In the Wake of the Wind (29 page)

After a few minutes he raised himself onto his forearms and looked down at her, dropping little kisses on her forehead, her eyelids, her nose. He lazily kissed her mouth, then smiled, looking like a cat in the cream pot. “Mmm,” he murmured. “Well? Was I right?”

Serafina
couldn’t help laughing. “You were right, and I’m sure Prince Charming couldn’t have done any better,” she said, pulling his head back down to hers and kissing him.

“Thank God,” he said, rolling over onto his side, taking her with him. “I tried to think of how a prince might proceed and went from there. Although I think you should elevate me to a bloody king. Never in the annals of history has a man exhibited such self-restraint in the face of such insane desire.”

“You’re awfully pleased with yourself, your majesty,” she said wryly, tracing the outline of one strongly muscled bicep.

“I damned well should be. Christ,
Serafina,
you have no idea what a state I’ve been in.” He idly stroked her breast with one finger. “Well worth waiting for, though. Are you sure you’ve never done this before?”

“Idiot,”
Serafina
said lovingly, stretching under his touch like a cat. “If I had, I wouldn’t have waited so long myself. I think I like lovemaking, Aiden.”

“Oh, yes,” he agreed. “I think you like it very much, which augers well for me. Just tell me one thing, though. Who the
hell
is Adam?”

S
erafina’s heart nearly stopped in shock. “Wh-What?” she stammered, horrified.

He stroked his finger down her nose. “You heard me. Adam. Who is he? It’s not the first time you’ve called me that, and a man really would rather hear his wife cry out his own name in the throes of passion.”

She stared at him, her mind racing to find a plausible explanation, but nothing came. “You—you must have misunderstood,” she said, grasping at straws. “Aiden, Adam—they’re close enough in sound.”

“I think I know my name when I hear it,” he replied dryly. “And you look as guilty as can be.” He dropped a kiss on her fingers. “Is there something you haven’t told me, sweetheart?”

“I—I don’t know anyone called Adam,” she said truthfully enough, relieved to see that he didn’t seem upset or angered by her appalling slip of the tongue, which she couldn’t understand. “I really think you must have misheard.”

“Possibly,” he said. “I might be inclined to make more of a jealous scene if I didn’t know for a fact that you believed yourself in love with me when you came to the marriage. That’s such an unlikely scenario in itself that no one could make it up.” He grinned. “Almost as unlikely as your dreaming that I assaulted you with a flagpole.”

“Aiden, I’m sorry about that,” she said sincerely, cursing Adam, the figment of her imagination, for causing her so much trouble. “I’m sorry that I thought you would hurt me, and I’m sorry to have made you wait for so long because of that.”

“Ah, well.” He stroked his fingers lightly over her back. “The truth of the matter is that some women do have a bad experience their first time.”

“They do?” she said, pulling slightly away and looking at him hard. “So you lied to me after all,” she said, frowning.

“No, not exactly. I didn’t see any point in dwelling on a remote possibility when you were already frightened, and I reasoned that since you’ve been riding astride and bareback most of your life, you probably had unwittingly taken care of the problem. I was right—you were remarkably easy to deflower.”

Serafina
thought that over. She supposed he was referring to all the jolting around she’d done, which explained the lack of pain when he’d penetrated her. Another reason to discount anything she’d ever dreamed about Adam.

She was going to have to have a serious word with herself and banish her fantasies for once and for all. Especially now that she had Aiden to love—although she didn’t think she’d give him that piece of news just yet for fear of frightening him away.

“You may deflower me anytime you wish,” she said, snuggling more closely against him, loving the way he felt and smelled and tasted.

“I’m afraid deflowering is the sort of thing that can only be done once,” he said with a choked laugh. “But your enthusiasm pleases me, and I’ll be happy to make love to you day in and day out and anytime in between. For example,” and he bent his head and took her mouth in a deep, lingering kiss, “I think right now would be a good time to begin. There’s so much ground to cover…”

“You’re in a fine mood this morning,” Tinkerby said, helping Aiden into his jacket.

“I have every reason to be in a fine mood,” Aiden said, not inclined to explain any more than that. He didn’t think Tinkerby
needed to know that it had taken him nearly six weeks to consummate his marriage. “However I have a few matters to take up with Serafina’s aunt.”

“Do you now, my lord? Well, I should be careful about going into her chambers, for today is Midsummer, and it’s her favorite day in the year to be casting spells—she’ll be at it until midnight, mark my words. And mind you, this time last year she blew the cow shed to smithereens, so there’s no telling what she’ll get up to.”

