Flora stalked from the feasting hall. When she reached the main corridor, she paused, waiting for the heavy thuds of booted feet, but Jasper didn’t follow her. And she had the dreaded feeling he never would.
***
Flora locked herself in her chambers. She felt frustrated beyond belief and horribly disheartened. She had held a small candle of hope for a marriage with Jasper, but the last of that hope had been dashed, leaving her in the dark. Her future now looked dimmer than ever, her dream of a life with Jasper further from her grasp than ever before. And it was all because of Conner.
In a fit of childish rage, she pushed the stack of mystery novels from her nightstand. They fell to the floor in a series of satisfied thumps, some of their pages flying out and scattering about the room. Conner had bought her those books, the dress she wore, the slippers on her feet, the fragrant soap she bathed in. Did that mean he felt he bought and owned her? Is that why he denied her at every turn?
She threw open her wardrobe and drug out her silk gowns and fur stoles, tossing them to the ground. Next came her chessboard with the ivory pieces. Conner had given the set to Flora for her birthday and she had been so pleased to receive it. Now it was nothing more than another reminder that Conner owned her.
“Not anymore,” she cried, overturning the small table it sat upon, scattering pawns and knights across the room.
Her chambers were in shambles, her belongings torn from their places. And Flora didn’t care a bit. Everything she owned, everything she was, resulted from the control her blasted brother had over her. He dominated every facet of her life from what gown she wore to the education she received. Now he planned on controlling who she would spend her life with! Flora wouldn’t stand for such vile injustices. But how could she marry for love against all Conner’s wishes?
Conner had married Charlotte when she escaped from the clutches of a brutish forced marriage. Without her father’s permission, Conner had taken Charlotte to wife. And as for her cousin Drummond, he had gotten himself Penelope when the pair consummated their love out of wedlock. Penelope had forced her parents’ hand by the loss of her virginity and now she was on her honeymoon with the man she loved. But what could Flora do? Jasper lived in Scotland, so there was no running away with him.
“What do I do now?” she muttered, stepping over the piles of clothes and flopping onto her bed.
Surely she couldn’t do what Penelope and Drummond did—lie together without at least a handfasting to bind them. But were there any other options? Anything other than bedding Jasper to force Conner to accept the match? Then again, would there be any true harm in lying with Jasper? After all, they would be married directly after telling Conner.
Flora laid on her stomach, twirling a lock of hair around one finger. All she needed to do in order to cement her future was seduce the man she loved. One night of sinful passion could lead to a lifetime of wedded bliss!
Chapter Five
“You’re going to do what?” Charlie hissed, choking on his brandy.
“I’m going to ‘do a Penelope,’ as it were,” Flora whispered excitedly in their secluded corner of her chambers the next afternoon. “Think of it: If I’m properly bedded and possibly carrying a child out of wedlock, Conner will have no choice but marry me to Jasper in order to save my reputation.”
“Do you really think that wise?”
“Wiser than marrying you, that’s for certain.”
Charlie shrugged and put down his empty cup before turning toward her, his face drawn and tight. “Flora, you know I thoroughly enjoy a good scandal, but normally not one that could backfire so spectacularly on those I love.”
“Truly, I don’t see the downside.”
“What if your brother still doesn’t allow you to wed him?”
“And leave me potentially pregnant out of wedlock? Hardly possible.”
“I suppose you do have a point. After all, our dear Penelope was almost shoved down the aisle by her parents to hide any potential pregnancy.” Charlie chuckled. “But how will you complete your little plot? It’s not as if your Jasper can just traipse into your bedchamber in plain sight. He’s not me.”
“I thought I’d go to his.”
“He lives here in the castle?”
“Yes. Most men who serve under Conner do if there’s room enough, or they have to care for their farms. Him being unattached means he’s free to room in the outer wings of the keep. I believe he even has his own room since Big Angus left to ready his farm for his own wedding.”
“So Jasper owns no land?”
