by Jane Charles
She opened her eyes and smiled dreamily. “Better. I only have a tickle in my chest.”
“Ah, I know the cure for that.”
Lachlan took her empty cup and walked to the table. Instead of adding more tea he opened the bottle of whisky and poured it into the cup and returned to her side. Lachlan pressed the cup to her lips and she sipped the dark amber liquid.
She grimaced and turned her face away. “What is that?”
“Water of life.” He grinned at her. “Take another sip.”
Madeline did so. This time she didn’t back way and her tongue darted out to lick her bottom lip. “I’ve never tasted anything like it before.”
Lachlan chuckled. “I doona doubt it.”
“But, what is it?” she asked again and took another sip.
“Scotch whisky,” he whispered.
“Isn’t that illegal?”
“How would ye ken that?”
“My, um, I know someone who keeps a few bottles hidden away.”
No doubt she was referring to Jordan. He had sold his friend more bottles than he could count. “Ah, a man of good taste,”
Madeline snorted.
Lachlan leaned in close. “You won’t tell on me, will ye, lass?”
Her light green eyes darkened. “Of course not,” she answered breathlessly.
Could she feel the hint of passion building between them?
Her tongue darted out and licked her lips again. Lachlan gave up fighting his desire and leaned in to brush his lips across hers.
She didn’t return his kiss, but perhaps he had shocked her.
He kissed her again and this time Maddie returned it. She sighed when he pulled away and the sound shot straight to his groin. Lachlan took the cup from her and set it on the table and leaned in once again, taking her lips with a passion he had been fighting since he learned she wasn’t some innocent miss. He traced her lips. Maddie opened for him and he delved inside. She was as sweet as ambrosia, tart as fall apples, and as warm as the whisky heating her blood.
Her tongue mated with his and Lachlan was lost. There was an innocence to Maddie that wove a web about him. She didn’t possess the skill of an experienced lover, which was more seductive than he ever anticipated. Her fingers threaded their way through his hair, and Lachlan brought a hand up and cupped her round breast. It overflowed his hand and the nipple tightened beneath his fingertips. Maddie moaned and it was all he could do not to throw off the blankets and take her right there. One day he might just be in too much of a rush, but this was their first time together, and he would show her what a generous lover he could be to convince her to come away with him.
Maddie groaned and arched her back, and Lachlan couldn’t wait to taste her.
“Lachlan,” Dougal called from down the hall. “Mr. Jordan Trent is on his way up.”
“Bloody hell.” Lachlan pulled back from Maddie and moved away from the bed.
“Jordan is here?” Her voice squeaked and eyes grew wide.
Was she afraid he would be angry? If Lachlan had the time, he would reassure her that this wasn’t the first time one had found the other tupping their mistress. But by the sound of the boots pounding down the hall, Lachlan didn’t have time to offer that reassurance.
Jordan entered the room. His eyes went to Maddie, sitting against pillows, her lips swelled from their earlier kiss, the color of her skin heightened with passion. He next looked to Lachlan from the top of his head to his boots and back. A murderous rage lit his eyes. No doubt Jordan noticed the interest Lachlan had in Maddie that his kilt failed to hide given he was wearing nothing else beneath it.
Trent took two steps into the room and before Lachlan knew what to expect. He hit Lachlan with enough force to knock him back in the chair. Lachlan brought his hand to his cheek, wondering if it was broken. Since when was Jordan so protective over any chit?
“Jordan! What are you doing?” Maddie cried from the bed.
“The question is what are you doing here, Madeline?”
She pushed back against the headboard and pulled the cover up to her chin. Was Maddie afraid of Trent? Lachlan didn’t think anyone feared the man. Of course, this is the first time he had ever seen an angry side of him.
“Get dressed, you are coming with me.”
Maddie looked to Lachlan. “Where are my clothes?”
Lachlan groaned. That was the wrong thing to ask given Trent’s mood. He jumped out of the chair and backed away from Jordan who looked as if he would rather kill him than ask questions.
