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sp; Arva put her hand under her child’s chin “I knohat it’s like to be young and in love You have doubts We all do at your age But, trustduke is handsohtful—just look at the flowers he sent to you last week—he is everything a woreat deal, that’s to your advantage And you say he listens to you? My dear, a man who listens to a woman is worth his price in diamonds”

Claire gave her mother a weak smile and Arva took the book fro so much” She looked at the cover “And who is Captain Baker?” she asked, na the author of the book

“An explorer The greatest explorer the world has ever known It’s rumored that he’s a relative of the duke’s”

Arva looked at the light in her daughter’s eyes and frowned “Dear, I knohat it’s like to dreas in my life A woman’s entire future depends on her husband These men you dream about, these…” She looked about Claire’s bedroom, full of books that were packed and unpacked in trunks wherever the Willoughbys went “These inventors and artists and writers and this one, this explorer, they aren’t men you can live with There are men you live with and men you—Well, never mind, you’ll find out about that part of life after you areHarry is worldly enough to be understanding”

Claire wasn’t sure what herabout, but she knew she didn’t like it “I want to love my husband”

“Of course you do And you love Harry, don’t you? How could you not?”

Claire thought of Harry, of the way he looked in his kilt, of the way he looked at her with his blue eyes

Arva shter “And there are other considerations Think, Claire, what it will be like to be a duchess Your every whim taken care of before you know you want it You’ll be able to meet all these ard creatures you read about How could they turn down an invitation from a duchess? You will have freedom, Claire, freedom to do whatever you henever you want to do it” The srandfather’s will Your father and I approve of young Harry and if you marry him, you will receive your inheritance If you do not…” She s you, dear, you do what you must, but there is your little sister to consider”

With that Arva swept fro Claire alone Sometimes her mother seemed like a silly, frivolous woman, a woman of little education and not htened Claire

Claire put Captain Baker’s book aside and smoothed her dress Whatever was she concerned about? Harry, duke of MacArran, was a divine man and, yes, she did love him As her mother said, how could she not love awith him If a woman were to create the perfect man, she would invent Harry

Claire laughed aloud She was being silly She was in love with Harry and she was probably going to be a duchess She was the happiest, luckiest young woman in the world

The next Sunday afternoon Harry took Claire out alone on a lake, rowed her to a pretty little island in the ht on a tartan robe that Harry had brought for her, her hands folded on her lap, while he sprawled in the grass beside her He wore an old-fashioned linen shirt with huge gathered sleeves The linen looked as if it had been washed a thousand tie It was laced at the neck with a drawstring and Harry had left it open so that part of his sreen kilt, not the drawing rooe and use He made no concessions in hiswas actually a skirt; he sat with his legs apart, estures (it was ru lady had fainted the first ti duke rass, his kilt spread about him, a four-inch-wide belt about his waist, and looked at Claire

“I’ve grown rather fond of you, you know”

Claire’s heart was in her throat, pounding She didn’t know if it was the man himself, or what he represented to her, or, as her brat of a sister said, if it was the sheer beauty of his to her insides “I…like you too,” she said

“I ondering if you’d like to marry me”

Claire turned to hi this, hoping for thisshe could think of to say

“I know it’s asking a great deal,” Harry continued “I have a fewa hideous old house called Bra apart, and there are a few other problems in my life as well, but I do rather like you”

Claire began to breathe again, and she tried to s the lump in her throat She wanted to recover herself before she answered There were times, when she ay from Harry, that she had doubts about their suitability for each other, but not when she ith him When she ith hipipes in her head

She hesitated, not wanting to appear too eager to beco, as she looked at his strong legs, was that she would climb a snow-covered mountain barefoot if she could marry this heavenly man and become a Scottish duchess “Is your house very old?” she asked, trying not to allow her voice to squeak

Harry leaned his head back, catching the war and thick “I don’t remember Bra like that”

“It’s a castle?”