Page 82 of The Highlander's Princess Bride
“Aye, sir.”
“And don’t slam the—” Nick winced when the footman, in his haste to escape, banged the door shut. It would appear he’d terrorized the entire household, with the exception of Victoria.
“Ye’ll be feelin’ as queer as Dick’s hatband, I’m thinkin’,” Angus said.
“Trenchantly put, as always,” Nick replied. “But that hardly matters. What matters is what happened in here, and how it will affect Miss Knight’s reputation. How did she seem about all”—he circled a hand—“this.”
“She asked me to shoot her,” Royal said.
“Good God,” Nick said.
“Aye,” Angus said happily. “No other choice but to marry the puir lass. The sooner, the better.”
Nick was reaching the same inevitable conclusion. Surprisingly, he felt quite sanguine about the notion. But for Angus to approve? “Why are you so bloody pleased? You don’t even like Victoria.”
His grandfather shrugged. “She’s not bad for a Sassenach, and she’s a dab hand at managin’ the lads.”
Nick narrowed his gaze. The old man had been pushing him to remarry for years. Now it looked like he was finally going to get his way.
“I don’t think you have much choice,” Royal said. “You either have to marry the girl or send her quietly back to London and hope no one hears about last night’s events.”
“What are the odds Sir Dominic or Alec won’t get wind of this little incident?” Nick asked. “If the girl’s reputation comes under any sort of question, those two will murder me.”
They probably would anyway, unless he did the right thing and married her. There was, however, a large question yet unresolved.
“You’re wondering if Miss Knight will agree to marry you, I’m guessing,” Royal said with his usual perception.
“How could I not?” Nick asked.
His brother waggled a hand. “I’d say it could go either way. After we managed to get her out from under you, she flew out of here like hellhounds were baying at her heels.”
Nick had to wince at the description, though it instantly conjured up the enticing image of Victoria under him, naked in bed.
“The lass made us promise not to say anything about what we saw,” Angus said. “I told her it would be verra hard to unsee that particular sight.”
The door opened and Taffy marched in with the coffee.
“And did you keep your mouths shut?” Nick asked.
Taffy glanced at Angus and made a scoffing noise as she placed the tray on the corner of the big desk.
“As if Grandda could keep his mouth shut about anything,” Royal said.
Nick sighed as Taffy poured a small packet of headache powders into a glass of water. “So, whatdothe servants know?”
“They ken the laird was locked away with the governess for quite some time,” she said tartly.
“And that you were drunk,” Royal added in a helpful tone.
Nick shot down the headache powders in one gulp, ignoring their bitter taste—and his brother’s amusement.
“Sir, Miss Knight may be a wee bit rattled by last night’s events,” Taffy said as she handed him a cup of coffee. “But she’s no fool. She knows verra well what this means.”
“And what needs to happen next,” Royal said.
Nick took several gulps of the hot brew, waiting for the usual jolt to clear his head. While he was prepared to do the right thing, was Victoria prepared to accept him? She’d seemed more than happy to receive his kisses last night, though that might have been mostly motivated by pity.
That was a remarkably unappealing conjecture.
