Page 67 of A Highland Bride Taken
“Where have ye been, Mabel?” Skylar asked. “We have been searching all over for ye.”
“I…”
“Did ye sneak away with yer husband for a tryst, Mabel?” Scarlett asked with a knowing grin.
Mabel flushed, unable to hide her guilt.
Linking arms with her on either side, her sisters pulled her to a secluded corner with matching conspiratorial grins.
“Tell us everything.”
26
“That is very good, little ones,” Talia praised, just as Mabel walked into the room. “Ye are taking well to yer lessons.”
Mabel was glad to see how well the boys had taken to Talia and how well they were progressing in their lessons.
The governess had proven most passionate about caring for the boys as well as their education, so Mabel had had more time to focus on her other duties as lady of the clan.
While she wished she could spend more time with them, she had begun to feel at ease with Talia, especially since the boys seemed to be doing better under her care.
“Are they behaving well, Talia?” she asked, turning to smile at the excited boys.
They looked ready to bolt from their seats, but they managed to keep still, which caused her to grin wider. Talia had no doubt taught them how to behave, and Mabel was proud to see them so well-mannered.
She could not wait for her husband to return. He would be pleased to hear of this new development.
“Aye, Me Lady,” Talia answered. “They are perfect. Ye will be pleased with how well they ken their numbers.”
“I am glad to hear it.” Mabel beamed. “I was hoping I could interrupt their lessons today. I want them to go on a little excursion with me outside the castle.”
“Really, Aunt Mabel?” Ollie asked excitedly.
She nodded, turning to their governess.
“Ye will come with, of course, to help me watch them,” she added. “It will be good for all of us to be outside. The weather is most pleasant.”
“As ye wish, Me Lady.” Talia nodded, curtsying. “But may I put away the learning materials and prepare first?”
Mabel nodded and held her hands out to the boys. “Ye will meet us in the courtyard once ye are ready, then.”
Talia nodded and turned to tidy the room.
“Come, lads, let us give Miss Talia time to prepare for the picnic,” Mabel instructed, earning cheers.
The boys rushed to her, visibly relieved to be free of their lessons.
She could understand their excitement. It had been a week since the cèilidh, and they had been having lessons consistently, as both Mabel and Campbell had been occupied with restoring everything to order after hosting such a large event.
She had worried they would feel abandoned, but she had glimpsed them several times in the halls with Talia, and they seemed well enough. She was grateful her husband had hired the governess when he had, or else juggling her duties and caring for the boys would have proven difficult.
Now that they had restored the castle to order, she had decided to treat the boys to a picnic by the lake. While she wished her husband were with them, he had been away on a hunt since the early hours of the morning. But he had promised he would return before dinner, and she hoped he would.
Ideally, she would have let him guide them to the lake, but she had learned the route already, and the boys knew better than to go in the water when they couldn’t yet swim properly. Perhaps she would suggest to her husband to teach them when he found the time. She liked knowing that they would be able to care for themselves in the future.
Thinking about him stirred her longing, and she missed him, even though he had only been gone for a day. They had spent more time together in the days after the cèilidh, and her nights had been filled with stoked passions that brought them closer to each other. Yet she still ached for more.
She discovered quickly that her husband’s desire for her was near insatiable, and the fact amused her greatly. He had kept his word that evening and kissed her quite thoroughly after he had helped her undress, and he had made it a tradition to help her undress in the evenings that followed.
