An Auctioned Bride (Highland Heartbeats #4)(63)

She heard a chuckle and opened her eyes, blinking several times. They felt scratchy and tender, most likely from the salt water. She tried to speak, and the raspy sound that erupted from her throat was also likely due to the salt water she had swallowed.

“Don't try to talk,” Hugh said. “You're going to be all right.”

She looked at Hugh. He gazed at her with worry while beside him, Derek crouched, that maddening grin lifting his lips.

“What's…” She winced, swallowed with difficulty and tried again. “What's so funny?”

Derek chuckled and then gestured toward his brother, then back down at her. “Maybe there's hope for the two of you yet,” he grunted. He glanced at Hugh and then down at her, his grin widening. “You should've seen this poor sod the moment we realized you'd been swept overboard.”

“What did you expect me to do?” Hugh turned with a frown to his brother. “She's my wife!”

“Aye,” Derek laughed. “I forgot. She's your wife.” He turned to wink at Dalla. “I do believe, lass, that my brother has fallen in love with you. It took one look on his face for me to realize that, and that's why I jumped into the water after you.” He gestured between the two of them. “I'm the better swimmer, more experienced.” He tilted his head toward his brother. “He would've ended up drowning you both.”

Hugh sent an angry glare toward his brother. “You were just closer, that's all,” he said.

Dalla watched the gentle bickering between the brothers, knowing that it wasn't bickering at all. They were just trying to make her feel better, and it was working. She turned to Derek. “Thank you… for saving my life.” She swallowed. “Now I suppose I owe you.” She glanced at Hugh. “We're still even.”

He smiled at her, a genuine, heartfelt smile that touched her heart. She knew then that the two of them had a chance to make a good marriage. However, her thoughts soon soured, and she looked at Derek. “The ship?”

“Battered to pieces,” he said with a nod of satisfaction. “Found bodies floating around after we got you back aboard, and then I headed out to sea, well away from the shoals.”

“My uncle?”

He shrugged. “I didn't see any survivors. Bits of flotsam, some rigging, pieces of the ship, some body parts, but no more than that.”

Was her uncle dead? Could it be possible? With relief, she realized it was. While she never thought she would have felt such an emotion over the death of a family member, she certainly hoped so. “It's over then?”

Hugh nodded. “It seems so. We've seen no sign of any pursuers, not on the shoreline, nor behind us.”

It was at that moment that Dalla realized that the ship wasn't pitching, the wind wasn't howling, the thunder wasn't booming and crashing. She frowned. “How long have I been asleep?”

“Couple of days,” Hugh replied. “We'll be making our way northwestward, then down along the western coastline of Scotland. With good weather, Derek said we should reach landfall in about a week.”

She glanced between Derek and Hugh, her thoughts once again uncertain. “And then?”

“And then, we're going to pay the Duncan clan a visit,” Derek nodded, winking at Hugh. “A long-overdue visit.”





Epilogue





Six weeks later





A light snow fell outside the Duncan manor house, but inside the great hall, a huge fire burned.

The table was laden for a feast, laughter floated around the room in celebration. A threefold celebration.

The first, the return of Derek McInnis with his twin brother. Before they had even reached the manor, the small group of travelers had been intercepted by Maccay, who stared in disbelief for several moments, then let out a whoop of joy.

“Hugh! You're alive!” He'd only then turned toward his companion, and his eyes had widened as he stared for several moments, his mouth moving but no sound emerging. Finally, he croaked. “Derek? Derek! You're alive, too!”

The two brothers chuckled, and then Maccay's gaze landed on Dalla. He looked between Hugh and Derek, and then a smirk appeared as he winked at Derek. “And you have quite a lovely lass with you, don't you?”

He nodded. “I do, but she's not mine. She belongs to Hugh.”

Maccay blinked, then frowned, as he turned to Hugh, then glanced again at Dalla, then back at his best friend. “Explain.”

Hugh grinned. “Maccay, I would like you to meet my wife—”

Another joyous whoop escaped Maccay, and he threw back his head and laughed. “I knew it! I knew it! And where did you find her?”

An awkward glance passed between Hugh and Dalla, but it was she who answered. “Actually, he bought me as a captive, then he forced me to marry him.”

Maccay stared at the three of them, his amusement fading. He turned to Hugh with a frown of confusion. “You mean you… you made her marry you?” Again, he glanced at Dalla. “Where are you from? Your accent…”

Hugh glanced at Dalla, thinking to answer for her, but she gave a slight shake of her head, lifted her chin, straightened her shoulders as she sat atop the mare that Derek had bought for her, and of course, a massive black stallion for himself.