Lady Miracle (43 page)

He watched her hands circle his shin, heard her explain in detail what she knew about Gilchrist’s old injury. She was a wonder, and he was nearly defeated in spite of himself. He was all out of protests but one.

“Michael,” he said softly. “I cannot do this.”

She looked at him, her eyes wide, blue, deep as heaven. “You can,” she breathed.

He flexed his left hand where it lay on the table, shook his head mutely. Michael touched his hand, took it in her own, turned it to look at the ugly scars across the wrist and thumb.

“You can do this,” she said. “Please.”

He huffed out a bitter little laugh. “You are asking for another miracle, girl,” he whispered hoarsely.

“I am,” she said. “I told you there would be two.” She lifted his hand to her lips and kissed each small scar slowly, gently, kissed his thumb, his fingers, the center of his palm.

The feeling plummeted deep into his groin, swirled there, surged and heated within him until he thought he would have to grab her and haul her from the room to look for privacy.

“Michael,” he groaned, so low it was no more than a breath. He pulled her to him, kissing her mouth. “Is that how you intend to make another miracle? My sweet girl, the one we just made has yet to be born. But we can try as often as you like.”

She laughed, a silvery sound. “The second miracle will happen like this,” she said, and lifted his left hand in hers, palm to palm, fingers woven. “Our hands together, working to help Gilchrist.”

He looked at her, felt her warm hand pressed to his, and his heart opened even further under the endless measure of her love. “You would be my left hand?”

“I would be your eye, your ear, the very heart that beats in your chest, Diarmid Campbell, if you wanted it of me,” she whispered, staring up at him.

He nodded slowly, so filled in his soul that he could not speak. He tucked her hand in his, kissed her knuckles. “When should we do this?” he asked huskily.

She smiled. “Whenever you wish, Dunsheen.”

“Soon,” he answered, and drew her to her feet. “But first we should take a little time.”

“For what?” she asked, as he pulled her along.

He stopped, turned, leaned down. “To make a few small miracles,” he murmured.

Dear Reader,

I’m delighted to offer you another one of my early historical romances in e-book form. This new, refreshed edition of
Lady Miracle
is a sequel to
The Angel Knight,
released in digital format last fall. With gorgeous new covers designed by Kim Killion and a fresh edit by yours truly, these are two classic Scottish historicals that I hope you will love today, even if you read them a few years back!

Lady Miracle
is the story of the little girl who appears in
The Angel Knight
as the younger sister of hero Gavin Faulkener. In her own tale, Lady Michaelmas (Michael for short – male names, as well as holiday names like Michaelmas, were often given to girls in medieval Scotland) – has a unique healing gift . . . and Diarmid Campbell, warrior and surgeon, desperately needs the best healer he can find. She doesn’t want to go up into the remote Highlands with him, so he neatly arranges it in Highland fashion, no questions asked. These two do not trust each other and don’t understand each other at first – but soon find a bond beyond words and identities, discovering the rarest kind of love that brings and holds souls together forever.

Please look for all of my historical romances written as Susan King—and my books written as Sarah Gabriel and Susan Fraser King too. Soon all my books will be available in digital form. And visit my website at
susanfraserking.com
– as well as at
WordWenches.com
, the blog I share with some of my dearest author friends!

Happy reading,

Susan

Susan King is the bestselling, award-winning author of over 20 historical novels and novellas, each one praised for historical accuracy, storytelling quality and lyricism. Her first novel,
The Black Thorne’s Rose,
was published in 1994, followed by many historical romances written as Susan King and as Sarah Gabriel. As Susan Fraser King, she is the author of
Lady Macbeth: A Novel,
and
Queen Hereafter: A Novel of Margaret of Scotland,
published in hardcover and trade paperback from Random House. Many of her backlist novels are now available as e-books with more releases planned. A founding member of the successful author blog, “Word Wenches,” she holds a graduate degree in medieval art history and lives in Maryland with her family.

Learn more about Susan’s books and e-books at
www.susanfraserking.com
and
www.wordwenches.com
.