“Since when do you seduce innocent young women?” Jordan demanded.
He glanced toward Maddie. Her eyes were wide with fright. Nothing was adding up. If she were Jordan’s mistress shouldn’t she be trying to calm him, cajoling him into forgiving her, or something along those lines? Instead, she had asked for her clothing as if Lachlan hadn’t just kissed her senseless.
Jordan had called her innocent.
His gut tightened. Jordan called her Madeline. She was his sister.
Bloody hell, he should have listened to Dougal instead of his nether regions.
“Is this how you treat a lady of good breeding?” Jordan advanced on him, and if Lachlan didn’t put distance between them now he was liable to end up with a broken jaw, or worse.
“But I am not a lady,” Maddie said from the bed.
Jordan raised his fist and Lachlan ducked. “I didn’t touch her,” he yelled and moved to the opposite side of the room. In truth he had, but he wasn’t going to share with Jordan how well he liked the feel of his sister’s breast. To do so would earn him a dawn appointment or a wedding. Besides, he hadn’t bedded her and that was the most important issue at hand, he hoped.
“The two of ye need to go downstairs. Ye shouldna be upsettin’ the lass,” Dougal interrupted.
“Upsetting the lass?” Jordan cried. “I’ve been up all night looking for and worrying about her, as has our brother, her mother and our sister-in-law.” He wheeled on Maddie. “We didn’t know what became of you and feared you were frozen along the road somewhere. Not tucked away in his bed.”
“Out with both of ye,” Mrs. MacGinnis shouted. “The lass doesna need the two of ye fightin’ in her state.”
“State? What state? She looks perfectly fine to me,” Jordan bellowed.
“Well looks are deceivin’.” The cook pushed the three men out of the room and soundly shut the door.
Madeline stared ahead. She had never seen Jordan so upset. So angry. It was a bit reminiscent of Father when she was a child. Did all of her brothers get this angry?
“There, lass, doona let them worry ye none.”
“I need my clothing.” She couldn’t go home in this nightshirt.
“Ye arena goin’ anywhere.” Mrs. MacGinnis helped settle her back against the pillows. “Besides, ye doona have any clothin’.”
“What happened to my dress?”
“Lachlan had to cut it off of ye last night. He couldna leave ye in the wet clothin’ or ye would have caught yer death.”
So that was why she was in this nightshirt, far too large for her body. It must belong to Lachlan. “He cut my clothing off?” Goodness. That meant he saw her naked. Nobody, except her maid, had seen her without her clothing.
“From what I understand from Dougal, he dinna look,” Mrs. MacGinnis assured her.
“How is that possible?” Madeline squeaked.
“He put a blanket over ye first, after he cut the back of yer dress. And then felt his way around.” She smiled. “He wanted to preserve yer modesty. So doona be gettin' all upset with his lordship by thinkin’ he was takin’ liberties.”
“Upset? I am embarrassed. Mortified.” It never occurred that he may have taken liberties. But, they had slept in the same bed.
“There is no need to be embarrassed, lass, especially given the circumstances.” Mrs. MacGinnis insisted. She placed the used dishes on the tray with the teapot. “I’ll be back in a moment with fresh tea.”
“I need to find somethin’ to wear. Jordan has come for me.” She couldn’t remain here. Not now. Brachton probably hated her. Was he angry that she hadn’t admitted that Jordan was her brother? Though it shouldn’t make a difference one way or the other, should it?
“By the time those two finish, they will agree it is best ye remain here.”
Madeline found that hard to believe. After Mrs. MacGinnis left, Madeline left the bed. There must be something in the chamber for her to wear. She found her cloak had been hung up in a closet; however it was a bit damp. So she spread it out before the fire.
Her dress wasn’t anywhere, nor her shift, not that they would have done her any good since Lachlan cut them from her body. Thank goodness she had not been awake or she would have expired from embarrassment. No, had she been awake she could have undressed herself, in privacy.
Why had she ever left Matt’s home last night? She could have thought just as easily in her room.
