Rose held Colin’s arm as they crested the steps of the parish court, excitement bubbling inside of her. She was going to marry this man. Not only was her future secured but her heart was as well.
He opened the door and they stepped inside the church, making their way down a side hallway to stairs that led down below the chapel. Colin led her with the confidence of a man who’d been here before.
A clerk sat at a desk, scrolling notes in a large book. “Can I help ye?”
Colin stepped forward. “We’d like to have our irregular marriage declared, pay our fine, and request the bans be posted fer a second ceremony within the church.”
The priest stepped out of a side room. “Colin MacFarland? Good to see ye.” He stepped up with a warm look, shaking Colin’s hand.
“And ye as well, Father.”
The man glanced over at Rose, his eyes crinkled, his face relaxed. “If ye’re posting the bans, there is no need to pay the fine.” A smile graced his lips. “But please, introduce me to the lady whom ye’ve decided to wed.”
Colin turned to her. “This is Lady Rose Morningstar.”
The priest’s brows drew together, and his forehead crinkled. “Morningstar? Why do I know that name, Clarence?”
The clerk flipped through the pages of the book, his finger trailing down various columns. “An advocate was here in search of a Morningstar. Yes.” The man stopped. “He was looking for a Lady Rose Morningstar in the matter of an inheritance.”
Lily grabbed her shoulder as Rose sucked in a breath. Inheritance? “Whose inheritance?” She looked back at Daisy, her fingers tingling with anticipation and a touch of fear. “It could be another Rose.”
The clerk tapped the page. “The deceased was Lady Agnus McCray.”
“That’s our aunt,” Daisy cried. “The one we’ve travelled all this way to find.”
“What did she leave Rose?” Lily asked, her hand tightening.
The clerk shook his head. “I couldn’t say. The advocate would know. He’s recently back from a trip to London. Ye’ll likely find him in his office.”
Lily’s hand began a frantic tapping on her shoulder, underscoring her own nervous energy. If they’d been left some sum, she could certainly provide for her sister’s future. Hope sang in her veins. How nice it would be to not burden Colin with their future. “Thank you, sir.” She breathed, looking back at her sisters.
Daisy beamed. “Shall we go now?”
Colin shifted next to her, his muscles tight under her hand. “We can. Do ye wish to post the bans first or would ye like to go straight to the advocate?”
Rose sensed a tension in his voice, that she couldn’t quite describe. He sounded casual enough. She looked at him then and noticed his pinched features. She knew he worried about the life he’d provide for her, but this inheritance could only make that life better. Why would that worry him? “Let’s post the bans first. It’s what we came here to do.”
His shoulders relaxed, dropping down a bit as he gave a single nod.
Half an hour later, they made their way through the city, twisting and turning down Greenoch’s labyrinth of streets. Rose had only lived in London. She was certain she’d learn this new city but she was glad to have Colin leading them today.
Not that he’d said much. He’d gone back to the reserved man who made her wonder what was happening between them.
They stopped in front of a shop with a small wooden sign dangling over the door.
“We’re here,” Colin looked up at the wood. “Ready?”
“I’ve been ready for months,” Daisy answered. “Let’s go inside.”
Rose gave her sister a sharp look. She was ready too, but she also sensed that whatever they were about to find out, Colin was worried about it. “Would you rather come back in the morning?” she asked. Mentally she added, after we’ve had time to talk.
He shook his head. “We’re here now. Let’s go inside.” Then he grabbed the knob and pulled open the door, ushering all three women and Shamus into the small shop.
“Hello,” a man called from the desk in the corner of the single room. “How may I help ye.”
Rose bounced on her heels. “My name is Lady Rose Morningstar. We were at the parish court and heard that—”
“Lady Rose,” McAllister stood. “I can’t believe after months of searching fer ye, ye have found me.”
“Months?” Rose’s mouth went dry. “You searched for me for months?”
