He pulled away to get a better look at her. Her skin was a brilliant shade of red. Those green eyes sparkled in the candlelight. She looked as amazed as she did surprised.
“Corruptible?” he asked, chuckling at her description. “I’ve kissed many a lass in my day, and no’ one of them ever described me kisses as corruptible.”
She remained quiet, trying to will away the lustful feelings his kiss had brought surging through her body. His kisses were not going to be easy to resist. In the back of her mind, she saw Minnie shaking her head and clucking her tongue, disgusted at how her former charge had just behaved. Not at all ladylike.
“Did ye no’ enjoy the kiss, lass?” he asked in a deep, low, seductive tone.
“That be the problem!” She swallowed hard and took a deep breath. “Ye canna marry me, Rowan. I’d be no good fer ye.”
Puzzled, he raised a brow. “No good fer me? I do no’ understand.” No matter what reasons she might come up with, he’d find a way to refute them all. He was going to marry her.
Her eyes began to water as she thought about how the kiss had made her feel. Alive, excited, amazed, lustful; all the things a good, decent lady was not supposed to feel. Throwing all caution to the wind, she knew she must be honest with him. “Ye make me feel things a lady isna supposed to feel, Rowan! I’m a wanton! A harlot! Ye need a good, decent woman who’ll not become brazen and excited at yer touch! A woman who can keep her wits about her and no’ one who wishes fer more of yer kisses!”
He had to bite his cheek to keep from laughing. He had no goodly idea where she got hold of the notion that he’d not want her to be affected by his kiss or his touch. The woman was the furthest thing from a harlot that one would get. She was damned near a nun!
“Ye’ll have to explain to me, lass, how ye came to believe I’d no’ want ye to enjoy me kisses.” He hid his mirth well.
She cleared her throat and wiped away a tear. She could not look him straight on for fear he’d see how badly she wanted another kiss from him. She damned her betraying body to the devil, took a deep breath and tried to explain it as best she could.
“Though I’ve no’ ever experienced fer meself what goes on between a man and a woman, I ken how its done. I fear I’ll no’ be able to do me duty to ye when ye kiss me like that.”
“Do yer duty?” He was thoroughly intrigued.
“Aye, me duty. Me maid, Minnie, she came to take care of me after me mum died. She explained it all to me when I married Carlich, ye ken. A good wife, she lies still and allows her husband to do what he must or what he wants so that she can get with child. She must allow him to come to her once a week, as is his right. A decent wife, a true lady, she finds no enjoyment in the act. Only harlots, whores and wantons do! And I fear I’m one of them, fer I truly did enjoy yer kiss! Do ye no’ see? I canna be a good, decent wife to ye if I’m all,” she fought hard to find the correct word to describe how he made her feel. “Excited! Lustful! Sinful!”
He almost bit his tongue in half to keep from laughing at her innocence and misguided notions. He rubbed a hand over his forehead, more to hide the amusement he found in her statement than to relieve an achy head.
“I fear yer Ninny--”
“Minnie,” she corrected him.
“Yer Minnie was wrong,” he told her.
She finally raised her head to look at him. “Wrong?”
“Aye,” he said with a nod. “Was yer Minnie ever married? Did she have any experience with men?”
“Aye! She was married fer a time when she was young. The poor thing, her husband died only after a year or so of bein’ married. He’d left their cottage one morn, to go huntin’ and he never returned. She was certain he was set upon and killed by reivers. Minnie searched and searched fer him, fer weeks, but could no’ find him. She thought mayhap wolves got him or the reivers took his body away.”
Rowan could feel the sadness Arline felt for her maid, Minnie. He trod upon the subject with great care and thoughtfulness. “And ’twas Minnie who said good lasses are no’ supposed to like kisses or joinin’ with their husbands?”
Arline sniffed and nodded. “So, ye see, ye canna marry me. Ye need a good woman, Rowan. One who can lay still and no’ act like a wanton woman whenever ye touch her. Minnie would be horrified if she knew I was like this! All those years we spent together, with her teachin’ me how to be a proper lady are but a waste. I’m sorry, Rowan.”