“Oh, I didn’t say that. He has some spinster aunt who lives on his farm some miles away. She oversees things with the help of some lad, I believe.”
“Then your plan is just sashay into his chambers and under his kilt?”
Flora nibbled her bottom lip and slouched deeper into her seat. “I…I don’t know. I mean…what do I do? I’ve never done anything like this.”
“How delicious,” Charlie muttered. His mouth split open into a toothy grin and he tapped his fingers together. “I am to be an accessory to a wondrous plot.”
“Don’t call it a plot. Now tell me what I am to do.”
“If you haven’t noticed, I do not have the necessary parts for your endeavor,” he pointed out, motioning to his lap.
“Come now, Charlie, you’re the only man I trust to help.”
He breathed deeply through his nose and looked around the room. “I suppose I could be of some assistance. Besides, I had a great deal of fun at Penelope’s wedding, so you getting married would give me an excuse to dally in Scotland for a while longer.”
Charlie rose from his chair and began pacing Flora’s—now clean—room. He poked about her dresser full of gowns and inspected her dressing table. She watched him intently as he sniffed her perfume bottles and grimaced at each.
“What are you doing?” she asked as he tossed aside one particularly large bottle.
“Trying to help you. You need to be alluring this evening.”
Flora’s stomach dropped. “Should it be so soon?”
“How much longer should you wait?”
“I suppose you’re right. Now help me, Charlie. Make me irresistible.”
He placed a hand over his heart. “Oh, darling, I thought you’d never ask.”
***
“I feel foolish,” Flora grumbled as Charlie finished dabbing bright pats of red lip color to her mouth.
“Well, you don’t look foolish, and that’s all that matters.”
She clutched her black cloak tighter around her chest. Charlie had forced her out of her gown and stays, leaving her in naught but a thin shift. He had then piled her hair atop her head in a wild fashion, leaving her looking “freshly bedded,” as he called it. Rouge and lip color followed, as did several dabs of a musky rose scent to her neck. While he assured her that she appeared completely alluring, Flora felt that she looked like a common prostitute.
“Isn’t that the point, darling?” he asked as he pulled out a few of her curls to frame her face. “You’re meant to draw him in.”
Flora glanced at the clock. The midnight hour drew near and the time of her deflowering was almost upon her. As each minute passed by, she grew more and more nervous. “But won’t he think me wonton?”
“Not if you’re going to him and not some other man.”
“He may believe me loose.”
“Trust me, darling, once he realizes there’s naught but a dainty virgin beneath that powder and lace, he will think nothing other than to make you his.”
“Then I suppose I must go now, before I lose my nerve.”
Charlie nodded. “Don’t fret, Flora. All will be well.”
“Do you truly believe so?”
“I believe in you, and that’s all that is needed.”
***
Flora tiptoed, barefooted, in the dark corridors of the castle, careful to stay in the shadows. She had Charlie investigate the men’s quarters to tell her precisely which room Jasper
inhabited, and it was a long way from her own. Each time she heard a distant voice or saw the flicker of light from one of the many candles that lit the hallway, her heart leaped into her throat. But soon she found her mark.
Taking one final brave breath, she pushed open the door and slid into the room, dark save for one single candle Jasper had forgotten to extinguish. She could see a lump in the bed. Jasper lay on his back, deeply asleep and snoring gently.
“Jasper,” she whispered, gently touching his arm.
He barely moved.
“Jasper,” Flora said a bit louder, jostling him.
The man shot up, his eyes wide and with a dagger in hand. But he withdrew the blade when his gaze settled on Flora, her face hidden by the hood.
“Who’s there?” he asked, squinting in the darkness.
Flora pulled back the hood and smiled. “It’s me.”
“F-Flora?” he gasped, tossing the dagger to the floor and reaching for the candle. “What are ye doin’ here?”
“I came to see you.”
“It’s the wee hour o’ the mornin’.”
“I know,” she replied as he lit another flame.
