“Why did ye kiss my sister?” Cameron asked as if he couldn’t imagine that anyone would wish to do so.
How was Gideon to even answer such a question? He certainly didn’t want to voice that Miss Arabella was quite lovely and intriguing. That would only earn him more censure and possibly an appointment with the vicar, as well as another blackened eye.
“It doesna matter,” MacGregor dismissed. “Why does any man kiss a lass?”
“Aye, I ken why and am wonderin’ what else he intended if Donovan hadna found them,” Cameron argued.
“Nothing!” Gideon finally defended himself. “I was struck in the moment with the desire to kiss Miss Arabella. That is all.”
“And I was struck in the moment to receive it,” Miss Arabella chimed in. “Now, can we return to the weddin’ festivities?”
“Aye, well ye’re innocent,” Donovan argued then narrowed his eyes on Gideon.
Gideon stiffened. “Do not call my character into question.” True, he was far from innocent, but just because he’d had his share of lovers did not mean he went about tossing up the skirts of every female he found himself alone with.
“This is not serious enough for marriage,” Mr. MacGregor finally announced and Gideon inwardly sighed. It wouldn’t do to let the others know the amount of relief that simple statement brought.
“However, it canna be dismissed either.”
“Then what do we do?” Cameron asked.
Gideon stepped forward. “I’ll take my leave. I apologize for any transgressions and disrespect I have shown.” Perhaps by being convincingly contrite they’d let him quit this place.
At the scratch at the door, MacGregor called for the person to enter and another man stepped inside. Gideon had seen him outside, but they had not met.
“Rose asked me to tell ye that they’re ready.”
“Tell her to wait,” MacGregor barked.
“What is goin’ on?” the man asked after taking in the room.
“Lord Gideon kissed Arabella,” Donovan answered flatly.
The corner of the man’s mouth lifted. “And ye planted him a facer?”
If Gideon didn’t know better, he’d think the man was about to laugh.
“Lord Gideon, this is my other brother, Niel.”
Another brother, just what he needed. “How many do you have?” he asked cautiously. Would he need to watch his back before he was free of this place?
“Just these three, and if Niel woulda found us, we’d already be attendin’ a wedding and not be standin’ here.” She glared at Donovan. “Niel woulda scolded me and sent us back to the festivities and not said a word.”
Ah, so there was a rational family member after all.
“Not necessarily, Arabella,” Niel corrected.
Was there anyone in this household with a lick of sense?
“What happened?” Niel studied Gideon but it was Donovan who told everything that he’d witnessed.
Then Niel looked at MacGregor. “I doona understand the concern. If nobody kens and we doona talk, all should be well. A kiss isna exactly ruinous.”
Gideon amended his opinion. Niel most definitely was the most sensible male MacGregor in this room.
“That’s what I’ve been tellin’ them,” Miss Arabella announced with frustration as she threw up her hands and plopped down into a chair.
Gideon decided that she must often feel this way with her family, minus Niel, of course.
“There’s much to consider,” Mr. MacGregor said thoughtfully. “I’ve had a mind to marry Arabella off. She is ten and nine now.”
Gideon’s stomach tightened again, as did his throat, much like a noose being tightened around his neck as panic rose from within.
“Because of a kiss?” Niel laughed.
This was no laughing matter, but Gideon would let Niel talk his uncle out of this lunacy.
Mr. MacGregor focused on Gideon again. “Did my niece take ye to see the falcons or did ye find her there?”
Gideon wasn’t certain which would be more damming in MacGregor’s eyes, but answered honestly. “I found her there.”
“We’re ye lookin’ for her, or just snoopin’ about?”
Snooping about?
MacGregor leaned forward on his desk and fixed Gideon with a cold stare that would terrorize a weaker man. “Brachton told me that ye used to be a Revenue Officer along the coast of Cornwall.”
Miss Arabella sucked in a breath while the men stared him down.
What did his past profession have to do with anything, and why were they so alarmed? He’d barely mentioned his former career in passing during the one time his family had dined with the other Trents. So why did Brachton feel the need to tell MacGregor anything?
