Chapter 16
Damn Mary straight to hell; she’d known exactly what activity Hew had planned for us. When Hew arrived at the back entrance of the castle carrying a sled, I caught sight of Mary hiding around a corner, cackling like a banshee.
“It is not the least bit funny, Mary! Now, he will be forced to wait on me while I change. There’s no way I’m going to get this dress sopping wet.”
Mary stepped out from her place in the shadows, laughing as she waved her brother inside. “Oh, doona be such a grumpy bairn, Adelle. Hew, get yerself inside whilst the lassie changes.”
Hew stomped his snow-covered feet off outside before following Mary’s instruction, casting me an apologetic glance before reprimanding his sister. “’Twas no kind of ye, Mary.” He turned to address me. “But I willna say I’m no pleased to see ye in such a fine dress, lass. Ye look lovely.”
Mary piped up once again, not giving me a chance to thank him for his kind words.
“Ach, if ye find her pleasing in that, I’m sure ye shall fall over when ye see what she will come down in next. I’m certain she will use yer idea of playing in the snow as the perfect excuse to don her horrific garb from her own time. I doona see what the lads seem to see in it, but every time Adelle, Bri, or Blaire decide to squeeze themselves into their modern clothes, all the lads, me own Kip included, can hardly keep their tongues inside their mouths. ’Tis truly pathetic.”
Hew’s brows pulled together quizzically, but he said nothing. I ignored her as well and turned to make my way back upstairs.
I was almost out of sight when Mary called out to me. “I’m right, aye? Ye are going in search of yer ‘jeans?’”
I smiled at the anticipation of ripping this burdensome dress of and sliding into the comfy denim. I screamed over my shoulder back at her. “Yes, Mary. You are very right, indeed.”
* * *
Mary had also been right about Hew’s reaction to seeing a woman in such clothing. It was certainly something men in this time were unaccustomed to. His mouth nearly fell open at the sight of me. Though entirely covered from head to toe, bundled up as much as I could for our snowy activities, I suddenly felt self-conscious under his gaze.
“Ach, lass, I doona know if ye should trust yerself with me when ye look as ye do. Do women truly dress in such a manner commonly where ye come from?”
I laughed and marched out into the snow ahead of him. “Oh yes, all of the time. This is quite a conservative outfit, I assure you. Would you rather I went and put my dress back on?”
He caught up to me quickly, throwing his arms around me from behind. He kissed me roughly on the cheek, his facial hair tickling my ear. “Nay, lass. I wouldna let ye go and change even if ye wished it. Come. I found a bonny hill near the cottage that shall be perfect for sledding.”
Excited by his choice of activity, it rather surprised me as well. He was much more fun than he’d originally let on. Taking his hand in my own, we made our way to the snowy hill.
* * *
The lass meant to torture him. No other explanation for dressing the way she had made sense. He could make out the shape of her bum in her trousers, and what a fine bum it was. Round and full, just like a woman’s should be.
If the lass spoke true, and there seemed no reason why she would not, he imagined men in her time spent a good portion of their days walking about quite uncomfortably, such a feast for their eyes laid out in front of them daily.
Hew breathed in deeply through his nose, hoping the chill in the air would cool the fire that burned inside him. Thankful when they reached the hill, he promptly placed the sled he’d built down into the snow and instructed Adelle to sit in the front so that he could join her on the back end.
Pushing off hard, they flew down the snowy landscape, both of them howling with delight as the cold wind rushed across their faces. When the sled finally reached the bottom of the hill, it stopped rather abruptly, uprooting both of them from their seats, sending them tumbling out into the snow.
They landed in a twisted pile. Adelle was on top of him laughing so hard that the trembling of her chest shook his own.
“Are ye all right, lass?” Their fun would be spoiled quickly if his idea caused her harm.
She smiled brightly, bending to quickly kiss him on the tip of his nose. He found himself wondering how a lass could manage to keep her teeth so brilliantly white. They were stunning, just like every other part of her.
“Yes, I’m fine. Let’s go again!”
