Page 86 of The Devil Wears Kilts
The sitting room door opened, and Rowena pranced into the room. Immediately the whole house felt lighter, more like home. The unexpected sight of his sister made him smile; Rowena never seemed to have both feet on the ground at the same time. “What are ye doing here,piuthar?” he asked, planting a kiss on her cheek.
“Can’t a sister visit her brothers?” she returned with a grin. “Arran, take me for a walk.”
“I’ll go with ye,” Ranulf said, heading for the door.
“No you won’t. I left you a present in your office. When we get back you can tell me if you like it.” Grabbing Arran’s hand, she half dragged him into the hallway.
Ignoring for the moment the fact that no one was supposed to set foot in his office without his permission, Ranulf watched them down the stairs into the foyer and out the front door. He could hear Una and Fergus in the morning room chasing each other and likely breaking things. “Owen,” he called down to his footman-cum-butler, “settle down the dogs, will ye?”
“Aye, m’laird.” With an oath the stout Scotsman charged into the morning room, where odds were he’d cause more damage than the two dogs combined.
If Bear were here it would be almost perfect. Crossing the hallway, he pushed open his office door.
“Hello,” Charlotte said, standing in front of his tall window.
Her sunshine hair glowed like spun gold. His heart stuttered, then sped to twice its normal speed. Now only Bear’s absence from London kept this moment from absolute perfection. Wordlessly he crossed the room, not stopping until he had her wrapped in his arms. Leaning down, he kissed her sweet, upturned mouth.
“Hello,” he murmured back, kissing her again. Oddly, all the anger and frustration that had been biting at him simply fled, as if they couldn’t withstand the sunlight of her smile. Perhaps she had a bit of witch in her, after all.
“Arran said you weren’t coming by today.” Charlotte brushed hair from his eyes. “But I wanted to see you.”
“I’m nae complaining aboot that.” He took her hand, twining her long, elegant fingers with his broad, callused ones. “Come with me to the sitting room.”
She leaned against his shoulder, the intimacy and trust she showed astonishing him all over again. To protect her, he would do anything. No price was too great to pay. He would find a way, because being without her was simply unacceptable. Unimaginable. Intolerable.
Yowling and barking and crashing echoed up from the morning room as they crossed the hallway. “Are ye dead, Owen?” he called.
“Nearly, m’laird. Not quite.”
“Ye and yer ghost stay clear of the sitting room.”
“Aye, m’laird!”
Charlotte covered her mouth with her hand, laughing silently as he closed the door behind them. He grinned at her. “Now, what brings ye here,leannan?”
“First, kiss me again.”
“Ye’ll get nae argument from me.” Cupping her cheeks, he kissed her in a tongue-tangling rush that left him breathless. “Are ye certain all ye want is a kiss?”
“Oh, I want more than that,” she breathed, her arms loose around his shoulders as she gazed up at his face. “Tell me how you say ‘handsome.’”
“Brèaghe.”
“You’re verybrèaghe,Ranulf MacLawry.”
“And I find yeàlainn,” he returned, kissing her softly. “Ye’re a fine, bonny lass, Charlotte Hanover. And now tell me why ye needed to see me.”
She took a heavy breath, plucking at his cravat. If she, of all people, was hesitant to tell him something, it couldn’t be good. A chill settled into his heart. Had she decided that he wasn’t what she wanted? That his way of life was too dangerous for her, even if he meant to change it? The worst part of it was that he already knew it was true—no sane woman less than desperate for a title could possibly wish to risk marriage to the chief of Clan MacLawry.
“Just tell me,” he whispered, “for Saint Andrew’s sake.”
The briefest of smiles touched her mouth. “I plotted out Glengask on a map,” she said, her gaze still fixed on his chest. “It’s enormous.”
He hadn’t expected that. “Aye?” This damned well wasn’t about greed, so what was she getting at?
“I also plotted out your neighbors’ lands. You’re surrounded by rival clans.”
Ah. This was about the lack of safety he could promise her, then. So be it. “What say ye finish yer tale in a bit, Charlotte?”
