Page 29 of Married to the Icy Highlander
As soon as he was close enough, Ceana snatched the letter from his hand. She placed her hand on top of his head and used hersplayed fingertips to spin him while clicking her tongue in faux admonishment.
“But what does it say?” Peter whined, already wanting to know more.
“That is none of yer business!” Ceana laughed.
“But it was urgent! I want to read it!” Peter insisted.
Ceana tucked the letter down the front of her dress and shook her head firmly. “Nay! Now, run along!”
Peter kicked at the tiny pebbles on the path in protest, and his cat ran off after one of them. Ceana turned around and ducked swiftly under the heavy doors of the distillery to read her letter in peace.
Quickly, she turned the letter over in her hand, but she stopped before she could break the overly familiar wax seal.
Blaine’s seal.
13
The last thing Neil wanted to do was drag his sorry arse to the village for the festival. Granted, it was important for the Laird to show his support, but this was usually the sort of thing that he was able to send his brother off to so that he wouldn’t have to worry about it.
Now, with the additional obligation that his wife had placed on him and his daughter’s pleas, he had no choice but to attend the blasted festival. It was always so loud. There was so much talking that it was almost impossible for him to find one thing to focus on. At least there was Ceana’s rapidly wavering resolve.
Perhaps tonight would be the night. He had truly thought that it would take him a little bit longer to wear down her pride, but they both had nearly failed last night. He had felt it. There was no way she could deny it.
He tied his hair in a low knot at the base of his skull and then turned his attention to his kilt. Wrapping the thick, patternedfabric was nearly second nature by this point. It was easy enough to manage and secure. He sat down and reached for his boots when a knock sounded at his door.
“Enter,” he called, not caring that he wasn’t wearing a shirt or that he was in the middle of getting dressed. He didn’t care much who it was either, as he was leaving shortly anyway.
The door creaked open and Ceana walked inside. Her cheeks were flushed from her walk, it seemed. He had thought that she would be in the village all day with Jeanie. Had something happened to her?
He was on his feet immediately. “What happened? Is Jeanie all right?”
Ceana shook her head and raised her hand. “She is well. I’m nae here because of her.”
Neil sat back down heavily, reaching for his boot again. He watched his wife out of the corner of his eye as she took in his room, very deliberately not looking at him in his half-dressed state. He couldn’t help but smirk a little at that. He wondered if it affected her at all. What if he flexed his muscles a little bit? Would her eyes linger on his bare skin? Well, he would deny it if she called him out on it.
“It’s rather bold of ye to come into me bedchamber, ye ken?” he drawled as he straightened up. But she only stared at him in response. “If nothing is wrong, why did ye come?”
It took his wife a beat too long to answer him. Almost as if his words didn’t register right away.
“Unless ye have come here with a certain mission in mind? Are ye ready to ask for what ye want, wife?”
Neil rose, leaving his shirt on his bed as he walked over to her slowly, relishing the way her eyes kept flicking to his chest and the way her breathing quickened despite her obvious efforts to keep her composure. His hand rose, curling around a loose strand framing her face, but it seemed that was the wrong move to make because it snapped her out of her daze.
Ceana swatted his hand away with more force than he had expected. It actually stung a little. “Ye one-track-minded fool, do ye nae think I have anything better to do with me time?”
Neil shrugged. He couldn’t think of a better way to occupy his time at this moment. “Ye do ken that the month of performin’ yer wifely duties hasnae started yet. Otherwise, it would be cheatin’,” he said with a wink.
“I ken that!” Ceana looked like she was three seconds away from stomping on his foot to make sure that he backed up and gave her room to breathe. It was just incredibly difficult to do when she smelled so damn delicious. “That isnae the reason why I’m here, and I willnae say it again!”
Oh, he could never get enough of the defiant gleam in her eyes when she jutted her chin. She reached into her bodice and pulled out a slightly wrinkled envelope.
“What’s that?” he asked, more curious as to why she had tucked the letter in her dress.
“It’s from Blaine,” she said plainly.
Suddenly, Neil felt the need to sit down. Whatever was in that letter, he wasnotgoing to like it, and he knew it.
Why would Blaine write to her and not his own brother? HisLaird?What could have made him switch his loyalties so swiftly? His brother was sworn to him, and he had just tucked his tail and turned his coat overnight? It only further proved that his suspicions about what had been going on between them were correct.
