In the Highlander's Bed (30 page)

Authors: Cathy Maxwell

Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #Historical, #General

BOOK: In the Highlander's Bed

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Gordon crossed to his sister. He took her in his arms and hugged her, not wanting to let her go. “I shall worry about you every day.”

“Don’t,” Fiona said, tears pooling in her eyes. “We always knew that one day our paths would part. It’s the fate of siblings. Besides,” she added,” I’m safer here than you will be with the Indians there.”

Her honesty made them all laugh, including Alex. “It’s not bad,” Constance assured her.

“I nursed Brian’s ear,” Fiona said. “I’ll take my chances here.”

“We shall take care of her,” Charlotte assured Gordon. “Francesca, Miranda, and I will find her a wonderful husband. She’ll be the toast of theton. ”

Constance gave Fiona a hopeful smile, realizing that she was the only one in the room who had noticed how pale she had gone at Charlotte’s enthusiasm. Constance moved toward her. “Please, learn to trust again,” she whispered.

Fiona’s answer was a wan smile.

Gordon, still standing next to his sister, embraced her again. “You will write me.”

“Of course,” Fiona promised. “And I will have Tad,” she said, showing some spirit. “He’ll see me safe.

He likes me better than he does you anyway.”

“So you say,” Gordon bantered back, but there was a sadness in his eyes.

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Alex took charge. “Hurry and pack,” he said to Constance. “There isn’t a great deal of time to ready a ship.”

In the end, Constance was ready in a ridiculously short amount of time. Within two hours they were dockside, waiting in the coach while Alex talked to one of his captains.

Her sisters and their husbands had all insisted on coming to see them off. Fiona and Grace had stayed behind. Fiona had claimed it would be too hard to watch her brother sail out of her life. Constance understood. Saying good-bye to her sisters was sad, but she was excited about the future. Her path no longer followed Charlotte’s and Miranda’s. Instead, she belonged with this man standing by her side. It was the fate of siblings.

As it turned out, there was a ship owned by another company preparing to leave on the morning tide. It was a sloop being delivered to a buyer in New York harbor. Alex used his influence to gain boarding for Constance and Gordon.

The first streaks of dawn were appearing in the sky as Constance hugged Charlotte and Miranda one last time. She then put her hand in her husband’s and they climbed the gangway.

As the sloop was set loose of its moorings, Gordon stood with his arms around Constance. She waved to her sisters until the ship rounded a bend and they could be seen no more.

For a second a stab of fear paralyzed her…but then her husband kissed her ear. Here, with him, was where she belonged.

Leaning back against his chest, she said, “You won’t regret leaving. You can’t imagine how beautiful the valley is.”

“I don’t need to imagine it,” Gordon said. “Anyplace is beautiful as long as I have you with me. We are going to build a good life together.” He swung her in his arms. “Come, wife,” he said. “We have a lifetime of loving to start.”

And that is exactly what they did. Down below, beneath the deck of a ship, nestled together in a hammock, two became one…never to be parted again.

Epilogue

Fiona and Grace were not up when Charlotte and the others returned from seeing Gordon and Constance off.

Charlotte didn’t think a thing of it. It was well past dawn by the time she and Phillip turned in. She was weighed down by both fatigue and sadness. She’d spent her life looking out after Constance…and now her youngest sister was gone.

Phillip assured her that all would be well. She prayed he was right.

Several hours later a knock on the door woke her. Miranda, her voice frantic, said from the other side,

“Charlotte, I believe Fiona is missing. And Grace and that big dog, too.”

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“Missing?” Charlotte repeated. She reached for a dressing gown, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Phillip was already rising, as concerned as she was.

They opened the door. An anxious Miranda waited.

“What makes you believe she is missing?” Charlotte asked, tying the sash of her dressing gown around her waist.

“Because she isn’t here,” Miranda said. “Francesca sent a maid up to see if Fiona and Grace needed anything. The maid returned to say their beds haven’t been slept in.”

“And that huge dog is gone?” Phillip asked.

“Yes,” Miranda answered with a touch of impatience.

At that moment Francesca came up the stairs to join them. She held a note in her hand. “Justin found this in the Morning Room where we were last night.” She handed the letter to Charlotte.

Please do not be alarmed. I cannot stay with you. I have no desire to marry and too much pride to be a burden. Know that I am safe. I have my friend Grace and Tad. Thank you for all your generosity.

Sincerely,

Fiona Lachlan

“Is she mad?” Phillip said. “A young woman alone can’t survive in London. She has no idea what sort of scoundrels are out there.”

“What possessed her of such a notion anyway?” Charlotte wondered.

“Wedid,” Miranda answered. “Last night I heard her whispering to her friend that if we could do what we did as children, they could survive in London. I thought she was expressing worry over entering society and your new goal of finding her a husband. I had no idea she meant to go off on her own.”

Charlotte could feel a headache forming. “We must find her. We were fortunate matters worked out for us the way they did. If I’d known then what I know now, we would never have left the Ohio Valley.”

She held up the letter. “I don’t know what has possessed her to reject marriage.”

“Perhaps she has something else in mind for her life,” Francesca suggested.

“There isn’t another option for a woman,” Phillip answered. As the three women glared at him, he defended himself. “I’m being honest. A woman alone has very few choices in life.”

“We must find her,” Charlotte said. “She doesn’t understand how dangerous London can be. Does she have any money?”

The others shook their heads. They didn’t know. “She didn’t take the rubies,” Francesca said. “They were left with the note.” She opened her hand to show she had them.

Surprised, Charlotte asked, “Not even one of them?”

“No,” Francesca said.

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A terrible sense of foreboding settled over Charlotte.

“Perhaps she means to return to her clan,” Phillip said.

“I hope so,” Charlotte said. “London is too dangerous for women alone. Not even we were foolish enough to attempt to survive it without some funds.”

The others nodded agreement.

“I’ll start a search,” Phillip said, and left to join his brother and Alex.

But it came to naught. No one had seen two lovely women, one a redhead, the other with hair the color of a raven’s wing, leave the house with a dog roughly the size of a deer.

It was as if the city had swallowed them whole…

About the Author

CATHYMAXWELLspends hours in front of her computer pondering the question, “Why do people fall in love?” It remains for her the great mystery of life and the secret to happiness.

She lives in beautiful Virginia with her children, horses, dogs, and cats.

Fans can contact Cathy atwww.cathymaxwell.com or PO Box 1135, Powhatan, VA 23139.

Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

By Cathy Maxwell

IN THEHIGHLANDER’SBED

BEDDING THEHEIRESS

IN THEBED OF ADUKE

THEPRICE OFINDISCRETION

TEMPTATION OF APROPERGOVERNESS

THESEDUCTION OF ANENGLISHLADY

ADVENTURES OF ASCOTTISHHEIRESS

THELADYISTEMPTED

THEWEDDINGWAGER

THEMARRIAGECONTRACT

A SCANDALOUSMARRIAGE

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MARRIED INHASTE

BECAUSE OFYOU

WHENDREAMSCOMETRUE

FALLING INLOVEAGAIN

YOU ANDNOOTHER

TREASUREDVOWS

ALLTHINGSBEAUTIFUL

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

IN THE HIGHLANDER’S BED. Copyright © 2008 by Cathy Maxwell, Inc. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen.

No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Microsoft Reader December 2007 ISBN 978-0-06-157470-2

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About the Publisher

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