She leapt off of him and was halfway up the hill before he could manage to roll over and climb his way out of the snow.
Chapter 17
“Wakey, wakey…”
Bri’s voice lured me out of a deep sleep. I awoke to find Bri and Blaire sitting on either side of me, grinning in anticipation.
I rolled onto my stomach, shielding my face from the both of them, groaning as I spoke. “What do you want? Just leave me alone. I’ll wake up sometime tomorrow.”
Bri stuck her hand into my hair, mussing it about so that I would turn back over onto my back. “You missed breakfast, so did Hew. Mary’s not pleased with either one of you, and she said that you will just have to wait until evening to eat because she wasn’t going to warm anything for you once you woke up.”
I obliged her and rolled over, sitting myself up so that I was eye level with both of them. Endlessly hungry, I could out eat almost any man. No way would I wait until evening to eat. “Like hell I will. I am more than capable of feeding myself. That bossy biddy will not dictate when and what I eat.”
Bri looked over at Blaire who laughed knowingly. “What did I tell you, Blaire? I knew she would say something like that.”
I cleared my throat to draw her attention back to me. “Hicumm…excuse me. I’m right here you know. Now, what are the two of you doing in here?”
I knew well enough why they’d come, but Blaire obliged me by answering my question. “Why do ye think we have come? We wish to hear all about yer afternoon yesterday.”
I couldn’t help but grin thinking back on the day. It had been a wonderful afternoon and ages since I’d laughed so hard. My stomach would be sore for a week from the effort of it. I ached from head to toe, bruised from the many spills I’d taken into the snow, but every tight muscle was worth it. “Well, we honestly didn’t do much of anything except sled down the giant hill near the cottage about a thousand times.”
Bri smiled as she held onto her swollen belly. “Did you have a good time?”
“Aye, o’course she did. She canna keep from grinning.” Blaire winked at me but pointed to my face in concern. “Ye seem to have had a wee bit too much fun though, Adelle. Ye are mighty red.”
I reached up and touched my face, flinching at the pain. My cheeks felt quite swollen. There was little in the way of sunscreen in this time, and I’d not thought to cover my face, even after I learned we were to spend the day sledding. “Oh my, I’ll have to see if Mary has any herbal salve I can put on this to calm it down a bit. How bad do I look?”
“Completely terrible.”
My eyes widened in surprise. With each passing day Bri grew more uncomfortable in her pregnancy, and she was becoming increasingly blunt with her words. “Ouch. Thanks, Bri, but I suppose it’s my own fault. I really didn’t think about sunscreen at all.”
Blaire glanced at Bri with shocked eyes and did her best to comfort me. “It isna all that bad, Adelle. It shall heal itself eventually.”
“Eventually?” That was not okay with me. It needed to be completely healed by tonight. After our afternoon of sledding had concluded, Hew had very seriously and nervously asked that I dine with him in the cottage this evening. He said he had something very important he wished to tell me.
“Aye.” Blaire looked at me nervously.
I knew it wasn’t her fault, but she could tell I was agitated by her response that it would take some time to heal.
“I know that ’tis no pleasant for ye, but it shall take at least a week
for ye to look like yerself I’m afraid.”
“Awesome.” I didn’t know what else to say. Nothing could be done for my stupidity. I would look scary as hell when I arrived at the cottage this evening. Perhaps we could dine outside in darkness. Even if we both froze to death, it would be preferable to frightening the poor man to death with the abomination which was now my face.
* * *
“Are ye certain, brother? Ye havena known her verra long. ’Tis no small decision to decide to leave the home that ye have known for so long.”
Hew moved about the cottage nervously. He knew it was a rash decision, but nothing had felt so right to him in a good many years. He loved the lass greatly, and he would tell her so tonight. “Aye, Mary, I am certain. There is naught left for me at home, and there hasna been since the day Mae left me. ’Twas foolish of me to stay there so many years after her death. It pains me to think on all the joy I have missed because I was too frightened no to be alone. I wasted much time.”