McAllister bobbed his head “Even travelled to London. I found yer cousin, Lord Rothberg, not that he was helpful.”
“Lord Rothberg?” She moved closer to Colin until her hip pressed to his.
McAllister came around the desk. “No matter. Ye’re here now. And thank goodness. Too much longer and the estate would have gone elsewhere.”
“Estate?” Her voice squeaked, high and tight as her other hand came to also clutch Colin’s arm.
McAllister smiled. “Ye are the closest living relation to Lord and Lady McCray. Ye’ve inherited their properties and all other assets, as ordained by Scottish law.”
Rose clapped her hand to her mouth, feeling as though she might faint.
Colin’s stomach clenched with dread. They hadn’t made it to the wedding after all. He supposed they’d declared an irregular marriage but it hadn’t been consummated and he wasn’t sure it should be.
Rose was now a lady and an heiress. She had the means to support herself and, of course, make a match with a man of the peerage. The man she deserved. His stomach rolled as he half listened to the numbers being listed. Thousands of acres of property, heads of cattle, number of crofts, buildings within the estate. His head spun.
“All of this belongs to Rose?” Daisy asked. “Aunt Agnes didn’t leave anything for us?”
McAllister adjusted his spectacles. “She didn’t designate any heirs at all. Lady Rose is just the closest living relative.”
“But I’m not…” Rose paused, looking up at the ceiling. “Male.”
“Welcome to Scotland.” McAllister chuckled. “I’m to understand that yer father was the Earl of Rothberg, but all his inheritance was entailed and went to yer cousin?”
Rose nodded. “That’s correct.”
The advocate shifted in his seat. “And ye were no longer at his house when I arrived two months ago.”
“Also correct,” Rose answered, her fingers digging into his arm.
Not that he cared. He’d like to bury his face in the crook of her neck and beg her to stay with him. But that wasn’t fair to her. He’d always known she should be with someone better.
“And ye were where?” McAllister leaned forward, propping his elbows on his desk.
Daisy straightened. “What does that matter?”
McAllister sat back. “Pardon me, it doesn’t.” He cleared his throat. “I met yer cousin. Unpleasant fellow. And now ye’re here but months have passed. My curiosity was piqued.”
A wave of protectiveness washed over him. These ladies were his responsibility until they were safely set up in their new home. He couldn’t do much for them, but he could do this. “They managed to keep themselves safe,” he answered.
Rose brushed the back of her fingers down his arm. “Captain MacFarland was kind enough to escort us to Scotland in our time of need.”
“Indeed.” McAllister gave them a long look. “And am I to assume the two of ye are planning to marry?”
“Yes,” Rose said, giving him a quick glance. He didn’t argue. It was a private discussion for later.
McAllister gave them a warm smile. “Good.” Then he bent his head to begin shuffling papers.
A half hour later, they’d left again, Rose having signed several documents.
Lily bounced on her heels as they returned to the boat. “When do we leave?”
“Tomorrow,” he answered, turning toward the docks.
“Tomorrow?” Rose asked. “But we haven’t seen our home yet.”
“Home?” He stopped then, turning
toward her. “Yer home is an estate in Glasgow, not a humble village cottage in Greenoch.” He couldn’t quite keep the bitter tone from his voice.
She cocked her head to the side. “My home will be wherever you are.”
“That is the problem, isn’t it?” He started walking again. “My home is on the sea. We were never going to live in the same place.”
Chapter Fourteen
Rose stopped, his words hurting her like a smack in the face. He’d used the past tense. As though they were no longer marrying. “Were?” she asked, barely pushing the word out from between her lips.
His face spasmed in pain. “Ye’ve all the options in the world now. Why would ye choose me?”
Rose attempted to understand his words. Of course, she understood them but did not fully know what they meant to him. He’d always been afraid he couldn’t give her a good life as a ship captain. “I’ve only one option. You. We’ve already committed to one another in the eyes of God and man.”
