Page 121 of What a Highlander’s Got to Do

“You don’t strike me as a sickly child.”

Isobel chuckled. “Nae. It was something I ate.”

“Hmm.”

“Why do you say it like that?” Isobel stared at her aunt, trying to puzzle out her expression.

“Nothing. Nothing. It’s just that . . .”

“Just that, what?”

“It’s a delicate subject.”

She snorted a laugh. “You brought it up.”

“All right then. It’s just that, from what I understand, you and Stirling have anticipated the wedding vows.”

What on earth did that have to do with anything?

“We were in Brighton, what? Two months ago?”

“Yes. About that.”

Aunt Esmeralda shrugged. “In my experience, that’s about when it begins.”

Isobel sighed. She had no idea where this was going. But then, conversations with Esmeralda frequently strayed. “When what begins?” she finally asked.

In response, her aunt dropped her gaze to Isobel’s belly.

It took a moment for the meaning to sink in, and when it did, something hot and horrifying flashed through her like a bolt of lightning. “Oh. No,” she said. “It couldn’t be that.” It annoyed her that her hand crept up over her stomach even as she said the words. “It couldn’t be.”

But hell and damnation. When she thought about it, it could.

It very well could indeed.

* * *

The next morning, Isobel was sick again, but this time, she didn’t tell anyone how she felt.

In point of fact, she wasn’t sure how she felt. On the one hand, she was devastated. If she was carrying Nick’s child, and anyone found out, that would ruin her plans altogether. She’d be trapped.

Forced to marry him.

Give herself away.

To the most wonderful man in the world.

The fact that she had mixed feelings about the prospect concerned her deeply. Freedom to live her life the way she chose—to control her destiny—had always been her goal, her dream.

Marriage had never been in her plans.

On the other hand, if she was carrying Nick’s child—an adorable little boy with laughing eyes or a lovely girl with a charming laugh? Her heart wanted to melt at the thought.

But it couldn’t. She couldn’t let it.

She had to be strong. Stalwart. Determined.

She had to leave now.