Aidan matched her nod, his gaze guarded as he watched her fidget under his intense stare. “I’m acquainted with your mother.”
She huffed out a laugh. “I fear few in town are not acquainted with her. And I’m certain she attempted to curry your favor years ago.” She cleared her throat. “Before she deemed your family an unfavorable connection.” She flushed at her frank words.
“I’m surprised you had the wherewithal to form an attachment with my nephew, given your mother’s opposition to it.” Aidan’s eyes glowed with concern.
Eleanor’s gaze darted around the room, noting that, although the other family members continued to converse, they were acutely aware of the conversation she was having with Aidan. “My mother likes to believe that she has the right to control my life.” Eleanor met Aidan’s intense stare with an expression of determination and defiance. “However, I’ve learned that her plans for my life will never bring me joy. She has no regard for me. Only concern for her own well-being. I refuse to be a pawn.”
Aidan tilted his head to one side. “I fear you’ve dragged Jeremy into your family squabble.”
“Uncle,” Jeremy said in a warning tone.
“No, Jeremy,” Eleanor said, with a soothing touch to his arm. “He has every right to be concerned. If he wasn’t, I would be upset. For it would mean that he wasn’t as dedicated to you and your brothers as you’ve always believed.” She met Aidan’s gaze, now filled with admiration, with her chin tilted up. “I never meant to entangle anyone. I fear love doesn’t follow a timetable or a map, and it’s not always rational.” She shrugged as a smile escaped as she turned to Jeremy, her adoration of Jeremy apparent.
Aidan nodded and surprised her when he opened his arms and welcomed her in for a hug. “I will always fight being overbearing. He is my beloved nephew. But, if you continue to bring him joy, I will love you forever,” Aidan breathed in her ear. He released her, frowning as a tear trickled down her cheek. “No need for tears.”
She shook her head, smiling as Jeremy stepped closer, his thumb swiping away her tear, an action he often made. She faced Aidan again. “I’m continually overwhelmed by the generosity of love and acceptance I feel from your family.” When Jeremy held her in his arms, offering her his support, she smiled as he watched her intently. While facing Jeremy, she spoke to both him and Aidan. “I … It’s not how I was raised and something I’m unaccustomed to.”
“Well, once you’re a McLeod, you’ll never doubt again who you are or where you belong,” Aidan said. “Come and meet my Delia, before she skins me alive for keeping you to myself all this time.”
Eleanor took a deep breath, and followed Aidan to a comfortable settee, where an attractive woman in her early seventies with gray hair and almond-shaped hazel eyes—every bit as astute as her husband’s—watched Eleanor approach. Aidan’s wife wore a finely cut evergreen-colored dress that enhanced her natural beauty.
“Delia, this is Eleanor.”
Delia motioned for Eleanor to sit beside her in the recently vacated seat where Clarissa had sat moments before. “How delighted I am to meet you, Eleanor. I fear you’ve already suffered an inquisition of sorts from my husband.” Her hazel eyes shone with displeasure as she stared at Aidan. Yet she smiled, laugh lines fanning around her eyes and mouth, as Aidan chuckled and kissed her knuckles.
“You’re only upset that I spoke with her first,” Aidan murmured. “I’ll leave you to chat.”
Eleanor watched as Aidan moved away to slap Jeremy on his shoulder and, she suspected, to keep him across the room. “I hope you had a pleasant journey.” She bit her lip at the inanity of her statement.
Delia chuckled. “If you call being trapped in a train car with six children pleasant, then you are a different sort of woman than I. It was like working at the orphanage again,” she said with a sigh. She saw Eleanor stare at her with curiosity. “Yes, I worked at an orphanage in Boston for years, when I had thought Aidan had abandoned me and our daughter. I did not realize he’d never received my letter. Never learned that I was to have his child.” She looked at her husband with love. “It took me some time to forgive him, although he had not intentionally wronged me.”
“I can’t imagine any McLeod man turning his back on his responsibilities,” Eleanor murmured, as she watched the three brothers interact together. Her breath caught at the group of handsome men, and her heart raced at the thought that Jeremy wanted to marry her.
