Page 16 of To Wed a Laird
“I have not found the right man yet, but I promise that when I do, I will invite you to the wedding.”
Looking at the little girl, it occurred to Rose suddenly that she had not embraced, or been embraced by anyone since she left her sisters, and suddenly, she felt a wave of longing for them. They were not only her sisters, but her best friends.
Rose and Elspeth finished all the smoked venison, raspberries, and cream that was put before them, and then Rose announced that it was time for Elspeth to go to bed. They had eaten all their food, but Elspeth’s father had not put in an appearance, or sent a message that he was not coming.
Rose was not only disappointed, but furious. However, she was not surprised; had she really expected anything else?
CHAPTER SEVEN
It took a while,but Elspeth finally settled down to her lessons the next morning, mainly because Rose had promised to teach her how to dance that afternoon, and Elspeth was so excited that she could hardly sit still.
“But I need your word that you will concentrate on your schoolwork today,” Rose said, wagging a finger at her.
“I will,” Elspeth replied earnestly, nodding.
To Rose’s surprise, Elspeth was as good as her word, and knuckled down to her sums and her spelling without any trouble at all. Rose used the time to tidy up the room. She knew it was the maid’s job, but she could hardly sit and do nothing all morning.
She found some children’s books on a shelf that she put aside for bedtime reading, since Elspeth had told her that she was not too old for a story to lull her to sleep.
She was also trying to keep her mind off Cormac MacTavish, who intruded into her thoughts, no matter how hard she tried to keep him out of them. Not only was he the most handsome and desirable man she had ever seen, but his damaged soul and vulnerability called out to the nurturing spirit inside her.
Rose wanted to go somewhere quiet and peaceful with him; encourage him to pour out his troubles to her, to let go of all the pent-up emotions he had been hiding behind the wall he had built around his heart.
Why did she want to do this, however? It was a question she was too afraid to answer.
Rose was not the only one with troubling thoughts. Little did she know it, but Cormac MacTavish was also thinking about her, but in exactly the opposite way. Yes, Rose was a beautiful woman with particularly captivating eyes and a lovely figure, the kind that would make many men lose their minds—but not him.
He would rather not be pitied, no matter how desirable he found her. No, he wanted to push her away because he was drawn to her, and he did not wish to fall under the spell of any other woman. The love of his life had left him, and there would never be another. Catherine had been his one and only.
He swallowed the rest of his ale, then contemplated the whisky bottle again. It was time he took it out of his study, he thought. It was becoming far too tempting…
Now it was almost time for supper, and he looked down at himself; he had been out riding with the guard, and he was splattered with mud. He definitely did not look his best.
Normally, he would merely have washed his hands and face and bathed before bed, but tonight he felt the need to smarten himself up. He told himself it was because he had disappointed Elspeth the night before, and he wanted to make an effort to look better for her.
However, he knew he was lying to himself. It was not just his daughter he wanted to impress; he wanted to make sure that if he bumped into Rose, he would not look like a grubby peasant.
As Cormac visualised Rose’s face in his mind’s eye, he was mesmerised again by the gaze of those dark, bewitching eyes, and cursed himself for his weakness. He could always let her go, he told himself, yet Elspeth seemed to like her, and he could see a light in his daughter that had not been there since Catherine died. No, he would let her stay, and harden his willpower.
That evening, Rose and Elspeth sat in the small dining room that was only for family use, and where Rose felt much more comfortable. Even though she had spent the afternoon teaching Elspeth some English country dances, hoping that they would lift Elspeth’s spirits, the little girl still looked subdued until the food arrived.
As soon as Nell entered with a tray, which she set down on the table, Elspeth jumped to her feet and gave a delighted squeal, then clapped her hands.
Rose looked at the dish doubtfully, both curious and somewhat disgusted at the same time. She thought that what was on the plate was meat, but there was something very strange about it. It looked like a huge, fat, mottled sausage with meat juices dribbling down its skin, and it was the ugliest thing Rose had ever seen, yet it smelled delicious. It had a peppery, meaty aroma that made Elspeth’s mouth water, yet she was still suspicious of it.
“Is it… breathing?” she asked cautiously.
Elspeth threw back her head and giggled heartily, and the movement of her body, which was resting on the edge ofthe table, made the sausage shape wobble. Rose instinctively jerked backwards, and Elspeth went into paroxysms of mirth, thumping her fists on the table.
Nell shook her head and tried to calm her down with a few stern words, but it was hopeless. Elspeth could not be soothed. This was the funniest thing she had heard in ages.
At that moment, the door creaked and opened, and Cormac entered the room. He had obviously not expected to see them, presuming they were having their meal in the Great Hall as they had the night before. He cast his eyes around the room, and Rose waited patiently to land on her finally.
Of course, she did. Those eyes were hypnotic, and always had the same mesmerising effect on her.
When Elspeth saw him, she froze, and Cormac took a deep breath and then turned to leave.
However, he had not reckoned with the speed of Rose’s reflexes. Without a second thought, she leapt to her feet and grabbed the sleeve of his shirt, then held on for dear life so that he could not move without knocking her over.
