That did make her feel better. Yet she was curious about the shadows that kept crossing his face. “I don’t know what I might tell. She, even now, is full of life. I’ve always loved her dearly, and I still do. I am worried for her, though. Not only does she not leave the cottage, but she talks about the end.”
He nodded. “With me as well.” He slipped his hand into hers. His larger one was strong and warm. “She knows about the wolves.” He hesitated. “I will help keep you safe, Arianna.”
Her breath caught. Every moment she was with him, she found him that much more handsome than the last. It did help he was no longer speaking to his belt. But perhaps he’d only been talking to himself as people sometimes did? She needed help just now, and here he was, big and strong, warm and kind. “I don’t know what to say, Captain.”
His eyes lit with surprise, and then one eyebrow quirked. If she’d thought him bonnie before, now he was devilishly so. “I think you’d better call me Nick.”
Nick. It suited him. And calling him by his given name made her look down at her lap. “Why would I do that?”
He tucked a finger under her chin and lifted it so that he could look her in the eye. His grin had a jaunty tilt. “Your Granny is convinced we’ll marry.”
She gasped and pulled her chin from his grasp. “What do you mean? What did she say?”
He sat back and gave a chuckle. “I see that I have succeeded in scaring you yet again. My apologies. But she was rather insistent.” He gave her a small wink. “I don’t believe it either.”
She relaxed at his words, not sure why she had become so frightened. It had been a strange day, and they were odd words from a man she didn’t know. Though she was certain her Granny had said them. She was always making such predictions. The odd part was how often she was correct. “Did she say that the trees whispered it?” Arianna rolled her eyes in an attempt to make less of it, but Nick paled.
He straightened away, even as his eyes crinkled at the corners. “The trees?” Then he shook his head. “I think you’d better get some sleep. Let’s discuss all of this in the morning.”
Before she could reply, he leaped up from the bed and crossed to the door. Twisting the knob, he was gone before she could utter a sound. What had she just said?
She lay in bed wondering, but it wasn’t long before sleep made her eyes heavy. She was safe, her Granny tended and her body exhausted from the day’s events. Tomorrow she would sort out the delicious mystery that was Nick Fairfield.
* * *
Nick left the room and leaned against the wall. He’d been so anxious to get back to her, and now he’d darted out of the room before their conversation had barely begun.
But he didn’t know how to say, “I believe in magic. Your Granny does too. I’ve a magical object in my bag, and we’re very likely dealing with magical forces. If the trees have whispered we’ll marry, it’s likely true.” It sounded absurd, and if someone had said those words to him a year ago, he’d have declared the person incompetent.
It didn’t matter. Despite what her grandmother believed, they wouldn’t marry. He had no intention of marrying anyone. His brothers could happily carry on the family. The Fairfield name would live on.
But then he thought of those large green eyes, her auburn hair trailing across a pillow. The sight of her wearing his shirt.
He could see how his brothers had been tempted. He wasn’t, of course. Despite having rushed back here from her grandmother’s, he would not allow a woman, no matter how stunning, to take his freedom.
He made his way up onto the deck. The cliff loomed in the moonlight, and he imagined that he could just see the top of the cottage’s roof. It was a beautiful spot. One wouldn’t feel trapped there. On the contrary, with the view of the ocean and the forest all about, it was freedom personified.
He dug his thumb and forefinger into his eyes. What was he thinking? He belonged on a ship.
Returning below deck, he found an empty hammock amongst the sailors and lay himself down for the night. There was little to do but try and sleep.
His rest wasn’t fitful, however, and when he woke, the sun was just lighting the sky. Thoughts of Arianna plagued him, and he decided to check on her to see if she was awake, if she needed food or check how her health faired.
He ignored the voice that said she was likely fine, he just wanted to see her, be near her. That was not it. He was responsible for her safety.
He made his way to the captain’s quarters and softly turned the knob. A quick look at the bed showed that it was empty. His eyes bulged as he opened the door wider to find her.
