Page 66 of Married to the Highland Devil
Amelia’s hands were still covered in herbs when the door to her work chamber opened. “Dahlia is that you?” she called. “I need water and another cloth to wipe my hands clean, please.”
“It isnae Dahlia,” Duncan’s voice boomed from across the chamber, and Amelia’s face instantly brightened.
He visited her often these days, and they spent more time talking and enjoying each other’s company than they had when she had first gotten here.
Amelia had to admit she was getting used to his presence, and the only way to keep her mind off him was to work.
“Ye need to make me one of yer tonics,” he said as he drew closer, and she sucked in a deep breath before he took the herbs she was squashing from her and set them aside.
Duncan helped Amelia clean her hands then he dried them with a towel before she asked, “Do you not feel well? I have something that can help with pain and make you sleep better at night.”
“I dinnae think herbs will help me relax,” Duncan answered her. “Only the knowledge that I have put Laird MacGregor behind me for good will.”
“You miss Arran,” Amelia pointed out as he drew her to her feet and linked their fingers.
She walked with him, and they left her chamber. Amelia did not know the direction they walked in until she heard greetings from servants and felt the cold brush of outside air on her skin.
An evening stroll with Duncan was always a way to help her relax. Amelia and Duncan could talk for hours as they walked, and she liked that he could tell her about his worries.
“I do miss him. It has only been one night.” Duncan sighed. “I want to run to him and bring him back here. He has a cottage outside the castle and a chamber here. I cannae remember a time when he hasnae been here with me.”
“I understand,” Amelia told him. “Growing up, I did not have any friends with me other than Lily, so I might not know what it feels like, but I do know that Arran will be all right where he is now.”
“His faither is a mischievous, vile man. I dinnae trust him, and I ken Arran doesnae trust him either. I am grateful that he brought Yvaine home safe; I just wish he had found another way to do it.”
Duncan tightened his grip on her hand then brought her close so her body pressed against his. Amelia felt his warmth seep into her body, and she felt his hand on her chin gently steadying her.
“I have been thinkin’ about what ye asked me the other day. Ye said ye wanted to meet my village heads and explain what happened to ye to them, so they would stop the rumors.”
“Yes.” Amelia nodded. “I think they will be more relaxed if they met me.”
“When ye first got here, ye were against the idea of havin’ a feast to celebrate yer arrival, and now, ye want to do this?”
“I feel more at home here now,” Amelia replied. “And I want your people to accept me as I am. I do not want to live hidden away like I did in England. I have realized that my life can be different here, Duncan… Our lives can be different.”
“I want that more than anythin’,” Duncan said to her before his lips brushed against the side of her lips and her forehead. “I thought about it, and I have decided that a feast would suffice. I shall send word to England at once and inform yer faither of it. If he wishes to attend, I shall welcome him, and we can plan for the weddin’ immediately. It will be a small feast in the castle’s grand hall, and I will send word to the village heads at once.”
Duncan mentioning her father reminded Amelia of her last letter to England. There was still no response from her father all this time, and she worried he might not have received the letter.
“Duncan, do you remember the letter I told you I sent to my father?”
“Aye,” he answered almost immediately.
“I still have not gotten any reply from England since I sent it.”
Duncan sighed. “He hasnae responded?”
“No… Not since then. I am worried that he might have not gotten my letter. It is possible that he did not receive it, right?”
“Aye, it is,” Duncan replied. “Why else would he nay respond?”
They both fell silent, and Amelia’s worrisome thoughts doubled when Duncan said, “If he didnae get yer letter, then it means it was intercepted on the way.”
“Intercepted? By whom?”
The only person Amelia could think of was Laird MacGregor, and Duncan mentioned his name at the same time the thought crossed her mind.
“Malcolm,” they chorused, and chills ran down Amelia’s spine.