His sister reached out and lay a comforting hand on his arm. “Nay, brother, ye dinna waste time. Things happen as they are meant to. If ye truly feel the way ye seem to about Adelle, then I doona believe ye were meant to leave yer home until now. If ye had, it wouldna have been her that ye found.”
Mary’s words comforted him. It was a kind way of thinking of all the mistakes he had made. Regardless, he was thankful that he had met the lass now. “Aye, Mary. I canna imagine no knowing the lass now. If I agree to work here at the castle, do ye think that Eoin and Arran shall agree to let me make this cottage me home?”
He smiled as Mary laughed. He should’ve expected such an answer from his fiery sister. “There is no need for ye to ask either of them. Ye are welcome to stay here because I say so and that’s all the permission ye need. Both of the laddies know it and have since they were wee bairns. ’Tis I that am truly laird over Conall Castle.”
“I believe ye are right, Mary. They all seem to bow at yer feet, regardless of the hard time ye seem to love to give them. Now, allow me to walk ye back to the castle, Lady Laird. I have much to think on. It will take me some time to think of just the right way to say what I must.”
Chapter 18
“What in the bloody hell is the matter with ye, Adelle? Take that covering off the top of yer head.”
I knew I looked ridiculous, like a cheap Halloween costume with the gauzy fabric over my head, but there was no way I was taking it off. I was a vain woman, and I wasn’t afraid to admit it. Whatever he had to say to me, he could say it to me as I was or not at all. “No, I will do no such thing.”
I stepped into the cottage past him, setting the growing Bratach on the floor as he went and joined Tearlach in their usual game of ‘whose the toughest brother?’
He shut the door to the cottage and walked around to face me, frustration clear on his face. “Ye look ridiculous, lass. I wish to tell ye something important, and I doona wish to address ye covered like a wee ghost.”
I glanced up at him, only barely making him out through the small holes in the fabric, but it allowed me to see his perfectly perfect face. I spoke a little more loudly than necessary. “How is your face not red as a beet? You were out in the same snow and under the same sun that I was in yesterday, and there is no sign of it anywhere on you!”
He laughed, understanding. “Ach, I see. Did the sun blister yer skin a bit, lass? I should have insisted that ye cover it, but I dinna think of it. I spend much of me days outdoors. I suppose it has grown accustomed to such sunlight.”
“Well how wonderful for you. Let’s eat.” It wasn’t only the way my face looked that put me in a sour mood, but the pain from it felt something awful. I’d never been burned so badly in my entire life.
“It shall be mighty hard for ye to eat properly with that covering ye. Just take it off, Adelle. Do ye really think that I’m so concerned with the way yer face looks?”
I nodded emphatically. “Of course you are. All men are.”
He rolled his eyes, sat down at the table, and started eating immediately, not waiting for me to join him. He responded in between mouthfuls. “Suit yerself. Eat if ye wish. If ye truly believe that, Adelle, ye havena been around the right kind of men. I like yer face verra well, but ’tis no me favorite part of ye.”
“Oh, fine. So you’re a boob guy, I suppose? Maybe you prefer the ‘arse?’” I mimicked his brogue, not sure why I felt the need to provoke him so.
“Yer ‘boobs,’” the word sounded strange on his tongue, “and yer ‘arse’ are no so impressive, lass. ’Tis yer mouth that I enjoy verra much.”
My brows met in the middle of my eyes underneath the veil. “My mouth? My lips are quite thin. You have strange tastes.”
He stood and I thought perhaps I had pushed him too far.
“Aye? And ye are a bloody fool, Adelle. I dinna mean yer lips. I mean the shocking words that ye always seem to form with them. I have never known a lass so forward.”
I looked down, embarrassed. “Yes. I know. That’s always been a problem. It’s a bit of a turn off, isn’t it?”
He frowned once more and came to crouch down next to me, taking my hands into his. “I doona know what ye mean by ‘turn off’ but nay, I love the way ye speak verra much. Now, I willna tell ye what I must with that damned cloth covering yer head.”
