Whenever he was near, she felt safe and protected. She felt a sense of peace and calmness come over her, but oddly enough, she also felt excited, and breathless. Her feelings were a jumbled mess of nonsensical emotions that she could not understand.
Nora’s aching heart told her that the mystery man could not be Wee William. He was the bravest, strongest, and most kind man that she had ever known. She was quite confident that had he held any feelings for her he would have voiced them long ago. How could a man as brave and kind as he, put her through such an ordeal as this?
Nay, she told herself. Wee William will not be shaving his beard for me.
Wee William had ambled around his home for some time after Aishlinn left. Sadness enveloped him as he paced around his home. Aye, he would regret not telling Nora how he felt. But the bigger regret would be in telling her and being laughed at. He tried to convince himself that he would rather have the regret of not telling her than the shame of being made a fool again.
Angus was going to pick a husband for Nora this day.
A husband.
A man.
A man who would swear to protect and care for her.
A man who would be blessed with building a life with her.
A man who would be granted the right and the pleasure of waking up to that sweet face of hers each morn.
A man who would be granted the right and the pleasure of kissing her full lips, of running his fingers through those long, dark tresses of hers, of kissing every square inch of that gloriously curvaceous body of hers.
When he thought of any other man enjoying Nora in such a fashion, fury ignited in his gut.
He’d kill the bastard.
Angus began to grow worried. He had too much money riding on this afternoon. Granted, the amount he’d wagered would not break the coffers, but it was the principal of matter. And he hated being wrong.
He cast an anxious look at Duncan who simply shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.
Where in the hell was the fool?
Angus looked at the room full of men and women. His people stood shoulder to shoulder before him and many had taken positions in the walkways on the second and third floors in hopes of witnessing what may be one of the most momentous occasions to take place in this great hall. The longer they waited, the more he, too, began to look forward to hunting the fool down, binding him head to toe in rope, and dragging him to the kirk.
Nora’s beautiful face seemed to grow more sorrowful as the long moments passed by. Aishlinn had moved her chair to sit beside her and was now holding her hand.
Angus leaned in to speak with his wife. “Where is the fool?” he asked her impatiently.
Isobel offered him a warm, comforting smile as she patted his hand. “He’ll be here,” she told him.
Angus sighed heavily. “Always the romantic, ye are,” he said.
Her smile brightened. “Do ye no’ remember how long it took ye to admit yer feelings for me?”
He cleared his throat and sat upright. “’Twasn’t that long, wife.”
Isobel giggled at her husband’s embarrassed expression. “’Twas far too long for my liking. Ye Highlanders can be a stubborn lot,” she said as she turned back to look at the crowd. “But glad I was when ye finally came around.”
With the end of his patience reached, he decided to proceed. Mayhap if the lass would turn away all those that he might choose for her, word would reach the obstinate fool and he’d realize what the rest of them knew without question: Nora’s heart belonged to Wee William.
Angus cleared his throat again and stood, gaining the attention of most in the room. “We will begin with the proceedings!” His deep voice carried through the room and everyone settled into quiet anticipation.
He cast another wary look at Duncan and received the same response he’d received for more than an hour.
“Black Richard, son of Galen of Lochbraene,” Angus called out. “Step forward.”
Black Richard smiled and stepped forward to stand in front of Angus. Bending to one knee and bowing his head, he said, “M’laird.”
“Black Richard,” Angus began. “I present to you, Nora Crawford.”
Black Richard stood, nodded his head and stepped toward Nora and smiled. “Lass, how be ye this fine spring day?” He held out his hand.
Nora glanced at Aishlinn, unsure of what she was supposed to do at this point. Aishlinn giggled and whispered in her ear. “Just offer yer hand to him, lass. Then tell Angus if ye accept him.”
Nora swallowed hard, and slowly extended her trembling hand to Black Richard. She knew him to be a kind and honorable man. He would make any woman a fine husband. However, when Black Richard took her hand, she did not feel the same rush of excitement that came with Wee William’s touch.
I cannot do this! She thought to herself. Her heart screamed for her to grab John and Elise, race from the room, and head back to England. She did not want to accept this man, yet she did not want to hurt his feelings either. Suddenly, she felt decidedly stupid for even thinking it was a good idea for Angus to find her a husband!
Black Richard smiled, gave her a devilish wink, and whispered, “Nay, lass, I be no’ the one ye seek.”
Nora wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or mortified. Had he read her mind? He looked neither wounded nor happy, yet there was a twinkle in his eye, as if he held some secret.
Black Richard nodded his head and stepped away.
“Daniel, son of Floyd, step forward,” Angus called the next victim to the front of the room.
Daniel appeared, knelt as Black Richard had, before being introduced to Nora. She thought the introductions unnecessary and bordered on the ridiculous. She known these men for weeks, thought of them as friends.
Daniel took her hand and repeated the exact words that Black Richard had said. “Nay lass, I be no’ the one ye seek.”
Nora stared at him, as confused as she’d ever been in her life.
“Rowan Graham,” Angus called out. “Son of Andrew, step forward.”
