Page 94 of Her Accidental Highlander Husband

But he was a war chief, and not one to back down from a battle. Even when the enemy was a formidable old goat with a scowl so intense she put some of his warriors to shame.

He stifled a chuckle.

This was going to be great fun.

…

Mari woke to the sound of screaming. Not wishing to give in to the nightmares of her past, she snuggled deeper into her warm blankets and reached out for Cam.

He’d loved her well the night before, but she was far from done. Kenna had mentioned how the cravings of pregnancy weren’t limited to those for food. At the time Mari hadn’t understood, but she surely did now. Though an egg and a bannock wouldn’t go amiss as well.

When her hand found the end of the bed without encountering the warmth of Cam’s skin, she opened her eyes. She was in London, not Dunardry. And the yelling she’d heard wasn’t a dream from her former life, but real and now.

The harsh scrape of the dowager duchess’s voice was followed by the low rumble of Cam’s.

“Oh, dear.” Mari jumped out of the bed and searched for something to put on. After she knocked on the door to her maid’s chambers, Lucy rushed into the room.

“Oh, dear,” Lucy repeated Mari’s thoughts exactly.

“Hurry. I must get down there before she hurts him.”

Lucy laughed at the thought but swiftly laced Mari’s dress. “Did you sleep well, Your Grace?” Lucy asked with a sly smile.

A blush warmed Mari’s cheeks. “You shouldn’t call me that. I’m no longer a duchess, and the dowager won’t take kindly to hearing you refer to me as such.”

“The dowager can go suck an egg.”

Mari didn’t scold her, because she felt the same way.

“I’m so glad to see you happy,” Lucy said, quickly looping Mari’s hair up and pinning it.

“Yes. Being with Cam is worth whatever comes.”

Lucy’s lip quivered and Mari clasped her maid’s hand. “All will be well. You’ll see. And if not, I still wouldn’t have changed a thing.”

The maid nodded and bobbed a curtsy as Mari left the room, hoping to stop a domestic war.

Parkes stood by the door to the dining room looking uncomfortable as his mistress clung to his arm. When Mari got closer, she realized the dowager was pushing the poor man into the room.

“Get him out of here, Parkes, or by God, you’ll be out on your ear!”

“What’s amiss?” Mari interceded and placed a hand on Parkes’s shoulder to keep him from moving farther into the room. She didn’t think Cam would hurt Parkes, but it was clear the poor footman would faint if pressed into moving any closer to the looming Highlander…who was peacefully eating breakfast.

“What’s amiss?” The dowager laughed harshly. “It’s not enough I must share my home with you, but that you bring your brute of a husband here as well. I’ll not live under the same roof with that scoundrel.”

“And I told ye, a brute I may be, but I’m not a scoundrel,” Cam called from the table. He winked at Mari, looking incredibly rumpled and every bit the scoundrel. “Very well. We shall miss you when you leave.”

“How dare you?” the dowager sputtered, and Mari had to hide a smile.

“What? I will live where my wife lives.”

“Please, both of you,” Mari interjected. “I’m sure we can come up with a plan that works for all of us.”

“I want him out,” the dowager said obstinately. The poor woman obviously had not experienced the will of a stubborn Scot.

“I’ll not be going anywhere without my wife,” he said calmly.

“Then by all means, take her with you. I was happy here on my own.”