Page 10 of A Scottish Lord for Christmas
Quinn reached the Stanley first, opening the door for Rowena, and then he lifted her clear up into the backseat, drenched and muddy as she was.
“I’m terribly sorry, Leo. There’s a bit of mud—”
“Nonsense.” The earl waved a hand. “It’ll clean up, I assure you.”
“We were so worried.” Ivy turned around in the seat of the car, her dark eyes wide as she studied them. “Good heavens. We need to get you both into hot baths at once, or you’ll catch your death!”
Teeth chattering, Rowena could only nod. Without Quinn’s body heat, she was frozen to the bone again. She peeped at him from beneath her lashes, feeling awfully silly. One kiss…they’d shared only one, and everything inside her felt alive, excited, and overjoyed. Yet his lips were pressed into a thin line and his features were brooding.
Am I a terrible kisser?Perhaps he had not enjoyed it the way she had. It was a sobering, unhappy thought that dragged her usual high spirits into great depths as they drove back to Hampton House.
I should not care about one kiss. It doesn’t matter.
The lie was bittersweet, but she swallowed it down and raised her chin. It was the only way she would survive the remainder of the house party.
Who knew a kiss could prove so fatal to her happiness?
Chapter 4
Quinn couldn’t get the sweet taste of Rowena out of his mind. That kiss had not been planned and it had beenunwisegiven his resolve to keep his emotional distance from any future bride. Yet when he’d given in to that irresistible desire, all the pain, all the memories that weighed him down seemed to fade like shadows before a rising sun.
There was only Rowena and her enthusiastic sensual response to his passion. He was not so foolish to lie to himself; any wife he took would expect her husband to visit the marriage bed and he would, but he would not lose his heart to his new wife, not like he had to Maura. The guilt he felt at desiring to pick a comely wife made his skin itch. But heneededone.
As the motorcar pulled up to the front entrance of Hampton House, he assisted Rowena from the vehicle and they walked in together.
“Papa!” A small, sweet, birdlike chirp caught his attention. Blair was rushing toward him as fast as her little legs could carry her.
“My wee heart.” He opened his arms to her and caught her up as she reached him. Spinning with his child in his arms, he found Rowena studying him a few feet away, as adorable as a half-drowned kitten, shaking and needing to be held as much as his daughter did. Her blue eyes were wide and soft, a little smile curling her lips as she watched them. An emotion, one he recognized all too clearly, haunted her face. An aching loneliness.
Perhaps we are kindred spirits.
“Papa,” Blair whispered against his neck in a way only a child could do. It melted away the ice in his heart. Hugging her close, he breathed in her scent.
“I beg your pardon, my lord. She’s been anxious ever since the storm. Maybe now you’re here she’ll settle down for a nap.” Blair’s nurse trundled down the stairs, huffing and puffing. She was getting too old to keep up with a child. All the more reason to have a young wife.
“May I help with her?” Rowena asked. The hopeful look in her eyes was impossible to ignore.
“If you’d like.” He shifted Blair in his arms and they walked up the stairs to his chambers. The nurse had seen to it that a wooden crib had been placed by his bed and that was where he tucked Blair in with extra blankets. He knew most people would have hidden their child away in a distant nursery while visiting a house, but he wanted Blair close. She was his world and he didn’t want her out of reach.
“Papa is here; you can sleep now.” He brushed her curls and she yawned, rubbing chubby fists against her eyes. Rowena stood beside him, peering down at Blair with open adoration.
“She is such a beautiful child.”
“Thank you.” He scrubbed a hand over his jaw as he finally made a decision. There was no need to go to London. Not if Rowena would consent to marry him. She was beautiful, sweet, and protective of his child, and she responded well to him physically. Yes, she would do well enough.
“Rowena, may I…” He gripped the cradle’s edge and then sighed. “Could I speak with you on a delicate matter, alone?” When her brows drew together, he continued. “I’m aware of the impropriety but what I have to say is important.”
“Of course, Quinn.” She glanced at Blair, who had already fallen asleep nestled in her blankets.
“She’s fine now. We can leave her.”
Rowena left his chambers and he followed her to her own room.
“What would you like to speak to me about?” She waited, poised and proper, except for her wet, bedraggled appearance. For some reason, he found he was fond of her looking imperfect. It was oddly charming. A wet lock of her hair hung like burnished gold against one cheek. He reached up and tucked it behind her ear.
“I’m not a romantic man. I’m sure I’m about to do this all wrong but I hope you’ll at least give me a chance.”
A faint wrinkle formed between her brows but she did not interrupt him.