He shook his head, smiled and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. He took her hands in his and tried to be as tactful and thoughtful as he could be. “Arline, no’ all men want their wives to just do their duty.” He took her chin and lifted her head gently so that he could look into her eyes. “I fear I would be terribly wounded and hurt if I kissed ye and ye did no’ enjoy it. A wife should find pleasure with her husband, with his kisses and all they do together.” He wouldn’t share with her his opinions on Minnie’s missing husband. The man probably left because she’d been a cold and unloving wife.
Disbelief and surprise filled her bright green eyes. “But, Minnie said,”
He stopped her with another soft, tender kiss. “I do no’ care what Minnie told ye. I do no’ ever want ye to think ye canna say or do whatever ye wish, when it comes to things of a more intimate nature.”
“So it’s a harlot ye want fer a wife?” she asked.
“Nay,” he said, kissing her again. “I want an honest and forthright wife. One who’s no’ afraid to say what is on her mind.”
If she told him everything that was on her mind he would think her a harlot! She supposed being silently honest would cause no harm, that is, if he truly did want to marry her. He hadn’t actually asked her yet, and she was afraid to mention it.
“Ye must think me a cad, to be kissin’ ye while yer abed, wounded, and no’ fully recovered.”
Truly, he could kiss her any time the mood struck him as far as she was concerned. His kisses did in fact make her feel better. Mayhap if he continued on with them, she’d be able to climb mountains by morning time. “Nay,” she murmured. “I do no’ think ill of ye.”
“I should leave ye to rest,” he said as he left the bed and stood to his full height.
“Please, do no’ go just yet,” she asked him, hoping she did not sound as needy as she felt.
He nodded and took his place in the chair. That was much too far away for her liking, but she kept the thought inside, along with a hundred other questions she wanted desperately to ask.
Rowan studied her for a time. Even in her current state, with her mussed hair, the large bandage on her shoulder, and pale skin, he found her breathtakingly beautiful. She’d make a very fine wife, a good companion, and a wonderful mother, not just to Lily, but to all the children he hoped they’d be blessed with.
He wanted to make her his wife, and soon. There were things that must be done in order for that to happen. He wondered how much time she’d need to heal before she’d be healthy enough for a wedding.
“We should post the banns,” he said happily.
“Banns?” she asked. He hadn’t officially asked her if she would in fact wish to be his wife.
“Aye,” he said. “I want to marry ye proper. Post the banns, have a grand weddin’, a feast, all of it!” He crossed a leg over one knee and began to think out loud. “I need first to let the council ken that ye’ve agreed. Then I must have Mrs. Fitz prepare a grand menu for the weddin’ feast. And ye’ll need a dress. I’ll need to invite the MacDougalls, the McDunnahs, the McKees--”
Arline cleared her throat to gain his attention. When she had it, she lifted her chin and looked him directly in the eye. “I’ve no’ agreed.”
She watched as the color drained from his face.
“Because ye haven’t asked me! Ye only said ye’d planned to ask. But ye haven’t.”
His color slowly returned as he ran over all they had said to one another. She was correct. He hadn’t asked. Hadn’t shared with her what was in his heart.
He rose
from his chair and knelt beside the bed and took her hands in his. “Arline, will ye do me the honor of becomin’ me wife?”
She scrunched her face and looked up at the ceiling as if she were considering the question. After a moment or two, she looked at him and smiled. “Aye, I will,” she said softly. “On one condition.”
His brows turned inward. “Condition?”
“Aye,” she said. “If there is to be a marriage contract, there’ll be nothin’ in it about annulments!”
He threw his head back and laughed. “Aye, I can agree to that, as long as ye agree ye’ll never look at kissin’ me or joinin’ with me as yer duty.”
“Agreed,” she said with a smile. “We should shake on it,” she said as she offered her hand.
That seductive smile of his returned. He took her face in both hands, caressed her cheeks with his thumbs and sighed. “Let’s say we seal it with a kiss instead?”
