The Taste of Love

by Platt, Meara

  “Loopy, no! Yer gown!”

  As it began to tangle in her legs, she realized she couldn’t kick herself upward, not only because of the tangled fabric, but from the weight of her gown that was also tugging her downward. She felt herself sinking, and felt a growing sense of alarm as she held her breath and followed Periwinkle in disappearing beneath the surface.

  But she managed to grab hold of the frightened dog and was about to push him toward the shore and worry about breathing afterward, when she felt herself suddenly lifted upward.

  She took a deep, gasping breath the moment her head broke above the surface.

  Thad had her.

  She clutched his big body, held on tight as with two quick strokes, he swam them all to shore beside the copse of trees. She wanted to thank him and tell him that she loved him, but was coughing too hard to speak.

  Periwinkle began to bark and squirm in her arms. He was unharmed and back to his demanding self, but she dared not let him go.

  When she blinked open her eyes, she saw Nathaniel and Pip running toward them. In the next moment, Nathaniel took the wayward dog into his arms. “Nice work, Loopy. I’ll take him back to the house. Lavinia’s still shrieking. Poppy’s trying to calm her.”

  Penelope hadn’t found her voice yet, so she merely nodded.

  “Are ye all right, lass?” Thad asked once Nathaniel and Pip had left them to return to the house. He still held her in his arms and was stroking her wet hair. All of her was soaked. So was he, and he looked magnificent.

  She nodded.

  Oh, how she wanted to tell him that she loved him!

  She tried, but got no more out than “Thad” before she coughed again.

  But he had to know, for his gaze turned tender and his smile reached all the way into his eyes. “Lass, ye’re wet again.”

  She laughed. “And we’re in the copse again.” Her voice was raspy, but it was clearing.

  His gaze remained on her. “Och, ye gave me a scare.”

  Now groaning and laughing, he swallowed her in his embrace. Then he was kissing her on the mouth, on her forehead. On her closed eyes. On her mouth again in a long and lingering kiss that curled her toes and had her clutching the front of his wet shirt. “Will ye marry me, Penelope?”

  She loved him, too. In truth, it scared her how much she loved him.

  Those letters.

  So silly, and yet he’d treasured them.

  “Yes, I’ll marry you. I love you, Thad. To the depths of my soul.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Loopy was smiling at him as they made their way back to the house. Thad had the letters safely tucked back in his leather pouch that was tossed over his good shoulder. The beauty beside him had The Book of Love tucked under her arm.

  “What do ye think, lass? Will we surprise everyone? Or will we get a hearty round of we knew it all along?”

  She shook her head and laughed, holding the book up to him. “This will now take on mythical proportions. Olivia won her duke. Poppy won her earl. And I won the best of all, a Highlander.”

  He took her hand in his as they continued walking. “Your big, dumb Scot.”

  She groaned. “Thad, no. The man of my dreams. You’ve always been that, only I was too scared to admit it because I didn’t think you liked me.”

  He entwined his fingers in hers and gave them a light squeeze. “We were as wrong about each other as two people can possibly be.” He glanced at the book and grinned. “I think we’re going to have to listen to each other better. Stop working at cross purposes.”

  “Where’s the fun in that?”

  He tossed back his head and laughed. “Right, lass. No fun at all. I rather liked that love-crazed Harpy who somehow fell into my arms yesterday.”

  “Thad,” she said quietly, now serious, “Speaking of that…I know we’ll bicker from time to time.”

  He snorted.

  “But I don’t ever want us to go to bed angry with each other.”

  “Och, Loopy. I’m a simple, low-brained male. Once ye’re in my bed, I won’t be thinking of the fight we had that day. I won’t be thinking, period. I’ll be taking ye into my arms and hoping ye’ll allow me to explore that sweet body of yours.” He paused in his stride as they neared the entry to the manor house. “If I could marry ye today, I would.”

  She nodded. “I suppose there’s the business end to take care of now that you’ve become an important person.”

  “Yer brother’s going to enjoy negotiating the betrothal contract. I’m sure Beast will join in that discussion. They’ll have great sport at my expense. Hume and Caithness will sit in as well to make certain I don’t give away my entire inheritance.”

