Abruptly facing him, she held up her palm. “It doesn’t matter. You must do what you must do, as must I. I shall cherish the past fortnight and the time we’ve spent together, and I’m truly glad you’re fit enough to travel this soon.”
She shifted to move past, but he wrapped his fingers around her slender arm. “We cannot part like this. You don’t understand.”
He saw his own anguish reflected in the beleaguered gaze she raised to his before she closed her eyes, the fan of her lashes dark against her pale cheeks.
“I do understand,” she murmured, scarcely more than a pained whisper. “And I promise you, I truly wish for your happiness.”
“And I yours.” He brushed his thumb over her cheek, wiping away a telltale tear. “Mon Dieu, Seonaid, surely you must know by now I love you. I want to marry you. If you’ll have me.”
She gasped, and clutched his arm, her eyes round and confused in the nebulous light. “But you must marry an heiress. To save your home.”
Lightly pressing his lips to hers, he drew her into his arms, then leaned his forehead against hers.
“Wherever you are, Seonaid, is home. These past weeks, I’ve come to realize le Manoir des Jardins is but an elegant house. I loved the place, because my family lived there for generations, and it held many precious memories.” Dark ones too. “I felt guilty for wanting to put aside the responsibility. For wanting to have a family with you, here in Scotland.”
“Jacques, there’s nothing I want more, but are you sure? You’re a baron. You’d be sacrificing so much. Everything, in fact.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest. She fit neatly beneath his chin, as if created for him. “Even though I love you, I cannot ask you to give that up. Still, I’d go with you. As your mistress.”
“Non.” He tilted her chin up as he lowered his lips to hers. “Nothing is too much to sacrifice for you, and I gladly relinquish everything as long as you say you’ll be my baroness.”
A slight nudge of his tongue and her mouth parted. He plunged deep into her sweetness, savored her taste, her scent, his passion burgeoning. Their tongues entangling, he grasped her derrière and lifted her to his hardness.
Moaning, she writhed against him, sliding her hands through his hair.
“How can I bear to leave you?” Trailing kisses from her mouth to her neck, he gently bit her earlobe.
“Why are you then, Jacques?” Leaning away, she shoved against his chest. “Mother mentioned the letter too. Is that why?”
“I’m leaving to sell my château, ma petite.” He dipped in for another quick taste of her mouth. “My man of business has found a buyer. And there are a few sentimental possessions I wish to collect.”
“But, Jacques—”
“Shh.” Placing a finger over his lips, he cocked his head, listening. They’d been gone from the great hall too long. Someone was bound to become suspicious at their prolonged absence.
Casting a wary glance to the door, she whispered, “Did you hear something?”
“I thought I heard a noise in the corridor, but I must have been mistaken.”
“The letter you received contained the offer?” Still slightly breathless, she patted her hair, as he combed a hand through his, calming the strands she’d mussed at his nape.
“Non, the offer to buy le Manoir des Jardins came in a letter weeks ago.” He hunched a shoulder. “I don’t know who the buyer is, though I have a pretty strong inkling. It matters naught, however.”
Not anymore. He might not be able to wish Carnot happy of the place, but making a new life with Seonaid in Scotland mattered far more.
She stopped fussing with her wayward tendrils and stared at him, doing that cute thing with her mouth. In the dim light, reading her expression proved difficult. “I don’t understand. You received an offer weeks ago, but have now decided to accept it? Because you’ve realized you love me?”
He drew a finger across her collarbone, and she shuddered. “Non, ma petite. I’ve known I loved you since Paris. It is the real reason why I came to Scotland and was so desperate for the mine to be profitable.”
She laughed, and stood on her toes to smooth his hair. “Now you’re telling mammoth taradiddles.”
“I don’t tell tales.” Growling in mock anger, he grabbed her, tickling her ribcage. “One kiss, and I was wholly captivated, mon amour.”
Giggling and twisting, she struggled to free herself. “Someone will hear, Jacques.”
“Let them.” He kissed her nose and hugged her close. “I want to announce to everyone tonight that we’re to marry.”
Applause sounded before the door swung open, revealing the Fergusons and McTavishes, each sporting idiotic grins.
“Took yer sweet time. I be afeared I might have to help ye along.” Holding a candelabrum, Sir Hugh marched into the room, his gait only slightly lop-sided.
The rest of the eavesdroppers surged in after him.
Mon Dieu.
Precisely how long had they been listening at the door?
Jacques eyed McTavish warily. He didn’t relish being called out by the superior swordsman, simply because McTavish harbored a misplaced notion he needed to defend his sister’s honor.
Nothing in the Scot’s manner suggested he was eager to run him through, and Jacques relaxed a mite.
