Page 19 of Lost with a Scot
Brodie seemed horrified at the thought of being consideredhonorable, and his face scrunched in displeasure at the notion. He had worked hard to earn his reputation, only to suddenly turn into an honorable man.
Aiden bit his lip to keep from laughing at his brother’s face. “Ye are both forgetting whose opinion actually matters.Annawill decide who she wants in her room,” Aiden said. “Ye may offer to stay with her, but if she wants me, then she’ll have me. She’s been through too much for me to leave her frightened.” He understood as well as Lydia about propriety, but he also knew that Anna was his woman, his destiny, and he would only leave her side if she told him to.
Lydia acquiesced. “Very well, but I wish to buy her some proper clothing today. There is a decent dressmaker not far from here. When she’s ready, I’ll take her over and purchase some gowns for her.”
“I’ll speak with the innkeeper about a second room.” Brodie kissed Lydia’s temple, and with a bemused smile, he left Aiden and Lydia to settle the matter of who would be sleeping with whom.
“Well, shouldn’t you introduce us to her?” Lydia asked.
“I suppose I must. Give me a moment.” He slipped back into the room and closed the door, giving him one more minute alone with Anna.
* * *
Anna’s heartwas still racing when Aiden came back into the room. She’d woken in a nightmare and then slept peacefully through the rest of the night because Aiden was with her. His body had been warm, hard, and strong, and she’d felt safe and a little excited to have him so near, but the rude awakening this morning had left her discombobulated and wishing she could go back to the drowsy early morning when she was still in his arms.
Had that really been his family at the door? She was utterly mortified. She might not remember her past, but she knew that to be caught in bed with a man, especially one she wasn’t married to, was incredibly inappropriate. What if his family thought her to be a woman of ill-repute? They may demand he leave her alone, and then she’d be in an even worse situation than she already was.
Aiden slipped back into the room and closed the door behind him, giving them privacy.
“Lydia is outside waiting to meet ye. Is that all right?” he asked.
Swallowing back a wave of panic, she tried to keep calm. “Yes, but, oh heavens, I have to put some clothes on—I couldn’t possibly meet her in a nightgown.”
“I’ll help ye put it on.” Aiden found a brown wool dress that Molly had also brought up yesterday that she’d draped over one of the chairs. He held it out to Anna before he turned his back to let her remove Molly’s borrowed nightgown. Then Anna stepped into the brown wool dress and pulled it up before tucking her arms through the sleeves. Then Aiden laced up the back, and she slipped her feet into the slightly oversized boots that Molly had also left for her.
She tugged on Aiden’s sleeve as he came around to stand in front of her. “Do I look all right?”
“Ye look fine, lass. Besides, Lydia is anxious to take ye shopping.”
“Shopping?”
“Aye, for all the things that lasses like you need. Dresses, bonnets, gloves... the lacy things you wear beneath your gowns that frustrate a man.” He winked at her.
She laughed at his scandalous suggestion. From another man, it might have caused a ripple of concern, but with Aiden, his teasing was exciting and strangely delightful. “Frustrate you?”
“Aye, and a frustrated man has less time to give a woman the pleasure she deserves.” He arched a brow. “Now, enough tempting me, lassie—I must be on my best behavior. Lydia wouldna like me talking about lacy underpinnings.” He approached the door. “Shall I let her in?”
“Very well.” Anna stood in her most poised position, ready to greet Aiden’s sister-in-law.
He opened the door, and a lovely blonde woman about her own age came into the room. She wore a pale-blue walking dress, and her hair was done up fashionably with matching ribbons. A white shawl was draped loosely over her shoulders. She looked effortlessly graceful.
“This is Lydia,” Aiden said. “Lydia, this is Anna.”
Lydia beamed at her. “It’s so lovely to meet you. I’m terribly sorry if I startled you a moment ago. I forgot that Aiden isn’t like his brother.” At this, Anna glanced worriedly at Aiden.
“She means it as a compliment, lass,” Aiden said. “My brother is a wicked charmer, remember. She kens I’m not like that.”
“I don’t know about that,” Anna said to herself. She thought Aiden was very charming, and the heat in his eyes when he looked at her was very wicked indeed, but she liked that.
“It’s lovely to meet you,” Anna said to Lydia as the other woman approached her. There was something about Lydia’s voice that tugged at her memories. Well, perhaps not so much her voice as her accent. She was English, not Scottish, and something about that continued to nudge her mind, but she couldn’t quite remember why.
“It’s lovely to meet you too. My husband will be back shortly. He’s getting a second room.” Lydia smiled reassuringly. “Aiden told us a bit about the shipwreck and how you haven’t a thing to wear. I’d love to take you to the local dressmaker here, if you’d like?”
“I would,” Anna admitted. “This woolen gown itches quite terribly.”
“Wonderful. We’ll go now, if you feel up to it.” Lydia linked her arm in Anna’s, not waiting for an answer. “Aiden, if we go shopping now, you should hire a coach to take us to Castle Kinkade tomorrow. I’m assuming we will take her back with us?”
“Aye,” Aiden agreed instantly. “Her memory is coming back in bits and pieces, but she canna stay here alone.”