  “No chance of that. My brother can’t wait to be rid of me. I think he’d pay you a king’s ransom to take me off his hands.” She furrowed her brow and began to nibble her lip. “Thad, I’ll have to speak to Lord Wycke. I think it’s only fair that I tell him before we spread the news to our friends and family. He’ll be disappointed, but I don’t think he’ll be terribly hurt.”

  “Aye, lass. Do ye want me to tell him with ye?”

  “No, that would only be rubbing salt in the wound. Although he won’t really be distressed. Nor is he likely to do anything mad, such as attempt to abduct me.” She looked up into his eyes as though searching for something in his expression. “What would you have done if the situation had been reversed and I’d chosen Wycke?”

  “Nothing, lass, if I thought ye loved him. But anything short of love?” He arched an eyebrow and grinned. “I would have ridden into the church on Thor, swept ye up in my arms, and galloped off with ye. But it would not have come to that. Ye’ve too much passion in ye to marry for anything less than love.”

  “Passion? That’s a nice way of describing my nature. My brother thinks I’m obstinate and impossibly thickheaded.”

  “Ye are that, too. We’ve already agreed upon that. But so am I. Our coupling will be no tame affair. I doubt the bed will remain in one piece by the time we’re through.”

  She blushed fiercely, her innocence surging to the fore. It amazed him that she could be so spirited and brash, yet so shy in this way. He liked this about her. “I’m jesting, lass. Ye need have no fear of our wedding night. Ye’re no mere vessel into which I’ll spill my seed. If ye don’t want me to touch ye, I won’t.”

  They were standing together, soaking wet. She looked so achingly beautiful, he couldn’t bear it. Little beads of water still dripped from her hair onto her cheeks and down her neck. Her gown, now ruined, was pasted to her luscious body, outlining every curve. Indeed, he’d better get her upstairs before the men in the house, from footmen to earls, got too close a look. “Ye’d better change out of that gown before ye go talking to anybody.”

  She nodded. “I will. In truth, I’m shivering. Autumn is upon us and the water was cold.”

  He glanced at the tell-tale signs on her breasts, for he was a shameless hound and couldn’t stop gawking.

  But he was cold and wet, too. On the outside, at least. Inside, he was in flames over this girl. That she had accepted his proposal, that she loved him…he could not begin to explain what he felt. Someone was obviously smiling down on him from heaven.

  He turned her over to her maid and then went in search of Nathaniel.

  He ran into Poppy and Goose first. “Lavinia has finally calmed down,” Poppy assured him. “Thank you for rescuing Periwinkle.”

  He nodded. “Loopy saved him.” Then he’d had to save her, but it wasn’t worth mentioning.

  Goose chuckled. “Whoever would have thought it of that pampered pup? I’m sorry I missed all the excitement. Beast and I ought to have walked over earlier.” She studied Thad. “You jumped in, too. Something more than a mere rescue must have happened. You look different, somehow. What changed, Thad?” Suddenly, she gasped. “You’re in love!”

  Poppy’s big blue eyes widened to saucers. “I knew it! You had to fall in love. You were Penelope’s test frog!”
<
br />   He wasn’t going to admit he’d loved her all his life. “Where’s Nathaniel?”

  “In his study with Beast,” Goose said. “Where’s Penelope?”

  “Upstairs, changing into a dry gown.”

  They abandoned him to race upstairs. So much for secrets or for letting Wycke know before they broke the news to everyone. He didn’t mind so much. Those three lasses practically shared one heart. Whatever one felt, the other two always seemed to sense.

  He supposed it was similar for Beast, Nathaniel, and him. Not blood kin, but brothers bound forever in their hearts. He walked into Nathaniel’s study, for the door was ajar and his friends were casually seated across from each other. But they rose when he stepped in and closed the door behind him.

  He tried not to drip too badly on Nathaniel’s expensive carpet. “Nathaniel…”

  “Blister it, Thad,” he said, eyeing him from head to toe, and then chuckling. “You too?”