No, she couldn’t have. Whenever she was troubled she took a walk. It was the way she had always been and most likely how she would always be. She would just use more care in the future and pay attention to where she was going so she didn’t get lost again.
She found her stockings by her boots. They were also damp so she spread them out beside the cloak and put the boots beside them. Hopefully they would be dry and warm enough to wear by the time Jordan returned for her. She would hate to get a chill a second time, but it may not be helped.
Madeline sat back down on the bed and stared into the fire. Her family would be angry, but it had never been her intention to upset or worry them. Despite her questionable birth, she knew that they still loved her. They would be the only ones, but she did have them, and it was foolish of her to wander away in a storm. It was impetuous, and they had every right to be upset. But thankfully none of them held onto their anger long.
Lachlan on the other hand, he probably wanted her away from his life as quickly as she could move. She shouldn’t have deceived him and she wasn’t sure why she had. She certainly hadn’t anticipated Jordan taking a swing at the man. Lachlan would probably suffer a swollen and bruised eye and all he had done was save her. The man deserved better thanks than that.
She had made so many poor decisions over the last day and hadn’t been thinking clearly since she listened to her brothers and mother talk of Adele and Julia, when the world Madeline thought was hers was ripped away.
Perhaps she wasn’t thinking clearly now.
It didn’t matter. Her fate had been sealed. But at least she’d had one adventure, though falling through the ice wasn’t an experience she wanted to try again. She had met a handsome Scot, who was kind to her, and kissed devilishly. What else would he have done had Jordan not arrived? Nobody had ever kissed her in such a manner. Actually, nobody had ever kissed her before, and she found she quite liked it. And when his hand touched her breast she thought she would expire from the pleasure of it. Heat had swept through her body and every part of her being came alive, even her most private areas. Was that the closest she would ever come to knowing what it was like to be loved by a man or experiencing the passion she had read about?
Depression settled over her like a wet blanket. She would never have moments like that again. She couldn’t marry a gentleman and she had no means in which to meet someone else. The only way she would ever experience passion and desire would be to become someone’s mistress. She was now forced to live on the fringes of society, so what difference to her reputation would there be? Except her brothers would kill her.
Madeline fell back on the bed. She could kill Jordan for showing up when he did. He had taken away the one moment of pleasure she was likely to ever know.
The two men stomped into the library. Dougal followed behind and went to the sideboard and poured a whisky for all three of them.
Jordan and Lachlan stared at each other, neither speaking. Lachlan knew he should explain but each word would damn him further in Jordan’s mind. He needed to explain. There was still a chance Jordan would kill him, but at least he would know he hadn’t touched his precious sister.
Bloody hell. He was going to be marrying the lass after all. Jordan would not let this pass, and if Lachlan had found Jordan in a similar situation with one of his sisters, by damn there would be a wedding. At least in Scotland it could be accomplished instantly. It wasn’t so easy in England with all of their inane rules of crying of the banns, being married before noon, or getting a special license when necessary.
Dougal pressed a glass into Trent’s hand. “Ye stay over there and doona say a word until this is finished.”
Trent never broke eye contact with Lachlan as he lifted the glass to his lips and drank.
Dougal next handed Lachlan a glass. “Ye had better explain, and quickly before he kills ye.”
Dougal stood back and sipped from his own glass.
“What happened, and why is she here?” Jordan demanded.
“For some reason yer sister decided to go for a walk last night and fell through the ice on my lake.”
Jordan’s eyes shot up.
“Luckily, we saw her and fished her out before she drowned.”
“Why didn’t you send word immediately?”
“I dinna ken who she was and there was a snowstorm, if ye recall. By the time I got her into the house she was unconscious,” Lachlan defended. “I dinna have time to think about wakin’ her and demandin’ answers. She was practically frozen so I got her clothes off of her, put her in a nightshirt, and tucked her into bed.”
“You stripped Madeline of her clothing?” Jordan took a step in Lachlan’s direction.
“He covered her with a blanket first.” Dougal interjected. “I was there. He dinna see anything he ought not. It was obvious she was a lady.”