“Hmm. Well, never mind, I’ll risk it,” Aiden said with an amused smile. “Tell Janie not to wake my wife this morning, will you?”

Tinkerby touched his finger to the side of his nose and winked. “Right ho, your lordship. A girl needs her sleep, ’specially if she’s been kept up half the night by her husband.”

Aiden shook his head, wondering if Tinkerby would ever learn any respect. He strongly doubted it. He went straight to Elspeth’s quarters and knocked.

“Enter, enter, and be quick about it,” she called in her high voice, and he pushed the door open, then stopped on the sill, looking about in speechless astonishment.

The room was littered with stones formed into circles. Each circle contained an assortment of objects, or symbols that Aiden imagined were runes. The air reeked of incense, candles burning everywhere, and a cauldron sat near what Aiden imagined to be a makeshift altar, on which sat a cup, a pentacle, a wand, a crystal ball, and a few other objects he couldn’t identify. Aiden’s gaze traveled to the left side of the altar where a broom rested, and he passed his hand over his face for a moment, then dropped it.

Elspeth Beaton was farther gone than he’d ever imagined.

She knelt on all fours, her backside to him and cocked up in the air as she drew something in the middle of one of her circles.

“What are you waiting for? Bring the wine over here, Janie,” she commanded.

“It’s not Janie,” he said, struggling to keep the laughter from his voice.

She jerked up to an upright position with a loud squeak and turned, her face registering her horror as she took in his presence. “Aubrey! Whatever are you doing coming to my apartment?” She hopped to her feet and shoved her hands on her bony hips, glaring at him.

“Now you’ve got trouble,” a muffled voice said to the left of Aiden’s shoulder and he started and turned his head sharply to locate who had spoken. A large green parrot sat on a perch, his head cocked, regarding Aiden with one beady eye.

“Were you talking to me?” Aiden said to the bird, feeling as if he’d just stepped into Bedlam.

“Hush,” Elspeth snapped, and Aiden wasn’t sure whether she meant him or the bird. “Explain yourself, Aubrey.”

“I came to have a private word with you,” he said, trying to recover his equilibrium. “It’s about
Serafina.”

“What about
Serafina?”
she said, cocking her head in a good imitation of the parrot. “Is there something wrong with her?”

“Not at all, but I think there’s something wrong with you. What in God’s name were you thinking of when you gave
Serafina
your marriage speech about flagpoles and how I was going to make her bleed half to death? You scared her silly and gave her nightmares to boot!”

Elspeth tapped her finger against her mouth. “So that’s the problem, is it? And here I was thinking you didn’t want the girl. Well, that changes everything.”

Aiden blinked. “You thought I didn’t want her? Are you completely out of your mind? Did
Serafina
say something to you to make you think that?”

“She hasn’t said a word on the subject. But you said enough the other night. All that business about not loving her.”

Aiden picked his way across the room to one of the windows. He shoved it open, desperate for fresh air. “Miss Beaton,” he said, turning back to her, speaking as patiently as he could manage. “I might not be in love with your niece, but I never said I didn’t want her. Why would you think such a ludicrous thing?”

“Because that’s what you told everyone before the wedding, and Janie said not a thing was going on in that bed. What else would I surmise? I thought if you had any interest in
Serafina,
you’d have enough sense to get on with the matter.”

Aiden pressed his fingers to his temples. “Janie has been reporting to you about my private affairs?”

“She’s got a good head on her shoulders, that girl.”

“And what did Janie think you were going to do about the situation? Have another helpful chat with my wife?” Aiden walked over to the corner of the room and took a deep breath, attempting to control his temper, reminding himself that he was dealing with a madwoman.

A light tap came at the door, and before Elspeth had a chance to answer Janie appeared, carrying the wine decanter from downstairs. “Here it is, miss, but I think we’d better stop doctoring it,” she said in a rush, not seeing Aiden standing in the corner. “I’ve just seen for myself that his lordship did his business sure enough last night, but I think Plum’s been tippling at the stuff too, for he just cornered me in the kitchen and tried to plant a kiss on me! Plum!”

“No, no, no!” Elspeth cried, jumping up and down and flapping her arms wildly. “Stop, stop!”

“But it’s God’s honest truth,” Janie insisted. “You thought your love potion would only effect Lord Aubrey, but Lord Delaware and Plum both are behaving like two stallions after the mares.”