Arline rubbed her cheek against his palm and closed her eyes. Aye, she may have dreamt of this moment, may even have prayed for it. But now that it was here, really truly happening, her heart seemed to swell and threatened to burst from her chest.
Someone wanted to marry her. Not just any someone. Rowan Graham, decidedly the most beautiful man she had ever known, wanted to marry her. And apparently, he enjoyed her kisses!
Twenty-Six
Rowan and Arline spent the better part of the next hour making plans for their wedding. And in between, they shared kisses that became increasingly more passionate.
“Yer goin’ to be the death of me, lass,” he scratched out after one particularly intense kiss. His groin ached and screamed for attention. He’d have to bath in the loch before the night was over.
“I vex ye?” she asked in a worried tone.
“Nay! I mean to say that I canna wait fer ye to be me wife.” He hoped he would not have to explain to her the physical affect she had on his person.
“Oh,” she said quietly.
The way her lips formed when she spoke made his eye twitch. It was downright seductive, but she was entirely unaware.
“Do ye think we could post the banns fer three weeks?” he asked, trying to take his mind off the kisses they’d been sharing.
“Three weeks?” She sounded dismayed. “Nay! I canna plan a weddin’ in just three weeks!” She wanted to be fully and completely recovered from her injury so that she could enjoy every moment of their wedding night.
Rowan thought on it for a time. He did not want to wait until morning, let alone any longer than necessary. A memory popped up and he decided to use it to his advantage. “What if yer da has learned of the annulment? He may try to marry ye off again. And what if he marries ye by proxy a second time?”
She turned six different shades of white and gray in a matter of moments. Clearly, the thought of her father arranging another marriage or worse yet, marrying her without her consent via proxy, made her ill. “Nay,” she sputtered. “I canna do that again!” Who knew who her father might choose this time. He’d marry her to the devil himself if he thought it would increase his purses.
No matter what happened she would marry Rowan in three weeks. She’d marry him this night if she thought he’d agree to it.
“Three weeks shall work,” she told him determinedly as she tossed the blankets away. “Help me to me feet!” She’d walk through fire if she had to.
Rowan laughed at her determination. He replaced the blankets and urged her to lie back. “Ye will no’ have to do a thing, Arline. Ye are nowhere near fully recovered. I’ll no have ye takin’ the risk of getting ill or undoing all of Ora’s fine work. Ye shall stay abed and let me do this.”
He held up his hand when she started to protest. “Nay! I promise, I’ll no make a decision without ye, but I’ll no allow ye to do anythin’. Please, lass, promise me ye’ll stay abed and allow me to do this. I’ll ask Selina to help if it will make ye feel better.”
She breathed a sigh of relief when he offered to enlist Selina’s help. Selina was a sweet young woman and very astute. “Aye, if ye promise ye’ll let me help make the decisions and take Selina’s help, then aye, I’ll agree to stay abed.”
“Good,” he said. “Now, ’tis gettin’ late. Ora should be here soon to tend to ye. I must leave ye now, to go tell the council of our plans.”
Arline agreed, though the thought of him leaving left her feeling lonely. “Ye’ll return soon?” she asked, stifling a yawn.
Rowan stood, bent over and gave her a chaste kiss on her forehead. “I do so promise. I also promise to shave me beard and take a much needed bath.”
Arline rather liked the beard. It gave him an even more seductive and mysterious air. It was soft, too, and she liked the way it tickled when he touched his cheek to hers. “Ye needn’t hurry to shave it, Rowan.”
He offered her a warm smile as he rubbed his hand along it. “Ye like it, do ye?”
“’Tis yer face. Ye must do what ye like. But if yer askin’ me opinion, then aye, I do like the beard.”
Rowan kissed her again, made another promise to return as soon as he was able. Arline promised to rest and sleep.
Were she able, she would have danced around the room after Rowan closed the door. It seemed her life was beginning to take a marked turn for the better. Very soon, she would be Rowan’s wife. They would start a life together, have children and build a legacy.
