Finally, at about two in the morning, Cullen rolled over and gave in to a weary, deep sleep. The only dream to interrupt his slumber was a small tiger cat with huge gray, accusing eyes. She’d been abandoned in front of a harbor-front tavern and had fallen in behind him when he left the establishment. Every time she swatted her tiny claws at his boots, he pushed her away. But still she followed in his steps.
He awoke with a start, beads of sweat rolling down his face. When he threw aside the quilt, Cook’s gray tabby sprang to the floor with an angry yowl.
“Sorry, Puss,” he mumbled. “Thought you were someone else.”
Cullen joined his Aunt Elspeth and Fergus for breakfast in the elegant townhouse dining room. He heaped his plate high from the sideboard with ham, coddled eggs, and oat cakes.
When he finally took a seat at the table, his aunt’s stare seemed to eat up all the air in the room. He raised a brow and returned her unblinking regard.
She broke the silence first. “I might have known. You’ve inherited Marianne MacKenzie’s stubborn streak.” She shifted forward in her straight-backed chair. “In the name of all that’s holy, what have you decided, you vexing excuse for a Highlander?”
“Was there ever any doubt of what I would do?” Cullen took a long swallow of water from the crystal glass filled by one of his aunt’s footmen.
His aunt sagged back with a sigh. “You’re sure this is what youwantto do?”
He raised a brow again. “All I can promise is I will ask Willa Morton to be my wife.” Cullen put down his glass. “If the female version of Wills Morton is as inflexible as the alleged young man I left in my surgery in Portsmouth, then I have no idea of how she, or he, may react.”
“Furthermore, who knows what the protocol would be for solemnizing an engagement with a young woman dressed as a man? The sailors aboard theArethusawill be gossiping about this charade for a very long time to come.”
His aunt’s gaze turned more intense. “I would hope you would discuss the situation with the captain and take her away from the ship as Mr. Morton before returning perhaps with your wife, the former Miss Morton?”
Cullen snorted. “Ye think a ship full of sailors would accept such a wild tale?”
“Why not? You could say the young man is going to Edinburgh, but his twin sister, Willa, has agreed to be your wife.”
Fergus waved his pipe in the air. “And she could always stay here or back in the Highlands until ye return, if she doesn’t fancy yer company for years on end. It doesna have to be a marriage in truth. Ye could give her yer name and the clan’s protection only.”
Both Cullen and his aunt stared at Fergus as if he’d grown an extra head.
“If I give a woman my name, she’ll be my wife in every sense of the word. She will stay by my side. Those are my terms.” Cullen pounded the table. “And besides, she’s a damned good physician’s assistant. Her talents would be wasted here.”
His aunt and Fergus exchanged odd smiles, making him wonder if he’d been manipulated. Again.
“When you bring her back here, we’ll invite all the clan, we’ll have a huge wedding breakfast…”
Cullen stopped his aunt’s excited chatter. “When I finally overtake the elusive Miss Morton, I will have a special license in hand, and we will make haste to the nearest parson.”
His aunt gave him a sorrowful look. “But I was so looking forward to a clan wedding. We haven’t had one in years.”
Cullen gave both of them a pointed look. “Perhaps you two could quit pretending you’re just the current laird’s sister and her bodyguard. That would make a fine clan wedding.”
The murderous stare his aunt threw him made him think what she really wanted to do was pitch some of the clan silver at his head. Fergus said nothing, but his face reddened to such a hue, Cullen feared he might fall into a fit of apoplexy.
Cullen raised his water in a mock toast. “Here’s to a speedy return to my bride-to-be.”
Willa patiently mixed the elixirs and powders Dr. Partlow prescribed for his patients. She held each bottle up to the sun streaming through his office window to make sure the ingredients were up to the correct amounts. She held up two at a time, for ease of comparing levels.
Suddenly, the doctor’s greedy hands were at her waist, taking advantage of both of her hands being occupied. She cringed inwardly. This cat-and-mouse game with Peterfield’s most respected physician would not end well. She had to find another position before she ran out of ways to evade his advances.
She whirled suddenly, knocking out of his grasp.
He flinched and stepped away. “I’m embarrassed for your late father, Miss Morton. He would be so ashamed of your behavior since I’ve taken you into my household.”
“Why?” Willa moved farther away and picked up two more empty bottles, ignoring his flushed face.
“Your attempts at seduction have been shameless. I fear for your reputation if word of how you’ve cavorted in front of my children becomes public knowledge.”
Willa straightened to her full height and moved closer to the doctor. “I will not give credence to your petty fantasies, sir, but know this. If you continue to ply my person with unwanted advances, I cannot be responsible for what might happen should you ever happen to close your eyes in sleep again.”
