by Ava Stone
“If I climb into that bed with you, I may never leave it.” A slightly rakish smile spread across his face.
She didn’t even blush. “Then stay with me forever.”
His smile widened as he dropped back onto the bed beside her and then cradled her in his arms as she snuggled against his chest. “Are you trying to compromise me, Lila Southward?” he teased. “I shall demand you marry me to save my reputation.”
The first laugh she’d felt in days bubbled up from inside her. “Anna and Mr. Thorn married in Scotland. Did you know?”
“They eloped?” he asked, surprise lacing his voice.
“She was afraid Papa wouldn’t give his permission, so…”
“So they took their future in their own hands.” Quent squeezed her a little tighter, which made her belly flutter in response. “If it comes to that, if he won’t give us his permission, would you be willing to race for the border with me?”
She tipped her head back to see him better and was astounded at her good fortune. Somehow she had found the most wonderful man in all the world. Kind, loving, handsome, possessing a delightful sense of humor, and the only man who had ever sent her heart to racing. She had lost her heart to Quentin Post more than a year ago and now that she knew he loved her too… “I’d be willing to go anywhere, as long as I’m with you.”
He lowered his head and pressed his warm lips to hers and that fluttering in her belly only intensified. Heavens, life with him would have her mind a jumble every day.
Quent slowly lifted his head, his hazel eyes lit with desire. “It will kill me until I can have you.” He released a sigh. “As luck would have it, I am in the possession of a special license, if your father is amendable to the idea. If he’s not, I’ll be only too happy to spirit you off to Gretna.”
Lila couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face. The last few days had been filled with such fear, such worry and concern, but looking forward to her future with Quent was like the perfect balm for her soul. “How in the world did you acquire a special license?”
Quent quirked her a grin. “I had to be prepared in case a certain vicar’s daughter should drag me into her bed and try to compromise me. I have my reputation to protect, you know?”
“Silly man,” she said around a yawn.
He nodded in agreement. “A silly man who loves you very much.”
Lila snuggled against his chest once more and pressed a kiss to his collarbone. “I love you too, Quent. I always will.”
“Let’s do try get a bit of sleep, love, I have a feeling tomorrow will be quite taxing.”
But as long as he was by her side, Lila was certain they could face anything that came their way. “You’ll stay with me?”
“How could I ever refuse you anything, love?” he said as he pulled the counterpane up over both of them. Then he held her in his arms and Lila breathed in the sandalwood scent of him.
She could smell his scent! Lila pushed back slightly from him and said, “Quent, I don’t smell that awful odor anymore.”
He sniffed at the air and agreed with a nod of his head. “I believe that does bode well for the situation.”
David blinked his eyes open and closed them quickly again against the bright sunlight streaming into the chamber. Had they slept the day away or had they slept into the next? He was certainly tired enough that he could have slept for a week. Not that he and Anna had found their slumber immediately upon retiring.
A grin pulled at his lips. After the most horrendous night of his life, even worse than when they banished Mrs. Routledge, he’d experienced the most wonderful, beyond his imagination, day by finally making Anna his. This was what he’d been waiting for, needing for the past year. Love. Anna. She was what he needed to fill the void in his life.
And she was exactly where he intended to have her often, lying on her side, his body curled around hers. The covers had slipped and her delicate bare shoulder was exposed. He should let her sleep, but couldn’t help himself and placed a kiss upon it.
Anna turned her head and looked up at David, a sleepy smile on her beautiful face.
He was the luckiest person in the world and couldn’t believe he would truly be waking up like this for the rest of his life.
“What time is it?”
“Does it matter?” He could stay here for the next week, alternating between making love and sleeping. He was sure Quent would understand if he didn’t vacate the premises on the date David originally intended.
“Do you think my uncle is awake yet?” Worry marred his lovely wife’s brow and all thoughts of making love to her again evaporated.
