Page 61 of Claimed Highland Brides

HIGHLANDER’S GOLDEN TREASURE

PROLOGUE

He kissed her lips as tenderly as he thought was needed. Then he pulled back and looked into her eyes with satisfaction, for her eyes were heavy with desire as she stared back at him.

She smiled at him as she softly whispered, “I love you.”

This had been too easy, he thought to himself as he smiled back at her. She had been so eager for his attention and affection.

The daughter of a Duke!

The only daughter of a Duke, to be precise!

He laughed softly as he stroked her face. Such a shame, for she was a beauty.

A naive, innocent beauty.

The perfect pawn in their game.

He kissed her again. “Ye promise ye will come away with me, Maegen my love?”

“I will, Neacel,” she answered him softly. “I will go with you all the way to your home in Scotland. Twill be an adventure,” she said excitedly. “I love you so much! I know I will come to love the Highlands as well!”

He smiled at her, though his eyes were hooded, cloaking his true nature.

His deceit.

“We leave tonite,” he said firmly.

“Tonite? Tis my brother Delwyns’ birthday,” she pouted slightly.

“It must be tonight!” he said urgently as he leaned forward and kissed the side of her neck with narrowed eyes.

She sighed and tilted her head so his lips could have better access to her neck. “And then I will finally become your wife,” she said with a soft sigh of happiness. “I was becoming impatient, my love.”

“Aye,” he laughed quietly at her eagerness. “Ye will become my Sassenach wife once we reach me home in Scotland. With ye by me side it will be as if I hae me own golden treasure,” he said.

He kissed her again as she closed her eyes in bliss and melted in his arms.

She was unaware of the evil look that glinted sharply in his eyes just before his eyelids slid down to conceal his treacherous soul.

Delwyn Barton sat in the tavern, enduring endless toasts to celebrate the beginning of his twenty-first year. After all, one did not surpass two decades of life every day. He had lost count of how many tankards of ale he had drunk that evening. Everyone loved him so people were coming up all the time to have a toast with thim. Older men, younger men. Everyone wanted to shake his hand and Delwyn would buy a cup of ale for all of them. Late in the evening, he got unsteadily to his feet as he pushed his black hair out of his eyes, thinking vaguely that he must be getting back home soon.

“Where are you going then, eh Delwyn?” his friend and one of his father’s crofters, Jerrold, said.

“I’ve got to get home. My father—pious bastard that he is—doesn’t really hold with drunkenness. He’s likely to have my head if I don’t head back soon,” he said with a laughing twinkle in his bright blue eyes.

Jerrold grinned. “Oh yes, the Duke is a pious man. I’m sure he is praying for your mortal soul as we speak.”

Delwyn huffed a laugh. “You’re right about that.” He sighed. “I cannot wait to be out of his clutches.”

Delwyn staggered towards the door of the tavern with a wave of his hand as he received one more rousing cheer. He was quite popular with the tenants as he tended not to look down his nose at them. As the second son of the Duke of Dargue, he had limited prospects. He could either join the clergy as his father hoped or he could join the army. Given a choice, he would rather go for a soldier than enter the Church, but both options did not really appeal to him.

He would rather seek adventure at sea, following in the footsteps of all the great explorers such as Ferdinand Magellan or Sir Francis Drake. Unfortunately, his father would never fork over funds for such a thing and so he was stuck. He spent his time hunting in the Forests of Dargue, keeping the family fed in winter, and acting as a go-between for his brother, a viscount, with the tenants. But he needed a real challenge. At this age he knew he had to seek something more from life. And if the challenge did not find him, he would seek adventure in any way possible...

He opened the door of the manor, wiping his muddy feet, before lighting a lamp to guide him to his chambers. But first, he wanted to check on his sister. She had been acting strangely lately.

Delwyn went to her room and knocked on her door. No one answered. He knocked again but nothing. The door was unlocked…