by Adele Clee
A sudden wave of panic took hold. What if Nikolai had taken her out of the parish? “You did marry in Comrie?”
She nodded. “Yes. I remember the journey. It was dark. I recall feeling empty inside even though I knew I had to marry him.”
Lachlan cupped her cheek. “The only logical conclusion is that Nikolai compelled you, and everyone else involved. To have a record of the event would make it legally binding and, after all I have heard, I doubt he would want to leave a trail of evidence or be lumbered with a burden.”
A faint smile touched the corners of her mouth, and she thrust her hands to her hips. “So, Lachlan Carrick, you think me a burden.”
Lachlan raised a brow. “You know that is not what I meant.” He observed her golden tresses that were in desperate need of a brush. Her face looked pale, a little gaunt. There were odd smudges of dirt, on her cheek, her neck and dress. Still, she radiated beauty, and an inner passion he knew would warm him for the rest of his days. “I would give up everything I have to be with you. Not out of obligation, but out of love. I love you, Isla. I always have.”
She stared at him for a moment. The smile that suddenly brightened her face almost blinded him. “I love you so much my heart aches when I am without you.”
He held out his arms, and she settled against his chest. “Worry no more, my love. We’ll never be without each other again.”
Epilogue
Carrick Hall
“Thank you for staying until after the wedding.” Isla held Ivana’s hands and squeezed them gently to show her appreciation. She glanced at Lachlan, her husband of all but an hour. “None of this would have been possible had you not braved the long and arduous journey to bring me the cure.”
“I would not have missed it for the world.” Ivana retrieved one hand to pat the corner of her eye with a gloved finger. “I am just so grateful to my husband, for believing in me and trusting my judgement without reservation. Most men would have thought me insane to want to travel all this way based on nothing more than a dream.” She sighed. “But then Leo is not most men.”
After spending time with them, it was obvious Leo adored his wife. “He loves you,” Isla said. “He knows what a special lady you are. Indeed, I have often caught him looking at you with an expression of awe and wonder.”
Isla expected the comment to raise an affectionate smile or giggle, but a solemn expression darkened her friend’s countenance.
“I lost him once.” Ivana’s melancholic tone revealed a depth of pain Isla knew only too well. “Like you, I lived without the man I loved for three years until the Lord saw fit to bring him back to me.” She shook her head as though dismissing all sorrowful thoughts, and said a little more joyfully, “Speaking of husbands, Lachlan looks rather dashing in his Highland attire.”
Isla stole another glance at the man she’d spent her whole life loving. Beneath his tartan, she imagined the air breezing freely over his muscular thighs. She swallowed. If only they could leave their guests and sneak away without anyone noticing. The idea of joining with her husband was the only prominent thought in her mind.
“He does look rather splendid,” she said brushing the skirt of her lilac silk gown as means of distraction. “I know I should not say such things, but it is a struggle not to ravish him where he stands.”
Ivana laughed. “I understand that feeling, too. We are alike in so many ways.”
“I know I am a far more sentimental today,” Isla said. Indeed, an overwhelming feeling of love and happiness filled her chest. “But I feel as though you are the sister I never had.”
Ivana drew her into an embrace. “I feel the same way.” They stepped apart. “I am most reluctant to leave tomorrow, and shall miss you terribly.”
Isla forced a smile as she did not want to feel sad, not on her wedding day. “I’m confident we shall see each other again.” A loud chuckle captured her attention, and she turned to witness Douglas using his fingers to measure the girth of Leo’s arm muscles. “I know Douglas will miss his drinking partner. He has enjoyed your husband’s company.”
“I do think Leo is a bad influence. Malmuirie has worked tirelessly to cater to our needs, and he insisted Douglas should convey his gratitude, with some rather comical results. Most flowers irritate her nose and cause an uncontrollable bout of sneezing. Indeed, the piercing sound forced us all to put our fingers in our ears.”
“Well, be grateful Leo didn’t persuade him to serenade her,” Isla said. “Douglas’ singing sounds like a wildcat walking over hot coals.”
They both chuckled.
Isla glanced around the drawing room. Everyone appeared so happy and carefree. It was impossible to believe how much her life had changed in just a few short weeks. As she scanned the throng of merry faces, she realised Lachlan was watching her. Without him saying a word, she knew his thoughts mirrored her own. While the day brought joy and happiness, the night would undoubtedly bring passion and pleasure.
The afternoon’s festivities ended with a lively promenade through the village.
“Have yer heard this one?” Douglas insisted on singing a bawdy ballad whilst playing his fiddle. Despite the screeched notes, which he said was a consequence of downing more than a dram of whisky, they all accompanied him in the chorus. Swept along with the excitement of the celebrations, Isla invited the spectators to join the line as they made their way to Castle Craig. Her motives were purely selfish. Indeed, the large party kept their guests entertained and gave her and Lachlan an opportunity to sneak away.
“Have I told you how beautiful you looked carrying your posy of heather?”
Isla gripped his hand as they walked across the meadow behind the castle. “Yes, about twenty times or more.” She glanced up at his profile. “You still haven’t told me what we’re doing out here.”
“It’s a surprise. We have a job to do before we can consider partaking in one of a more intimate nature.”
She came to an abrupt halt, forcing him to stop. “Please tell me you did not mean to make our joining sound like a chore.”
He looked down at her; the sinful glint in his eyes caused an intense heat to flood her body and pool between her thighs. “Nothing about being with you is a chore.” He bent his head and claimed her mouth in a kiss that robbed her of breath. “Love, I ache to be inside you. You’re the most fascinating, wildly bewitching woman I have ever known, and I will spend my life striving to make you happy.”
