The Highlander's Runaway Bride. Terri Brisbin
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Название: The Highlander's Runaway Bride
Автор: Terri Brisbin
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Современная зарубежная литература
isbn: 9781474042222
isbn:
The laird greeted him and introduced him to Father Darach before sitting and motioning for them to sit. The lady conversed quietly with the priest at her side and the laird nodded to those at this and the other tables.
Nothing in his words or manners gave any sign of the scene above stairs a short time ago. No clue to what the man truly felt or was about. Rob’s gut told him something was going on here, but outwardly all seemed well enough. When silence filled the room, he looked up and saw that everyone’s gaze was turned to the stairway in the corner.
Eva MacKay had arrived in the hall.
He was on his feet before he knew it and on his way to escort her before he could think of it. A blank expression momentarily changed as their eyes met, and Rob watched as surprise gave way to a glimmer of fear. Even that disappeared and the neutral countenance was back in place.
Rob stopped several paces from her and took his first true look at the woman who was his bride. The simple but elegant gown outlined her lush curves, and he noticed the way her long, unbound hair fell over her breasts and ended just above her hips. His mouth went dry even while his palms grew sweaty. Her hair was pulled away from her face with only a few curling tendrils outlining her face, and the graceful lines in her jaw and neck were revealed to him.
This woman before him was new to him.
Not the runaway disguised as a boy.
Not the ill woman, pale and wan.
The only signs of her recent illness or injury were the dark circles beneath her ice-blue eyes and the limp.
The limp. He strode to her side and bowed.
‘Lady Eva,’ he began. ‘Should you be walking on that ankle without help?’
A blush rose in her cheeks, giving her more colour than he’d seen there before. Even when she sat naked in her bath. Rob tried to forget the images of her creamy skin and feminine curves as he offered his arm to her now. How she had managed to make it this far, he knew not, but he knew she was trembling and in pain. Far more than just her ankle now.
Though he’d tried not to look at her back when he’d stormed into the room at the sound of her screams, he had. It was all he could do not to tear Ramsey MacKay apart with his bare hands. The welts were wide and deep.
‘Here,’ he said, placing his arms behind her with a care to those areas struck and lifting her from her feet.
She did not resist him. She did not say anything. Eva just sat in his arms, unmoving, as he carried her forward. If he was not mistaken, some of the women watching sighed as they passed. Although done for another reason, if it would smooth things over, that was good, too.
Rob stopped near the table and placed her on her feet, never letting go of her completely. He nodded to the priest who walked towards them and then glanced down at the woman at his side.
And in that moment, he realised his life was about to change in ways he probably could not even dream of. More than his decision to support Brodie. More than his work or position in the clan now that they had been successful and ended the threat to it.
More than any step he’d taken in his life up to this moment.
So why was his gut telling him to turn and walk away?
For whatever reason, the priest’s words about their marriage contract eased his concerns. Rob listened to the details of the agreement reached between the MacKay and Brodie and calmed with each bit spoken. He’d not known about her dowry or the amount Brodie was giving him until the priest said it, and the wealth he would gain surprised him.
Any sane man would leap at the chance to take Lady Eva MacKay to wife.
Any sane man...
The silence startled him, and Rob realised they waited on his words. His vow. Words that would tie him—body, soul and possessions—to the woman who stood at his side now.
Who stood trembling at his side.
Rob glanced down, now noticing the paleness of her face and the way she held her mouth closed tightly. And how she shook as she waited on him to speak. Did she harbour a hope that he would yet disavow this arrangement?
He opened his mouth and spoke the words the priest had asked for—I will.
I will, a second time.
And then, the words he’d always imagined he’d speak at some point in his life, but not now and never in this way.
‘I, Robert Alexander Mackintosh, take you, Eva MacKay, as my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us depart, according to God’s holy ordinance; and thereto I plight thee my troth.’
Father Darach turned to Eva and waited, even as Rob did, for her response. Rob did not dare to look at her, but he felt the shudder that tore through her then and wondered if this would be the moment when she refused him. When the moment expanded to several seconds, he thought it might be.
‘I...’ she began, so low that he doubted anyone but he could hear her. ‘I...’
Eva pulled against his hold, trying to move away, though with her injured ankle and foot, she would never be able to do so. When he did glance at her, he recognised the expression in her eyes—sheer and utter panic. That turned into terror when her father took a step in their direction.
‘Courage now, lass,’ he whispered, sliding his arm back around her. ‘You surely have faced greater dangers these last weeks than anything you face from me.’
Why he’d felt the need to assure her, he knew not, but one look at her haunted eyes and he’d been unable to stop himself. Something terrified her. Something or someone. As he motioned for her father to step back, Rob suspected the latter. And it seemed more than just the simple strapping her father delivered.
It took a few more seconds before she stood up straighter and nodded at Father Darach. Another second and she began to repeat the words he offered her, giving her consent to this marriage. Rob let out the breath he’d been holding as she did so. Not many could hear her words, but her voice grew stronger with each word. Then it was her turn to say the words that would join them.
‘I, Eva Morag MacKay, take you, Robert Alexander Mackintosh, as my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, cherish and obey, till death us depart, according to God’s holy ordinance; and thereto I plight thee my troth.’
Father Darach nodded and smiled at them and then held out the prayer book where Rob had earlier placed his mother’s wedding ring. Brodie had offered to have one made, but Rob wanted his wife, any wife of his, to wear the one his mother had worn when she’d pledged her heart and life to his father. Rob eased his arm away from Eva and took the ring before turning to face her. She СКАЧАТЬ