“We could go check.” David rolled away from her. “If he’s still unconscious we can always return here.” He grinned at her. “I’m not sure you’ve gotten enough rest since the ordeal of the past few days.”
She chuckled and pulled herself from the bed, wrapping a sheet around her body to keep him from seeing her. “I’m sure rest is exactly what you have in mind.”
“On second thought,” David said, reaching out for her and pulling her back onto the bed. “There is no reason to leave yet. I’m sure they will alert us if we are needed.”
With those words there was a knock at the door and David silently cursed. “Yes?”
“Your uncle is awake, Mrs. Thorn.”
Anna took a deep breath, straightened her spine and entered the white salon on David’s arm. She was terrified, not sure of what she would find. If he was up here, then he must be recovered and Cynbel fully exorcised. Though, at the moment, she would almost rather face Cynbel than tell her uncle she had married David in Scotland.
She sucked in a breath when she finally laid eyes on Uncle Walter. She’d never seen him so pale, and why were there bruises and scratches on his face? Were those burns on his hands? Goodness, what had they done to him down there?
Her uncle raked her over with his familiar, cold, blue eyes and then fixed his gaze on her hand resting on David’s arm. “What is this about?” he demanded.
“Uncle, you remember Mr. David Thorn.”
Uncle Walter sneered. “The one who walks on his hands and caused a good deal of trouble last year?”
Oh dear, she’d forgotten about that incident. Clearly the possession had not marred his memory.
“Yes, well, he, um…did walk on his hands, I believe, but I’m not sure he caused…”
“What is that on your finger?” he demanded.
Anna sucked in her breath.
“That would be a wedding ring,” David answered.
“To you?” he asked with a mixture of outrage and disgust.
“Yes.” David stood taller. “And we are quite happy.”
Uncle Walter glared at the priest. “Is this your doing?”
Father Matthew held up his hands in defense. “I dinna marry them.” Then he smiled at David and Anna. “But they are well suited for one another, doona ye agree?”
“I agree to nothing,” Uncle Walter roared. “Who married you without my permission?” he demanded.
Anna swallowed against the lump in her throat and tried to speak.
“A very kind blacksmith in Gretna,” David answered.
Her uncle’s blue eyes grew wider. “Gretna? Over an Anvil? That is a heathen wedding without the blessing of the church.”
Oh dear! Did her uncle not consider them married in the eyes of God, even though it was quite legal?
“Step away from him, niece. I will not have you ruined by the likes of him.”
Oh dear, this was going even worse than she imagined. “I cannot do that, Uncle. I love him.”
“Bah! What do you know of love?”
“Plenty!” She lifted her chin in defiance. “I witnessed it in my own parents and I know how I feel when I am with David.”
“Such drivel.” He sighed and focused on David. “I suppose an annulment is out of the question?”
Anna’s mouth popped open. Was her uncle actually asking her husband if their marriage had been consummated, in
front of others? Her face heated and Anna couldn’t look at anyone else in the room.
“Very much so, Vicar Southward,” David announced loudly enough for everyone to hear. Probably even the servants in the kitchen.
Father Matthew chuckled and her uncle sneered again before looking at Anna. “Well, I hope you are happy, for you’re stuck, well and good, for the rest of your life.”
Anna couldn’t help but grin. She was quite happy and looked forward to being stuck with David until they both kicked up their toes.
Uncle Walter waived his hand in dismissal and grumbled something under his breath Anna could not understand. Not that she was going to ask him to repeat himself. Instead, she allowed David to lead her to the far side of the room where a tea cart had been delivered and set about pouring a beverage for her and her husband.
David leaned in. “That wasn’t so bad,” he whispered in her ear.
She turned fully toward him, blocking out the rest of the room and the occupants. “I thought it was rather terrifying myself.”
He chuckled. “After last year and then last night, your uncle, in this state, isn’t so frightening.”
“Well, I’ll need to take your word, as I wasn’t present at either of those events.”