Jasper studied her, taking in her mass of hair and vivid makeup. His eyes drifted down to the clasp of her cloak. Flora, feeling a spur of courage, unhooked the clasp and let the fabric drop to the floor. Jasper’s mouth hung open upon seeing her form in the thin shift. Neither moved for a moment. Each paused and regarded each other, unsure of what to do. But Flora couldn’t take the uncertainty and made the first gesture, gently brushing Jasper’s cheek with her palm.
Her tender caress broke open the floodgates of desire. Jasper grabbed her by the waist and flung her onto the bed beside him, attacking her mouth with his. Flora’s heart beat madly against her breastbone as he nibbled at her lips, his hands roughly groping her chest through the flimsy fabric of her chemise.
She had wondered, the past two years, how it would be between them, and now she knew for certain. At first she thought he might be gentle with her and murmur verses of love in her ear, as the men often did in her romance novels. But no words passed between them and Jasper’s probing fingers pinched at her thighs and breasts before briskly pulling her shift over her head and tossing it to the floor.
“Ach, just as pretty as I hoped,” he croaked, his eyes grazing her naked body.
Flora’s fear eased a bit at his kind compliment. She assumed his coarseness was due to nerves, much as her own meekness was. He did calm his advances a bit as he pulled the coverings off his body. But Flora gasped as she saw he was fully nude, his manhood on display. She averted her eyes, her innards twisting in uncertainly and dread.
“Do no’ fret, lass,” Jasper soothed, moving to hover above her.
“I’m not afraid.” She had tried to sound brave, but her voice quivered.
As Jasper settled between her legs, she held her breath in anticipation. The moment he deflowered her was the moment her life with him could begin. There was no turning back, nor did she want to. She was prepared to give herself to Jasper mind, body, and soul.
Jasper pushed into her with a grunt. The force of his movement jarred her and sent a sharp twinge of pain shooting through her core. She covered her mouth with her palm to keep from crying out in hurt and surprise. The older women of the clan said that it would be uncomfortable and Flora cursed the crones for being right. As Jasper slid in and out, she waited for the waves of pleasure everyone said would come. They had promised pure bliss after the initial penetration. But Flora merely felt squashed.
The act was brief and awkward and Flora wondered why it was nothing as she expected. There were no sweet words, no kissing, and no feeling of joy. Instead, she was brushing her own tangled hair out of her mouth and struggling to breathe under his heavy weight. Her legs lay sprawled on either side of his and his hot breath shot into her ear. Then suddenly, Jasper gave a great shudder and she felt a peculiar sensation down there.
He rolled off her body and onto his back, heaving in great gulps of air. Flora drew the sheets back over her form and moved a bit, still feeling rather mussed and sore. She waited for Jasper to hold her in his arms as she thought he would, but he lay there like a big loaf, his breathing slowly steadying.
“Are…are you well?” she questioned, wondering why he had yet to speak.
“Aye, lass,” Jasper replied, patting her on the arm. “And you?”
“I’m all right.”
“Did ye enjoy it?”
Flora frowned. Certainly he didn’t think that she liked being pawed at and roughly handled. But he looked so at peace and happy at that moment that Flora decided to lie. “Very much so.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“And you?”
“Ach, ye have a fine set o’ legs, lass. Verra fine,” he mumbled lowly, his eyes closed.
“Are you going to sleep?”
Jasper yawned. “Aye, I thought I might.”
Flora bit her lip. She had expecting some kind, gentle words and perhaps some time lying in each other’s embrace. His dismissal of her was borderline humiliating. “Oh…I see.”
“Ye best be back to your chambers soon, lass. We can no’ have ye caught in the halls.”
At first, Flora thought that was just what she wanted. But then thought it better to avoid being publically shamed. It would be enough to merely get Conner to support the union and let the rest of the world believe her a maid on her wedding day. She let out an involuntary giggle when she imagined the stunned look on her brother’s face when he announced that her marriage to Jasper would then be unavoidable.
“What’s so funny?”
