A Noble Deception (The Douglas Clan) by Veronica Bale Page B

to marry.”
    “Aye, I’ve heard ye value yer independence. But tell me: how do ye reconcile yer wishes, as you claim here and now, wi’ the fact that once ye marry, ye’ll be a man’s property?”
    Hmm ... he’d taken the conversation in a direction she hadn’t anticipated. He’d challenged her logic, but unlike all the self-important men who had done so before (it being their God-given nature, she knew from experience) he’d not spoken condescendingly. He’d not treated her like a silly woman with silly opinions.
    This was a rare trait in a man, one she’d never before seen in the flesh. She was not entirely certain that she liked it.
    “I wish to find myself an equal, ” she answered honestly. “A man wi’ whom I can enter into matrimony, and who will belong to me as much as I would to him. I do value my independence, that is true. No’ just independence as a status , but independence of the mind. I dinna seek love, but if I find it, I believe it will be for someone who respects my right to use my mind. Who respects my right to make the decisions that will affect the course of my own life.”
    Lachlan stared poignantly at her. His impression of Moira MacInnes had taken a turn in a direction he hadn’t anticipated. The reports he had of her wilfulness were accurate enough, but they hadn’t been fair. For beneath the stubbornness there was a keen intelligence, and a passionate nature.
    It was a rare trait in a woman, one he’d never before seen in the flesh . Despite himself, he rather liked it.
    “Then I wish,” he said solemnly, “that when all this is over and done wi’, ye find someone who’ll love ye as ye desire.”
    Moira was astonished by a sudden rush of respect for the man standing in front of her. She lowered her eyes to hide her pink cheeks. “Aye... well, then I suppose we’re finished here. I assume his Lordship will handle the details of the wedding?”
    “Wait, dinna go yet. ” Lachlan held out a hand. “Pray, stay and talk wi’ me a while?”
    She glanced out the window at the fading light. “I had hoped to be home before dark.”
    “Ye could stay for the meal and take a bed here until morning.”
    “That is what I hoped to avoid. Besides, I’ve no’ prepared my animals for an overnight absence.” Sensing his disappointment, she relented. “Perhaps I can have someone escort me home before the meal commences.”
    “Allow me. I shall be more tha n happy to see ye safely home. Even if it is dreadfully cold.”
    “I think that would be fair. Seeing as how I suffered the cold to get here, ye can suffer the cold to get me back.”
    Her jest earned a laugh from Lachlan. She smiled back. She had a glorious smile, he decided. The simple expression lit up what was otherwise a plain face, transforming it into something rather pretty. He could very well learn to like this lass a great deal. If he had to be married to her, even for a short while, it might not be such an intolerable experience after all.
    “Since we’re being so open and honest wi’ one another,” he continued, “may I ask why ye refuse to accept the help that his Lordship is willing to offer? Why eke out a meagre living when ye dinna have to? And for that matter, why do ye insist on calling yer own father his Lordship ?”
    Moira levelled him with her clear, blue eyes. “Did ye no’ hear? I’m stubborn , ill-mannered and ungrateful.”
    “I had heard . However, I’m beginning to think that what I’ve heard may no’ be the whole story. I’d rather hear yer opinion on the matter, if ye dinna mind—since we’re to be married and all.”
    “Since we are to be married briefly ,” she corrected. Then, with a slight lift of her shoulders, she prepared to speak of things she’d never before needed to tell.
    It occurred to her, in the brief moment before she began, that everyone in Moray knew of her tale, from Kildrummond in the north to the mountain of Beinn MacDuibh in the south. But they didn’t really