“Yes, but you will be present and by my side from now on.”
She smiled, anxious to begin their life together.
“First, where would you like to live?”
She blinked at him. Where they resided had never occurred to her.
“I do have a townhouse in London, but no estate of my own, yet.”
“Would we reside with your parents in the country?” she hesitantly asked, not sure if she was ready to move from her uncle’s home and into her in-laws. What if they didn’t approve.
“London it is,” he laughed and then leaned in. “After our wedding trip of course.”
Anna sucked in her breath. They were going to travel? “Where?”
“I’ve heard Florence is a lovely city. How would you like to spend Christmas there this year?”
“Oh, David,” Anna cried, tears coming to her eyes before she threw her arms about his neck. “Florence would be lovely.”
“Though, if you spend too much time with that other David, I might become jealous.”
She pulled back, giggling. “Trust me, he is nothing compared to you.”
Quent hadn’t meant to truly fall asleep in Lila’s bed. He meant just to stay with her until she finally found the sleep she needed and then return to his study and wait for word on the vicar’s condition. But her soft curves pressed against him, and her delicate scent invaded his senses, and for the first time in quite a while, peace washed over him. Before Quent could even think about what he was doing, he’d fallen quite asleep, dreaming of his future with the most wonderful angel in all the world.
A scratch at the door sometime later, broke him from his slumber and Quent realized he must have slept quite a while.
“Miss Southward!” called a maid from the other side of the door. “The vicar is awake. He’s asking for you.”
“We’ll be right there,” Quent said without thinking and then winced slightly. Damn it all. He really didn’t want the servants at Marisdùn to think less of Lila. They weren’t yet married and he was in her chambers…
Lila blinked her eyes open, cast him the sweetest smile, and all thoughts about impropriety vanished as quickly as a puff of smoke. “You stayed.”
“You asked me to,” he said softly. Then he tucked one of her dark curls behind her ear. “It sounds like your father’s awake, Lila.”
Her eyes rounded in surprise and she sat up in an instant. “He’s awake?”
Quent nodded, sliding out of bed and offering his hand to her. “He apparently asked for you, or so the chambermaid said. The girl probably thinks you have the worst sort of cold, by the way, or she’s figured out I’ve been in here with you.”
The slightest blush stained her cheeks as he helped her from the bed. “I suppose the chambermaids at Marisdùn should get accustomed to finding you in my chambers.”
They should indeed. Quent smiled in response. “If you want to stay at Marisdùn after all that’s happened.”
At that, she stopped and nibbled on her bottom lip. “I hadn’t really given any thought to where we’d live.”
Neither had Quent. When had there been time? Before all of this madness, he’d been quite happy to consider staying in Ravenglass most of the year. It was, after all, the only property that was actually in his name. But he couldn’t expect Lila to live here, not after what had happened to her father within the castle’s walls. “We’ll sort all of that out, love. But for now, let’s run a quick brush through our hair and go see about your father.”
It appeared that not much had changed with Father in light of the whole Cynbel ordeal. As a matter of fact, not a thing had changed. He was still as strict and pious as he’d been before he’d been possessed by the evil spirit. Of course, it didn’t help matters that he didn’t believe any of it had happened. How he could deny it was beyond Tilly. He’d been told by everyone in this very room, including sweet Father Matthew. Not that Father would ever believe a Catholic priest, but one would think he couldn’t deny something that had been verified by a room full of people, including his own daughters and niece.
“So, how did he take it?” Tilly whispered to Anna as her cousin approached. They were all gathered in the white salon, keeping watch on Father as he took tea, making sure he was truly the vicar and not the angry, ancient Celt. So far, he just seemed like the angry, modern vicar. Not a pleasant man by any means, but not on a rampage to tear everyone limb from limb.
Anna gave her a little smile, a twinkle in her eye she’d never seen before. “He wasn’t thrilled,” she said, and then her cheeks blushed a dark pink. “He suggested an annulment.”
