“Oh, nay,” Dwyn cried, her eyes going wide with alarm. She’d tried on all her gowns once she’d managed to sneak back intothe keep. Not one of the damned dresses fit, but the rose gown was the worst. If she took more than a shallow breath in it,her breasts popped up and out like a vole sticking its head out of its hole to look around.
“Oh, yes,” Una said firmly. “It looks good with yer coloring. Speaking o’ which—”
“Ow!” Dwyn jumped back and glared at her sister when she suddenly pinched her cheeks painfully.
“I was just trying to give ye more color,” Una said with exasperation.
“Do no’ be mad, Dwyn,” Aileen said quietly, rushing over with the rose gown. “We are just trying to get you a husband. Weboth feel so bad that we are betrothed while you—”
“Fine,” Dwyn interrupted on a sigh, and shook her head as she began to undo the lacings of the gown she was wearing. Her sisters,both younger than her, acted like it would be the end of the world if she did not marry. Neither of them could understandher attitude on the subject, and why she was not doing all she could to find a husband, but she knew her value. She was agood woman, and she wasn’t ugly, at least she didn’t think so. But she also wasn’t pretty, not the sort of pretty to drawthe eye when pitted against the much lovelier women here at Buchanan anyway. The only way she was likely to get a husbandwas if someone came to Innes and stayed for a while for some reason. Once they got to know her . . . Of course, that wasn’tlikely to happen, so she had resolved herself to being an old maid, or perhaps taking herself off to a nunnery someday inthe future. But since it meant so much to her sisters, she would wear the rose dress . . . and hope she didn’t faint fromlack of air, or alternately humiliate herself and her family by having her breasts pop right out of it.
“There,” Aileen said moments later as she finished helping with the lacings and stepped back to examine her critically.
“The dress looks lovely,” Una said finally. “But . . .”
“Her hair,” Aileen said for her, and the other girl nodded.
“Oh! No, wait!” Dwyn cried, reaching up to cover her head.
“Nay. Ye have lovely hair, sister. Ye should show it, no’ keep it all pinned up on top o’ yer head like— Oh,” Una said withsurprise as she pulled several pins from Dwyn’s hair and the golden strands unraveled and fell down her back.
“My,” Aileen breathed. “’Tis so long. When did it get so long?”
Una shook her head and moved away. “I’ll get the brush.”
“’Tis glorious, Dwyn,” Aileen said solemnly, grasping several strands and pulling them out to the side before letting themfeather away. “Why do ye never let it down? I do no’ think I’ve seen it down in years, no’ even when I’ve come to harass yeawake in the mornings.”
“I never let it down,” Dwyn said on an exasperated sigh. “’Tis curly and it gets terrible knots do I no’ keep it up in a bun.”
“’Tis too heavy to curl anymore. Now it just lies in lovely waves,” Una announced, returning with a brush and handing it toAileen to hold while she took out the thong that held Dwyn’s hair in a ponytail. Once she had her long hair lying flat alongher back, she began to brush it, but asked, “If ye do no’ like it so long, why do ye no’ cut it?”
Dwyn grimaced at the question. “Mother made me promise never to cut it. She said I would be grateful one day, but . . .” Sheshrugged.
“Oh, Catriona and Sasha are going to eat their own tongues when they see Dwyn like this,” Aileen said with excitement as theytook in the results of their efforts a few moments later.
“Aye,” Una said with satisfaction, and then met Dwyn’s gaze and said, “Ye look pretty.”
Dwyn just shook her head. Her face was the same, it was only the frame that had changed. Her hair was just another distractionlike her breasts. The only difference was, at least she could hide her breasts behind her hair if they popped out now.
Chapter 3
“Dear God in heaven.”
Geordie glanced up from his ale at that exclamation from his uncle, and followed his gaze to the stairs where three womenwere descending. It took him a moment to recognize Dwyn’s sisters, Una and Aileen. He didn’t recognize the woman with them,but his gaze narrowed with interest as he took in her long, flowing hair. It was quite glorious, reaching down to her knees,a shiny curtain of pale gold that seemed to have a life of its own as it swished around her.
“With those breasts against his chest and that glorious hair wrapped around him, a man would be in heaven,” Acair growled,and was suddenly on his feet, crossing the hall.
Geordie frowned, his gaze shifting to the blonde’s breasts, and his eyes widened when he recognized that bosom. Large, fullbreasts were presently doing their best to escape the rose-colored gown they’d been stuffed into and he knew at once thatit was Dwyn. Geordie then lifted his gaze to her face, almost embarrassed that it was her breasts he’d recognized first.
“Dwyn looks nice with her hair down, but why is Uncle Acair acting so strange?” Jetta asked next to him.
“He’s decided to woo Dwyn,” Aulay drawled with amusement.
“What?” Jetta asked in surprise.
“What!” Geordie exclaimed at the same time.
Aulay shrugged, his gaze focusing on Geordie as he said, “Ye said ye did no’ ken her and were no’ ready to settle down, andhe’s a single Buchanan male too. So he’s decided he might like a keep o’ his own.”
“Oh,” Jetta said with a frown. “I had not thought to include him, because, well, what about Mav—”
“Mavis,” Aulay said abruptly, smiling over Geordie’s shoulder, and he turned to find the older woman standing behind him,a