  Beast burst out laughing. “The Book of Love will now become legend. Our wives will have to keep it under lock and key. Or bury it somewhere deep in the ground, else it will be stolen.”

  Thad nodded. “They’re upstairs together right now, probably discussing who to give it to next. But I can’t pity the man who’ll be the next test frog. There’s nothing wrong with marrying for love.”

  Nathaniel ran a hand raggedly through his hair. “So, you’re sure about this?”

  Thad nodded again. “I loved yer sister from the first moment I saw her. Obviously, a pure, childhood love back then. The miracle wasn’t ever in making me fall in love with her. I always have and always will. But I had nothing to offer her until a few weeks ago. Now I’m Hume’s heir.” He glanced up toward the ceiling. “A gift from heaven? Or was it the book that brought this about?”

  Nathaniel crossed his arms over his chest and cast him a gloating smile. “You do realize I’m going to roll right over you in the betrothal negotiations. Can you stop mooning over my sister long enough to make this something of a battle?”

  “Och, no. I dinna think I can.”

  *

  “Then we’re agreed,” Penelope whispered later that morning when Poppy and Olivia joined her along the parade route. “Violet’s next?”

  The pair nodded.

  “Thank you,” Poppy said, giving each of them a quick hug. “I want my sister to experience the same happiness as we share with our husbands. Or soon to be husband for you, Penelope. I must admit, Thad’s the smartest out of the three of them. Olivia and I had to beat Nathaniel and Beast about the head with that book before anything penetrated their thick skulls.”

  “Thad loved you in silence all along.” Olivia sighed. “That’s so romantic.”

  Her big Scot romantic?

  Not so much in words, but certainly in deeds.

  Her heart fluttered as she noticed Thad and Pip striding to the outskirts of town, both of them wearing slings on their arm. Pip was gazing up at Thad in adoration, for Thad had insisted Pip march beside him since they were family now. Those slings were almost an afterthought, for neither of them appeared to be in pain despite the freshness of their injuries.

  She supposed happiness had a way of dulling one’s pain.

  Penelope and her friends shared a secret smile when Violet joined them. “Don’t they all look wonderful?” Violet squealed. “I’m sorry Anne and her family could not stay a day longer. Anne was sorely disappointed. So was Malcolm. You should have seen the kiss he gave her as she was about to climb into her carriage. Practically sucked the lips off her. Lord Wycke was furious. But his mother did not appear to be very much overset. She merely told her son to stop being a stubborn dolt and allow them to move up their wedding date.”

  Penelope was relieved when her friends changed the topic of conversation. In truth, telling Anne’s brother she loved Thad and had agreed to marry him, had disappointed Wycke more than she’d expected. The man had never shown much feeling when in her company, but she supposed Thad hadn’t either, and he’d been deeply in love with her.

  Perhaps she’d have a talk with Wycke when they met again, for they were certain to see each other on occasion now that Thad’s cousin was going to marry Wycke’s sister. If Wycke thought his sister’s romance would come to a natural end, he was sorely mistaken.

  Penelope understood these Highlanders better now.

  They were stubborn.

  They knew what they wanted and would not be dissuaded by reason.

  Malcolm MacLauren was going to marry Anne Halford, and that was that.

  She returned her attention to the parade since it was about to start.

  Thad’s regiment had already gathered at the edge of Wellesford, the men clad in their Caithness clan tartans. The war was over for these men. They’d been proud to be a part of the Scots Greys, but their hearts would always be in Caithness. They’d put aside their uniforms for this day and donned their kilts.

  She had to admit, Thad looked devastatingly handsome in a rugged, brawny way.

  A distant keen of bagpipes and the steady beat of a drum signaled the regiment was on the march. Miss Billings darted across the street to join them. “Goodness, what excitement. I do love my books, but this parade is so much better.”

  Indeed, every merchant had closed up shop and turned out for this event. To Penelope’s surprise, she noticed Poppy move closer to Miss Billings and put her arm in hers. It was a small gesture, but obviously not to Miss Billings who responded with a smile so bright, she shone like a diamond.