Trent relaxed his stance.
“Tell him everythin’,” Dougal warned.
“She couldna stop shiverin’, so I did get in bed with her.”
Jordan tossed his glass aside. It shattered against the floor, spraying shards of glass in several directions and then he lunged for Lachlan.
Lachlan ducked and put a chair between them. “I said I got in bed with her. Not that I bedded her. There is a difference.”
Jordan stopped and eyed him. “You didn’t touch her?”
“Only enough to warm her with my body heat. Nothing else. I swear.”
Dougal rushed to the sideboard and poured another glass of whisky and handed it to Trent.
“That is when she told me her name was Maddie.”
“My sister has never gone by that name.”
“Well, she was fallin’ asleep, tired, shiverin’, and mumblin’, come to think of it.”
“He dinna do anythin’ but save her life,” Dougal insisted.
“It didn’t look like she was dying when I walked in. It looked like she was experiencing a side of life my innocent sister should know nothing about,” Trent shouted.
“I dinna ken she was yer sister,” Lachlan argued back.
“How could you not know? Didn’t she tell you?”
“Nay,” Lachlan shouted back. “She only told me she dinna travel alone. She later gave me yer name.”
“Not alone? That is it?”
“I asked her again what I should call her,” Lachlan continued. “She said Maddie was fine and when pressed, denied that a Miss or Lady should go before her name.”
“Why the hell would she do something like that?”
“I doona ken,” Lachlan shouted back and threw up his hand in irritation. “She is yer sister.” He tipped back the glass and drained the contents before thrusting it at Dougal. “I assumed she was . . . , well somethin’ she clearly is not”
“My mistress?” Jordan yelled. “You thought my sister was my mistress?” He lunged again and Lachlan sidestepped him.
“When I told her I knew ye, she never said she was yer sister, just that ye dinna want her to meet me. Since she claimed no family relationship I assumed she was some
thin’ else to ye.”
“And you thought to steal my mistress away, like you have before.”
Lachlan couldn’t help but grin. “She is a bonny lass.”
This time he didn’t move quickly enough and Jordan’s fist connected with his jaw.
“Ye deserved that, Lachlan,” Dougal said as he gave him another glass of whisky.
“I demand to know what liberties you took with my sister.”
“None. I only kissed her.” He certainly wasn’t going to admit to anything else. “Ye showed up before I could do anythin’ else.”
Jordan raised his fist again. “So you were going to seduce my sister.”
Lachlan raised his hands in defense. “I dinna ken she was yer sister. I thought she was yer mistress, and ye would have done the same thin’.”
“Enough of this,” Dougal shouted and got their attention. “It willna benefit either one of you if ye beat Lachlan to a bloody pulp, Trent.”
“Are you so certain? I am sure I would feel a bit better.”
“Aye, but ye want the groom alive for the weddin’.”
Lachlan groaned. There was no getting out of this one. He was going to be legshackled to an English lady whether he wanted to be or not. However, Maddie was a beautiful lass and a lusty one if her moans upstairs were any indication. His fate could be far worse.
“Alive, but not necessarily whole.”
No doubt Jordan would like nothing better than to cut off his bullocks. He would feel the same way if the tables were turned.
Jordan advanced and pushed Lachlan down into a chair. Lachlan had fought against himself not to strike back at Jordan each time the man hit him. Perhaps he knew deep down he deserved the pummeling he was getting, but enough was enough.
“You will treat my sister right,” he insisted. “Your carousing days are over because if I hear one whiff of gossip that you have a mistress on the side or are not treating Madeline well, I will hunt you down and make you sorry for the day we ever met.”
Lachlan threw up his hands in surrender. “I will treat her well.” He looked Jordan in the eye. “Ye ken I will be faithful,” he bit out. “That is one matter we have always agreed upon when it came to wives. No beddin’ other men’s wives or giving our own a reason to seek attention somewhere else. Neither one of us has ever been able to stomach a man who ignored his wife and found pleasure elsewhere.”