Page 53 of Kidnapping Cordelia

“And don’t ask stupid questions,” Muir said hotly. “She’s to be my wife and there’s none cleverer nor braver, and that’s all ye need for the moment. Come, mo chridhe. I’m taking ye home and if ye think I am ever letting ye out of my sight again, ye have a shock in store.”

He lifted her into his arms and stalked off towards his horse.

“But what about this lot of villains?” Hamilton asked, gesturing to Smith and Burt, and the carriage inside which Enoch still lay.

Muir nodded at the figures in the distance who were growing closer by the second.

“If I’m nae mistaken, that’s Dugald and my men. They’ll help ye sort it out and, for all I care, ye can toss the lot of them in the north sea and be done with it. I’m taking Delia home now.”

“Aye, take her home and warm her up, a sheòid,” Hamilton called after them cheerfully, earning himself a warning glare from his brother.

Chapter 14

Dearest Rex and Emmeline,

I have so much to tell you, but I think I shall save it all up until I see you again.

I am to be married on Saturday. I know how much you would wish to be with me on this special day, but with everything that has happened, Muir and I have decided we do not wish to wait. I am quite wonderfully happy, and we have decided fate knew far better than we two what it was about when it threw us together.

Muir understands how deeply you will regret not being with us for the celebration, and how difficult it is for you to undertake such a long journey at present, and so he has promised we will come to visit you before the end of the season. Providing you do not think us too scandalous to receive! I am only funning, of course, I know you both better than that.

So well, in fact, that I shall suggest that if you should like to throw a ball in our honour to celebrate in style and prove to the world we have nothing to feel ashamed of, I should be pleased to be a part of such a splendid event.

I have always held the two of you up as an example to myself of what a love match looks like, but I never truly believed I would find anything close to it for myself. Now, I know I have, and I am so excited about the future. I pray you will forgive me for making my life so far away from yours, but know that I am still your devoted sister, and I will continue to plague you, just as I always have.

―Excerpt of a letter from The Lady Cordelia Steyning to her brother, and sister-in-law, The Most Hon’ble Marquess and Marchioness of Wrexham.

18th April 1850, Brabster Farm, The Highlands of Scotland.

Delia leaned into Muir as the rhythm of the horse soothed away the last of the anxiety thrumming through her veins. With his powerful arms around her, she felt safe and loved, and she knew now that he would let nothing bad happen to her if he had the power to stop it. She had discovered too that she was far from helpless and could be brave when the need arose. To have dealt with such a frightening situation and not swooned or to have considered herself helpless had given her a deal of confidence. Not that she ever wanted to endure such a drama ever again.

From close behind her, Muir let out a breath of laughter and shook his head. Delia looked up and discovered him grinning.

“What?” “Yer a force to be reckoned with, Delia,” he said, and the pride in his eyes as he spoke made her cheeks heat and a little glow of pleasure burn inside her. “To think of the way ye dealt with that blackguard, nae to mention his henchman. I tell ye now, ye will have the reputation for being a warrior, the kind of woman no man messes with if he disnae want to come off the worse for it. A story like that will make the rounds in these parts and ye will be a heroine to every woman in the Highlands.”

“Don’t be silly,” Delia said, blushing harder at his words.

“I mean it,” he said, and she knew that he did from the way he looked at her. “Yer a capable lassie, strong and fierce. I underestimated ye, and shall nae make the same mistake again. If ye want to help me on the farm, then ye shall, but only if ye wish to, aye?”

“Oh, really, Muir?” Delia said, twisting awkwardly on the saddle and staring up at him with delight. “I know I have a lifetime of knowledge to gain but I’m a quick learner when something interests me, and this does, because I want to be a part of your life, not just to exist on the edges of it.”

“Aye,” Muir said softly, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I see that now, and I want ye to be a part of it, too. For the truth is, I cannae bear the idea of ye being anywhere but beside me. Today, when I realised ye had been taken from me—” He stopped speaking, resting his head against hers and Delia put her arms up around his neck, holding on tight.

“I know,” she said, remembering her own feeling of despair as they had taken her away, leaving Muir unconscious and bleeding.

“It was the worst feeling in the world, lass.”

“Yes,” she agreed. “The absolute worst.”

“Let’s nae do that again, aye?”

“Aye,” she said fervently, laughing as he kissed her and tickled her for copying his accent.

“Yer a wee devil,” he said as she squealed and batted his hand away. “But I love ye.”

She sighed, melting against him and wishing she were not perched atop a horse, but they were together, and that was better than being anywhere else. “I love you too, Muir, and I shall make certain you never regret coming to my rescue.”

“Ach, lassie, I never did regret it, and I certainly never shall.”