  And Poppy thought she’d never make a proper countess?

  Goodness, Penelope had been raised to assume this role and did not do it half so well as Poppy who’d had no training, but understood the demands of the role instinctively.

  She tucked this bit of knowledge away, knowing it would be put to good use when she and Thad arrived at Coldstream Castle, the Earl of Hume’s seat. The Hume clan would have to be won over, for they’d regard her and Thad as outsiders, even if he was his grandfather’s heir. She could be as stubborn and determined as any Scot. The way to win them over would not be by exerting one’s authority. It would be done over time by gaining their friendship and respect.

  She supposed Thad knew this, for her big Scot was not in the least slow-witted.

  Shaking out of her thoughts, she cheered as the soldiers marched past. Pip was in the vanguard along with Thad, his giant cousins, and the two Scottish earls.

  But the parade stalled when Thad suddenly broke ranks and strode toward her. “Thad?” She eyed him warily. “What are you doing?”

  The citizens of Wellesford seemed to understand his purpose better than she did. They began to whoop and holler when he drew her into his one good arm and crushed his mouth to hers to give her a kiss that – in Violet’s earlier words – practically sucked the lips off her.

  Oh, heavens!

  She couldn’t wait to get this man into her bed. Lord forgive her for the wicked thought, but she really, desperately wanted this man in her bed.

  “I love ye, Loopy.”

  “Likewise, you big oaf.”

  Which he took as permission to kiss her again. “Och, ye taste delicious. Just like–”

  “Don’t say it!”

  “—a sausage patty.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Wellesford, England

  November 1815

  There was nothing more beautiful than the crisp, vibrant blue of a cloudless November sky, Penelope decided while taking an early morning stroll to the pond. A flock of geese had taken it over this morning, no doubt using this little patch of water as a rest stop. She had no idea where they were going, but she’d seen hundreds of them flying southward.

  She tucked her shawl more securely about her shoulders, for the wind had picked up and there was a chill to it.

  “Ye’re up early, mo cridhe,” Thad said, coming up beside her. He’d returned to Sherbourne Manor yesterday with his two uncles, Caithness and Hume, and his cousins, Robbie and Malcolm. He’d
also brought along a special license.

  They would marry within a few hours.

  She’d known this day was in the offing and was quite ready for it.

  She, Poppy, and Olivia had prepared, sending invitations to the townspeople and the local gentry. Cook and her kitchen staff had been cooking and baking all week. The maids and footmen had spent these past days dusting, polishing, and moving furniture aside to make room for the crowd of well-wishers soon to gather at Sherbourne Manor for the wedding breakfast.

  “I know this day will be difficult for ye, lass.” He drew her up against his chest so that they both faced outward, toward the pond. “I hope ye’ll come to love our new home as much as ye love this place.”

  She nodded. “I will, Thad. I’ll be happy wherever you are. This is Poppy and Nathaniel’s home now. I’ll enjoy visiting here, but we’ll make our own memories elsewhere.” She turned in his arms to face him.

  He had a wicked gleam in his eyes.

  She groaned. “Why are you looking at me that way?”

  “It’s early. No one is awake yet.” He gazed toward the copse of trees. “Ye’ve seen me naked there. I’ve seen ye almost naked there. The geese are flying off now, leaving the pond just to ourselves.”

  “Are you suggesting we go for a swim?” She gasped. “The water’s freezing.”

  “Nowhere near freezing, lass. Just a little on the cool side. Our Highland summers are much like this and our lochs never get above this temperature. I’ll warm ye up if ye get cold. What do ye say?”

  She laughed and shook her head. “You are mad.”

  He lifted her into his arms, his shoulder nicely healed and showing no signs of stiffness or pain. “Aye, driven mad with desire for ye.” He carried her into the grove of trees and the shelter of the underbrush, wasting not a moment before he began to undress.

  “You’re serious? You’re going in the water?”

  He nodded. “Care to join me?”

  She sighed. “I must be mad as well.” She removed her shawl and set it aside on a nearby branch that was now almost bare of its leaves.