Page 29 of A Highland Bride Taken
Mabel complied, her heart pounding, but nothing could have prepared her for the fountain of salacious wisdom her mother spewed. She found herself wishing it was anybody but her mother who had given her the lecture.
“It can be pleasurable, and ye can make it so by telling him what ye like and dinnae like,” Lady MacLennan went on, oblivious to the deepening red hue on her daughter’s cheeks.
How was Mabel to know what she liked when she hadn’t experienced anything?
Her mother had just spoken about everything and nothing, and judging from the awkward look on her face, she would not answer questions.
“Dinnae just keep silent and allow him ravish ye like a beast,” Lady MacLennan added. “Ye’re the daughter of a laird, and ye should be treated with respect.”
Mabel didn’t hear much beyond her mother comparing her new husband to a beast, and while she didn’t know him well enough to ascertain whether he deserved the title or not, he had done nothing deserving of such a cruel moniker.
“Maither, ye willnae speak about him in such a manner again,” she asserted. “He may nae look like he has a heart, but he does, and he cares for the bairns and his people. He is nay beast.”
Lady MacLennan’s eyes widened as she stared at her daughter as though she were seeing a stranger.
Mabel had never been one to speak her mind so freely before, and she hadn’t known where the courage to stand up to her mother had come from, but she just couldn’t sit there and have her husband be judged so harshly.
“I saw ye earlier, dancing with him,” Lady MacLennan said with a smile. “Ye are bolder with him than ye’ve ever been with us. Marriage to him becomes ye; he just might be what ye needed all along. I am happy ye are wed—‘tis a good match. I only hope ye find happiness with him outside caring for the bairns.”
“Maither…”
“I will say naught about yer husband again.” Lady MacLennan raised her hands in surrender. “Be happy, daughter. ‘Tis all I’ve ever wanted for ye and yer sisters. And be bold. Dinnae be afraid to tell him what ye want. Men like a bit of a challenge. ‘Tis how I won yer faither over.”
“Maither,” Mabel groaned. “Please spare me the details of yer marriage bed.”
“I am only teaching ye from experience.”
“Aye. Aye,” Mabel muttered, shaking her head. “I thank ye.”
“Dinnae forget to write to us. Yer sisters will want to hear from ye.”
Tears welled up in her eyes as she nodded and hugged her mother, breathing in her comforting scent before she left. It would be long before she saw her mother or family again, and while she had always enjoyed her seclusion, she had secretly dreaded the day when she would have to leave her childhood home behind.
Her mother’s arms were warm and tight around her, enveloping her in a soothing cloud of lavender. But as soon as it had come, she was left alone with her thoughts in a chamber that was much too large for her.
She tried to sit still, but she could scarcely stay in one place as worry for the night ahead seized her.
Her mother had not exactly painted a good picture of what was to come, and she wasn’t entirely sure she was ready to be so intimate with a man she barely knew. When he had kissed her, he had set her body aflame in ways she had never experienced before, and she had been left wanting more. But what if he wasn’t as restrained with her as he had been that night?
Would it be so terrible?
She worried her lip, feeling wanton for her thoughts.
Eventually, she decided to lie back and see where the night would lead, hoping that whatever happened would be as pleasurable as the kiss they had shared.
12
The knock on her door had her sitting up straight. She ran a hand through her unbound hair and cleared her throat.
She knew it could only be the Laird at this hour. She had been expecting him since her mother’s lecture, but he came much later than she had expected, judging from the dimming embers in the grate.
He opened the door before she could bid him entry and stepped in, immediately crowding the small room with his large frame.
She had noticed the differences between them before, but now that she had a vaguer idea of what to expect, she knew what could happen between them.
“Me Laird,” she greeted, rising to her feet.
She had felt foolish in the sheer gown she had worn when her mother had been with her and had hoped to change it, but she had also hoped it would please him. With the frown marring his face now, it was hard to tell.
