The Highlander's Lost Lady by Anna Campbell

Author:Anna Campbell [Campbell, Anna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Anna Campbell
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

On a perfect Scottish summer morning, Diarmid waited for his bride in Achnasheen’s library. He remained unsure whether Fiona would balk at the last minute, so when she and Marina appeared in the doorway, his first reaction was surprised relief.

They’d all spent yesterday making plans to defeat the Grants. Fergus, who stood up with him now, would travel to Edinburgh next week to seek legal advice about Fiona’s circumstances. Fiona and Diarmid would leave today and journey across to Inverness, from where they’d assess the situation with Christina’s foster family. With Fiona married to a rich, influential man, it was possible they could just collect the child and return to Invertavey.

Possible, but not likely.

The final resort was to snatch the girl from her guardians and spirit her away somewhere secret until the legal issues were resolved.

It wasn’t going to be much of a honeymoon for the bride and groom. But then he was grimly aware that it wasn’t going to be much of a marriage.

Diarmid hadn’t touched Fiona since she’d agreed to marry him, not even so much as a hand on her arm as they went into dinner. She probably thought he was being considerate of her feelings. When he’d proposed, he was shocked to realize that she’d developed an unrealistically rosy view of his character.

The humiliating truth was that if she gave him an inch of encouragement, he didn’t trust himself to keep his promise about a chaste marriage.

As he turned to watch her walk in, he bit back an agonized groan. This marriage would send him mad, if he wasn’t careful. Marina must know this was no love match, but it seemed she couldn’t resist turning Fiona into an unforgettable bride.

The cream gown was made of heavy silk and swept down into a graceful train. The tight bodice clung to Fiona’s bosom in a way that set his blood churning. The rich buttery color only enhanced the satiny whiteness of her skin. A collar of pearls circled her slender throat, and her moonlight hair was caught up with more pearls.

Her blue eyes sought him out, and a nervous smile hovered around those lush pink lips. Lush pink lips he’d never kiss in passion.

He’d get used to the idea of never possessing his beautiful bride. Devil take him, he had to.

Marina bustled in behind Fiona and smiled at Diarmid in an obvious attempt to bolster his spirits. “Doesn’t Fiona make a bellissima bride? Sandra was in alt when I told her we needed to make a wedding gown. Certo, she didn’t even complain about having to do it in a day.”

“It wasn’t necessary to go to all this trouble,” Fiona said, accepting a bouquet from Marina. When Diarmid noticed it was made up of roses, he felt like someone punched him in the stomach. The most romantic of flowers seemed to be haunting him. “I didn’t wear anything special for my first wedding.”

When she’d been a frightened fifteen-year-old girl forced into an old man’s bed. Diarmid caught Marina’s eye, and knew she shared the same thought.

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