“Are ye now here to be a part of the gaugers? Are ye an excisemen?” MacGregor asked pointedly.
“Of course not,” Gideon denied. “Why would you even ask such a question?”
“The whisky trade. Many men have tried to prove that my family smuggles whisky and the man who does will be given a reward and promotion.”
Ah, so that explained why Brachton may have mentioned him. Except, the whisky was on their land and not being smuggled across the border, unless…Bloody hell!
It hadn’t occurred to Gideon that this family was involved in whisky smuggling until now, but in retrospect, it shouldn’t surprise him either since they’d already been involved in a kidnapping.
“Because we arena,” Miss Arabella insisted, coming to her feet. “We distill only what is allowed under the law, for our family and to share with friends.”
She was too defensive.
Kidnappers and smugglers. What other criminal activities were the MacGregors involved in?
Gideon pushed his fingers through his hair. Did he even want to know? “I no longer work as a Revenue Man and have no desire to investigate smuggling of any nature. I assure you.”
“Then ye did follow Arabella into the mews instead of snoopin’ for whisky,” Cameron declared. “Did ye hope to catch her alone?”
“I wanted to seek her out and ask if she wished to dance.” Gideon found himself yelling now that his patience was quite gone.
“Ye did?” Miss Arabella’s face brightened with her surprised smile.
“Ye did?” Donovan asked in disbelief and frowned.
Every man in the room stared at him with befuddlement. Gideon would wonder if they were unfamiliar with the practice if people weren’t dancing on their terrace at that very moment.
“Ye’d be the first today,” Cameron informed him.
“Which is why I’m reluctant to let this indiscretion pass as ye seem to have a likin’ for her,” MacGregor announced.
A dance and some liking, of course, but Gideon feared MacGregor was considering options beyond the end of a country dance.
By now, Miss Arabella’s face was as red as her tresses and his heart ached for her. Is this how she was treated? Talked about? Worse, had she never been courted? Had no man ever shown an interest?
Gideon found the very idea unfathomable. Were the men of Bonnybridge blind, or did Miss Arabella possess flaws that Gideon could not see?
Or perhaps the others had no wish to be associated with this particular family and as a result, men avoided Miss Arabella, which was more believable than any other reason he could formulate. Had he known how the MacGregors would react to a simple kiss, he’d have avoided her as well.
Chapter 5
Arabella had not suffered such humiliation since…Well, she’d never suffered it before and did not like it one bit.
Oh, she’d like to box the ears of Uncle Aiden, Cameron and Donovan for being so thick skulled and shocked that someone would actually wish to dance with her.
What must Lord Gideon think of her family after this display?
What must he think of her?
To think, not long ago she was enjoying a pleasant…wonderful kiss, her first kiss ever, and now her family was treating Lord Gideon like he’d invaded
and pillaged their land.
It was an exaggeration, of course, but he was being treated very poorly for something so minor. Further, her family didn’t need to announce that no other man would have her. Now Lord Gideon would be sorry he ever kissed her.
He was probably already sorry after this display of her brothers and uncle.
If she were Lord Gideon, she’d stalk from this house, get in a carriage, leave and never look back.
Arabella had a mind to do that herself, except she didn’t have anywhere else to go.
One thing was for certain, this needed to be brought to an end before they truly made a rash decision, or her family embarrassed her further.
“As Lord Gideon only wished for a dance, I suggest we do just that, then he can be on his way.”
“So his punishment should be dancin’ with ye?” Cameron demanded incredulously.
“Aye, it’s only fair. As ye pointed out that no one else cares to have the honor, he’ll suffer that embarrassment and never have to think of us again.”
“Miss Arabella, I must disagree…”
“Please.” She held up a hand to stop Lord Gideon from saying anything more painful than she’d heard from her family. “If ye could grant me this, then I’m certain all will be well, and in time, ye’ll be able to put this behind ye.” She narrowed her eyes on Donovan, silently vowing that she’d make him pay, somehow, for causing this humiliation, then focused on Lord Gideon once again. “I apologize for any discomfort ye might suffer, but it’s the only answer I can find to end this ridiculous situation.” She wasn’t one for crying, but tears were threatening anyway and she blinked several times to keep them from falling.
