face. “Thank you, Aunt Emily.”
Emily sent him an encouraging smile then stopped in front of Kit. “May I hug you?”
The desolate look in the eyes Kit raised to his aunt threatened to break his heart. She wasn’t far from crying. She hadn’t cried when she fell off the sled or when they’d been lost in the snow. But the prospect of marriage to Quentin MacNab had her looking like she faced the end of the world. A sour mixture of regret and chagrin stewed in his gut.
“I’d like that.”
Emily put her arms around Kit’s slight form and held her close. “If you say yes to this charming rascal, I’ll be very happy to welcome you into the family. Hamish and I like you, and we’ve admired your spirit from the first.”
Quentin’s stomach clenched with more pity when he heard Kit muffle a sniff as she pulled back. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears. “You and the laird have been so kind to me. You’re still being kind to me.”
Emily made a dismissive sound. “Nonsense, child. We’re the lucky ones. You’ve been the world’s greatest stableboy.”
That drew a husky little chuckle from Kit. The sound made Quentin feel slightly less hopeless. “It was the least I could do.”
“You’ll do, your ladyship.” Emily kissed her on the pale cheek. “I’ll be proud to call you my niece.”
“I’m out of the habit of hearing myself called her ladyship. Kit, your stableboy, received greater kindness than Christabel Urquhart has over recent years. And more respect. Thank you, Emily. I can never repay you, whatever happens now.”
“It will all work out. Just you wait and see.” Emily gave her another brief hug and stepped back. “Christmas at Lyon House is always a magical time. Happy endings guaranteed.”
Another of those delicious little chuckles, and Quentin was relieved to see that Kit didn’t look nearly as forlorn as she had a few moments ago. It made his task easier. He had no intention of bullying her. She’d been bullied enough. But he felt like a bully when he contemplated the best way to convince a frightened, defenseless girl to marry him.
Once Emily had gone, a thorny silence descended. Quentin stepped away from the fireplace but was careful to keep his distance from Kit. She might appear less terrified, but he feared she’d take to her heels if he made any sudden movement. He’d tamed enough wild creatures in his time to recognize her trembling stillness as barely contained panic.
“Shall we talk about this, Kit? Or would you rather think everything through first? I’m completely at your disposal.”
A wary gaze leveled on him, but when she spoke, her tone was apologetic. “I’m so sorry I got you into this mess. I’m sure you don’t have to marry me.”
He was sure he did. He just wished the idea left the bride looking a little less woebegone. “What about your reputation?”
One hand batted the question away. “Once word gets out about me playing a stableboy – and it will – my reputation will be ruined anyway. At best, the world will call me an irredeemable hoyden. Falling prey to the laird’s nephew will just seem part of the pattern.”
“Don’t you care?”
Her shoulders slumped, and he read despair beneath her fear as she dropped onto the window seat in a disconsolate huddle. “Of course I care.” Her tone was wooden. “I always imagined I’d lead a conventional life. A season. Presentation at court. Suitors. Falling in love with a good man. Marriage. But none of that has happened. Instead, Neil has used the letter of the law to keep me a prisoner, and escaping him meant I broke every rule in the book. I stopped being an acceptable match for any decent man the moment I cut my hair and rode away from Appin Castle. That girl I was before Papa died no longer exists, just as the life she would have led is no longer possible.”
Her sadness sliced a bloody wound across his heart. She didn’t deserve any of the awful things that had befallen her, and now it looked like a hasty marriage would top all the other calamities.
“What will you do if we don’t wed?”
She shrugged with unconvincing carelessness. “I’m the Countess of Appin. I still control vast property on the east coast. All isn’t lost. I’ll stay on my estates, I’ll race my horses, I’ll make sure I lead a full life, if only to cock a snook at my vile stepbrother.”
What a gallant girl she