He shook his head. “We haven’t consummated, it’s not too late.”
“Haven’t consummated,” Daisy repeated, rather louder than necessary. “What does that mean? You spent the night—”
“Daisy.” Rose gave her sister a sharp glare. “Enough.”
Daisy snapped her lips together and Rose turned back to Colin. “I think a more private conversation is in order.”
“I agree,” he started walking again. “We’ll drop yer sisters off on the boat, then we’ll go to the cottage. Shamus can see to their welfare on the ship.”
Shamus gave a nod of assent, his mouth set in a frown. He walked closer to Colin, saying in a low voice. “Make sure ye do some good listening, son. Yer future depends on it.” Then he held out his arms to Daisy and Lily and they disappeared down the street.
Colin took a right turn, following along the shore until they took a right yet again and ended up in front of a cute little stone house. The street was quiet and from the stoop, Rose could still see the ocean. “I have a housekeeper. She keeps the place while I’m away.” Colin shifted. “Cooks and cleans.”
Rose nodded, feeling calmer at his words. They were an explanation and somehow that made her hopeful. “How lovely.”
“It’s small.” He said then reached for the knob. “Not like the ship, of course. But not what ye’re used to.”
“You obviously didn’t see the room that the three of us shared at the inn.” She kept the words light.
He still grimaced. “A temporary situation that has corrected itself.” Then he opened the door.
She shook her head. “Colin, has it occurred to you that I could arrive at the estate and find it completely dilapidated? The crofts could be empty, the cows dead after months of having no lord to oversee them. I could be inheriting more problems than I began with.”
He stopped in the doorway. “By God, ye’re right.”
Finally. “So you understand if that’s the case, I’ll need you more than ever. I’ve no idea how to sell or repair such a property. No means to negotiate, no…”
He bowed his head. “Once again, circumstance has stuck ye at my side.”
She stepped closer. “I choose, once again, to be at your side. I can’t think of anywhere else I’d want to be.”
“Ye say that now…” His voice dropped low. “But ye’re a lady of the upper class and I am just—”
“You are just the finest man I’ve ever met.” She placed a hand on his chest. “I’ve already chosen you. I have to be honest, it’s you who hasn’t chosen yourself.”
Those words reverberated through him. Were they true? “Ye won’t one day wish ye’d married a lord?”
She shook her head. “Silly man. When are you going to realize that I’ve quite fallen in love with you?”
He choked, the words catching him completely off guard. “Ye what?”
“I love you,” she said more quietly, slipping her hand down his chest.
He grabbed it. “Ye only think ye love me because I rescued ye.”
She let out a small laugh but it held little humor. “You’re right. Of course I don’t love a man who goes around helping innocent women who are in grave need.”
He let out a long breath. She was twisting his words. “What happens when ye don’t need rescuing? Ye won’t feel the same about me.”
She pulled her hand from his. “Take me back to the ship.”
“Why?” Pain stabbed at his chest. “I’m right, aren’t I?”
“You’re so wrong that I can’t even begin to explain it to you. I think we should talk again when you’ve had some time to realize what a complete egit you are.”
That made him pause. “Humor me and explain.”
She huffed out a loud breath. “I love you because you are noble and good. Strong and honorable. That isn’t going to change.” She lifted her skirts in her hands. “Now point me in the direction of the bedroom so that I might stomp off there and slam the door.”
Despite everything, he nearly smiled. He liked this side of Rose and she had a point. He was inadvertently selling her short by calling her affection fickle. “It’s just down the hall and up the stairs.” Then he grabbed her hand again. “And try not to be too angry with me. I don’t just want what’s best fer me but what’s best fer ye too. And I’m worried that I’m not him.”
Her shoulders relaxed, and suddenly, her body pressed to his. “You are him. Trust me when I say that you are the man I want now and forever.”