It wasn’t easy to be reminded that nobody wished to have her.
“It would be no embarrassment to dance with you.” His tone was soft, warm and soothing. “In fact, it would be my honor and if the bachelors of Bonnybridge cannot see that for themselves, then they are bigger fools than the ones in this room.”
A piece of her heart melted with Lord Gideon’s words, but she chose not to succumb as he was being polite and a gentleman. “Thank ye.”
“We arena fools,” Cameron insisted.
“Yer behavin’ as such,” Arabella snapped. “Let’s be done with this and return to our guests.”
“Nay. No’ yet,” Uncle Aiden said thoughtfully as he studied Lord Gideon.
This was not good. She knew her uncle well enough to know that he was conjuring an idea that wouldn’t bode well for her future or Lord Gideon’s.
“I agree that being caught alone and kissin’ isna a marryin’ offense.”
Thank goodness, Arabella blew out a breath.
“But as he’s the only one to show any interest in yer sister, Donovan, perhaps we can come up with another solution.”
“Like the one ye designed for Davina?” Cameron asked.
“Aye.” Uncle Aiden nodded as if he liked where his thoughts were leading him, and Arabella had to put an end to whatever plan he was considering right now.
“I willna court Lord Gideon,” she announced.
“Of course not, lass,” Uncle Aiden assured her. “It’s a different situation. Those two belong together and we doona ken if the two of ye do.”
“Ye canna force him to court me either.”
“Aye, I’m well aware, but we could asked Lord Gideon to remain a guest of our family for say, a fortnigh’.”
“Fortnigh’?” Arabella screeched. If she were Lord Gideon, she wouldn’t want to remain another hour.
“The two of ye can come to ken one another. If he were to leave, we migh’ no’ ever ken if they are a match.”
Her heart pounded as the room swayed. Her family couldn’t force Lord Gideon to remain could they? If Lord Gideon wished to stay, or even asked to remain, it would be different, but Arabella knew for certain that he intended his visit to be short as he’d come here for one purpose and that had nothing to do with her. “I’m certain Lord Gideon has more pressin’ matters to attend to than visitin’ with us.”
“He kissed ye, lass,” Donovan reminded her, as if she’d forgotten. She’d likely never forget.
“This is ridiculous. Ye are bein’ ridiculous.” Arabella strode to Lord Gideon. “We shall dance then ye shall be free.”
“Ye should let Lord Gideon decide, Arabella.” Uncle Aiden stared at Lord Gideon, his eyes hard, his jaw determined. “Will ye be our guest for a fornigh’?” Even the hard of hearing would have taken note of the warning in her uncle’s tone.
Lord Gideon glanced down at Arabella, warmth and humor in his blue eyes as the corner of his mouth tipped up. Was he seriously considering it?
“It would be my pleasure to dance with Miss Arabella, and I’d be honored to be your guest.”
“Ye doona have to do this,” she whispered to him. “They canna force ye.”
His eyes warmed further as he looked down at her. “I can assure you, they are not forcing me into anything.”
Arabella’s pulse spiked and she nearly lost her breath staring into his eyes. Lord Gideon really wished to stay?
Nay, she saw the kindness in him. He was a gentleman and witnessed her humiliation. He was remaining for her and his words were only to take the sting from what her family had said. Still, it warmed her to her bones and if she wasn’t careful, she might truly come to care for this Englishman, which would never do.
Uncle Aiden stood. “Then, it’s agreed. Lord Gideon will remain as our guest for a fortnigh’.”
At his words, Arabella’s stomach tightened. It would be thrilling to have Lord Gideon as a guest, but a part of her sensed danger, almost akin to what she suspected a pigeon or rabbit felt when they were within sight of one of her falcons.
