“Duncan’s eaten the last lemon bar from our plate,” Theo noted. “That’s signal enough for me.”
“I’ve a biscuit to go,” her father said with a nasty grin. “How much will ye pay me to scarf it down?”
“Do you want me to take Aster to see her family on our wedding journey or shall we go to the Outer Hebrides instead?” Theo asked without rancor, taking the sweet and handing half to Aster.
Aster beamed happily. “See, Papa? I am marrying a master of compromise. Just don’t anger him.”
Theo placed a finger of warning over her lips and nodded toward the entrance. “The mob approaches.”
The delighted screeches of two toddlers in the foyer spoke for themselves. The maids hadn’t waited to come down—and Pascoe had apparently arrived. Nervously, Aster straightened her cape, then took Theo’s hand again.
“Is the vicar still standing?” she whispered, afraid to look after all the liquor had been passed around.
“He’s a good, teetotaling man.” Theo gestured for the vicar to join them.
“Teetotaling?” Aster asked weakly. “Is that cant?”
“Ask the vicar,” Theo said with a shrug. “He’s the one who used the term. I think it means he frowns on inebriation. We’ll have to send him away before the kegs are emptied.”
Pascoe strode in, drenched from the rain, and carrying his young twins. “Let the party commence!” he shouted into the sudden silence following a crack of thunder.
“It’s a solemn ceremony of matrimony, not a heathen festival,” the vicar retorted, striding toward the hearth where the participants stood.
“Oops, we’d better look holy,” Aster whispered to her groom as the vicar eyed their rowan and capes with suspicion.
“Tradition,” Theo told the wary vicar in a grave tone. “You will be joining two very old families who are set in their ways. I trust you won’t mind our eccentricities.”
“I’d mind them less if you spent more time in church. I’ll count myself lucky that you have bothered to request my presence at all.” The vicar stationed himself in front of the unlit hearth and raised his voice over the growing roar of rain. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered together . . .”
Theo held Aster’s hand so tightly, she thought her bones might break.
Twenty-seven
“I believe everyone has slid under the table by now,” Theo whispered, leading his bride to the back stairwell later that evening. He held up his candle and admired her now disheveled beauty. The village guests had insisted on several rounds of dancing to a fiddle. Her face was flushed and her smile—so beautiful that his heart, and other parts lower, ached.
His bride had been the toast of the party, but Theo’s mind currently had only one thought in it—and it wasn’t dancing.
“It’s been a lovely celebration,” Aster sighed in satisfaction, taking his hand and examining his bruised knuckles. “You should not have punched that silly twit. He isn’t worth the bruise much less the brawl.”
He couldn’t remember a time when anyone had been concerned about the state of his knuckles. His selfish side relished the attention—only because it was his intriguing bride offering it.
His bride—a woman who was all his. He was feeling very caveman-ish as he led her up the stairs.
“If Montfort’s father won’t teach him how to behave, someone must.” Theo grinned in satisfaction at the memory of plowing his fist into the pup’s square jaw. “Although I rather like your father’s method of lesson-teaching. Your interference may have kept us both from flinging him into the pond, and I doubt that Roddy ever exerted himself to learn to swim. I think disaster has been nicely averted for today.”
He rubbed the sapphire-and-gold ring he’d placed on her finger hours ago, claiming her as his. They’d returned the capes and rowan to her aunt directly after the ceremony—which had exposed the full beauty of his bride’s bosom for his admiration. He’d spent the afternoon wishing everyone would fall off a cliff so he could have her alone.
When she’d disappeared from the festivities to feed her cats, he’d grabbed the opportunity for escape. After she’d seen to her pets, he’d led her astray.
Finally, he had her alone.
“Amazingly, everyone has been on what passes for their best behavior,” she acknowledged. “Ashford has retired to his room, and your brothers dragged Bree and Dee off to the dancing. I think they’re all sufficiently diverted to make our escape, if only I knew where we’re escaping to!” She looked up at him expectantly.
Theo kissed her quickly, just to show his appreciation. To do more would delay them where they might be found at any moment. “Come along. I’ve planned a hideaway. It’s not much right now, but if you like it, we can improve it later.”
“One of those improvements your family enjoys like plumbing rather than niceties like fluffy pillows?” she asked in amusement, following him up more stairs.
“We might even have fluffy pillows unless you take to bringing the animals to bed with us. But right now, we may need your umbrella.” He led the way up to the attic level. “If it’s raining, you may wish to simply stay down here. I had a room made up in the attic in case of rain. At least we’ll hear anyone coming if they’re looking for us.”
“And what do you have that requires an umbrella?” she asked with interest.
Theo thought his heart might explode with approval at her willingness to adventure further. He could not imagine another woman of his acquaintance being so intrepid. He led her up a narrow set of stairs and pushed open a hatch door. “The rain seems to have stopped. I think I even see a few stars.”
“Your telescopes!” she said breathlessly, pushing up closer to see out. “You do not fear me falling off the roof?”
“I have illumination tonight.” Helping her to the roof, he hugged her and let her admire his handiwork.
