Page 19 of Highlanders for the Holidays
It would have been a moment of perfect bliss…if only he hadn’t cried out her sister’s name.
The word struck her like a slap in the face, snapping her back to reality.
Bloody hell! What had she done?
No?l, utterly spent, sank down upon her, careful to support his weight on his forearms. He heaved a contented sigh against her neck.
“Ah, lass, I’m so pleased to be your husband.”
Ysenda gulped, wrapping her arms around him in an awkward hug.
She didn’t know what to say.
She couldn’t even pretend this was his fault. She’d encouraged him. She’d been the one who had to have that goodnight kiss. If he hadn’t kept his promise, it was only because she’d led him to believe she was no longer holding him to it.
He’d done nothing wrong. He’d only made love to the woman he thought was his wife.
But Ysenda had committed a sin. She’d knowingly and intentionally consummated a counterfeit marriage.
“Are ye all right,cherie?” he murmured, lifting his head to look at her.
Nae, she was not all right. She’d behaved like a wanton. And she’d stolen her sister’s bridegroom.
But she didn’t dare confess to him. So she gave him a bleak smile and nodded.
He eased away to lie beside her, still holding her close.
“The next time,” he promised, “‘twill be better.”
The next time? There could be no next time.
She bit her lip. She supposed she was ruined now. But she wouldn’t make No?l pay the price for that. On the morrow, when her father came to his senses and handed over No?l’srealbride, Ysenda would do the right thing, the merciful thing. She’d deny she’d ever bedded him.
The handfasting would be broken. No?l and Cathalin would be free to wed. He’d whisk his new wife away to his castle in France. And Ysenda would probably never see him again.
She glanced over at the handsome knight with the dazzling smile and the kind heart. If he hadn’t drifted off to sleep, he would have seen the childish tears gathering in her eyes.
It was silly, she knew. But she wanted him for herself. She didn’t care that he wasn’t a Highlander. She didn’t care that he was Cathalin’s. She didn’t even care that she had nothing to offer him—no castle, no land, no title.
She’d given him her maidenhood already. And if she believed for an instant that he’d take it, she’d offer him her heart as well…for she was sure she’d fallen in love with him.
As mad as it sounded, it was true. Though she’d known him only a few hours, she knew he was everything she’d ever wanted in a husband. He was loyal, brave, sincere, fair. He commanded the respect of men and earned the admiration of women.
But her heart wasn’t what Sir No?l had come for. He’d come for a political alliance. Besides, a man like him could have any maiden he chose. Why would he choose Ysenda when he’d been given the most beautiful woman in all of Scotland?
She turned away and sulked herself to sleep.
