Page 11 of Harrowing Hall
“At last!” She smiled, noting candles had been lit in the hall, so surely it was all right to be here. “About time someone unlocked it.”
Like before, she was hit by the mossy scent of heather as she drifted forward. What was it about this hall that felt so familiar? Both sad and welcome in some unexplainable way? From the furnishings to the endless tapestries. Everything. She passed room after room but could not seem to stop. Had to get to the end. Had to get to…
“That’s it,” she whispered, slowing when she spied the window at the end of the hallway. She had no idea how she knew but did. And she was right. So said the view when she looked down into the courtyard. Her heart clenched in grief. A tear slipped down her cheek.
How did she know this place? Because she did somehow. She was certain. It did not just feel familiar but called to her. Tried to remind her of something. But what? Her gaze rose to the full moon. A giant orb that had sat heavy over this courtyard many a night.
“Maude?”
She spun, startled, to find Blake standing behind her, equal parts shocked and beguiled by her if she did not know better. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Rather, he stared at her with so much desire, she whipped out her fan to cool her overheated skin. If the way he stared at her was not enough, how he looked made her warm even more. Instead of his usual breeches, waistcoat, and cravat, he wore Highland regalia, complete with the MacLauchlin tartan, and, good Lord, what a pleasing look on him.
“I,” she stuttered, unsure what to say. So she blurted what made sense. “Harrowing Hall’s door was unlocked, and I….”
She braced her hands back against the windowsill when he closed the distance in two long strides, wrapped an arm around her waist, dug his hand into her hair, and kissed her soundly. Kissed her differently than he had the first time. This go-around, she lost herself completely. Opened her mouth when his tongue sought hers. When their tongues twisted and tangled and the usual ache between her legs turned painful.
To the point, she twisted her hand in his shirt and tried to pull him closer. Wanted to feel more of him. Assuage the throbbing need that made her yank her lips away and gasp for breath. “I need…” Usually, she had much to say about many things, but she had trouble finding the words. What was she trying to say? “I can’t….”
“Need what,mo leannan?” he murmured against her ear, his breath hot and enticing. “Can’t what?”
“I can’t wait.” Never more certain, she searched his eyes. Hoped he understood. “I do not want to wait months to get married. The clergyman will be here tonight, yes? Would it be so unconventional if….”
Even as she said it, she knew it would be.
“Do you not want a big wedding, Maude?” He traced his fingers along her jawline. “For I can give that to you. The wedding you deserve. A wedding befitting a queen with your sisters here and—”
“No.” She shook her head, never more sure of anything. “My sisters are in various stages of unrest, and only the good Lord knows when I might be able to rally them here. They will understand…I hope.” She swallowed and said what she felt in her heart. What she knew was right. “I want to marry tonight. Here. Amongst your village folks. Surrounded by people like me…marrying a man like you.”
Blake was about to respond when she realized what else a rushed marriage might insinuate. The gossip that might surround it. “Oh, heavens, I just realized how marrying so fast might look.”
“Aye.” He trailed his finger down her neck, making her shiver with awareness. “That a wee bairn might already be on the way.”
She sighed. “Which would speak very poorly of me.”
“Not if you were marrying.” He cupped the side of her neck. “Once you are married, it no longer matters if you are with child or not. The bairn would be legitimate.” He searched her eyes in return, quite serious now. “Do you want bairns, Maude? I never thought to ask.”
More than he could imagine. It was yet another dream she had given up on. “Very much so.” She bit her lower lip, almost afraid to ask, but one should know these things. “And you?”
“Aye, verra much so.” Emotion churned in his eyes. “And I want them with you.”
How had she gotten so fortunate? She tried to fight tears, but they fell regardless. “Then it seems we are in agreement.”
“We are.” Blake smoothed away her tears. “And we will be married tonight.” He cupped her cheeks, his gaze both tender and full of desire. “Married so that we might start our life together now. So that we might meet our future bairns sooner rather than later.”
“Oh, how wonderful,” she whispered, lost in the way he looked at her until something seemed to pull at her. Lure her until her gaze drifted over his shoulder, and she saw something truly unexpected.
Chapter Eight
“What is it?”Blake glanced over his shoulder only to find Maude staring at the portrait of Lady Annabel. Trying to get his wits about him, he looked at his lass again. “Are you all right?”
Where he had always thought Maude attractive, nothing touched the way she looked tonight. He knew her figure was just curvy enough, but her dress certainly gave him a much-appreciated better look. From the way the material dusted her slender thighs to the plump cleavage longing to be touched, it was impossible to stop his arousal. If that were not enough, her hair was everything he knew it would be. A wild, barely contained mass of curls that fell past her shoulders. And her face? Like an angel haloed by autumn flowers.
Then her kisses just now. How she had blossomed beneath his touch. Opened to him. Moved against him in need, whether she realized it or not. He had kissed women before, even lain with a few, but having Maude in his arms felt entirely different. Far better.
And he wanted more. So much more. For the rest of his life, if she would give it to him.
“It’s just….” Maude fingered her pearls and pointed at the painting. “Do you see?”
He saw all right. And could not stop staring at her.