He wrapped her in his embrace, finding her lips with his own. Whatever thoughts he had about continuing to hold back were washed away by the tide of his feelings, like the seaweed on the beach. Never mind that the weeds would return again. For right now, they were gone and he couldn’t hold back from her.
She kissed him like a sea captain’s wife kisses her husband before every journey. It was the kiss of a woman who worried he’d go away and never return. The press of her lips held desperation and fear as well as passion and need.
He was worried too and he poured that emotion into their embrace.
Picking her up, he carried her to the bedroom and it was him who slammed the door behind them both.
In a flurry of activity, they stripped each other’s clothes, heated kisses filling the spaces in between.
Finally naked, Colin picked her up again, the feel of her bare skin against his, so lovely that he moaned with need as he lay her on the bed, his weight settling on top of her. Her legs automatically wrapped about his waist and he found himself cradled in the warmth and heat between her thighs.
He groaned. She was already slick with desire and she rubbed against him, the tip of his manhood sinking into her soft flesh.
His vision blurred as her tight heat wrapped about him. “Rose,” he groaned. “Ye feel so good, love. I—” He held himself back, using all his will.
With a subtle tilt of her hips she took more of him inside her, her arms twining about his neck. “Make me yours.”
Those words stripped the last of his self-control and he thrust inside her, feeling her maidenhead break.
She gave a small cry and tightened her grip on him.
But her maidenhead wasn’t the only thing that broke. Whatever dam he’d been using inside to hold back his emotions burst open too. The feel of her underneath him was more fulfilling then he’d ever imagined and he found himself crying out, “Rose, love, I love ye so much.”
“I love you, too,” she answered close to his ear. “We were meant to find each other.”
He slid out of her and slowly moved back in. “Do ye really think so?”
“I do. Perhaps Daisy was right. The stars guided us.”
He kissed her then, long and slow as he moved back inside her. “But what will ye do when those stars pull me away?”
She scrunched her brow. “I don’t know what we’ll find in Glasgow, but it’s entirely possible that we could have a large estate perfect for the farming future you’ve always dreamed of.” She gave him a glowing smile. “Lo
rd knows I can’t manage it.”
He stilled inside her. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph she was right. “And my shipping business?”
She shrugged. “We’ll hire an overseer. We’ll have ships to transport our goods anyway.”
Holding her face in his hands he moved in her again. “Are ye certain ye’re not capable of running the land? Ye’ve realized the implications much quicker than me.” Pride bubbled up inside him.
She ran her hand down his back, encouraging him to slide back inside her body. “I think we shall make an excellent team.”
He had to agree and he didn’t want to talk about business anymore as he slid inside her heat again. The pace quickened and soon her hips were meeting his thrust for thrust as they joined again and again, their bodies reaffirming their affection with each passing minute.
Finally, her body tight under his, Rose cried out her finish, spasming underneath him. It was his undoing and he came undone, shattering into a thousand tiny pieces only to come back together a new man. This man was ready for his future.
Chapter Fifteen
The next morning, Rose looked out the window of the rocking carriage, admiring the misty view of the Scottish land sprawled out before her.
“Would you stop smiling?” Daisy muttered. “Your happiness is obnoxious.”
Lily swatted at her sister, Daisy. “Leave her be. She’s in love.”
“I know she’s in love. I’m terribly jealous,” Daisy admitted. “She’s won a fine man and an estate. It’s you and I who are still poor.”
Rose clucked her tongue. “I am sure there will be plenty for you and Lily,” she answered. “Once I’ve determined the exact circumstances of our situation, we’ll set you both up with dowries and begin looking for husbands for you. What you’ll have to decide is if you want to marry Scots or Englishmen.”
“Scots,” they said simultaneously and then burst into a fit of giggles.
“What’s so funny in there?” Shamus called from up on the bench. “The conversation up here with our good captain isn’t nearly as entertaining.”
A Highlander to Have and to Hold: Scottish Historical Romance (Brides of Scotland Book 2) Page 8