But if he’d been worried before, a different sight stopped him in his tracks. She stood, laying her clothes out to dry, wearing nothing but his shirt. She’d rolled up the sleeves so that her forearms were exposed, but it was the sight of her creamy legs that made his mouth go dry. Her auburn hair fell in loose waves all down the crisp linen and he knew, in that moment, that Granny had been right.
He wanted to see her like this every day. Just like that. Wearing his clothing, in his bedroom. A possessive need made him shudder and a growl rumbled deep in his chest.
She on the other hand, turned with a surprised glance and started from the shock of seeing him. A yelp escaped her lips as she yanked her wet dress in front of her.
“Good morning,” he said, barely able to keep his voice civil. Something near primal was rising inside him. He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.
“Ye scared me,” she replied, her breath coming in short gasps. It only made him tighten further.
He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. It didn’t feel natural in this moment, but he didn’t think she was ready for what he wanted to do. Which was to kiss her senseless. “Sorry about that.”
“Did you need something?” she asked, pulling her damp dress tighter about her legs.
He cleared his throat, trying to order his now chaotic thoughts. “Only to check on you. Your clothes are wet still?”
She nodded, looking down at them. “Aye, and I’ll never be able to return to my family if I don’t dry them.”
He winced sympathetically. But the doctor wanted her to rest and Granny had warned him to keep Arianna at his side. “I know you said the village was being terrorized. Should we bring your mother on the ship? She might be safer here.”
Arianna grimaced. “My little brother is sick with the cough. He can’t be moved, and my mother has to tend him. It’s why I went to Granny’s in the first place. She couldn’t make the trip due to my brother’s care.”
He rubbed his chin. “We’ll have to take the doctor to see your brother. Perhaps he can assess his condition and see if he can be moved.”
Her eyes lit. “You would do that?” She rushed toward him and then stopped when she was a foot away, her cheeks growing pink. She looked down at herself. “How silly. I was going to hug… I forgot for a moment…” then her words trailed off.
Nick knew two things: one, she would be his wife, and two, they had already been far more intimately acquainted than a simple hug and in far less clothing. He had held her body to his without a stich of fabric between them. So he hooked a hand about her waist and pulled her close to him. His lips grazed her temple as she rested her hands lightly on his chest, the damp dress still between them. She didn’t push him away, but they did keep their bodies apart.
“I told you last night,” he whispered. “Your Granny thinks we’ll marry. I believe her.”
He heard her gasp as she applied a little more pressure to his chest. “We hardly know each other. How could we make such a commitment?”
“Do you think I am mad for agreeing with your grandmother?”
She gasped again. Louder. He could see on her face that he’d hit close to the mark. She’d heard him talking to the glass. Did she think him mad in general? Perhaps her grandmother was correct and he would be teaching her about magic too. “Perhaps a little.” She nibbled on her lip.
He g
ave her a wink. “I’ll tell you what. I will allow you time to assess my mental faculties if you agree to honestly consider marriage.”
The tension in her hands lessoned, but her eyes remained wary. “I will consider both.”
Chapter Six
She did, in fact, think he was short on his mental faculties. But that didn’t stop her body from responding to his touch.
His was strong and warm, and she felt safe for the first time in weeks.
His handsome features and soft lips were also making it difficult to remember why she should resist. “I want to show you something.”
He pulled the satchel out from his belt; the one she had seen him conversing with yesterday.
“What’s in it?” she asked.
“Glass,” he replied. “When I open the sack, I want you to listen. Not just with your ears, but with your mind.”
It suddenly frightened her, the sack and the glass, and she put her hand over his. “I don’t want to.”
“It won’t hurt you.” He grasped her fingers gently in his own and tenderly removed them from his. Then he slid open the string.
She didn’t hear it at first, but then a high, clear voice murmured close to her ear, “Put me back together. I’ll take care of you, I promise. All I need is for you to make me whole.”
