Page 21 of A Forbidden Night with a Scot
Alicia didn’t even know where to start. It seemed to her like there was so much more than this meeting. Ever since they had met Samuel at the tavern, everything only served to stoke the flames of her desire, even if she knew how wrong it was to lust after him like that.
“Well, ye ken that I was always fond o’ Samuel,” Alicia said, struggling to find the right words.
“Fond?” Katherine asked with a snort, earning a glare from Alicia. “I wouldnae sayfondis the correct word here.”
“An’ what would ye say the correct word is?”
Katherine hummed, a finger tapping against her chin as she considered the question. “I would say ye were in love.”
Alicia couldn’t help but scoff, but her cheeks heated so terribly that she was certain her sister could easily see the flood of color on her face. “I wasnae in love,” she grumbled, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. “It was simply an’ infatuation. An’ it still is.”
Those last few words came out quiet and jumbled, but if Alicia were to judge by Katherine’s wide eyes and the way her mouth hung open in shock, she would say her sister had heard her just fine.
“What dae ye mean it still is?”
Alicia glanced at her sister from the corner of her eye, nervously gnawing on the inside of her cheek. When Katherine leaned over her, hovering right over her face just like she had when they were children and she wished to annoy her, Alicia pushed her back but Katherine moved right up close once again, eyes as wide as the saucers of their tea cups.
“What dae ye mean it still is, Alicia?” Katherine asked once more, looming over her like a particularly demanding ghost.
Shimmying down the bed, Alicia managed to escape the cage of her sister’s arms before Katherine could hold her there, fleeing to the top of the bed and curling up by the headboard. Katherine pulled her legs under her, sitting up on the bed and watching Alicia with a devilish look in her eyes, one that Alicia didn’t like one bit.
It wasn’t often that her sister had that look. Most of the time, it was Alicia who was eager for trouble and Katherine the one who advised her against it, but now Katherine seemed more than eager to hear all about this.
Alicia, on the other hand, could hardly peel her eyes off the bed covers. Her cheeks were flooded with heat and she nervously played with the hem of her sleeve, gathering the lace trim between her fingers.
“I think I still want him,” she mumbled, though it was not quite true. She knew she wanted him, like she knew the sun would set in the west that night—with utmost certainty. “Somethin’ happened an’… an’ I think this infatuation is comin’ back.”
Katherine raised a curious eyebrow. “What happened?”
Alicia’s face burned with embarrassment, but if there was one person to whom she could talk, it was Katherine. “I was bathin’… in the baths, nay in me chambers.”
“I dinnae understand why ye insist on visitin’ the baths,” said Katherine before Alicia could continue. “Ye can have the maids bring a tub tae yer rooms. Why go where everyone else goes tae bathe? What if someone sees ye?”
Alicia pursed her lips, swallowing in a dry throat. “Well, usually nay one sees me so early in the mornin’ but today he was there.”
Katherine gasped. “Samuel?”
Alicia nodded, a desperate sigh escaping her. “I didnae ken he would be there! How could I have kent?”
“Well, it isnae that strange, is it?” Katherine countered. “It is only strange that ye were there. I doubt he expected tae find ye in the baths.”
“He certainly didnae,” said Alicia. “He was very surprised tae see me there, especially the way I was.”
“The way ye were?”
Once again, Alicia couldn’t meet her sister’s gaze as she mumbled, “Nude.”
“Nude?” Katherine shouted and Alicia lunged at her, clamping a hand tightly over her mouth. Katherine tried to fight her off, talking against her palm the entire time, but Alicia refused to let go until she was finally silent.
When she drew back, Katherine still stared at her in disbelief. After a few moments, though, the silence was broken by her giggles, which slowly grew into a full-blown laugh, her shoulders shaking with it as she fell backwards on the mattress.
“It isnae funny,” Alicia chastised her. It was anything but funny. It was terribly embarrassing and she doubted she would ever get the memory of it out of her mind. “How will I ever face him again?”
Katherine, still laughing, rolled onto her stomach to face her, resting her chin on her hands. “Ach, I’m sure he willnae mention it,” she assured her. “Dinnae fash. I’m sure he hardly noticed.”
“How could he nae have noticed?” Alicia asked. “I was right in front o’ him!”
“Well, he certainlysaw, but I doubted he noticed,” Katherine said. “I’m sure he doesnae see ye as a woman, Alicia. An’ as much as I understand yer infatuation an’ want ye tae be happy, I think it’s important tae remember that.”