“Yes, they’ve all learned the importance of being responsible for one’s actions,” Delia said in a low voice. “It’s why I’m concerned you may be merely a responsibility to Jeremy.”
Eleanor paled, her gaze dropping to her lap. “I believe I’m more than that to him.” She raised her head to focus on Delia. “Much more than that.”
Delia’s mouth firmed as she turned to watch the brothers. “A handsome group, wouldn’t you agree? However, what is most remarkable about them is not how attractive they are. It’s their character.”
Eleanor nodded. “I don’t know Richard, but I agree with what you say about Gabriel and Jeremy. They are fine men. Fine fathers.” Eleanor watched as a curly haired woman approached, and Delia glared and shook her head at her, preventing her from joining them. She heard Clarissa call the woman Florence and recalled that was the name of Richard’s wife. “I know you have no reason to believe me, but I will endeavor to bring harmony and happiness and love to Jeremy’s and Breandan’s lives.”
“With a mother and an aunt such as yours interfering?” Delia raised an eyebrow as she looked at Eleanor. “I’ve had the displeasure of meeting both on various occasions, and Mrs. Bouchard especially formed an instant dislike to me, due to my Eastern ways and to Aidan’s success at business. Why should she celebrate your marriage?”
Eleanor twisted her fingers together on her lap. “She won’t. She despises Jeremy. Wishes I would marry another, who she perceives to be the better man because he will act as her puppet. Or so she believes.” Eleanor took a deep breath and met Delia’s challenging gaze. “What my mother refuses to understand is that there is no better man for me than Jeremy. I love him. I understand that I am forever separated from my family due to my liaison with yours. And I accept that.” Her eyes filled, and she blinked a few times. “I’ve never known what it was to be accepted until I spent time with your family.”
Delia gripped her wrist. “What happens when your mother comes, pleading poverty or some tale of woe? What will you do?”
Eleanor exhaled. “I will speak with Jeremy. And I will discuss with him why I believe we should never give my family a penny.” She met Delia’s shocked gaze. “For, if we do, they will never leave us in peace.” She nodded to the older woman. “I thank you for your interesting conversation, but I should congratulate Clarissa and Gabriel.” She slipped her wrist free of Delia’s hold and rose. She scooted around Araminta and the woman she believed to be Florence and stood in front of Clarissa, who had watched her approach with apprehension.
Clarissa pulled her into a hug, rocking her to and fro. “Tell me that you are all right,” she whispered in Eleanor’s ear. “Tell me that they haven’t scared you away.”
Eleanor laughed. “No. They’ve only proven their love for Jeremy. And their concern for him.” She looked over her shoulder and met Delia’s contemplative gaze. “They’re worried about my mother and what she’ll try to do to us. And my aunt.”
Clarissa sighed. “Aidan and Delia don’t realize you’re already one of us. Even if you weren’t marrying Jeremy—which you are in a month—you’d never have to return to your mother’s home.” She grimaced. “And we’d never allow you to marry Henry.” She shivered at the thought.
Eleanor smiled and focused on Clarissa. “Somehow the attention has been on me since my arrival. All I wanted to do was fade into the background and watch as your family celebrates you and Gabriel. Congratulations on nineteen years of marriage.”
Clarissa beamed, her adoration-filled gaze meeting her husband’s. “Thank
you. We’ve known difficult times, but our love has remained strong.” She gripped Eleanor’s hand. “I wish such a strong love for you and Jeremy. A love that is equally tenacious. For, if love is to be triumphant, it’s not all harp music and sweet times.”
Eleanor laughed. “I know that already. Jeremy and I’ve already had trouble, mainly due to my mother.” She smiled in welcome as the unknown woman in the group joined them. “Hello, I believe you are Florence.”
The curly haired woman with glasses smiled. “Yes. It’s nice to meet you.” She shared a quick look with Clarissa, her gaze guarded. “I’m certain we will have plenty of time to get to know each other. Richard, the boys, and Agnes and I plan to be here until the end of August.”
