry me!” she yelled.
“Oh, I have the balls,” he growled, and leaping from the bed, he snatched her to his naked body.
“Do you need more proof?”
She tried to think of a rejoinder, but no words came immediately to mind.
“Marry me, Shona,” Dugald whispered, and kissed her lips. “Live with me at Isle Fois. It may never be peaceful again, but I am willing to risk that.”
She glanced up at him mischievously. “Are ye certain ye have the—”
“For God’s sake, there’s a boy in the room!” Kelvin sputtered.
Shona gasped and spun toward the lad, but he was already leaving.
“The king is right,” he said, sounding disgruntled. “The two of ye had best wed, and soon.”
The portal slammed behind him.
“Marry me,” Dugald said again, pulling her gently back into his arms.
“My father may not approve.”
“Your father would let you marry the king of the toads if you so desired.”
“Well, as ye wish, then, but if I get ye killed, it willna be my fault,” she said, and kissed him.
Lois Greiman was born on a cattle ranch in central North Dakota where she learned to ride and spit with the best of them. After graduating from high school, she moved to Minnesota to train and how Arabian horses. But eventually she fell in love, became an aerobics instructor and gave birth to three of her best friend.
She sold her first novel in 1992 and has published more than thirty titles since then, including romantic comedy, historical romance, children’s stories, and her fun-loving Christina McMullen mysteries. A two-time Rita finalist, she has won such prestigious honors as Romantic Times Storyteller Of The Year, MFW’s Rising Star, RT’s Love and Laughter, the Toby Bromberg for most humorous mystery, and the LaVyrle Spencer Award. Her heroes have received K.I.S.S. recognition numerous times and her books have been seen regularly among the industries Top Picks!
With more than two million books printed worldwide, Ms Greiman currently lives on the Minnesota tundra with her family, some of whom are human. In her spare time she likes to ride some of her more hirsute companions in high speed events such as barrel racing and long distance endurance rides.
http://www.loisgreiman.com
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Document Outline
Praises
Other titles by Lois Greiman
Copyright
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
About the Author