Page 46 of The Madam’s Highlander

His fingers found her chin and gently drew her face up to him. He studied her with the same savoring care he had the night he had put them in a carriage and disappeared from view.

“There was a time I dinna ever think I'd see ye again.” He swallowed. “I'm so verra glad—”

His voice broke and he bent over her. He captured her mouth in the most exquisite kiss, his lips warm and full, his smooth chin soft against hers, and the tenderness, the love humming between them. She slid her hands up over the back of his neck and pulled him closer to deepen the kiss with the sweep of her tongue. Excited warmth pulsed through her body. She wanted him. She needed him. She never wanted to be without him again.

A cheer rose up around her, an intrusive reminder they were not alone.

They broke apart and, in spite of herself, Freya's cheeks grew hot. Ewan's own face tinged a shade of red, an endearing quality in a man as very handsome as he.

He held her face in his hands, capturing all her attention despite their apparent audience. “I want ye, Freya - now and forever. I want to grow hay with ye, and I want to grow children with ye. I want a life with ye.”

His blue gaze stared earnestly into her, as if he shared his soul with her. “Will ye be my wife? My real and true wife.”

Freya drew in a choked breath. “Aye. Aye, I'll be yer wife.”

Ewan grinned down at her, showing her that beautiful dimple of his, and he captured her in one of his powerful, wonderful hugs once more. Another cheer rose around them, followed by the choke of a sob. Freya turned to find Alli watching them with tears shining bright in her eyes.

She fanned her face with her book. “Ye just said ‘Aye’ to Captain Nay.” She blinked her impossibly long lashes in a noticeable attempt to stay her tears. “It's like something out of one of my stories.”

Freya laughed and turned her attention back to Ewan. “How? What happened, how did all this come to pass that you're home to me?”

Ewan turned to look behind him where a lanky, dark-haired man stood. The man wore a tailored jacket and breeches of fine brown wool, very good quality. One of his sleeves had been rolled up and pinned near the shoulder to keep the empty sleeve from swinging loose.

Even in the absence of the red coat, it took only a moment to recognize him.

“Captain Crosby,” Freya breathed.

He glanced around at the semi-nude women and the obvious display of lust and sex on sale. His face twitched and he seemed to curl into himself. “If I might have a word with you. In private.”

“Of course.” She waved him forward but regarded Ewan, hesitant to let him go lest she never have the opportunity to touch him again. As if letting him go now would make everything a dream. “Will ye come with us?”

He smiled down and kissed her once more, softly. “I need to see my ma, lass.”

Panic nipped at her heart and sent it into frantic beats. “Ye'll come back?”

“The devil himself couldna keep me from ye.” Ewan caressed her cheek. “Trust me, he tried.”

With a final kiss, he slipped from her sight and left her standing beside a very uneasy Captain Crosby.

He cleared his throat. “In private.”

Freya nodded and led the way to her office. He scuttled after her like a church mouse surrounded by barn cats.

She waited until they were in the confines of her office with the door closed before speaking. “Captain Crosby. I dinna know what ye did to save Ewan, but I canna thank ye enough.”

He bowed his head. “It's Thomas, my lady. I'm no longer a captain.” He nodded to his missing arm. “Seems they haven't much need for a one-armed man in the military. Nor does the Black Watch have a need for a man who leaves his duty station in Edinburgh to uncover a crime among the officers of the English army.”

Thomas winked at her, and Freya realized somehow the two of them had devised a scheme to protect Ewan and set him free.

“Ye mean he's no' a deserter?” she whispered.

He nodded in confirmation. “Your soon-to-be husband is an honorable man who received the Black Watch's great thanks for his service, and an extensive apology for having kept him locked in prison these last five and a half months. An apology that aided in his final release of contract.”

Freya breathed a sigh of relief and settled back against her desk.

“It was a very good story, even if it took a while for me to assemble the evidence to support it,” Thomas added in a conspiring tone. “But that's not why I'm here. You see, I—”

The door burst open once more, only this time it was not Alli, but Marian. She stared in wide-eyed awe. “Thomas. Someone said ye were here, but I dinna...I canna...”