Page 29 of A Temptress in Tartan

Elizabeth finished her scone and poured herself a cup of tea, sipping it in the silence that had descended over the chamber until the women bowed their way out, closing the door behind them. Once they were gone, she set the cup down and stood.

“I should leave you alone to bathe. When you are ready, come downstairs. I have several activities planned for us outside the castle today.”

“What about my father? Shouldn’t he be arriving today? Is it safe to be anywhere but inside these walls?”

“My men have not yet spotted him or his men in the distance and, as I told you yesterday, from Whittingehame you can see for miles in all directions.”

Silence came over the room and she didn’t know how to break the charged stiffness. He was different today. He seemed more at peace here at his home, and an easy camaraderie had fallen between them since before they had boarded the ship across the Firth. And yet, some of that earlier tension was back.

“Are you worried about my father’s arrival?”

“The man seems intent on continuing the feud between our families. It’s taken knowing you to reconcile my hatred of your clan. I’m ready for peace. But peace is only possible if both parties choose to lay down their swords.” Lachlan issued a weary sigh. “If only he would meet me halfway. Your future—our future—is at stake if he doesn’t.”

Hot color flooded her cheeks and her chest suddenly tightened. “My father is a bit hot-headed. Perhaps I can—”

“Thank you for your offer, but I don’t want to put you in harm’s way. I will appeal to your father’s sense of honor. The man must want his daughter to live in peace. I’ve negotiated several difficult agreements between the kingdom and other clans. Perhaps your father will come to his senses when he is presented with the facts about what continuing this feud will do to you.” Lachlan offered her a lopsided smile and took a step closer, then, taking her hand, lifted it to his lips and kissed it. He looked down at her hand and hesitated a moment as he noted the pearl ring she always wore on her right hand. “Your ring, it is quite unusual.”

“It was given to me by my father after my mother died so that I might have something to remember her by.”

“’Tis beautiful. Just like the woman who wears it.” She gazed at him wordlessly as he turned her hand over and lingeringly pressed his warm lips to her palm. The sensations darting through her were intimate, tender, and nothing like she’d ever felt before.

Slowly he lifted her palm to his cheek. “I want you to stay with me, Elizabeth. To be my wife, but only if that is what will please you as well.” He held her gaze. In his eyes she saw not a hardened warrior, but a vulnerable man who was reaching out to her for what he wanted. But what he wanted was something she still wasn’t ready to give. At her hesitation, his lids came down to veil his eyes. He kissed her palm again before releasing her.

She stared after him as he walked to the door. He paused, looking back as if he might say something more, but then he was gone and the door closed behind him. She stared at the wooden portal, willing it to open again and for him to return and follow through with what his eyes had exposed to her. But he did not.

All through her life she’d believed every word her clan had told her about the Douglases, blindly and without question. But many of the atrocities she’d been told about, if not all, might very well have been lies fabricated to propagate hatred between the two clans. And her father was on his way to continue that battle.

She knew, even though she and her father had never discussed it, that he had intended to capture Lachlan along their journey to Whittingehame Castle and murder him, then take her back into the Ruthven fold. But she and Lachlan had foiled attempts not once, but twice with their alternative travel plans.

Now that they’d arrived at Whittingehame, her father dared not kill the man in his own home. Besides, she would never allow him to succeed. Not anymore—and not just because of the blood oath between herself and Lachlan. Even though she still didn’t fully trust Lachlan, she cared what happened to the man who was her husband.

As his wife, she belonged to him. She was his property, no matter how much the idea rankled. Her father no longer had any say in her life. He had to know that. So, what did he hope to accomplish by arriving on Lachlan’s doorstep? Knowing her father, it would not be something good. They would know his intent soon enough.

Elizabeth released a pent-up breath as she forced her thoughts in a different direction. Lachlan wanted to spend time with her today. The very idea sent her pulse racing. She found herself dressing with particular care in her finest light green gown. The dress had seen better days, but it fit her well. Her father had never been one to spend on extravagances such as clothing for his only daughter. He always told her if someone wanted to take her to wife, they would take her as she was—with a meager dowry and no trousseau—or they would not take her at all.

As she made her way belowstairs, her thoughts turned to Lachlan. He hadn’t taken her to wife for no gain, for he’d told her himself that he had been given this castle, a living, and four white horses by the king and queen. But he had asked nothing from her father.

Elizabeth continued past the landing until she could see Lachlan waited for her in the entry hall at the bottom of the stairs. He offered her a graceful bow. In one hand, he held the Bible they had been given as a wedding gift by the king and queen. He held out his other hand to her and said, “Come with me. I want to show you a special place.”

She looked around her. “Where are Lucy and Reid?”

“They have decided to give us some privacy today. Ready?”

She took his hand and he guided her through the great hall and into the solar. They stopped just inside the doorway and he pulled his fingers from hers. “This room is now yours to do with as you please.”

She turned to him. “But the solar is typically reserved for the laird and his business.”

“I moved my desk out to be near the hearth in the great hall. I want you to have this room and all it contains.”

A carpet in a patterned shade of beige, ivory, and red covered the stone floor and two beautiful tapestries with scenes of the Scottish countryside covered the walls. On one wall stood a large wooden bookcase loaded with books. Elizabeth’s heart leapt at the idea of filling her days with reading. “There are so many books.”

“Some of them I purchased. Some were spoils of war. All of them Reid brought with him, as I was storing them at his castle until I had a place of my own. I’ve been collecting them for years.” He shrugged and stepped more fully inside, inviting her to do the same. “Among the collection is The History of the Kings of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth, featuring the popular characters of Arthur and Merlin, as well as Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.” He held the Bible out to her. “I thought perhaps we could add this book to our library.”

She hugged the Bible to her chest as she noted the two massive cream-covered chairs with matching footrests near the fireplace and a long bench opposite that. She could imagine herself curled up in a chair with her feet tucked beneath her, reading for hours on end, but such a thing could never happen. “’Tis truly a wonderful gesture, giving me this chamber, but I cannot accept. It would be a break in tradition.”

“I want to break tradition. I do believe that is what you and I are all about—transforming what has always gone before us,” Lachlan said as he sat in one of the oversized chairs and rested his head on the cushioned back. “And in further breaking the way things have always been, I’d rather have you in a room next to me during the day and in the midst of all the castle’s business than tucked away on the third floor in relative isolation. You must accept this room. I insist.”

Poignant emotion tightened her throat, making speech impossible so she nodded instead.