Page 89 of The Highlander's Princess Bride
She quickly realized he was twitting her. “Now, see here,” she started, waving a finger at him.
He gently grasped her hand. “You know I’m just teasing, sweet lass. No need to fall into a tizzy.”
Nick couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much fun. Considering his black state of mind only last night, she was a bloody miracle worker.
When he gently cupped her cheek, the remaining fight seemed to go out of her.
“I . . . I don’t know what to say,” she whispered.
“Say yes,” he whispered back.
She swayed toward him, as if about to do just that, when the door flew open. Victoria jerked away as the twins charged into the room.
“Is it true?” Graeme asked. “Are you going to marry Miss Knight?”
Nick gritted his teeth. “Your grandfather told you?”
“Yes,” said Grant, smiling at Victoria. “You should say yes, miss. Nick is a splendid chap, really. And if you marry him, then you’ll be our sister, and you’ll have even more time to teach us how to be gentlemen and find proper wives.”
She gave the twins a horrified look before turning her gaze back on Nick. He was tempted to curse, but instead he spread his hands in a placating gesture.
“Really, how can you say no to such a tempting offer?” he asked.
She seemed to struggle with herself for a moment. “You’re demented, all of you,” she finally said.
Then she got up and stalked from the room.
Chapter Seventeen
“Accepting Lord Arnprior’s proposal is certainly the most sensible thing to do,” said Edie Gilbride as she plucked a lobster patty from the plate in front of her. “And if Sir Dominic believes it’s for the best, you might as well get on with it.”
Victoria put her teacup down with a decided click. “Perhaps, but it’s not his decision to make, is it?”
She was still annoyed with Arnprior for writing to Dominic, asking permission to court her. Her mentor had agreed with alacrity, as had Victoria’s brother, Aden. Why they thought it was any of their business was a mystery to her, and she’d made that clear to them in tartly worded letters. Her missives, however, had been met with deafening silence.
“Alec thinks it a splendid idea too,” Edie said, “and he has a nose for matchmaking. He knew we were going to end up together even when I still believed he was a dolt.”
Victoria shook her head. “Men. They always stick up for each other. By the way, where is your dear husband?”
Edie perused the elegant supper room, where they’d managed to secure one of the larger tables in a spot behind a few potted ferns. Graeme and Grant were intently engaged in conversation with two young dancing partners, while Victoria and Edie awaited the appearance of the rest of their party.
“I expect he’s still at the Tontine Coffee Room, droning on with his business partners,” Edie said. “He’d better get here soon, though, or we’ll miss the dancing.”
“He’s a dimwit for talking about business when he could be dancing with you.”
Edie laughed. “I agree, but I’m happy we’ve had the opportunity to have a quiet chat about your situation.”
Alec and Edie, ensconced in Glasgow for much of December, were throwing a grand Hogmanay ball on New Year’s Eve and had invited the Kendricks. That sudden invitation had apparently been the only excuse Arnprior needed to whisk them all to the city, two days after his stunning marriage proposal. They were now in their second week at Kendrick House, and Victoria felt like she was still catching her breath from the whirlwind of activity.
She also felt curiously vulnerable.
Kendrick House was a gracious mansion with every convenience, and the staff already displayed a tendency to treat her as the lady of the manor. But that only increased her sense that she was somehow tempting fate by taking up such public residence in Glasgow. For all the problems at Kinglas, she’d felt safe and happy in that drafty old castle in its quiet glen.
“Speaking of husbands, where is Arnprior, anyway?” Edie asked.
Victoria glanced at the twins, seated close enough to eavesdrop, and gave her friend a warning grimace.
Edie chuckled. “Dearest, everyone knows Arnprior is courting you, especially his family.”
