Page 78 of Lost with a Scot
“Ye didna used to be the hugging sort,” Aiden said.
“I am now. I have much to be grateful for.” Brock saw Joanna press a palm against her still-flat belly, but the broad smile she gave him hinted that more to be grateful for was on the way.
Brodie cleared his throat, trying to sound gruff. “Well, it’s about time ye were back. Yer wee beasties have been in a right state without ye. I’ve been playing mother hen to wee Prissy for the last week.” He opened up his waistcoat pocket and passed Aiden a very excited, squirming hedgehog. Chuckling, Aiden tucked Prissy into the crook of his arm.
A boy’s shout echoed in the hall. “Aiden! Yer back!” Suddenly, a boy had rushed over and was now clinging to Aiden’s leg.
“Cameron, lad,” he greeted and then tousled the boy’s hair with one hand. “How have ye been?”
“Great! I have so much to show ye! I learned all about the horses, and now I’m learning to read and write...”
Aiden smirked. “Allabout the horses? I doubt that. I think I can still teach ye a thing or two.”
Cameron’s eyes grew round as he looked to Anna. “Is it true, Miss Anna, that yer a princess? That’s what Joanna said...” The boy dipped his head and then shyly touched the toes of his shoes together.
Anna leaned down and winked at Cameron before putting a finger to her lips as if it was a secret.
“I am, but don’t tell anyone. Now I’m a Scot, just like you.”
“Ye are?” He beamed at her. “Oh boy, wait until I tell Bob. She’s been missing ye something fierce.”
“Has she?” Anna laughed. “Oh, come and tell me all about it while we warm up with some tea.”
“That’s a lovely idea. Cameron shall regale us with his tales.” Joanna and Lydia and Anna left the three brothers in the hall.
Once they were alone, Brock placed his hands on Aiden’s shoulders.
“Ye really plan to stay? What about the royal court and all of that?”
“I told her I would do whatever I must to make her happy, and she said what she wanted most was to come home. She’s to be Ruritania’s ambassador to King George. We’ll visit Alexei at least once a year, but she wants to live her lifehere. She said this is the place where she feels free to be herself. I still canna believe it, but here we are.”
Brock swallowed hard. “We thought we lost ye...”
Aiden smiled. “I was lost for a long time, but Anna found me.” For the first time, Brock realized that the Romani woman’s words had a second meaning. Thatlostperhaps didn’t mean Aiden’s death or that he’d never return to Scotland, but rather that part of him, the part that had been so wounded, so hurt... was gone. Perhaps that dark part of him being lost had always been a good thing, and he simply hadn’t seen it until now.
“Thank God for shipwrecked princesses,” Brodie said, and all three brothers laughed.
“Thank God, indeed,” Aiden replied.
“We must write to Ash and Rosalind!” Brock announced. “They’ll want to know ye’re back.”
“We’ve already seen them. We landed in London first and spent a few days with Ashton and Rosalind. We wanted to thank them again for all that they did. Then we made a short stop at North Berwick to see Dr. MacDonald and his new wife.”
“New wife?” Brock was not following this at all. “Dr. MacDonald married?”
Aiden chuckled. “Aye. Ye remember how he found a woman from Anna’s ship and was helping the lass recover?”
“Aye, the woman he mentioned in his letter.” Brock nodded for him to continue.
“Well, that woman was Anna’s lady’s maid, Pilar. While we were off saving Ruritania, Pilar and Dr. MacDonald were here falling in love. They were married two weeks ago. So it seems Anna has a bit of Ruritania left here in Scotland with her.”
“We should invite them here for Christmas,” Brodie suggested.
“Aye,” Brock said. “We should invite Rosalind and Ash too, if they arna busy.”
“They might be,” Aiden said. “I think Emily St. Laurent is husband hunting for Charles, and it might keep everyone in London a bit occupied.”
“Charles married!” Brodie snorted. “The lady who takes him for a husband would have to be a saint.”
