Marblestone Mansion 01 - Scandalous Duchess

different their lives might have been, if that woman had come back for them. God was watching over them after all.

    After the happy couple cut the cake, they waltzed together for the first time and too soon, it was time to change clothes and catch the afternoon train. Hannish and Leesil wished Cameron and Flora a safe journey home and got off the train in Denver. Later that night, Hannish carried his bride over the threshold of their hotel room and closed the door with his foot.

    CHAPTER 14

    There was a full moon that night and McKenna could not sleep. She was thrilled to have Leesil for a sister-in-law and there was no doubt Hannish would be happy now. Cameron and Flora were very much in love, and there was more good news – Flora was with child. Seeing all of them board the train made her feel a little melancholy, but Hannish and Leesil would be back in a week.
    Yet that night McKenna was alone, her heart was still broken and she desperately wanted to forget the man who had jilted her so cruelly. Memories of their happy times together constantly flashed through her mind, no matter how hard she tried to push them away. All too well she remembered the day he confessed he would marry another. She could still hear him say, “I love you and only you, McKenna. My marriage does not have to mean the end of us.”
    He was wrong and from that moment on, she was determined to get on the first ship she could and sail to America. Hannish needed her and perhaps, just perhaps, she could somehow forget her own misery. It hadn’t worked. Flora reported the man she loved was not happy with his wife or her fortune, and there was some solace in that, but no much.
    Twice more she tossed and turned in her bed, but it was no use; sleep would not come. McKenna got up, put on the shimmering blue satin robe that matched her sleeping gown, and walked to the window to look at the full moon. There, in the middle of the back yard, stood the most magnificent black stallion she had ever seen. Captivated by the sight of him standing in a lush meadow of blue-green grass, she quietly slipped out of her bedroom, down the back stairs and out the back door.
    Cautiously, she closed the door and took a step toward him. It was obvious he was wild, for his hooves were not trimmed, but a wild horse would not likely stand still for fear it might be captured. This one did and as she drew closer, the stallion looked her in the eye. He was black from tip to toe and large enough to be quite frightening, but his eyes were kind and gentle.
    “ What a beauty you are,” she whispered, reaching out to touch the side of his head. McKenna slowly lifted her hand, rubbed the top of the horse’s long nose, and then moved closer and patted the side of his neck. “You have come to comfort me, I see, and never have I needed it more.”
    With a gentle breeze blowing against her gown, she did something she had never done before – she moved even closer and laid her head against his neck as if to hug him. For months, she refused to cry and now was as good a time as any. Yet, the tears would not come and there was something about this gently horse, and the warm breeze blowing in her dark hair that somehow gave her hope. There would be a love for her someday.
    All she had to do was wait -- just wait.

    ~ The end ~

    Marti Talbott’s Highlander Series, (books 1 – 11) is a continuing saga that spans four MacGreagor generations, and sees them through plagues, wars, kidnappings, poisonings, and the day-to-day challenges of love and survival.
    The first five books contain twenty short stories, while the rest are complete novels. They include: Betrothed, book 6, The Golden Sword, book 7, Abducted, book 8, A Time of Madness, book 9, Triplets, book 10, and Secrets, book 11. The Viking was written after the first twenty short stories, yet it is a prequel that explains how the clan came into being.
    Marti is currently working on book 12 of the Highlander series and book 5 of the Marblestone Mansion series, which is also about the MacGreagors, this time in America.

    Other Marti Talbott Books include: The Promise, (Carson Series, Book 1), Broken Pledge, (Carson Series, Book 2), Seattle Quake 9.2, and Suspects.

    To learn more about her books and to sign up to be notified when new books are published, visit Marti Talbott’s Stories at: www.firstchapterproject.com