Page 70 of Highland Sword
Wemys.Morrigan no longer felt anger at the mention of his name. She didn’t feel any emotion whatsoever. As brief as their exchange had been, that conversation had closed a door for her. She no longer felt any need for revenge. And after what Wemys had done in dragging himself from his deathbed, going to Inverness for the trial, and telling the journalists of his involvement in Sir Rupert’s schemes, she was content to let him be.
Isabella was a physician to her very core, and she had the ability to separate her personal feelings from the responsibilities of her profession. She knew Morrigan’s history with Wemys, but she was still capable of performing her job. He could die as the maker had arranged.
“In that case…”
Morrigan noticed he was still reluctant to go. The longer he stayed, the harder it became for her to see him go. “You’ve given me unsolicited advice. You’ve brought up in conversation a dalliance that I wish to forget. You’ve made final arrangements for your informer. What else is left?”
“I have a gift for you.”
“No gifts,” she said. “Unless you’ve stolen my shoes and are returning them. Perhaps a handkerchief that I loaned to you?”
He reached into his coat and pulled out a few folded flyers.
Opening them, she realized they were two caricatures. “New work by Madame Laborde.”
“I found them pasted on the walls near the courthouse and knew you’d want to see her latest.”
Morrigan had thought a lot about the artist since the day she left her in the garden at Barn Hill. She hadn’t been back to Inverness since, but even if she did go, she had no idea where to search for her. Looking at these etchings in her hand, Morrigan knew that she was alive at least, and still working for Sir Rupert.
She needed a dry flat space and Maisie and Fiona’s astute minds to see what hidden messages, if any, had been conveyed in these drawings. Madame Laborde had to know Morrigan would be looking.
“Thank you. These are a gift.”
He stretched out his hand. “Then I want them back.”
She held them behind her back. “You can’t take back a gift.”
Morrigan was surprised when Aidan lifted her chin until she was looking into his eyes. “I knew you’d want to study these flyers to see what secrets they hold. I know that if they contain anything of value, you’ll find it.”
His touch lingered. She waited. That wasn’t all what he had to say.
“But I worry that you’ll do something unsafe to try to find this woman on your own.”
“Me? Do something unsafe? Ha! Never.”
“Morrigan, please listen to me.” He searched for the words, and she feared what he would say. “I don’t have near enough time now to make you understand how much I care for you… and how much I worry that something might happen to you while I’m gone.”
She tried to say something flippant, but he placed his fingers gently against her lips.
“I’m asking you to take care of yourself and wait for me to return. We have more we need to say to each other. Much more.”
His face was close to hers. Morrigan looked into Aidan’s eyes, and she could not deny her feelings for him. What she felt was more than friendly affection. She never imagined she could love a man, but she loved Aidan Grant.
The hopelessness of the two of them ever being together was still there. But suddenly, it didn’t matter.
His thumb traced her bottom lip. “May I kiss you before I go?”
Standing in the gardens with a hedge separating them from world, Morrigan kissed him first again. She pressed her lips against his, and Aidan’s arms immediately encircled her.
She forgot to breathe, and the castle walls surrounding them disappeared. All she was conscious of was the consuming fire that was racing through her. The etchings fell to the ground, and Morrigan’s hands moved of their own accord, slipping around him.
A noise emerged from the back of his throat, or maybe it was from hers. Powerful arms gathered her closer,pressing her to him until there was nothing left between their two hearts, pounding as one.
She’d never experienced passion before Aidan. She’d believed no one could ever conjure in her the need that gripped her now. She never thought any man would even tempt her. Not after what she’d been through. But this was different. Entirely different. Now, wrapped in Aidan’s arms, she found herself burning. He drew her into a shadowy archway. When she pressed her back against the cool stones, his body followed. He tore his mouth from her lips and pressed it to her throat.
“Morrigan,” he murmured. His hand glided down over her breast and stomach, and all she could do was clutch at his hair and drag his mouth back to hers for another searing kiss.
Sebastian’s voice came from the garden entrance, calling out for his brother. The two of them leaped apart.