“Isn’t that the best news?” Clarissa gushed, as she slipped her arm around Florence’s waist. “We haven’t had proper time together in too many years.” She looked to the kitchen area, where Araminta had disappeared, and then made a motion with her hands in Gabriel’s direction. “Come. It’s time for dinner. Araminta, Flo, and Delia have worked hard on it.”
Eleanor held back a step, waiting until Jeremy was by her side. When he looked at her with frustration and chagrin in his gaze, she placed fingers over his lips. “No, Jeremy. There’s no need to apologize for your Uncle Aidan or Aunt Delia. They love you.”
He shook his head. “They should have been patient and observed us together. Then they would have had no doubts.” He grinned kissed her fingers and then leaning forward to kiss her softly. “Thank you for being the strong woman I knew you were.”
She flushed and nodded before reaching forward with her fingers to grip his hand. “You seem at peace now that your family is all together.”
He smiled. “I am. I hate it when we are separated. And I refuse to consider a time when Rich leaves. For now, I want to relish every moment we have together as a family. Worries about parting can wait for another day.” He kissed her forehead and followed her into the lavishly set dining room.
* * *
Jeremy winked at Eleanor and followed her as they slipped out the kitchen’s back door. He shut the door with a barely discernible click and then linked hands with her. “Come,” he whispered. “Let me walk you back to Colin and Araminta’s.” He sighed with pleasure as they slowly strolled, arm in arm, to walk the few blocks.
“Jeremy,” she whispered, “I hope you enjoyed this evening.”
He smiled. “It improved as it went on. I disliked my family believing they had a right to challenge and to test you the moment they met you.” His green eyes sparkled with ire in the faint evening light.
“It’s only because they care for you. And they loved Savannah fiercely,” she whispered.
His hold on her arm tightened, and he nodded. “Yes, they loved her. But you must remember, she was Clarissa’s cousin. And Colin’s. It was not the usual situation of a newcomer entering a family. Two families already joined by marriage were further joined again. If that makes any sense.” He sighed and paused at a break in the trees, so he could better see her expression in the moonlight. “I don’t want her ghost to continue to come between us. She was a wonderful woman. And I loved her. But she is gone, Eleanor.”
Eleanor nodded, her gaze flitting to his, then away, then back again. “I fear … I fear I won’t please you as she did.”
He opened his mouth and then closed it and shook his head, flummoxed beyond words and uncertain what to say. Finally he whispered, “I feel how you respond to me, Ellie. I know there is a connection, and we share a passion between us.” He cupped her cheek as he stared deeply into her eyes.
Her gaze was filled with trepidation, mixed with determination. “Before we marry, I need to know that you will find me desirable. That you won’t wish you’d married another.”
“Ellie,” he rasped.
“I can’t walk up that aisle with this doubt, Jeremy,” she whispered, then bowed her head, her shoulders shaking with tension. “I can’t.”
His hands dropped to her shoulders, and he kneaded them in an attempt to ease her anxiety. “Ellie, I would never wish to harm you, to disrespect you in any way.”
She kept her head ducked and nodded, her entire posture expressing her sense of dejection. “Of course. I understand.”
Jeremy and Eleanor walked the next block in silence, pausing when they reached Higgins. They needed to cross the thoroughfare to reach Colin’s house. Instead he veered her to the right, toward downtown.
“No, Jeremy,” she whispered, stiffening beside him. “Don’t make me return to my mother’s. I promise I won’t ask more of you than you are willing to give.”
“Hush, love,” he murmured. He walked with a purposeful gait, though never outpacing her. Soon they turned down Main Street, and he extracted his key to the workshop. He eased the door open and motioned for her to enter. When she stumbled, he grabbed her arm to prevent her from falling.
He flipped on a light and then locked the door. “I hope the neighbors will believe one of us wanted to work late and won’t call the police, since I turned on the light down here.” He winked at her, lit a lamp to take with him, and then grabbed her hand, leading her up the stairs to the storage area overhead.
“Jeremy,” she whispered plaintively. “I’m sorry. I …”
After setting down the lamp, he cupped her face between his palms and stared deeply in her eyes. “Never believe you don’t have the right to make your wants and needs known to me. That they are not as important as mine. Although I won’t always be able to, I want you to trust that I will do everything in my power to give you everything you need. Everything you want.” His cheeks flushed with passionate intensity, and his breathing ratcheted up. “I love you. I desire you.”
