Lyon's Gift (35 page)

“
I love you, Meghan
Brodie,” he declared fiercely. “I love you from the very depths of
my soul!”

Meghan’s heart tripped a painful beat. Tears
welled in her eyes, and a sob caught in her throat.

“
You do?” she thought
she’d asked, but it was Alison’s voice that echoed through the
chapel and not hers. She couldn’t have spoken in that instant had
she tried.

“
Aye!” he answered with
feeling. “I do not give a bloody damn what you look like! You could
have warts upon your eyelids and hair upon your chin! You are my
precious gift,” he told her. “And your heart is more precious to me
than gold! And your smile,” he continued, “makes my heart sing. And
your words... I wait with bated breath but to hear them. And your
eyes... I would give the sparkle from every jewel I own simply to
see its glitter for even a single day more! And your wisdom... I
love you, Meghan Brodie! And if you will have me, I would be
honored to have you for my wife. And I swear that I will love and
adore you until the day I last close my eyes!”

Meghan’s heart blossomed with joy. Tears
slid unchecked down her cheeks. She could scarcely believe her
ears.

She held her breath, watching Alison and him
together. The sight of him kneeling before her, pouring out his
heart to her, was the most romantic thing she had ever beheld in
all her life. It was the sort of thing troubadours sang of and
bards wove their tales over. And his words were all for her—and she
was hiding under a bloody rotten pew! Och! she thought. Say
something, Alison!

Tell him I love him too!

His blood pumping like fire through his
veins, Lyon held his breath and waited for Meghan to respond. But
she simply stood there, staring down at him as though he were a
viper curled before her feet.

And then he happened to note the hand he
held within his own, and his brows drew together in confusion. It
was her left hand, not her right he held. And yet she had injured
her left arm. How could it be that he was holding it now?

He peered up into her face.

Her crossed eyes gazed down at him in
confusion and in fear. And his frown deepened as he noted once more
that her bruise was on her left cheek and not the right. Where had
it been last night when he’d sent her away? He’d been so weary and
so preoccupied with his guilty conscience that he hadn’t taken the
time to consider what it meant. But now that he did, he was more
than certain she had injured her right cheek, and not her
left...

And then his gaze fell once more to the hand
he held, for he knew without a bloody doubt that it was her left
hand she had injured and that was precisely the hand which he held
within his own just now.

Something was definitely amiss here.

He released her hand and stood, his body
taut with growing suspicion, and stared into her face, his anger
mounting.

The silence within the chapel was a roar in
his ears.

His heart sank as he studied her eyes...
They were familiar to him, certain enough, but though they were the
same color, they were not Meghan Brodie’s eyes.

Bloody hell!

He ripped off the veil and was at first
startled at the face that peered back at him.

And then his face hardened with fury.

“
I see I have been played
for a fool,” he said tautly, and nothing more.

Meghan thought she would weep at the look
upon his face as he turned to go.

Tears coursing down her cheeks, she tried to
crawl out from under the pew, but with her injured arm she was not
fast enough.

“
Nay!” she cried out.
“Wait!”

He stopped and turned to face her, but
didn’t see her, and Meghan waved from under the pew.

“
Wait!” she exclaimed,
wriggling as fast as she could out from under her wooden
prison.

He saw her at last, and his expression was
wholly unreadable for an instant as he stared down at her. Meghan
stilled, her heart thumping wildly. She held her breath, lest he
spit down upon the floor in disgust and leave her before she could
chance to speak her mind.

“
I do love you!” she cried
out. “I do!” And she muttered an oath in sheer frustration. “But I
am stuck beneath this bluidy pew! Help me!”

“
You do?” he asked, and
came to her at once.

“
I do!” she swore, and was
vaguely aware that Alison stole away, leaving them alone to
speak.

“
Christ, woman, what the
devil are you doing beneath there?”

“
Och! You daft mon!” she
said. “I was hiding from you, of course!”

He dragged her out and took her into his
arms, kissing her lips fiercely.

“
Ah, Meghan,” he said.
“Come home with me, my love?”

Meghan wrapped her good arm about his neck.
“Aye,” she answered. “I want to go!”

That was all Lyon needed to hear.

He lifted her up into his arms and carried
her out of the chapel, commanding his men to get out of his
way.

Her brothers all shouted warnings, fought to
reach her, swords drawn.

“
Let her go!” Leith
demanded of him.

“
Not a bloody chance!”
Lyon refused them.

“
Bastard!” Colin shouted,
and Meghan laughed.

“
Tis all right!” she told
them, announcing to one and all, “ ‘Cause I’m going to wed the
bluidy bastard, after all!”

Her brothers fell silent. They stared at one
another in shock.

Lyon chuckled at her choice of words, but
didn’t feel the least bit offended by them, and this time, as he
stole his wife away from her brothers, she filled his ears with
laughter and his heart with joy.

“
Ah, Meghan!” he
whispered. “You’re going to make me a very happy man!” David had
not lied to him after all, it occurred to him as he looked back at
the chapel, remembering the childhood promise. He’d found happiness
and then had it all but handed to him upon a silver
plate.

“
As you will me,” Meghan
assured him. “As you already have.”

And so he had.

And so she did.

Available now!

On Bended Knee

Book #3 of

the Highland Brides

Have you read Book #1, the MacKinnon’s Bride?

Get a FREE preview

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tanya has written seventeen novels, all of which
have graced numerous bestseller lists including the
New York
Times
and
USA Today
. Best known for stories charged with
emotion and humor, and filled with flawed characters, her novels
have garnered reader praise and glowing critical reviews. She lives
with her husband, two dogs and two moody cats in North
Michigan.

For more
information:

Visit
www.tanyaannecrosby.com

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