Page 3 of Secrets of a Kilted Seduction

PROLOGUE

Castle Lennox, the Highlands of Scotland, April 1582

Tadhg MacTavish could hardly believe he was actually going to marry the woman he had been lying to for weeks.

It was a balmy April afternoon, and he and his beautiful fiancée Alana MacIver were seated on a stone bench in a secluded part of the gardens of Castle Lennox. More accurately, he was sitting on the bench, while Alana was sitting on his lap, her arms twined around his neck, her lips smiling against his as they exchanged a loving kiss.

“It seems like we’ve waited forever fer this day. I cannae wait fer us tae be wed at last. I’ve loved ye so long, tae be yer wife will be like a dream come true!” Alana told him when their lips finally broke apart, and they looked deeply into each other’s eyes.

Tadhg gently brushed the backs of his huge fingers against her porcelain cheek, his heart overflowing with love for this outstanding woman who had just agreed to spend the rest of her life at his side. He marveled as always at her flawless beauty, the perfect geometry of her delicate features, the vivid blueness of her shining eyes, exactly the same shade as the periwinkles flowering nearby.

“I can hardly believe it mesel’,” he murmured, holding her fragile form close to his chest and pressing soft kisses to her shining dark curls. “I must be the luckiest man alive tae have won yer heart, Alana. Ye ken I’ll always dae me best tae make ye happy.”

“Aye, I ken it, me darlin’.” Her eyes full of love, she pushed his long dark locks back from his forehead and stroked his face, her small fingers alighting on his skin like butterflies, making it tingle.

Her touch was beguiling and spurred him to say, “I dinnae want tae wait too long before I make ye mine, Alana.”

“I dinnae want tae tae wait either,” she assured him, curling her fingers in his hair.

“So, when d’ye think we can have the ceremony?” he asked eagerly.

She thought for a few moments. “A month should be long enough tae prepare,” she replied. “There are lots of things tae dae. I’ll need tae have a wedding gown made, fer a start.”

“That long?” he asked jestingly, adding a plaintive note to his voice. “I was hopin’ ye’d say next week.” She laughed.

“A month? Aye, all right, that’s perfect. I’ll ask Liam tae be me best man. He’ll be happy tae oblige, I’ve nae doubt,” he said, referring to his younger brother, the war leader of Clan Lennox.

“And then there’ll be the weddin’ breakfast tae arrange. A big cèilidh, with lots of feastin’, music, and dancin’,” she said excitedly, her face radiant.

He hugged her closely. “It’ll be grand. The best day of me life,” Tadhg told her, kissing her once more, glorying in the sensation of her heart beating against him like a small bird nestling close to his chest.

“The best day of our lives,” she corrected him playfully, her soft, warm lips seeking his again.

Their clinch was suddenly interrupted when they heard a strange noise, a loud rustling in the nearby foliage. Alana stiffened with fright, clinging to Tadhg tightly.

“Ach, ’tis a rat or a mouse!” she cried. “Dinnae let it near me, Tadhg!”

“How can ye be so afeared of such a wee beastie?” he asked, unable to help laughing at her. “Dinnae worry, I’ll be yer knight in shining armor. I’ll always be here tae save ye.” Unless I have another secret tae keep, that is, he thought. He stood up, with her in his arms, and set her on her feet on the bench. “Just wait there,” he told her, still laughing as he unsheathed his sword and brandished it, “while I hunt down this wee hairy monster.”

“What’s all this about a monster?” Liam asked, suddenly appearing from an opening in the hedge surrounding them. “Why have ye got yer sword out, Braither? Are we under attack or somethin’?” he asked, his brows raised quizzically. The huge, muscular war leader, with his rugged good looks, tattoos, and battle scars, closely resembled Tadhg, though he was a little shorter. The brothers had the same long, wild, dark hair and dark eyes.

Tadgh sheathed his weapon and clapped his brother on the back. “Was it ye makin’ all that noise?” he asked. “Alana was afeared ye were a rodent comin’ tae get her.” He turned to Alana, who was still standing on the bench, her hands clasped anxiously at her waist. “There’s yer mouse, bonny lass, so dinnae worry, ye’re safe now,” he told her, putting his arms around her waist and lifting her down to the ground.

She smoothed her skirts, smiling up at them both a little sheepishly. “I’m awful glad ’tis ye, Liam, yet I feel a bit of a fool, I must admit.”

“That’s understandable,” Liam replied, smiling at her. “Ye certainly dinnae want them runnin’ up yer skirts and nibblin’ at ye,” he said teasingly, his eyes twinkling.

“Ach, dinnae say such things!” Alana cried with a shudder, which only made the brothers laugh more.

“So, Braither, ye’ve found our hidin’ place. What brings ye here?” Tadhg asked, wondering if this was the right moment to tell his brother the good news about him and Alana.

“Ye did, ye fool. Ye told me ye need tae speak tae the Laird about somethin’ important once he returned from huntin’. Well, he’s back, and he’s in his study right now. If ye wish tae go and talk tae him, now’s yer chance,” Liam explained.

“Right, thanks fer lettin’ me ken,” Tadhg replied, his smile fading. He did not relish an interview with Laird Murphy Lennox. He was a deeply unpleasant man at the best of times and best avoided. Unfortunately, Tadhg had no choice but to beard the lion in his den. He was employed by Laird Lennox as a scout for the clan, and he had recently returned from a field trip with important news to report to him. He had not told anyone else what he had learned during his last scouting mission.

He kissed Alana’s cheek. “I’d best go,” he told her regretfully. “But we’ll see each other at dinner later, eh?”

“Aye, all right, I’m due back at the infirmary tae help me maither anyway,” she replied. Her mother Ella was the castle healer, and Alana was her apprentice. Mother and daughter lived in a cottage that doubled as the infirmary in the castle grounds. She set off back to the infirmary, while the brothers began walking back to the castle.