He leaned forward, kissing his way down her neck. His hands roved over her, causing her to gasp. “Never believe I would ever expect you to return to your mother’s house simply because we argued. That’s not love. That’s not cherishing each other.” He pulled her tightly against him, wrapping his arms around her, as his raspy breaths sounded in her ear. “Tell me what you want, Ellie.”
Her hands fluttered against his back, pressing lightly against his taut muscles before clenching him to her. “I want you, Jeremy. I want to know how it feels to be wanted.”
He moved with her in his arms, a sort of loping waltz as he maneuvered them around boxes to the bed at the opposite side of the room. “You’re always wanted. Always loved,” he murmured. “But now you’ll know what it is to be desired too.”
He paused when they stood at the side of the bed, the anemic lamp casting long shadows over this part of the room. Slipping hairpins lose, he ran his fingers through her thick black hair. He pulled a handful toward him and breathed deeply, sighing with pleasure. “I love how you smell. Like a spring garden.”
“Peonies,” she murmured. “I’ve always used a soap scented with peonies.” She gasped as he kissed his way down the side of her throat. She clutched at him when his hands roved over the front of her, pressing over her breasts.
“Let me free you from your clothes, my love,” he whispered.
“Yes,” she breathed, arching to lean farther into his touch. Soon her dress was puddled at her feet, and he worked at her corset ties. “Here,” she said. “Let me.” She giggled at his large hands tangling in the fine laces. She shucked her corset and took a deep breath. Her blush brightened to crimson when she saw his appreciative gaze, and she jumped onto the bed and crawled under the covers.
“Your underthings should come off too, darling,” he murmured, as he kicked off his shoes and disrobed at a frantic pace. He noted the blankets billowing and moving, as she shed her underclothes. He walked around to the other side of the bed and eased into it. He grinned at her, seeing only her head poking out from the covers. “Do you want me to hold you?”
“I … I have nothing on,” she stammered.
He chuckled, and his green eyes lit with passionate humor. “I know.” He leaned up on one elbow, the blankets sli
pping down to expose his bared upper body. A flash of pleasure went through him at her appreciative gaze of his muscled arms and chest. “I’ll let you in on a secret. Neither do I.”
Her eyes were rounded as she stared at him. “I … I’m not nearly as well formed as you. I—” She bit her lip, when he shook his head in warning.
“You have luscious curves,” he murmured, as he slid toward her. He paused when he heard her breath catch in panic rather than passion. “Ellie?” he asked. His hand cupped her head, and he stroked a hand over her silky curls. “I’ll dress and leave this instant if I’m scaring you.”
“No!” she gasped. “Don’t leave me. Help me through my fears.” She reached out and gripped his shoulder. “I … I have demons that I must battle too.”
“Tell me,” he whispered, as he settled on his side, his hand running over her head. Soon she gazed deep into his eyes, unaware or uncaring that the blanket had slipped down her shoulder, baring her upper body to him. He continued to meet her gaze, his focus never wandering to stare at the beauty of her. His hand stroked softly over her shoulder and down her arm, before traversing back up again to her shoulder. “Trust me.”
“I do. Or I’d never be here like this with you,” she whispered. “Cameron,” she gasped out the name. Her hold on Jeremy tightened when he stiffened beside her. “As I told you, he tried to force himself on me once, but my father stopped him.” She met Jeremy’s unwavering gaze. “But that wasn’t the worst of it. He never stopped taunting me. Never stopped telling me how ugly I was. How fortunate I was that he wanted me. That I would be alone forever if he didn’t marry me. That no man would ever find me attractive. That I should be thankful to ever have a child.” She stopped as Jeremy’s eyes were lit with a thunderous anger.
“And you thought to marry him?”
“I tried to explain to my mother that I didn’t want to. But you’ve met her. She gets a notion in her head, and she will not be dissuaded.”
Triumphant Love: Banished Saga, Book Nine Page 32