He’d set lanterns along the path to his telescopes so she could see where to place her feet. Above them, clouds parted, revealing the night sky in all its diamond-sparkling glory.
But tonight, the woman in Theo’s arms captured his attention more than the stars. She laughed and tilted her head back against his shoulder to admire the celestial display. “I feel so small and unimportant!”
“If you do not fear crossing the roof, I’ll show you how very insignificant we are.” He held her shoulders and waited, hoping he had correctly judged her reaction to his academic choice of wedding night activity.
She studied him with curiosity. “I know that it’s providential the stars have finally come out in time for our wedding night. I am all in favor of visiting the stars, but would you really show me the universe before bedding me?”
“Yes,” he said firmly. “I do not need to seek moons tonight, but I want you to understand why the stars are more important to me than cows. I need you to understand why—if given any chance—I’ll disappear for hours at a time, probably when you need me most. And I want you to be comfortable seeking me out if you need me.”
Her smile was more blinding than the sun and his heart nearly stopped in his chest. He was having a hard time staying with the agenda he’d set to make her wedding night perfect.
“Then let us examine the stars,” she said with all evidence of happiness. “I must admit the real sky is far more intriguing than mathematical charts.”
Theo held her in a firm grip as they crossed the flat but uneven roof, aware of the precious gift he’d been given this day. His bride was sturdy and strong, but beside him, she felt like an autumn rose capable of shattering in a wind. He’d never been trusted with a treasure to guard, and he was desperate to show that her predictions of disaster were incorrect.
Her copper curls flew about in the wind, and she brushed them away with one hand while gripping his arm in the other. He led her to his newest telescope and showed her the eyepiece. “Look in here. Close one eye until you can focus.”
“It’s all blurry,” she said in disappointment, peering into the glass.
“Give your eyes time to adjust. It’s very odd to see objects so distant up close, and it takes time to accept what you’re seeing.”
She placed her hands behind her back, and Theo could tell his whirlwind bride was concentrating hard. Here was the focused, intelligent woman who had drawn up those intricate charts. Even if he did not understand her work, he admired her dedication to a complicated task. He wanted her to feel the same about his pursuits.
“Oh,” she finally said with eagerness. “Is that odd bluish circle a planet? It looks like a big ball!”
“Uranus,” Theo said in satisfaction, circling her waist in his arms. “If you look close, you can see the brightness fades toward the outer edges. And each night, it’s in a slightly different place in the sky because it is orbiting the sun at a different rate than we are.”
“Uranus! That’s the planet changing all my charts! It’s so pretty. Can I see other planets?”
“Some other night.” Theo teased at her breasts, eager for the pleasure part of his agenda now that he’d done his duty. “Tonight, we’ll create our own stars.”
She leaned into him with a sigh of pleasure and let him caress her as he desired. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Below, the fiddle played and people laughed as the party spilled from the stable. Theo hoped that meant everyone would stay occupied another few hours. Aster’s father might be a fire-breathing dragon, but he’d been right to create a celebration to disguise their escape.
“Come along, then, and see what I’ve so crudely thrown together. I thought if I did it myself, no one would know where to find us.” Holding Aster’s arm so she didn’t slip in her high heels, Theo led her toward the office he’d established on the roof in lieu of the observatory he craved.
He assumed the structure had once been a guard tower of sorts. It had been expanded and improved over the centuries, but it was still very crude by any standards. He swallowed his fear of terrifying his bride into running and opened the door. “If it isn’t to your taste, we can return to the attic suite I had the maids set up.”
He touched his candle to a sconce, illuminating the room, and tried to see it through her eyes. The mattress wasn’t ordinarily in here. He’d rigged a rope bed to hold it, and remembering her cushioned drawing room, he’d rounded up all the unused pillows he could find. He’d stolen covers from unused beds. But he hadn’t added draperies to the many windows. The night sky provided decoration.
“Oh, how cozy!” she cried, to his relief. “Even though you argue and disagree with my warnings, you’ve still found a place so far from my family that I can’t possibly harm them!” she cried in glee, flinging her arms around his neck. “You understand!”
Well, mostly he’d wanted privacy from his family, but he’d accept all the gratitude he could get. He held her tightly and poured kisses on her head while their hearts pounded in tandem. “I understand your fear, anyway. I’m still not saying you’re right. I just want you to be happy.”
“Oh, my, look at the moonlight!” she cried, spinning out of his arms to admire the windows. “It spills everywhere. I’m so glad the rains have gone. Is this your desk?” She touched the crude table covered in papers and books. “The roof must be snug for these not to be damp.”
“It is the bed I wish you to admire, goose, not my papers.” Finally having her alone, Theo swung her into his arms and covered her mouth with his so she could not object to his name-calling.
Far from objecting, she flung her arms around his neck again with gratifying speed. “This,” he murmured senselessly. “This is what I need more than planets and stars. I feel as if I’ve waited forever.”
“To the twelfth of never,” she agreed, spreading her kisses up his jaw.
Glad that he’d stolen the time to shave again, Theo let her take the lead on kisses while he reached for the hooks at her back. To his surprise, he only found ribbons. He tugged on one, loosening her bodice, but he couldn’t find the rest of the hooks to remove it.