“Now, let’s go witness a weddin’ and continue enjoyin’ the festivities of the day.” Her uncle grinned.
“Which includes Lord Gideon dancin’ with Arabella,” Donovan warned.
“Yer makin’ him remain, ye need not force him to dance as well,” Arabella argued.
Lord Gideon offered his arm. “As I said, it will be my pleasure, but as I will be here longer than anticipated, I must insist upon a waltz.”
Heat infused her body from the tip of her fingers where they rested on his sleeve. The warmth travelled up her arm, spread through her body and all the way to her toes. Aye, she was in far more danger than she originally realized.
The MacGregors were a strange lot, perhaps mad even, but it was Miss Arabella who held his interest and the sole reason he chose to remain. After all, the MacGregors knew they were not in a position to require Gideon to do anything. He could have declined the offer and left Anagburn. It was only a kiss and certainly not ruinous, but as MacGregor had asked, though the warning was certainly in his tone, Gideon had agreed to the fortnight. However, if MacGregor attempted to manipulate a more permanent attachment between Gideon and Miss Arabella, one Gideon did not wish, he also had something to use against MacGregor because he was certain that MacGregor did not wish for the good people of Bonnybridge to know that he’d met his bride when he kidnapped her.
Once they were outside among the guests, Gideon took a place further away from the crowd to contemplate his situation as the couple married.
In truth, Gideon wanted to spend more time with Miss Arabella, a most intriguing miss, from whisky sipping, to falconry, to standing up to not only an overbearing uncle but three older brothers. And, truly, a fortnight wasn’t so long, and he was eager to find out how much more there was to learn about this captivating miss.
As soon as the bride and groom kissed, sealing their vows, the guests crowded around them, then the men ushered Ian Grant off toward the distillery and the bride pulled Arabella away from the others and into the manor. They were followed by three other misses. If he’d learned anything about females in his life, Gideon was certain Miss Arabella and the others were probably asking the bride for the details that led to the suddenness of her wedding.
“I’m sorry you traveled so
far when it wasn’t necessary.”
Gideon turned to find Matthew Trent walking up to him with his lovely wife, Grace, on his arm.
“I am not.” A smile pulled at his lips as he glanced back at the manor for a moment. “It was an excuse to leave London.”
“Yes, I understand that you don’t travel to Town often.” Matthew frowned and seemed to study Gideon’s blackened eye.
“It had been a few years and my sister used the excuse to drag us there for the Season.” It had irritated him to no end when Sophia declared that they should enjoy the season because they had cause to be in London and truthfully, Gideon only went along because it was nice to have his sister back in England.
“Will they be returning to Italy soon?” Grace asked.
Gideon shook his head. “Until we learn what Napoleon plans, they don’t want to risk sailing back, and they certainly don’t want to travel by carriage across the continent, especially with their children.”
Thoughts of Napoleon and the army he was gathering doused some of Gideon’s anticipation of coming to know Miss Arabella.
“I’ve heard that he’s mounting an army in France.” Matthew’s tone turned serious.
Gideon had heard much the same and waited to learn the dictator’s intentions ever since he escaped Elba in February. “Hopefully the armies can bring an end to him once and for all. Nobody wants to endure years of war, as it was before.”
“This is a wedding, a celebration,” Grace reminded them. “No more talk of war.”
As much as he’d like to forget, Gideon doubted it was far from anyone’s mind. Families who had breathed a sigh of relief when their soldiers survived years of battles unscathed, now worried again.
“Will you be returning to London soon?” Matthew changed the topic of conversation at his wife’s request.
“MacGregor asked that I remain at Anagburn.” Did he tell Matthew and his wife the reason?
“Does it have anything to do with Arabella?” Grace asked quietly.
Gideon shot her a look.
“We saw you exit the manor before the wedding. MacGregor seemed happy enough, but Miss Arabella looked as if she could spit nails, and you…Well, you were hard to read, but Arabella’s brothers glared at you as if you’d committed a deadly sin. Then there is your blackening eye…”
Kissing the Lass (Scot to the Heart #2) Page 4
