Her Highness and the Highlander: A Princess Brides Romance by Tracy Anne Warren

whenever you like, Major.”
    He stared, marveling at her sudden prim rejoinder, particularly given the way she
     had thrown herself into his arms only minutes before. His lips twitched with wry amusement.
     “Nae,
Your Highness,
you have no’ done so.”
    Maintaining his grip on her hand, he tugged her gently toward the stairs.
    When they arrived at the private parlor, the door stood open.
    Mercedes hesitated on the threshold. “You go ahead,” she said. “He’s just over there.”
     She pointed toward the far side of the room.
    As Daniel entered the room he noticed the uncleared table and supper remains congealing
     on the plates. Nearby, a man lay sprawled on his back.
    Just as described, he was silver-haired, his face lined with the wrinkles that demonstrated
     his age. His cheeks were ashen, his eyes closed, lips parted. Red spread wetly across
     his chest, a splash of crimson that stained his once white shirt and buff waistcoat.
    Daniel squatted down to get a closer look. “Did you stab him?”
    “No. I hit him. With that.” She walked slowly inside and gestured toward a heavy bottle
     that had rolled several feet away from the body.
    “Ah.” He nearly smiled. “Red wine, I presume.”
    She nodded.
    Studying the man again, he noticed a blue bruise that crept just underneath the hair
     along his temple.
    “Well?” she said in a strained tone. “Is he…dead?”
    Reaching out, he laid a pair of fingers against Sir Lionel’s throat, noticing as he
     did that the man’s skin was warm—rather too warm for a corpse. He’d been around enough
     death during his years of soldiering to know the most obvious signs. Still, it was
     always best to confirm one way or the other.
    Sliding his fingers an inch to the right, he found what he sought, the telltale fluttering
     of a pulse. And to add further confirmation of life, Sir Lionel chose that moment
     to roll his head and let out a pained groan.
    Daniel eased away, then straightened to his full height. “That would be no, so you
     can stop worrying that you are a murderess. Remind me, though, not to get on your
     bad side. You haven’t told me what he did to provoke you.”
    A wash of pink spread across her cheeks. “He grabbed me and tried to make me sit on
     his lap,” she said with disgust. “He wanted to kiss me! He wanted to…” She broke off,
     unable to say more.
    Yes, that was precisely what Sir Lionel had wanted, although he wasn’t sure she understood
     the full extent of the man’s lustful intentions. He was just relieved that she’d been
     able to defend herself.
    If not for the fact that Sir Lionel was currently lying insensible on the floor, he
     would have hit him again, only he would have used his fists rather than a bottle.
    Daniel returned to Mercedes’s side. “I should no’ have left you this morning. You’re
     a pure magnet for trouble. I’ve decided to delay my homecoming and take you to London
     instead. Lord knows you’ll ne’er make it there in one piece if you’re left to your
     own devices.”
    “I was managing before you arrived,” she defended.
    “By coshing a man in the head and imagining you might have killed him?”
    “Well, except for that, yes.”
    He shook his head at her stubbornness, suppressing a smile.
    “So, do I presume you now wish to accept the position as my bodyguard?” she asked.
    “I think I have to or my conscience will ne’er let me rest.”
    Her brows drew close, as if she wished she could refuse him. Then she reached up and
     began working open the clasp on her necklace.
    “What are you doing?” he asked.
    “Providing you with payment. As you know, this is the only thing of value that I possess.”
    He touched her arm to indicate that she should stop. “Nae, lass, you keep it. I don’t
     expect to be paid until the job is finished. Besides, I know where you’ll be keeping
     the necklace, so I’ve no cause to fret,” he said as his gaze slid lightly over her
     bodice.
    Her lips