The Libertine (28 page)
Authors: Saskia Walker
“Oh, this bed is nowt but boards and blankets, but it is still
a fine blessing after our journey.” She reached out her arms to him.
“I will secure you the best stuffed mattress in the Highlands,
when we reach Fingal.” He gazed down at her and sighed with contentment. Then he
lay alongside her and held her in his arms. He’d never felt more grateful for
the chance to be with her.
Chloris stared up at him, her eyes searching his.
“Don’t fret.”
“I cannot help it.”
How he wanted to wash all those worries away. “Are you afraid I
will not marry you?”
She stayed silent for the longest moment before she spoke. “I
am married to another. We can never be the way that Jessie and Gregor are.”
There was such sadness in her pretty hazel eyes and he did not
like that. “We can, and we are.”
She shook her head. “I will never be free of it, and you
might...you might come to hate that and turn away from me and find love
elsewhere.”
He started. She thought he would wed another? “Chloris, we are
bound together, ceremony or no ceremony. We both know that.”
She looked at him and nodded. But she was sad still.
“Come now, things are very different in the Highlands. Clan
life is closer to the heart and hearth. But things are fair and we will be
treated as man and wife. Sometimes Highlands couples live together for a year
before they wed, to be sure they are meant to be that way.”
“Is that so?” She was fascinated, and now seemed eager for his
opinion.
Lennox knew she had left her past life, but she was afraid he
would think differently. All he wanted to do was reassure her. None of it
mattered. They were meant to be together. “When you married it was in the
Kirk?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I have nothing against the Kirk and the people who
believe in that way of life, but our way is different. If we were to handfast,
it’s a simple pledge to each other and it’s made in nature’s bower. It is an
honest agreement between two people who wish to share their lives, and the life
of their issue.” He stroked his hand over her belly.
“You think we can handfast?” Her lower lip trembled.
He nodded. “The past is behind us.”
“Oh, Lennox.” She kissed him madly, his lips, his forehead, his
cheeks. “The fact that you want me, it overwhelms me.”
“Hush now. You should know how much I want you. I nigh on
burned Edinburgh to the ground for you.”
Chloris chuckled.
Lennox was much relieved that he had alleviated her concerns
somewhat. There were things he still worried on, but he did not want Chloris
fretting. He settled alongside her, with his fingertips trailing over her belly
while they talked, reminding her that he was thinking of their precious union,
too.
“There is a matter about which I am greatly curious,” she said
later.
“There is?”
“Our child, will it be magical?”
The question touched Lennox in a way he didn’t think possible.
The thought of a child with her had startled him and pleased him immensely. Now
her question led him into a world to be explored—explored with her hand in
his.
“The child will have the bloodline, and if the young one is
brought up amongst those who understand and practice the craft there are great
possibilities, even if both parents do not come from the line. My cousin Deirdra
married a crofter who is not a witch and they had three mischievous bairns who
are every bit as gifted as the other young ones in the clan.”
Her eyes sparkled as she listened to him and he could see how
the possibilities of their life together invigorated her, as they did him.
“Will you still love the child if it does not have the powers
that you have?”
Lennox was amused by her questions. “You have thought on this
at great length.”
“I had plenty of time to think on it during the carriage ride
today, while I was nursing your sister. And when it was you that was sitting
opposite me it helped to keep my mind upon the subject.”
“You have nothing to fear. Even if we never had a child, I
would be devoted to you. The child is a gift that we shall love and treasure
together.”
“It was meant to be,” she whispered, as she looked up at him.
“Just as you said.” She rested her hand over his. “It was your magic that made
this happen.”
He saw how much she had thought upon this, how deeply she had
engaged with the matter in her heart. “Perhaps.” He studied her. “I told you I
never believed you needed the fertility rituals. However the way you responded
to my magic was so precious. It was something so unique to my experience. It
revealed to me that we had a very deep connection.”
She looked at him from under her lashes. “And it was just as
magical without the magic.”
“It pleases me that you think so.” He chuckled and stroked her
hair back from her forehead. The tresses were golden in the candlelight, and he
hoped she would wear it loose more, when they were away from the formal life of
the towns in the Lowlands.
She had stated her concerns, now it was time for his. “And do
you forgive me, for my misguided motivation at the outset?”
“Yes.”
“It was short-lived, believe me. You soon came to mean
everything to me, much more than some festering feud.”
That made her chuckle. “A festering feud, indeed it was. Tamhas
grumbled at length about you, especially after you presented at council. The
things he said. I didn’t know where to look.”
“Strangely enough, I can picture it.”
“I confess I was shocked, but that was because I hadn’t
realized. With a little distance on it and time to think it fast fell into
place.” She meshed her hand with his. “I looked back, and I could see when it
changed. When I wrote to you telling you that I did not wish to continue with
the rituals, you still sought me out. If you had just wanted to upset Tamhas,
you could have revealed the matter to him then and moved on to some other
conquest.”
She looked deep into his eyes and Lennox felt her love shine
within him.
“It was wrong of me, but I am happier that the truth is out. It
will take me a while to believe you truly forgive me, but I will work hard for
that.” It was a promise he meant to keep.
Her lips parted softly, and he could do nothing other than kiss
her.
Rolling her closer, he lifted her against him, joyous in their
embrace.
Her lips parted, yielding to him. She was so soft and precious
in his arms he wanted to hold her like that forever, even if it meant carrying
her all the way to the Highlands that way. He ached for her, every part of him
attuned to her and her alone.
She sighed after they kissed. “Why is it that you love me? I
still do not understand how this has occurred... You are all raw power and
wildness, and I am not.”
She was so bewildered looking that it amused him greatly. “Oh,
well, the reason I love you should be obvious.”
She waited for his reply.
“Because you told me you are not prone to melodrama.”
She stared at him for a long moment, then burst into laughter.
“And you believed me?”
“Of course I did.” He nuzzled the soft skin behind her ear,
kissing her there.
“You have made me so happy,” she whispered.
“It is only the beginning.”
“We do however have one problem,” she added.
“We do?” Lennox did not like the sound of that.
“When you first came to my chamber at Torquil House, you said I
could determine the amount of your fee if I was happy with the results of the
rituals you undertook.” She looked at him from under her lashes, a smile lifting
the corners of her mouth. “Well, I am most pleased with the way it has turned
out, but I do not think I have enough coins, nor will I ever have enough, for
that is how happy I am with the results.”
Lennox did not hesitate. “I will happily take you, in exchange
for my fee.”
“Are you sure that will be enough recompense?”
“Only if it is forever.”
“In that case,” she said, “I suppose I must agree.”
* * * * *
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am indebted to Jody Allen for her knowledge on
specific points about the history and culture of Lowlands Scotland. Thank you,
Jody, for all your wisdom and guidance.
I am also indebted to the staff of the National Museum of
Scotland, The Museum of Edinburgh and the People’s Story Museum in Edinburgh,
who upkeep terrific collections recreating the lives and history of everyday
Scottish people, making research a joy and an inspiration.
Finally my thanks go to Portia Da Costa for her friendship,
support and encouragement during the writing of this novel.
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ISBN: 9781460306468
Copyright © 2013 by Saskia Walker
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