A Highlander's Heart: A Sexy Regency Romance (Highland Knights Book 1) by Jennifer Haymore

door, looking over his shoulder as they stepped into the corridor. “Farewell, lads. Enjoy yourselves! I ken I will—I’m off to see the bonniest lass in London.”
    They closed the door to the grumbles of the other Knights, and Claire turned to Mackenzie, a brow raised. “Feeling impertinent today, Mr. Mackenzie?” she asked lightly.
    “I’m a free man,” he said, and she realized he meant he was free of the army. “I’m feeling
verra
impertinent right now.”
    “Can’t say I blame you.”
    The carriage ride to her father’s Mayfair town house took about twenty minutes, and during that time, Mackenzie told her of his childhood in the Highlands.
    “My da labored on a sheep farm in Inverness-shire, as did his da, and his da before that.”
    “That sounds like hard work,” she said.
    “Aye. I started herding and shearing alongside him when I was just a wee lad. Then I went to school in Inverness, and the other lads said I’d never wash the stench of mutton from my skin.”
    “Did you have brothers and sisters to help?”
    “Oh, aye. Six sisters, and all o’ them came after me.”
    She looked at him with wide eyes. “Six? Six sisters?”
    He nodded, and his mouth twisted into a wry grin. “My da cried when I left. He said to me, ‘Duncan, I beg you. Dinna leave. How will I endure this life surrounded by seven women?’”
    “Poor man,” Claire said sympathetically.
    When they arrived at the Earl of Norsey’s house, Mackenzie quieted, his brow furrowed and his lips tightened. He was nervous, poor man. She patted his knee. “Don’t worry. I’m just going to tell my father that Rob couldn’t come so he sent you in his stead. Everything will be fine.”
    He took a deep breath and nodded.
    Claire’s father’s longtime butler met them at the door. “Hugh!” she exclaimed. “It is so good to see you.”
    Hugh inclined his head, his brown eyes twinkling. “And you, milady. I’m glad your travels were safe.”
    “They were,” she said, sobering, “for me, at least.”
    “I trust Sir Robert is well.”
    “Yes, he’s almost completely recovered from his head wound, thank you for asking.”
    Hugh’s gaze moved to Mackenzie.
    “This is Mr. Duncan Mackenzie, lately of the Gordon Highlanders.”
    “Welcome, Mr. Mackenzie.”
    “Thank you,” Mackenzie said politely.
    “Lady Grace and Lord Norsey await you in the drawing room.” Hugh ushered them inside, then led them down the corridor. He opened the door to the drawing room, then stepped aside to allow them entrance.
    Claire glanced at Mackenzie and gave him an encouraging smile. Then she stepped inside. Grace leapt up immediately and rushed to her, enfolding her in an enormous hug and squeezing the breath out of her.
    But when Grace suddenly dropped her hands, her breath catching, as she whispered “Duncan?” Claire knew she’d seen Mackenzie. She stepped away from her sister, leaving them to their reunion—which would probably consist of a brief, longing glance at each other—and turned to her father. “Papa.”
    Her father had risen from his chair when she’d entered, and he stood there stiffly, his hands straight at his sides.
    “Welcome home, daughter,” he said formally.
    “Thank you. It is good to be home. But I shan’t stay long. Only for an hour or so, and I must gather some clothes besides these traveling dresses.” She gestured in chagrin down at her tattered gray carriage dress. “I fear I have ruined them all.”
    “You will be living with your husband, then?”
    She hesitated. She’d never technically “lived” with her husband in any place besides her father’s houses here and in Kent. The thought of doing so was frightening and exciting at the same time.
    “It is too early to say,” she said quietly. “But for now, yes, I will be staying with him.”
    “I see,” her father said tightly. He looked beyond her shoulder, his brow furrowing as he took in Mackenzie.
    “Papa, may I present Duncan Mackenzie. He