She smelled of roses and cinnamon, and everywhere he touched was like caressing purest silk. She surrounded him in her sensuality before he even had the pleasure of her feminine pulchritude in his crude hands.
She gasped as he slid off her narrow sleeves, baring her shoulders. Still half-fastened, the bodice merely slid to the tips of her high, full breasts, framing the heart-shaped mark near her cleavage. Moonlight spilled across her ivory skin, and Theo wanted her naked.
As if reading his mind, she clasped her arm over her falling bodice and smiled up at him. “Unwrap me,” she commanded, turning her back to him.
“Laces!” he crowed in delight, finally seeing what she had done. “How did you do this?” He’d never been given a gift-wrapped package. Aster was all the presents he hadn’t known he’d missed receiving until now. Like a boy with a new toy, he painstakingly undid the remaining ribbons, freeing them from their hooks, so he could peel back the wrapping of her gown.
His efforts were rewarded with the exposure of her translucent shift and slender back—a gift from the heavens, one only a man could appreciate.
“I robbed your mother’s wardrobe of ribbons. It wasn’t difficult. Otherwise, you’d have spent all night unfastening all the beads from their loops.” She shrugged off the bodice, revealing a beribboned corset.
“Gift-wrapped, just for me,” he said with amusement, tugging ties all over. “I could learn to love this game.” He placed kisses where each ribbon unfurled, starting with her satin shoulders, working down to her breasts as he unwound the corset.
“I shall remember to wrap all your gifts in ribbons from now on,” she said in a whisper, shivering as he leaned over her shoulder and kissed just above her bared nipple.
His bride was strong and smart and everything he’d ever wanted in a woman—but she was still untouched by any hand but his. Even though she encouraged him to play, Theo still understood that she was a responsibility as great as taking on Duncan’s duty. It would be up to him to teach her to want him as much as he wanted her.
If he wasn’t so powerfully aroused, he’d reach for a book to see if anyone had written lessons on such an immense subject.
He couldn’t stop touching Aster if someone had offered him an observatory.
He turned her around, lifted her heavy breasts, and pressed a kiss to each one. His magical bride moaned and held his shoulders to steady herself.
He untied her skirt and petticoat and lifted her from the lengths of silk and lace. Carrying her to the mattress, he pressed kisses everywhere he could reach, too thrilled to have her to himself at last to think further.
She still wore her flimsy under-shift but she did nothing to cover herself as he shrugged off his coat and began unfastening his waistcoat. Moonlight poured over her skin in a pearly radiance he could practically taste. Theo hastily struggled from the fancified waistcoat the valet had locked him into.
“I’m warning you, if they start shooting cannon down there, I’m not going out to see what’s happening.” He unbuttoned his breeches so he could free his shirt.
“We have enough family around to handle any emergencies, I should think,” she said, with what might have been amusement except she seemed fixated on his undressing.
“Should I turn off the sconce?” he asked, aware the moonlight was as bright as the light.
“I’m not shy if you’re not.” She snuggled into the pillows, the very picture of innocence and wantonness combined. “Although if the lights can be seen below, you might want to conceal our hiding place.”
Just looking at her was making him light-headed. He wasn’t a connoisseur of women, so he didn’t have the words to define his bride’s lush sensuality. He simply knew he could explore her delights for a lifetime.
He turned off the lamp, then sat down beside her to rip off his shoes and stockings. The moonlight illumined the bed beautifully. He could see her rosy nipples through the transparent chemise. He wanted to remove the rest of the pins from her wayward curls, bury his
hands in the mass, then kiss her breasts until she begged for more.
“I’m not a smooth seducer,” he warned her. “I am not glib with words. Charm is not in my nature. But if you don’t need charm and seduction, I think I can do what comes naturally without any problem.”
She laughed and ran her hand up his bare arm. “I distrust charm and seduction. I trust you and your planets. This is safe and good and real. I think I shall start looking for the silver lining behind every cloud. If the roof crashes under us tonight, then it’s a sign that you needed to fix the roof, and we discovered it before it leaked.”
Theo laughed and sprawled out on the crude, pillow-littered bed with her, leaving his trousers unfastened but still in place. Propped on one elbow, he leaned over her and began kissing her again. “I will endeavor—” he said in between kisses “—not to crash any roofs.”
***
Aster welcomed Theo’s heavy weight pressing her into the mattress. He grounded the giddiness inspired by his caresses—and the dizziness of believing she could actually have family again. She was so filled with joy that she thought she might explode into bubbles—and all because of this man, her husband.
She knew where intimacy led, understood the danger, and she still could not force herself to be her usual sensible self. She was entitled to set prophesy aside on her wedding night and simply enjoy the pleasure provided by the man she’d just promised to love, honor, and obey. Except she’d changed that vow to love, honor, and take thee in equality, according to Malcolm custom. The vicar really hadn’t noticed. Perhaps because her family had begun humming.
Boldly wrapping her arms around her groom’s neck, she pulled Theo down to cover his face with kisses. The stars were right about this much—he was the perfect mate for her.
Magic in the Stars Page 24