He yanked it away before I could grasp it. He reeled back in disgust, almost falling backward onto his bottom. “Ach, lass, ye look dreadful. Never ye mind, I doona wish to say what I once wished.”
My eyes widened with shock and pain. He quickly scrambled up on his feet to gather me into his arms, laughing softly. “Oh, lass, forgive me. Doona look so upset. I couldna resist it after ye berated me such just a moment ago. Ye look mighty fine, lass. Ye always do.”
I didn’t pull away from him but rolled my eyes. “No, I do not honestly think I look fine. My face is so red I look like I was born on the sun, and it’s quite swollen as well.”
“Doona tell me what I think, lass. I wouldna lie to ye. I doona care if the redness never fades, although it shall. I would still think that ye looked mighty fine. Now, hush, and let me tell ye what I wished to when I asked ye to come here.”
I relented. I didn’t believe a word he said about my face at the moment, but I didn’t wish to argue with him anymore. I was eager to hear what he had to say. “All right, fine. What is it?”
He stepped away and sat on the edge of the bed, holding my hands so that I would sit next to him. “I’ve decided that once the snow melts, I am no going to return home.”
Hope fluttered in my chest. I’d spent every second trying not to think of the day when he would leave here and praying each night that the snow would stay forever. “Really? Why?”
“Do ye really no know the answer to that question, lass?”
He looked into my eyes. I could see all that he wished to say deep within them, but I desperately wanted him to say the words. “Maybe, but I won’t know for sure until you tell me.”
He took a deep, shaky breath. He was nervous, but I was not about to intervene and let him get away without saying what he felt. I’d let too many men do that before. If he meant it, he could find the strength to say the words. “I…I know that I havena known ye long, Adelle, but it doesna take so long for the heart to know what it wants. I’m in love with ye, lass. Verra much so.”
I smiled, staring deep into his eyes, as tears I held back threatened to fall. I must have remained quiet for one moment too long for he spoke again, his voice shaky.
“I doona expect that ye should feel the same so quickly. Perhaps ’twas rash for me to tell ye so soon, but I have spent too many years alone. I willna deny meself love a moment longer if I can have it.”
“No.” I reached up and lay my hand against his cheek. “No. It wasn’t too quickly at all. I love you too, Hew.”
“Do ye truly, lass?”
“Yes, I do. I think I loved you the first moment I saw you in the snow, holding that sweet little puppy firm
against your chest.” I leaned forward and kissed him but had to pull away at the pain that shot through my lips at the pressure.
“Ach, lass. I’m verra sorry that ye are in such pain. Doona kiss me now. I hope there shall be plenty of time for that later.”
“There’s nothing for you to be sorry about, and yes I do too.”
His face grew serious once more. For a moment I was worried.
“I willna return from where I came from, but before I make this me home, I must finish the journey I started. I must bid Mae farewell one last time, lass. I hope that ye doona mind.”
I shook my head, surprised that he thought I might. “Of course I don’t and of course you must. When will you leave?”
He looked out at the snow, black in the darkness, as he hesitated before answering. “At sunrise. I know that the snow isna melted yet, but it hasna snowed more in days. I am anxious to finish me journey so that I can begin a new chapter in me life.”
Something twisted uncomfortably in my stomach, but I could not determine its source and did my best to push it from my mind. “You will be careful, yes?”
He smiled rubbing his hand gently up and down my back. “Aye, lass. Of course I will. I have something most precious that I must return to now.”
* * *
I wished to stay with him until morning, but I left him shortly after learning he would leave at sunrise. I wanted him to be rested before travelling out in the snow. He’d sent both pups with me, leaving Tearlach in my care for the duration of his journey.
I slept fitfully. While I tossed wildly throughout the night, both pups slept soundly, snuggled tightly into my side in the bed with me. They didn’t move all night, only rising right at sunrise. Just as the sun broke over the horizon, they stood on all fours in the bed. Looking toward the window in the direction of the cottage, they whined mournfully.
Morna's Legacy: Box Set #1 Page 47