“It talks,” she whispered. Nick still held her hand, and she found herself squeezing his fingers.
“Yes,” he said with a sigh. “I’ve found a great many things do, if you can hear them. Even the trees.”
Her breath stilled. Her Granny was always going on about the prattling of the trees. They told her things, she’d said. “The trees?”
“I don’t hear them, but my brother, Will, and his wife hear the trees too. Like your Granny does.” He cleared his throat. “I didn’t believe it at first, but they warn Eirwen of danger, protect her too. I’ve seen her premonitions come true.”
If she hadn’t just heard the glass, she would never have believed that such things existed. “Does everyone hear the glass?”
“No,” he shook his head. “Your Granny says that we, you and I, have magic in our blood.”
She let out a squeak. She couldn’t help it, this was all so much. “You spoke with Granny about a lot.”
He chuckled. “Mostly I listened.”
He pulled her close again, and if she had liked it before, now her body fluttered every place that touched his. “She’s had a vision that we will marry. That we’ll start a family. I have to be honest, when I walked up to the cottage I…I saw us living there.”
Her gaze snapped to his. It seemed mad; they’d known each other a day. Yet, it also seemed so right. Next to him as she was now, she couldn’t imagine where else in the world she might want to be. “Nick Fairfield,” she tested his name. “I don’t know anything about you.”
He chuckled then, and lowering his head, he captured her lips with his own. She’d never kissed a man, and as heat travelled through her body, she knew she’d never kiss another. Tis kiss was more than she could have imagined. “My name is Lord Nicholas Fairfield. Though I am the fourth son of a baron, I have been gifted land and title by the Prince Regent. I’ve not built a home of my own. I’ve always preferred the sea.”
She blinked back her disappointment, “Of course.” Why should his love of the sea concern her she tried to reason. They had shared one kiss which didn’t mean anything.
“Until now.” He kissed her again, and every part of her responded.
“Have I…” she swallowed, trying to make sense of all of this. “…even told you my surname?”
He laughed. “I suppose you haven’t.” Then he eased back and she had to confess—she missed his touch.
“Granger.” She extended her hand. “Arianna Granger.” She wanted to step back in his embrace. But she was hardly wearing any clothing and somehow, even though her body was ready to be next to his, her mind needed to catch up.
“Very well, Arianna Granger. I will go see to your mother and your brother. When I get back, we’ll take a tour about the deck and you can tell me all about yourself.”
“And yerself.” She gave him a smile, happiness radiating from within. That sounded absolutely perfect.
With a wink, he disappeared from the room again. What an odd conversation to have had. Even stranger, she believed him. There was no other choice but to accept that they were both mad. But where would this madness lead them?
* * *
Nick rowed away from the boat, feeling as though he had made a mistake. It wasn’t because he’d told her about magic, which had gone exceedingly well, or even that he’d more or less proposed to a woman he’d known for a day.
It was that he was leaving her. He should be by her side.
Strange he’d feel this strongly after just a day, but there it was. The doctor gave him a smile. “It’s a good thing you’re doing, old chap, helping her like this.”
Nick wasn’t so sure. Yes, her brother needed the doctor. But the farther he got from his ship, the more uneasy he felt.
They made their way into the village, he was surprised at how quiet the streets were. Hardly anyone was about. The town should be bustling with morning activity.
It only caused him to grow more concerned as he and Dr. Harper made their way to Arianna’s home.
Knocking on the door, a woman quickly answered. He smiled at her, not able to help himself. She reminded him so much of Arianna. Same red hair and large green eyes. “Yes?” Her tone was clipped and afraid.
“Mrs. Granger? Arianna sent me.” He gave her a warm smile, but she looked more worried rather than less.
“How do you know my daughter?” She straightened as her eyes narrowed.
As quickly as he could, he told her that he’d found her daughter floating in the ocean on a log after she’d been chased by wolves.