Nora’s stomach tightened at the sound of Rowan’s name being called. She prayed he wasn’t the one. He was beyond handsome and she didn’t think she could be married to a man quite as beautiful as him. He made her extremely nervous, especially when he smiled at her.
His teeth were perfect, his hair perfect, not a scar anywhere to be seen on his face. His lips were perfectly full, and she was certain he had long ago perfected the art of kissing and seduction. She doubted she would survive a full hour being his wife, for she’d swoon herself to death. Kind? Yes, he was. Honorable? There was no doubt. Yet, there was something unnerving about him. Mayhap it was his perfection.
He was holding her hand, and she felt the sudden need to find the necessary and relieve her bladder. Please, good Lord, do not let it be him!
Those deep brown eyes of his captivated her and when he winked, she felt her stomach tighten further. Nay, I’d not survive the wedding!
Lost as she was in her silent prayers and those dark brown eyes of Rowan Graham, she had not heard the murmur that had broken out amongst the throng of people crowded in the room. She was too busy trying to keep her terrified and uneasy stomach from upheaving itself all over the Greek God before her.
She thought she heard someone say Rowan’s name, but for the life of her she could not pull her eyes away from his.
“Do ye fancy that hand of yers?”
Rowan cast a devilish smile at Nora, gave her a quick wink, and turned his head to face the voice. “Aye, I do.”
“Then kindly remove it from her person.”
Nora blinked, finally able to tear her eyes away from Rowan.
Nora bolted to her feet, knocking her chair over in the process. Angus stood, just as surprised, for he had given up all hope. Rowan let loose Nora’s hand, stood slowly and turned to look at Wee William.
“Ye shaved yer beard!” Apparently, Angus and Rowan were just as stunned as Nora, for the two of them spoke in unison. That was h
er same thought. However, her words were temporarily lodged in her throat like a bundle of walnuts.
Her first thought was how her heart stung with a trace of regret, for now she’d never learn if his beard would tickle if he ever took the chance to kiss her.
Her second thoughts bordered on the sinful. How could a man look so completely menacing and magnificent at the same time? Nora had never contemplated what he might look like without all that red-brown hair covering his face and chest. She had looked upon his beard as a permanent part of him, much like his legs and arms. What a glorious surprise had lain hidden all this time!
She took a hard, long look at him, starting at the top of his head. He had cut his hair to just past his shoulders and it was still damp from washing it. He wore two braids on the left side of his face, tied at the end with little bits of leather.
His face was startlingly handsome and it did in fact take her breath away. Long, rich, soft looking eyelashes surrounded his warm, bright hazel eyes. His nose, broken probably more times than he could remember, seemed far less bulbous without the bushy mustache and beard. He had very nice cheekbones and she could see the few places he had nicked himself while shaving his beard. Gloriously full lips that at the moment were pursed together in the most serious of expressions.
He was not nearly as heavy looking as she had thought him to be. A white linen tunic was stretched across his fine, massive chest, the arms of which looked as though they had been painted on to his skin! Bulging muscles. Massive muscles.
The tunic showed his narrow hips, and was tucked into a kilt made of MacDougal plaid that hit in the middle of his knees. Rich looking leather boots were stretched around calves that had to have been chiseled from stone.
God-almighty! Had Aishlinn not been standing next to her, holding her up, she would have immediately swooned.
Aye, Rowan Graham was a beautiful man. But Wee William was spectacular.
“I’d like a word with Nora. Alone” Wee William said in a tone that bordered on murderous. Nora thought it went perfectly with the rage-filled stare he was giving Rowan.
“Ye would, would ye?” Rowan asked, crossing his arms over his chest, feet planted apart. “And what if the lass does not wish to speak with ye?”
Wee William pinned Rowan in place with a glare that might have made any other man run screaming like a wee lass. Rowan simply smiled in return.
Somehow Nora had managed to dislodge the walnuts in her throat. “I’ll speak with him!” she blurted out.
Wee William growled, grabbed her hand, and stomped away from the dais, out of the gathering room and into a small room the women sometimes used for sewing. He pulled Nora inside and slammed the door behind them.
“Did Rowan Graham ask fer yer hand?” He was pacing back and forth as much as the small room would allow.
“Nay,” Nora squeaked. She did not bother to tell Wee William that she would have turned Rowan down had he made such an offer.
Wee William stopped in the center of the room and looked at her. She had her back pressed firmly against the wall and her face held a frightened expression. It brought back the memory of the night back in England, when she had been doing everything she could to keep from joining him in the cellar. A flood of something warm, comforting, and peaceful instantly replaced the rage he had been feeling only a moment before.
They stood looking at one another for a few moments before he finally spoke again.
“I had a speech all planned out in me head. Practiced it for the past hour. And now that I’m here, I find I canna remember a word of it.”
Nora raised her eyebrow. “A speech? For me?” She felt a tickle of something in the pit of her stomach.
“Aye,” he said, nodding his head and resting his hands on his hips. “I’ve lots I be wantin’ to say to ye.”
Nora cleared her throat and tried to appear more in charge of her feelings than she actually was. “Such as?”
He took a deep breath in through his nostrils and let it out very slowly. He was trying to remember the words he wanted to say to her, but he was lost again, in those pale blue eyes of hers.
