Page 45 of Married to the Highland Devil
Arran stayed on the bed while Duncan began pacing around a little. He had not been able to get Malcolm’s threat off his mind since yesterday. After the abrupt intrusion, Duncan had called for a meeting with all his guards and tightened security around the castle.
He could not risk Malcolm getting to his sister or Amelia as he had threatened. Duncan knew he would give his life to protect both women.
“What bothers ye? Did somethin’ else happen while I was unconscious?”
He also was not ready to bother his friend with news of his father’s intrusion at the castle the previous day, so he smiled and shook his head. He was standing at the window now and was about to reply to Arran when he spotted Amelia and his sister strolling in the back gardens of the castle. They seemed engrossed in the conversation they were having, and Duncan loved that. He wanted Amelia to feel most welcome here and also more comfortable by the time they finally wed.
He was hoping he would have settled his pending fight with Laird MacGregor by then. Even though he could not allow his feelings for Amelia to surface for now, yesterday had shown him that it did not need to be that way at all times.
Talking to her in his weakest moment and laughing with her had shown him another life, one he had never dreamed of having before. One where he could be with this woman who made his heart dance and his spirits sing.
The light-hearted joy that burst through him each time she was near was all he could think of most times. Amelia made him happy in a way he hadn’t felt before.
For the first time in his life, Duncan could picture a different life for himself. One where he could be happy with Amelia. He had almost forgotten about Arran as he watched Amelia tuck her hair behind her ear and laugh at something his sister had said.
The tingles in his heart increased, and his pulse began accelerating.
“Go to her,” Arran said behind him.
Duncan turned to see that his friend had risen from his bed and had walked all the way to him.
“I dinnae need to do that.”
“Ye do,” Arran urged. “Go to her, take some flowers.”
“She loves flowers,” Duncan chirped in with a smile.
Arran shook his head, and Duncan ran his fingers through his hair to keep his strands at bay. “I have never done anythin’ like this.” He walked away from his friend and began pacing again.
“Woo a lass?” Arran laughed now. “I can teach ye, my friend. All ye need to do is ask her to walk in the moors or garden with ye or go on a picnic with yer horse. Take some flowers to her, tell her she is bonnie, and enjoy yerself.”
Duncan rubbed the back of his neck, and heat pooled there. “Is that all?”
“Aye.” Arran nodded. “Do not speak to her about war or yer clan’s problems. They will only scare her. Instead, tell her of all the beautiful things in McLennan. Show her the village and also share supper with her alone in her chamber.”
The thought of being alone with Amelia was too far-fetched. Duncan knew if he spent too much time with her in a chamber, he would kiss her, or worse, make love to her.
I cannae allow that.
“Heed my advice, my friend, ye will thank me later.”
The teasing smile on Arran’s face made Duncan smile.
“Go rest,” Duncan said and headed to the door. “The healer shall come and check on ye in the mornin’.”
He had turned the doorknob when Arran asked in a more serious tone, “Did my faither come here? Did he look for me?”
The brief conversation with Malcolm flashed through Duncan’s mind again, but he pushed it to the back of his mind because that was a conversation for when Arran was feeling stronger.
“Nay,” he lied. “He hasnae.”
Arran nodded stiffly, and Duncan gave him a shaky smile before heading out of the chamber. The rest of the day, he pondered on Arran’s advice.
He craved being with Amelia again, and no amount of tax scrolls or requests from his village head could change that. A soft knock on his study door finally cut through his rolling thoughts.
His mother walked in, closed the door gently behind her, then approached his table. “We missed ye at supper,” she said in a low voice.
It was then that Duncan glanced out of the window and realized time had flown by quickly, and the once pale blue sky had darkened into a thick fog of blackness.