Seonaid clutched his hand. “Father, Mother, please say we have your blessing.”
“Oui, chérie.” Mother rushed to embrace her. “I shall like having a countryman as a son-in-law, and we can announce your betrothal at the Valentine party.”
Dugall crossed his massive arms and grinned. “What be in today’s letter that made ye rush to leave if’n ye want to wed Seonaid?”
Jacques boldly encircled Seonaid’s waist, pulling her to his side. “The letter was from Oakberry Quarry’s overseer. The explosion exposed a rich vein of pure silver. I’m a wealthy man, and I intend to make Scotland my permanent home.”
Seonaid smiled up at him, a knowing glint in her eye.
“Exactly as the vision I had of you in Paris predicted.”
Epilogue
One year later
Heather Garden House
Near Craigcutty, Scotland
Languidly waking, Seonaid smiled into her pillow as delicious sensations swept her. Jacques lay pressed against her back, nibbling her neck as his practiced hands explored her breasts and the oh-so-sensitive area at her woman’s core.
Arching into his stiffness nudging her buttocks, she fairly purred in contentment. Wifely duties were quite one of her most favorite activities.
And since they’d moved into Heather Garden House—a miniature version of le Manoir des Jardins—last month, they’d sought their pleasure in quite a number of unusual places.
Likely scandalized a servant or two unbeknownst to them, too.
“Bonjour, mon amour.” His stubble and mustache rasping against her neck sent a shudder rippling from shoulder to hip. “Did you sleep well?”
Yes, an exhausted, satiated sleep after a solid hour of vigorous bed sport last night.
“Good morning,” she gasped as he entered her.
Coherent thought scattered as he took her to heaven once more.
Later, as she lay sprawled across his chest and ran her fingers through the crisp black hair, she sighed.
He brushed her hair from her forehead. “What is it, ma petite?”
“For years, I wanted the second sight gone, and now that it is, I find I miss it.” Even if the visions hadn’t always been exactly accurate. Yvette had indeed given birth to twin girls three weeks early, but she’d breezed through the birth and suffered no complications.
“What do you miss about it?” Jacques’s fingers played upon her flesh, stirring recently satiated hunger once more.
She kissed his dark nipple and grinned when he shuddered. “I didn’t realize how much I depended on the things I saw beforehand.”
He hauled her upward, until they lay chest to chest and thi
gh to thigh, his body hair rubbing deliciously against her wherever they touched. He kissed her, a mind-rattling, reason-shattering melding of mouths, making her squirm with want. “Having regrets already?”
“No. I’d not give up one minute as your wife for another vision.” She gave him a naughty look. “But you’d best keep me satisfied, else I become discontent.”
He lifted her to straddle his hips, gently lowering her over his shaft.
“Trust me, mon amour. I shall never leave you unsatisfied.”
If you enjoyed Scandal’s Splendor,
be sure to read Collette Cameron’s
Castle Bride Series,
now available from
Soul Mate Publishing at Amazon.com:
HIGHLANDER’S HOPE
Not a day has gone by that Ewan McTavish, the Viscount Sethwick, hasn't dreamed of the beauty he danced with two years ago. He's determined to win her heart and make her his own. Heiress Yvette Stapleton is certain of one thing; marriage is risky and, therefore, to be avoided. At first, she doesn't recognize the dangerously handsome man who rescues her from assailants on London's docks, but Lord Sethwick's passionate kisses soon have her reconsidering her cynical views on matrimony. On a mission to stop a War Office traitor, Ewan draws Yvette into deadly international intrigue. To protect her, he exploits Scottish law, declaring her his lawful wife—without benefit of a ceremony. Yvette is furious upon discovering the irregular marriage is legally binding, though she never said, "I do." Will Ewan's manipulation cost him her newfound love?
Buy now at:
http://tinyurl.com/pq4dhds
THE VISCOUNT’S VOW
Part Romani, noblewoman Evangeline Caruthers is the last woman in England Ian Hamilton, the Viscount Warrick, could ever love—an immoral wanton responsible for his brother’s and father’s deaths.
Vangie thinks Ian’s a foul-tempered blackguard, who after setting out to cause her downfall, finds himself forced to marry her—snared in the trap of his own making. When Vangie learns the marriage ceremony itself may have been a ruse, she flees to her gypsy relatives, declaring herself divorced from Ian under Romani law. He pursues her to the gypsy encampment, and when the handsome gypsy king offers to take Ian’s place in Vangie’s bed, jealousy stirs hot and dangerous.