“William, is there something you wish to say to me?” She hadn’t moved, was unable to relax her shoulders, unable to take a step toward him. What she really wanted to ask him was if he had shaved his beard for her, or was there, by some cruel injustice, another woman.
“Aye, lass. There is much I want to say.”
“Has it something to do with whom you have shaved your beard for?”
He chuckled slightly and ran his hand across his bare face. “Aye, it does.”
Nora felt weak in the knees. Her hands trembled. She decided then to throw all caution aside. “Who is it that has led you to do such a thing?” If he says a name other than mine, I shall die on this very spot. But not before I scratch her eyes out! She had no idea where such a thought came from! She had never in her life raised her hand to another human being.
For a brief moment, he thought of toying with her, letting her think it was another woman who had captivated his heart and soul. But she had suffered enough the past fortnight, what with his stubbornness and pigheaded ways. Besides, he was not certain yet how she would respond to the question he was finding more and more difficult to ask.
“Nora,” he began. His voice was soft and low, nearly a whisper. “I’ve no’ much to offer a woman. I’ve no skills or trade with which to buy a woman all those things that they often want, such as silk dresses, and fancy headdresses, and sparkly baubles. I am a warrior. I be gone away more often than I be home. I am by no stretch of the imagination a saint of a man. I am often stubborn and slow to change,” he took a step toward her and stopped when he saw that she was trembling.
She was a very bright girl and by now, he assumed, she had figured out it was she for whom he shaved his beard. Mayhap she trembled with dread at the thought of him asking for her hand.
He was about to quit the room when he heard Aishlinn’s voice in the back of his mind. Regrets. Earlier, he had convinced himself that he would die if Nora turned him away. Now, as he stood here in the tiny room, just inches away from her, he knew deep in his heart, that he would die if he didn’t at the very least, tell her how he felt about her.
He took a steadying breath and went on. “Nora, I’ve no’ much to offer a woman.”
“You said that,” she murmured quietly.
He resisted the urge to growl. “Nora, from the first moment I laid me eyes on ye, I’ve been a lost man. Ye are in my every wakin’ thought and ye invade my dreams. Ye are by far, the most beautiful woman I’ve ever kent, and no’ just on the outside! Ye’ve a grace, a beauty that comes from within. Ye make me want to be a better man, but I’m having a hard time doin’ that because ye have me innards all jumbled up and knotted and I dunnae whether I’m comin’ or goin’. I have never felt this way about a woman, ever in me life.” He took another breath and fought back the urge to wrap his arms around her and kiss her soundly. “I could no’ live another day in this life without tellin’ ye that.”
Her legs were going to give out she just knew it. He had just spoken the words she had not, until that moment, realized she wanted to hear and now, she could not move, could not speak. She felt like a complete and utter idiot. No man had ever said such sweet, beautiful things to her before and she had no clear idea how she should respond. So she stood there, with her back against the door, clinging to the handle for dear life.
He took a step toward her and reached out his hand as if he wanted to quit the room.
Panic welled up inside her and she refused to let him pass. “That’s it?”
He blinked as if to say ‘what more do ye want’. “Aye,” he swallowed hard, and he was now very unsure what he should do next.
Nora’s eyes widened and he caught a flicker of anger in them. “You drag me in here, say the most beautiful words that no man has ever uttered to me before, and you want to leave?”
He looked positively dumbfounded and lost.
“William, you cannot say such a things to a woman and then just walk away!”
He crooked an eyebrow upward. “What would ye have me do now?”
Nora rolled her eyes, ready to give him a good chastisement. “What would I have ye do?” she stuttered and fought to find the appropriate words.
Aishlinn was right. Men were stupid beasts. Aye, they were wonderful, kind, sweet, funny, but stupid nonetheless. They could come up with the most amazing plans for buildings, weapons, battle, and inventions. But when it came to the ways of the heart and women? They were as intelligent as a battering ram and just as graceful.
For the first time in her life, Nora growled. It started deep in her belly, bubbled up and escaped her lips and she made no attempt to stop it. She would have to take the lead at this moment, or he’d walk out that door and she’d never see him again. She took a small step away from the door, letting go of the handle. She straightened her shoulders and looked him in the eye. Of course, she had to lean her head back a ways to do so and could only hope the effect was the same.
“William, if you do not kiss me this very instant, I will go back out into that gathering room and ask Rowan Graham for his hand in marriage!” Of course she didn’t think she actually had the courage to do such a thing, but Wee William did not need to have that bit of information at the moment.
His eyes widened and he scowled down at her. “Ye would no’ dare!”
“I do not make idle threats, sir!” She made idle threats with her brother and sister all the time. Such as when she threatened to rip their legs off and beat them about the head when they misbehaved. That was another piece of information William did not need to be privy to at the moment. As angry as she was she felt she could have done that to him and would enjoy it.
They glowered and growled at one another. William’s reserve was the first to falter. She looked breathtakingly beautiful with that murderous gleam in her eye and he could no longer resist his urges.
Wee William's Woman, Book Three of the Clan MacDougall Series Page 22