“By the saints,” Mrs. Granger held her hand to her mouth as she listened.
But before he could get any more of the story out, a shadow cast over him. A tall and thin young man stood less than five feet away. “Is Arianna all right?” His Scottish brogue had a deep timber considering the youthfulness of his face.
“She’s fine, Haggis.” Mrs. Grangers’ hands landed on her hips. Her sharp voice made Nick’s eyebrows rise slightly.
But Haggis stepped closer. “Where is she? I haven’t seen her in a few days.” His gaze swept over Nick. “Who are you, and what are you doing here?”
Nick assessed the boy on the verge of manhood. He was likely as tall as Nick but much thinner. Either he really cared for Arianna or he was brave indeed to so openly challenge a larger and older man.
Mrs. Granger huffed. “That is none of your concern, Haggis. Go on now.”
Rather than respond, Haggis rumbled out a growl, his thin chest puffing up. “I want to know where she is. Are you from the ship in Cairnyan Harbor?”
Nick levelled him with a stare. He found the boy annoying, and he might have just dismissed it as youthful overzealousness, but Mrs. Granger seemed rather upset. “Mrs. Granger asked you to leave.”
Haggis took another step forward. His proximity and puffed-out chest challenging. Nick crossed his own arms about his chest.
But Haggis didn’t seem intimidated at all. If anything, he straightened taller. “You’re not man enough to take on me and my friends.”
Nick didn’t answer. He would not be drawn into a challenge from a boy. And his friends? More boys? Nick took a deep breath, slowly filling his lungs. “Go.”
Haggis let out a grumble as he stood for another second before finally turning to leave. “This isn’t over,” he called as he loped off. His movements distinctive and his motives concerning though Nick could yet articulate why.
“That was…odd.” Nick muttered more to himself.
“Aye,” Mrs. Granger agreed. “He’s been hanging about and getting bolder in his attentions. Knocking on the door. Asking after her several times a day. I caught him trying to convince her…” She stopped.
“It will all be better once my husband comes home.”
“He’s hunting?” Nick asked, more out of politeness, but her answer made him pause.
“Yes, though that was odd too. He normally just hunts Lord Williams’ property, but out of nowhere, the lord demands they go on an extended trip and leave the next day. They’ve been gone for weeks. He took half the village with him, almost all of the men over twenty.”
The lord had left his domain unattended and took all of the men who might defend it away with him? Magic. That was the only answer. Nick should have known. Whoever was behind the wolves had used her powers to coerce the province’s leader to leave.
But he couldn’t tell Mrs. Granger that, so instead he introduced the doctor, who stepped inside to examine Arianna’s brother.
It didn’t take long, and after leaving some medicinal herbs, they were on their way. “Can we bring him to the ship?” Nick asked.
“I’m afraid not. I can’t diagnose the disease. It’s strange,” Dr. Harper replied. “Who knows what it could be, but not only is he likely contagious, the journey will be too taxing. Until he improves, he should stay where he is.”
Hell and damnation. Arianna’s grandmother had told him to keep Arianna on the ship, but he couldn’t keep her there indefinitely without her family’s attendance. He was already breeching social convention and could only justify it for her health.
Was there any way to keep her at his side? Keep her safe? He couldn’t think of one…. Unless he married her—and quickly.
Would she even agree? They’d discussed it this morning, but things were moving so quickly. He shook his head at his own foolishness. Not for wanting to marry a woman, but for being so openly opposed to it before. He’d catch hell from his brothers. He’d told them all what fools they’d been, and now here he was committing their same folly.
But perhaps it wasn’t folly at all. It might be the best thing he’d ever done. And, honestly, he couldn’t help but wonder if this entire thing was orchestrated by fate. It seemed too much a coincidence that he’d met Arianna just as she was in dire need of help with magical forces beyond her control.
Luring a Lady’s Love: Fairfield Fairy Tales Book 4 Page 3