Under a balmy starlit sky, Ian and Vangie breech the chasm separating them, yet peril lurks. Ian is the last in his family line, and his stepmother is determined to dispose of the newlyweds so her daughter can inherit his estate. Only by trusting each other can Ian and Vangie overcome scandal and murderous betrayal.
Buy now at:
http://tinyurl.com/oyd98a5
THE EARL’S ENTICEMENT
She won’t be tamed.
A fiery, unconventional Scot, Adaira Ferguson wears breeches, swears, and has no more desire to marry than she does to follow society’s dictates of appropriate behavior. She trusts no man with the secret she desperately protects.
He can’t forget.
Haunted by his past, Roark, The Earl of Clarendon, rigidly adheres to propriety, holding himself and those around him to the highest standards, no matter the cost. Betrayed once, he’s guarded and leery of all women.
Mistaking Roark for a known spy, Adaira imprisons him. Infuriated, he vows vengeance. Realizing her error, she’s appalled and releases him, but he’s not satisfied with his freedom. Roark is determined to transform Adaira from an ill-mannered hoyden to a lady of refinement.
He succeeds only to discover, he preferred the free-spirited Scottish lass who first captured his heart.
Buy at:
http://tinyurl.com/lfddq59
Also read the other books in the
Hightland Heather Romancing a Scot Series:
TRIUMPH AND TREASURE
A disillusioned Scottish gentlewoman.
Angelina Ellsworth once believed in love--before she discovered her husband of mere hours was a slave-trader and already married. To avoid the scandal and disgrace, she escapes to the estate of her aunt and uncle, the Duke and Duchess of Waterford. When Angelina learns she is with child, she vows she’ll never trust a man again.
A privileged English lord.
Flynn, Earl of Luxmoore, led an enchanted life until his father committed suicide after losing everything to Waterford in a wager. Stripped of all but his title, Flynn is thrust into the role of marquis as well as provider for his disabled sister and invalid mother. Unable to pay his father’s astronomical gambling loss, Flynn must choose between social or financial ruin.
When the duke suggests he’ll forgive the debt if Flynn marries his niece, Flynn accepts the duke’s proposal. Reluctant to wed a stranger, but willing to do anything to protect her babe and escape the clutches of the madman who still pursues her, Angelina agrees to the union.
Can the earl and his Scottish lass find happiness and love in a marriage neither wanted, or is the chasm between them insurmountable?
Buy at:
http://tinyurl.com/qa579mf
VIRTUE AND VALOR
Bartholomew Yancy never expected to inherit an English earldom and had no intention of marrying. Now, the Earl of Ramsbury and last in his line, he’s obligated to resign his position as England’s War Secretary, find a wife, and produce an heir. Only one woman holds the least appeal: Isobel Ferguson, an exquisite Scotswoman. Brought to Scotland to mediate between feuding clans, he doggedly woos her.
Disillusioned with men pursuing her for her attractiveness, rather than her unusual intellect, Isobel has all but abandoned any hope of finding a husband in the Highlands. Not only does she believe Yancy no different than her other suitors, he’s a notorious rake. She’s been told he’s practically betrothed. Therefore, his interest in her cannot possibly be honorable, and so she shuns his attentions.
When Isobel is mistakenly abducted by a band of rogue Scots, Yancy risks his life to rescues her. To salvage her compromised reputation, her brother and father insist she marry him. Yancy readily agrees, but Isobel—knowing full well she’s fated for spinsterhood by refusing his offer— won’t be coerced into marriage.
Can love unite a reluctant earl and a disenchanted beauty?
Available now on Amazon:
http://tinyurl.com/ph6ba3h
HEARTBREAK AND HONOR
Abducted by a band of renegade Scots, Highland gypsy Tasara Faas blackens her rescuer’s eye when the charming duke attempts to steal a kiss. Afterward, Tasara learns she’s the long-lost heiress Alexandra Atterberry and is expected to take her place among the elite society she’s always disdained.
Lucan, the Duke of Harcourt, promised his gravely ill mother he’d procure a wife by Christmastide, but intrigued by the feisty lass he saved in Scotland, he finds the haut ton ladies lacking. Spying Alexa at a London ball, he impulsively decides to make the knife-wielding gypsy his bride despite her aversion to him and her determination to return to the Highlands.
The adversary responsible for Alexa’s disappearance as a toddler still covets her fortune and joins forces with Harcourt’s arch nemesis. Amidst a series of suspicious misfortunes, Lucan endeavors to win Alexa’s love and expose the conspirators but only succeeds in reaffirming Alexa’s belief that she is inadequate to become his duchess.
Available now on Amazon:
http://tinyurl.com/zrvno3t
Scandal's Splendor (Highland Heather Romancing a Scot Book 4) Page 23