“That’s enough,” Elspeth shouted, still flapping like a hen.

Aiden couldn’t believe his ears. No wonder he’d been suffering from a permanent erection the last few days. “Are you telling me you’ve been putting some kind of aphrodisiac in the wine?” he roared.

Janie jumped a foot, nearly dropping the decanter in her shock. “Oh—oh, your lordship! Oh dear, I didn’t know you were there!” She stared at Aiden, then back at Elspeth, her eyes wide as saucers and filled with fright. “Oh, merciful heaven…”

“What do you think I was trying to tell you, stupid girl!” Elspeth said, grabbing the decanter out of her hands. “Off with you before you say another word and put your foot even deeper in it. I’ll finish this with his lordship.”

Janie fled the room, wringing her hands and wailing.

“You, Miss Elspeth Beaton, have some explaining to do,” Aiden said tightly, ready to strangle the woman.

“I was just trying to help,” Elspeth piped sheepishly. “And look there, it worked, didn’t it?” she added, brightening a little.

“I’d say it worked a little too well,” Aiden retorted hotly, taking forcible possession of the decanter. He marched over to the window and poured the contents out, strongly tempted to throw the damned container after it. He turned back to Elspeth, who stood with her hands behind her back, looking like a chastised child.

“Don’t you ever, ever do something like this again,” he said, biting out the words, his fingers clenched so tightly on the neck of the decanter that his knuckles turned white. “I do not need love potions to enhance my sexual drive, which is perfectly adequate, thank you very much. My
God,
woman, I was already in a bad enough state of frustration, thanks to the misguided information you gave my wife! But you made my life a living hell the last few days with whatever witch’s brew you concocted!”

“I’m sorry,” Elspeth said, bowing her head. “I was just trying to move things along.”

“You were just trying to move things along.” Aiden sighed. “Well, you’ve obviously also managed to play havoc with Plum and my father, never mind with me. How long does it take for the effects of this poison to work its way out of the system?”

“Twenty-four hours, perhaps?” she said in a small voice. “I’m not entirely sure. I’ve never tried it before.”

Aiden rubbed his eyes with one hand. “That’s bloody marvelous. You’ve never tried it before, so you thought you’d experiment on me.” He held his hand out. “Give it to me.”

Elspeth drew back. “But why can’t I keep it if I promise never to use it on you again? It was most expensive to make.”

“Give it to me,” Aiden shouted, and Elspeth jumped.

“Oh, very well,” she said sulkily. She went to a chest that sat against one wall and pulled out a bottle filled with a cloudy liquid. She held it out to him. “Here.”

Aiden put the decanter down and took it from her, pulled the cork out, and sniffed. There was no discernible odor, but he now understood why the wine had looked a little off-color the last few nights. And he’d thought that had been the result of improper storage, idiot that he was. He poured the contents out of the window, watching it splash onto the grass below, wondering if bizarre things would begin to sprout from the spot.

He gave her the bottle back. “See here, Miss Beaton, I don’t mind what nonsense you get up to in the privacy of your own quarters, but in the future you keep your meddling hands off me and everyone else who lives at Townsend. I grant you that your oil, whatever is in it, has been helping my sister, and for that I am grateful. But I won’t have you going about dosing people with Spanish fly without their knowledge, or giving them anything else that’s suspect.” He glared at her. “Do I make myself clear?”

“Deer antler tips,” she said indignantly. “Spanish fly is an irritant, not an aphrodisiac.”

“Whatever,” he said impatiently. “And for God’s sake, try not to burn the house down. You have enough candles lit in here to set us all aflame.”

“But it’s the Sabbat of Litha, the day when the powers of nature are at their peak,” Elspeth said, scuffing one foot on the floor. “I am celebrating the fertility of the god and goddess and I simply cannot do it without candles.”

“I don’t give a damn what you’re celebrating,” Aiden said, ready to tear his hair out. “Just be careful, would you?”

Elspeth shot him a sly look. “Oh, I’ll be careful enough. But you had better mark this day, my boy, for magic is also at its peak on the summer solstice, and if I were you I wouldn’t scoff at it. You need all the help you can get.”

“I’ve had more help from you than I need,” Aiden said dryly. He picked up the decanter, intending to take it downstairs and have Plum scour it out with boiling water. “Oh,” he said as an afterthought, “by the by, are you acquainted with anyone called Adam?”