Page 10 of The Lady in Pearls
“Having to borrow a dress or two isn’t going without.” His tone was now angry and a fierce scowl crossed his face. It might have made her flinch, but she was safe and warm and fed for the first time in days, aside from her night spent in Stirling’s home. She wasn’t going to let Lachlan bully her, even with words.
“I have gone without,” she said, her tone as hard as steel. “Did your friend not tell you? He found me begging in the streets, my only gown ripped, my belly empty, and my limbs frozen.”
She paused. Her body practically shook with fury. How dare he assume she was some spoiled child who’d never faced hardship? “For the last two months, I would’ve givenanythingto have a roof and a dry place to lay my head. I was on the verge of…” She choked on the words, but his silent stare dared her to continue. “I was going that very night to a brothel, my last hope for food and a warm bed.” She drank the last of her wine in a long gulp and stared at him hard. “But Stirling found me. He rescued me before I made that mistake. Do noteverlecture me on going without, Lord Huntley. I have been ripped from my home. My life was destroyed because my father was careless and cavalier when it came to the law. I am paying for his sins. I only hope you, my future husband, will not judge me for them.”
She kept her composure as she turned her back and lay down on the bed she’d made. That tiny distance was the only barrier she could make between them and she hoped he would respect it.
Only then did the tears she’d held back begin to flow. She heard him mutter something that sounded like a curse before he lay down beside her and curled one arm around her waist. He pulled her back a few inches to nestle her into the curve of his body. Of course, he wouldn’t leave her alone. Even now, after all she had said, he wanted to remind her that he owned her. That she was bought and paid for. She tensed and tried to pull away from him, but she was tired and cold.
“I’m sorry, lass.”
The words surprised her, but only half as much as the kiss he placed upon her cheek. The tenderness of it startled her enough that she shifted onto her back to stare at him.
“Why must you be so cruel, Lord Huntley?”
His blue eyes filled with shadows. “I… I am angry. Very angry at someone and it keeps my temper short.” His cryptic response was apologetic, but it was clear he would speak no more on the matter.
“You shouldn’t hold on to anger, my lord. It doesn’t help.” She too had held onto anger for a long time. Anger at her father. But all too soon she realized anger didn’t provide shelter, get her friends back, and didn’t fill her belly.
“When a man’s heart is broken, sometimes anger is all he has left.” Lachlan’s words were hoarse with emotion. Was he speaking of the brother he’d lost? Or was there more? Had he loved a woman and lost her?
“Go to sleep.” His tone was even now. “We’ve a long journey ahead of us.”
Daphne was certain there was no way she could sleep, not with the frantic pulse of her thoughts, but somewhere close to dawn, sleep did claim her.
***
Nothing was going according to plan.
Lachlan scowled in the darkness of the loft as he held Daphne close for warmth. They had no proper room to share and neither of them had been able to bathe or change into nightclothes. They slept with animals. He’d wanted to be in control of her misery, to exact revenge on his terms, but the opportunities failed to appear.
Of course, after what she’d just told him, he couldn’t shake the guilt of wanting his revenge. The need to avenge William was as strong as ever, but now there was a compulsion to protect Daphne, to care for her, which warred with his need for vengeance.
How can I protect her from me? He should send her back to London and let Stirling find one of those other love-struck lads who bid on her and give her to one of them. But the thought of giving her away now? He couldn’t. She would behiswife.
The anger which had been a part of him since William’s death usually burned like wildfire, snapping and snarling as it devoured his soul in its greedy flames. But at this moment, that rage had become a single candle flame.
He nuzzled the nape of Daphne’s neck, inhaling her sweet scent and feeling the silken tresses of her hair slide against his cheek. She let out a soft sigh and scooted back against him. One of her hands touched his where he’d wrapped it around her waist, and she laced her fingers through his. She wasn’t awake, or she would not have done that, yet he almost smiled at the thought that she trusted him, at least in sleep.
“Have I made a mistake, lass?” he whispered, knowing she wouldn’t hear. “Because I want to keep you?” He wanted to keep her, yes, but for the wrong reasons.
Daphne slowly turned, still asleep, and wrapped herself around him, her face pressed to his chest, her leg slipping between his as she clung to him. A sharp pain burst close to his heart as he held her. How could he hurt this woman? She was not the spoiled brat he had hoped to torture by denying her material possessions. No, Daphne was a fighter, a survivor, like him.
Had she been anyone else’s daughter, he would have fallen in love with her then and there, but he couldn’t. She was the reminder of everything he’d lost. It would be an insult to William’s memory if Lachlan abandoned his revenge and fell in love with Westfall’s daughter.
So, I am damned either way...
Chapter Four
The following day, Daphne held her breath as she stepped out of the coach and faced Huntley Castle. It was a beautiful medieval grey stone house abutted by extensive gardens on either side. Much of what might have been old-fashioned in architectural style to some seemed classic to her, and not run down.
She wasn’t sure what she’d believed his home would look like. A dank, dreary place, perhaps? This home was certainly not any of those things. Rather, despite the winter, it appeared to be bustling with life and color. Candles were lit in windows and servants moved about the grounds tending the gardens, preparing them for the spring, still many months away.
“Not what you expected?” Lachlan asked.
She ducked her head, but couldn’t control her blush.
“I’m not quite sure what I was expecting, but it is lovely.” She admired the towers and the stained-glass windows along one wing. Statues lined the gravel pathway up to the front entryway. Rosebushes, now dormant in the winter, would be stunning come spring.