He hadn’t come out directly and professed his love for her. She reasoned that mayhap he was not quite ready to make such a declaration. She knew that it was difficult for some men to speak from the heart, for fear of sounding weak or less than a man. Arline did not care if he said the words, it was enough that he showed her how he felt. Their entire lives lay stretched before them. There would be plenty of time for I love ye’s later on. Twenty-Six
Aside from the sea opening and swallowing Scotland whole, nothing could stop the news of Rowan Graham’s impending nuptials from spreading across the country. In some instances, the news reached those invited to attend the wedding before the invitation itself had arrived.
Word reached Lady Beatrice but four short days after the formal announcement had been made. Rowan had declared to the world that he would be marrying Lady Arline.
Beatrice would have heard it much sooner were it not for the blasted snow. She’d never been fond of winter to begin with. Now, having seen how it had delayed her spies, she hated it even more. Her hatred of winter dimmed in comparison to the all consuming hatred she felt toward Lady Arline.
She’d lost precious time to plot. And timing in these cases was everything. Had she received the news sooner she would have had more time to devise a better plan to stop Rowan from marrying Lady Arline.
Beatrice would simply have to make do. With Joan’s help and the aid of a few men whose fealty she had purchased, Beatrice put into place a plan that would, without a shadow of a doubt, keep Rowan from marrying Arline. Arline’s life would unfortunately be spared, there was no way around that, no matter how she wished she could watch the life drain from the insipid redhead’s body.
With the wedding just days away, Beatrice left the comfort of her home in Edinburgh, along with a small contingent of armed men and her maid, Joan. With any luck, they would arrive on Graham lands with plenty of time to spare.
Beatrice would accept nothing less than total success. With controlled rage, she rode west, tweaking and improving her plan along the way.
Nothing, but nothing would stand in her way.
Rowan would not be marrying Arline.
Twenty-Seven
As promised, Rowan enlisted Selina’s advice and help in preparing for his wedding to Arline. Selina was in charge of making a very grand and enchanting dress for his bride and acted as a liaison of sorts between Arline and Mrs. Fritz.
Rowan spent as much time as he could with Arline. Diligently, he made certain she did not leave her bed. He made certain she ate and rested and followed all of Ora’s instructions without question or complaint. At least he
attempted to get her to follow them without complaint. After days of being abed, Arline began to grow irritable and plead with him to at least allow her to stand.
He found pacifying her with kisses both enjoyable and easy. He began to wonder if she complained merely to receive his kisses. He decided it didn’t matter for he looked forward to those stolen moments, filled with promise of what would soon be their wedding night.
Arline was growing more bold in showing her affection. Rowan supposed Ora had helped in that regard, especially after he discussed Arline’s reticence and misguided notions as they pertained to a woman’s wifely duty. He would be forever in Ora’s debt.
Lily was beside herself with joy when Rowan and Arline sat her down to share the news with her. She squealed with delight and danced about the room. In singsong fashion, she joyfully exclaimed to anyone who would listen that she was going to have a new mamma. She was also looking forward to having a wee brother or sister and was disappointed to learn that one would not be delivered to her on the wedding day. Nine months can seem like an eternity to a four-year-old child.
It had snowed yet again, but thankfully, this time it was not as fierce as the first snowstorm of the season. Large, fluffy white flakes fell majestically to the ground. Per Arline’s request, and the offered bribe of a kiss, Rowan took Lily and the other children out to play. The little ones thoroughly enjoyed catching snowflakes on their tongues and throwing snowballs at Rowan.
Arline watched from the bedchamber window after Ora helped her to a chair. With blankets and furs draped around her, the fire blazing to ward off the cold, Arline smiled as she watched Rowan chasing the children, helping them to build a snowman, and feigning grievous injury when they pelted him with snowballs.
Arline could not remember ever feeling so much at peace. All was right in her world and it was only going to get better. She rose each morn, to find Rowan and Lily sleeping on the pallet next to the bed. An overwhelming sense of joy would come over her when she thought on the fact that all of her dreams were coming true.
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