Isla swallowed deeply. She imagined glimpsing his muscular thighs as the wind blew his kilt. The urge to straddle him in the meadow took hold. “Then let us hurry,” she said rushing in front and tugging his hand. “I cannot wait to lie with you now you’re my husband.”
The smile that touched his lips made her want to kiss him until they were drunk and dizzy with desire. “Then I suggest we run.” With a firm hold of her hand, they hastened to the cairn.
“What are we doing here?” Isla struggled to hide her surprise. She’d imagined he would take her to the hunting cabin, to the place where they had consummated their love.
“I called here yesterday. There is something we need to do.”
The boulder covering the entrance had been moved to provide easy access to the tunnel. Lachlan removed the lantern and the tinderbox from just inside the narrow walkway. He set about lighting the candle, and then they made their way down into the chamber.
They walked over to the stone coffin where Talliano had stored the lady’s remains. Isla noticed a couple of items on the floor: a leather book, a rectangular shaped piece of wood.
“Leo gave me Talliano’s notebook,” Lachlan said, following her gaze. “There are pages of writing we cannot translate. It’s foolish of me to presume her spirit could be comforted by it, I know. But everything that has happened in the last few weeks has taught me never to discount the impossible. If Talliano wrote about her, it is only right it remains here.”
Isla stared at him. She loved him so deeply it hurt.
“No. It is no
t foolish at all.” She stepped closer and hugged him tight. “When we were down here with Boyd, and we saw the spirit, I knew that Talliano was her father. It seems so sad that their lives ended as they did.”
“I know you have struggled to put it from your mind and so thought the gesture would bring you comfort, too.”
She glanced up at him, silently thanked fate for bringing him home to her. “I love you.”
He kissed her softly on the lips. “I love you.”
“And what about the piece of wood?” she asked, curiosity burning in her chest. “I don’t recall seeing it here before.”
“No, I made the plaque. It’s for you. Again, I thought you might like to place it in the coffin.”
How interesting. He was surprisingly resourceful. “What does it say?”
He picked up the plaque and handed it to her. “You see it has the same tribal mark shown on her bracelet.”
Isla studied the carved symbol before reading the inscription. Her throat felt tight as she tried to hold the rush of emotion at bay.
“Let me read it to you.” He waited for her response and when she nodded he said, “Love knows no boundaries. Love is not governed or restricted by time. Love is everlasting.”
“Oh, Lachlan, it is beautiful.”
He shrugged, and she noted a slight look of embarrassment. “Standing here looking at you, I still cannot believe you’re my wife. There are so many people to thank. Something drove Talliano to invent a cure. Perhaps it was love, perhaps a promise made long ago. Leo and Ivana came all this way to save you. I shall be eternally grateful to all of them.”
She touched his cheek, the tender sign of affection just a small expression of all she felt. “During the years spent alone in the castle, I never imagined I would know true happiness. But here, in this moment, I feel it thrumming through my veins.”
He smiled. “Come. Let us share our love with the lady buried here.”
Moving the stone lid once more, they made a gap wide enough for her to place the items inside the coffin. She executed her task with care, whispered a final prayer of thanks as they resealed the tomb.
He came behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist. “Now our task is complete I have a sudden urge to hurry back to the castle.”
Desire flared.
Isla took his hand and led him outside. A few white clouds drifted idly across the blue sky: an indication there was little chance of rain. Indeed, it was an ideal climate for frolicking in the grass.
As she watched Lachlan push the boulder back into place to conceal the entrance, she felt calm and at peace. “I feel as though I can put the past behind me and look forward to the future,” she said as they began their walk back across the meadow.
“The future is something we need to discuss. Castle Craig is your home. One day, I will inherit Carrick Hall. We must decide where we are to live.”
The thought hadn’t even occurred to her. She didn’t want to think about it now. She wanted to enjoy being alone with her husband.
“Then we shall have to make sure we have two sons. My father would be happy to know his grandson inherited the castle.”
Lachlan smiled. “And what if we have two daughters?”
She gave an unladylike snort. “Then I am sure they will be robust enough to manage the estates.”
“Aye,” he said with a grin as he stopped to face her. “If they’re anything like their mother they’ll have everyone rushing around to do their bidding.”
She glanced beyond his shoulder to the stream that fed into the River Earn. “Do you remember the time when we lay on the banks of the burn, and you promised to love and protect me forever?”
He narrowed his gaze. “I have never forgotten it. Indeed, I have replayed the moment over and over in my head many times.”
Oh, how she longed to lie on the grass and take him into her desperate body. “Then perhaps it’s only fitting that we indulge our desires in the place where we both lost our hearts.”
“Love, I have imagined you saying those words many times, too.” Without warning, he swept her up in his arms. “Perhaps I should follow Ivana’s lead and strive to make my dreams become a reality.”
He carried her to the grassy edge, lowered her down and covered her body. With all the strength she could muster, she forced him onto his back. Amidst her shrieks of laughter, she straddled him, knowing that nothing but a few inches of tartan material disguised the evidence of his arousal.
She bent her head and kissed him passionately. “I can’t ever lose you again,” she panted as she pulled away.
“You never lost me. We were just apart for a time.” His hands drifted up under her dress to caress her bare thighs. “But I promise you we will never be apart again.”
Thank you!
Thank you for reading Lured to the Night.
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Adele x