“Oh, nothing,” Flora sang, beginning to slip from the bed.
“Are ye off to your own chambers, then?”
She nodded in the dark, snatching her shift from the floor and putting it on quickly. “You’re right that I shouldn’t be seen.”
“Aye, ye took a big risk comin’ here,” he chastised with a grin. “But I’m glad it’s a risk ye decided to take.”
Flora smiled in response. His look of happiness heartened her and solidified the idea that she had done the right thing. Certainly their first time had been cumbersome and strange, but they had a whole lifetime to sort through their awkward fumbling and come together as one.
“Goodnight, Jasper,” she whispered as she reached the door.
“G’night, lass,” he rumbled as he buried himself in his covers.
Flora stepped into the silent corridor and practically ran through the castle in her hurry to get to her bed unnoticed. But as she darted through the hallways and around the sharp corners, she felt a lightness carry her through. Her future was bright and would be full of deep love and new beginnings. Her gamble would pay off threefold and she would soon be married to Jasper.
Chapter Six
“Ye wanted to speak with me?” Conner asked, not looking up from the maps spread upon his desk.
Flora shifted from one foot to the other. The words she needed to say were trapped in her throat, but they needed to come out. They had to, or the events of the night before would be in vain. All she needed to do was tell Conner that she had been bedded and it would all be done and she and Jasper would be hand fasted immediately.
“I…I…” she croaked out. Her palms were sticky with perspiration and she wiped them hastily on the sides of skirt.
“Ye what, Flora?” he sighed, pushing the maps aside and glancing at her.
“I’ve lain with Jasper and I am no longer a maid!” she blurted out, louder than she intended. Her hands involuntarily slapped over her mouth as she awaited Conner’s response.
He clasped his fingers together, his face unreadable. “Is that so?” he whispered after several terse moments.
Flora nodded, unable to speak. She feared she would vomit all over the Persian rug if she opened her mouth.
“And he bedded ye as a husband does his wife?” His voice was still calm, an even tone that didn’t give away any hint of em
otion.
Flora nodded again.
“And ye know what that means, lass? When a man beds a woman? You are sure o’ it?”
Another nod.
“I see.” Conner steadily stood from his seat and rolled up his maps, setting each one carefully in the bin beside his chair. Then he brushed past Flora, giving nothing of his thoughts away. He strode briskly through the halls with a very confused Flora at his heels. He seemed so placid, she wasn’t truly sure that he understood what she said.
“Conner?” she questioned, jogging to keep pace.
“Aye?”
“Did you…did you hear me correctly?”
“Aye.”
Charlotte turned a corner from the opposite direction, baby Alec in her arms. “Oh, hello you two, there—”
“No’ now,” Conner muttered sharply.
Charlotte turned on her heel as they passed. “Flora, what’s going on?”
“I don’t know,” Flora replied honestly. Nothing was going as planned and now Conner seemed to be going down for a leisurely lunch.
“Good morning,” Gwen called out merrily as she came out from one of the rooms. When no one answered her, she joined the little party. “Is everything all right?”
“Conner, what’s happened? Tell me now,” Charlotte demanded.
“Jasper has bedded Flora and now the lass is no longer a maid,” he shot back.
Charlotte gasped and looked at Flora, who felt heat seep up her neck.
“Flora, you didn’t!” Gwen cried as all color drained from her face. “Jasper?”
“And where are you going now?” Charlotte asked as they reached the doors to the feasting hall.
“I’m goin’ to kill the bastard.” Conner kicked open the double doors and marched toward a group of men, drawing his blade as he went.
Flora let out a shrill shriek of alarm. Jasper’s blood would spill and it would be her fault.
“Conner, no!” Charlotte yelled.
But he ignored the women and grabbed Jasper by the back of the neck, tossing him to the ground. “Ye bastard! I took ye into my clan when ye had no one!” he roared in the now silent hall. “I gave ye food, the clothes on your back, this roof over your bloody head!”
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