Now it was Tilly’s turn to blush. Clearly her cousin had consummated her anvil wedding, but what would she think of Tilly to learn she’d consummated without having a marriage to actually consummate?
“Oh, Anna,” Tilly said, taking her cousin’s hands in hers. “Are you very happy?”
Anna cast a glance at her Mr. Thorn over her shoulder and then turned back to Tilly with a wide smile on her face. “The happiest.”
In the next moment, Lila crossed over the threshold, Lord Quentin on her heels. Tilly knew what was coming—Lord Quentin was quite in love with her sister, and he’d already made one attempt to gain her hand. The look of determination on both their faces told Tilly they were about to make another.
Lila raced down the corridors of Marisdùn with Quent right on her heels. She was still wearing yesterday’s dress, but she doubted anyone would make note of the fact.
She hurried towards the dungeons, but Mrs. Small appeared at the end of the hallway, and Lila slowed her gait. “Good morning,” she said.
“Good afternoon,” the old housekeeper replied, and then she turned her attention to Quent, who was right at Lila’s back. “Thank heavens, my lord, we have been looking for you.”
“Well.” He coughed and Lila could sense his unease. “Here I am.”
“Mr. Southward is in the white salon, my lord.”
And with those words, Lila’s heart felt immeasurably easier. “He’s not in the dungeons?” she breathed out.
The housekeeper shook her head. “Father Matthew freed him just a little while ago.” Then she smiled softly at Lila. “He’s taking tea right now and I’ll be along with some sage scones Cook made especially for him.”
“The white salon?” Quent sighed. “Thank you, Mrs. Small.” Then he slid his hand around Lila’s and squeezed her fingers. “We could follow Thorn’s lead and race off to Gretna now,” he said after the housekeeper had traveled out of earshot.
Lila glanced up at the only man she’d ever fallen in love with. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of Papa?”
“He was quite adamant that night. He said I was the last fellow he would ever let marry yo
u.”
Papa had been his usual charming self, hmm? It didn’t matter what Papa had said before or even what he said now. Lila wasn’t about to lose Quent, not now, not ever.
“And then,” Quent continued with a wince, “I shackled him to the wall of my dungeons for days.”
“That was for his own good. For the safety of him and everyone else.”
“Yes, well, you’re reasonable, but…”
She turned to face him fully, pushed up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his lips. Very soft, very short, just a reminder that she would stand by his side no matter what. “We need to at least see him before we settle on Gretna.”
“All right.” He nodded, though he still looked just as concerned as he had a few moments before. He heaved another sigh and then led her towards the white salon.
They stepped over the threshold, hand in hand, but Lila stopped in her tracks when her eyes landed on her father. His face was bruised with awful gashes, but his eyes were back to their icy blue color instead of the black that had stared at her with such hatred the last few days.
“Papa,” she whispered. “Is it really you?”
“The demon is gone,” Father Matthew said, from just a few feet away, and it was then that Lila realized the white salon was quite filled with Tilly, Anna, and a number of Lord Quentin’s friends.
“There was no demon,” Papa grumbled. “And I won’t have some Catholic priest saying there was.”
Father Matthew shook his head, looking rather exasperated. It was a feeling Lila had experienced many times when dealing with her father. “I ken ye remember some of it, Mr. Southward, even if ye doona admit as much to anyone else.”
Papa’s gaze flicked to Quent and his usual look of condescension was firmly in place. “I think I’ve been perfectly clear about my feelings in regards to you holding Lord Quentin’s hand, Lila.”
Quent squeezed her fingers as Lila straightened her spine. “I’m marrying Lord Quentin, Papa,” she said evenly. “We can wait until I’m twenty-one and we won’t need your approval. Or we can ride for the Scottish border…”
Papa glanced very briefly in Anna’s direction and Lila was wishing she and Quent had gone along to Scotland to find Father Matthew all those days ago.