Wed By Necessity

Unable to linger, she took a single step and encountered the reverend standing with a striking, somewhat forbidding stranger. Caroline halted. She scanned the manicured lawns. Where was Duncan?

She peered at the stranger a second time. His expression had gone grimmer than before, his familiar cobalt gaze searing her like a branding iron. She hadn’t recognized him at first. His auburn hair had been cut military short on the sides and back, the top locks left slightly longer to spill over his forehead. The beard was gone. The planes and angles of his face were uncovered for her inspection. His jaw was square and firm, his chin unyielding, his full, sculpted mouth softening the noble beauty of his features. His tan was uneven, but a few days in the sun would fix that.

Caroline’s lungs squeezed every last drop of air out. In his crisp black suit and snowy white shirt, her husband-to-be was elegant and refined, his bearing that of a king assured of his subjects’ loyalty. His new appearance couldn’t hide the untamed part of him that fascinated her, however, and she knew then and there she was in big trouble.

* * *

“Please join hands.”

Duncan automatically obeyed the reverend’s directive, reaching for Caroline’s and enclosing them in his. Her skin was smooth and cool, the opposite of his work-worn hands. He thought his heart might fail him. As the words rolled from the older man’s lips, Duncan stared at the woman who was about to pledge to love, honor and obey him. She didn’t love him. Didn’t respect him. As for heeding his wishes? He doubted she’d do that without a fight.

She didn’t look like any bride he’d ever seen. Brides were supposed to wear flowing white gowns and appear serenely happy as they met their groom at the altar. Caroline may as well have been attending a costume ball or an opera. And she didn’t look serene in the slightest. Gone was the haughty disdain. She looked as if a single tap of his finger would shatter her into a thousand pieces. Not an auspicious start to any union.

Unfortunately, the garish ensemble didn’t lessen her outward appeal...an appeal he would have to fight against. He’d seen her reaction to his polished appearance. He’d assumed, wrongly, that she’d prefer him shorn and shaved. But the moment she’d spied him, she’d glanced about for a way of escape. He repulsed her.

She wouldn’t even meet his gaze. Her luminous blue eyes, dark and tumultuous, were fastened on his collar. Every few seconds, she’d moisten her lips and pull in slivers of air. Because her hair had been pulled into a tight roll at the back of her head, he could see the rapid pulse in the curve of her neck. Duncan had the inane urge to place his fingertips there, to soothe her anxiety, to make her feel better about what was happening.

Who was he kidding? She wouldn’t welcome his touch.

“Do you, Duncan McKenna, take this woman, Caroline Turner, to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

He didn’t speak. All he could think was that his parents and his brothers were missing the most momentous day of his life. He pictured his kilt hanging in his wardrobe and his great-grandmother’s ring that had been kept in the family safe for his future bride. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to have gone.

At his prolonged silence, Caroline finally lifted her eyes to search his. The whirlwind of emotions there punched him in the gut.

“Aye.”

Her throat worked, and in that moment, her disquiet was palpable.

“Do you, Caroline Turner, take this man, Duncan McKenna, to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I...” Her hands were trembling now. “I do.”

Her lids slid down, blocking his view.

“By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Duncan stood there, numb to the core. He was locked in a marriage he hadn’t asked for, all because of this woman’s willful behavior. A fresh shock of anger pulsed through him.

He released her hands and adopted a casual air. “We can skip that part, Reverend. We all know ’tisna a love match.”

Several of the women gasped. Louise, his new mother-in-law, latched on to Albert’s arm. The reverend frowned, uncertain how to proceed. Caroline kept her gaze on the grass at their feet. Was she paler than she’d been a few moments ago? Did that mean she was relieved at having been spared his attentions or was she merely annoyed at his rude behavior? At the moment, he couldn’t find the energy to care.

His father-in-law saved the day. Lifting a hand above his head, he invited everyone to join the bride and groom in the parlor, where refreshments had been set out to mark the momentous occasion. Conversation joined the birds’ song as a few came over to offer awkward congratulations. A dark-haired man approached Caroline, and she edged closer to Duncan.

“Theo. Meet Duncan McKenna.”

He shook hands and murmured the proper pleasantries, but his eyes were hard and his smile predatory. Disregarding Duncan’s presence, Theo rested his hands on Caroline’s shoulders and bent his head.

“Congratulations, Caroline,” he murmured. Then he pressed a prolonged kiss on the corner of her mouth.

Possessiveness caught him unawares. Duncan shifted closer and curled an arm around her waist, forcing Theo to remove his hands. She stiffened.

“If you’ll excuse us,” Duncan purred, “cake and lemonade await.”

Theo’s gaze snapped with annoyance, but he bowed deeply and stepped aside. As Duncan guided her across the lawn, his hold on her unrelenting, she said, “I’m not in the mood for cake and false pleasantries.”

“Can’t say that I am, either, but it’s expected of us.”

“I didn’t figure you for a man who acted to appease others’ expectations.”

They’d reached the base of the porch stairs. Glancing about to ensure no one was watching, he guided her to the corner of the house.

“What are you doing?” The tremor of unease in her voice prodded his pride.

Pulling away, he snapped, “Never fear, sweet lass, I’ve no intention of forcing my attentions on you.”

The way she kicked up her chin was at odds with how she wrapped her arms around herself in a defensive gesture. The storm of emotions in her eyes were too jumbled to measure. “That’s a relief.”

The jealousy that had been doing a slow burn through his veins surged. He crowded her space. Her eyes went wide and her lips parted. “Let me make something perfectly clear, my wife. I willnae tolerate infidelity. This may no’ be a true marriage of our hearts and minds, but in the eyes of the law and this town, we’re husband and wife. Whatever’s been goin’ on between you and that businessman can no’ continue. I willnae allow it.”

“Nothing has been going on between us.”

“He’s the man your parents wished you to marry, is he no’?”

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