“Sebastian,” she breathed when he pressed feather light kisses down her neck and across to her opposite ear.
“Yes, sweetheart?” he said as he sucked on her earlobe, causing her whole body to tingle.
“Ye shouldnae.”
He chuckled, then lightly bit her lobe. “I shouldn’t?”
“Sebastian,” she moaned as his hand slipped inside her pelisse and cupped her breast. Her day dress and chemise were so threadbare it was as though he touched bare skin. The sensation of him caressing her had her wiggling on the seat and feeling those feeling down low intensify.
For some reason he removed his hand. Just as she leaned forward, hoping to connect with his hand again, she realized what Sebastian already knew. They had come to a stop and she heard voices.
“Hand me the crutch and stay here regardless of what you hear.”
“Ye cannae be serious. Ye’ll break yer neck getting out of this carriage.” Fear for all their safety had her insides vibrating and her voice along with it.
Before either one of them could exit the coach, the door opened to a very wet and shivering Lachlan. But fortunately for all, the rain had stopped.
“These mon here say they ken ye and were sent by yer brothers-in-law.”
With the help of Lachlan, Sebastian was able to quit the carriage and lean on his crutch to greet the three strangers. “Smythe,” Sebastian said with a wide grin when he finally recognized the man beneath the sopping wet hat. “You have no idea how glad I am to see you.”
The one she presumed was named Smythe answered. “Likewise. Northborough and Bridgeton were beside themselves after they received your missive.”
“What about Wentworth?”
“He had already gone out looking for you with Mr. Spencer. They traveled to Carlisle thinking you were lost along the way. Your brother had a strange feeling you were in trouble. After receiving word from Bridgeton and Northborough, I agreed.”
“Yes, indeed. If it weren’t for Lord Lachlan and Lady Teagan I would be dead.”
Smythe acknowledged each of them with a nod of his head. “The Seabrook family is forever in your debt. Please, may we escort you to Stony Cross Manor?”
“They winnae be indebted tae us when they find out the whole truth,” Lachlan muttered, and Teagan hoped nobody else heard but her.
“Thank you,” Sebastian said, giving her brother a wide-eyed look.
Yes indeed, Teagan mused. Others had heard.
“Would one of your men be so kind as to give Lord Lachlan a break from the reins?” Sebastian added.
“Be glad to drive the coach myself,” Smythe answered as he tied his horse’s reins to one of his men’s saddles.
This time when the wheels began turning, Teagan sat beside her brother on a pile of blankets to keep them dry from the wet cushions. Sebastian relaxed once again with his leg up on the bench. And for the first time since they set out from Murray Castle, Teagan had hope for the future and for their safety.
***
Three days hence and no trouble from her brother. Teagan looked out the coach window at Stony Cross Manor. The name fit. It was large and made mostly of grey stone. Once the carriage came to a stop, voices could be heard outside. Voices she presumed belonged to Sebastian’s family.
The door burst open, the stairs put in place, and Teagan found herself being handed to a handsome gentleman with dark hair touched with grey and warm eyes.
“Welcome. I’m Bridgeton. We’ll make formal introductions when you’ve gotten settled and cleaned up.”
“Thank ye,” she mumbled as she landed on wobbly legs after having spent so much time in a moving coach. Before she could greet the rest, she was whisked away by an older, plump woman who introduced herself as the housekeeper.
“I’ll get you settled into your room and leave you in the capable hands of Gretchen, Lady Amelia’s maid. Water is being heated for your bath, which will be ready momentarily. Welcome to Stony Cross Manor, milady.”
After the housekeeper left with a curtsy, Teagan spun around and took in the opulent room decorated in subtle shades of green and cream. A large mahogany four poster bed sat in the middle of the room with two small chests of drawers on either side. The cream comforter and numerous green and cream pillows beckoned her. One glance at her filthy clothing, and she took a seat on a wooden chair at the small dressing table and waited.
She didn’t wait long as a knock sounded on the door, and it was opened by a young woman in her late teens.
“Milady, I’m Gretchen and I’ll be attending you today. Your bath should be...ah, it is here already.”
Two servants came in with a large metal tub while two more filled it with buckets of steaming water. Teagan tried not to drool. When was the last time she’d had a decent bath? Not since she escaped from her home.
After the male servants left, Gretchen helped her undress and assisted her into the decadently warm water.
“Hmmm. This is heaven. As long as ah can reach the soap and washcloth, ah can bathe myself.”
“Yes. Milady. I’ll be fetching you some clean clothing.”
Bathing alone in a bedchamber that didn’t belong to her, in the house of a duke she’d yet to meet, should have made her nervous, and yet for some reason she felt completely and utterly relaxed. Picking up the soap and cloth left on a stool next to the tub, she inhaled the lavender fragrance and smiled. “Perfect,” she said to herself as she bathed and washed and rinsed her hair.
When still the maid didn’t return, she leaned back and closed her eyes. Every muscle in her body relaxed as she let the warm water transform her from dirty and travel worn to clean and smelling like her favorite wildflowers.
When Gretchen came back, she helped Teagan dress in a high-waist beautiful light blue linen day dress with a scooped neckline and deeper blue ribbon accents. She wondered who the dress and undergarments belonged to, and she imagined she would meet the lady soon enough.
One of Sebastian’s sisters no doubt. Or possibly the duke’s wife? Whoever the clothing belonged to, she was close in size to herself as the dress fit almost perfectly.
When the maid left, Teagan didn’t know what to do. Did she leave her chamber and seek out people or stay and wait to be called upon. She didn’t have long to find out as mere minutes after Gretchen left a knock sounded on the door.
“Please come in.”
Teagan eyed the door with excitement, wondering who would enter, and she smiled when three beautiful women stepped inside the room. One of them was a lovely pregnant lady with light hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. The other two looked like sisters, only one was fair and one dark. One had Sebastian’s coloring and eyes.
“Hello,” Teagan said, wondering who would speak first.
“Hello, welcome to our home,” said the pregnant lady with a lovely American accent. “I’m Emma, the Duchess of Wentworth, and these are Sebastian’s sisters. Amelia, the Countess of Bridgeton and Bella, the Countess of Northborough.”
Teagan curtsied. “Hello. Ah’m Lady Teagan Murray.”
“Yes. We know,” said the Countess of Northborough. “Please call me Bella. When it is just family here, we are a little lapse in formality. Although I would call my brother Wentworth or duke. He can be stuffy at times.”
“No, he is not.” Emma laughed. “It’s your mother who wants us to be formal at all times.”
“Please don’t mind them,” the one named Amelia interjected. The one married to the handsome gentleman who assisted her from the carriage earlier. “It’s been a while since we had a new female in the house to gossip with.”
“Gossip? But ah dinnae ken anyone in England tae gossip about,” Teagan said, liking these three women already. They seemed warm and friendly, and they appeared to care deeply about one another.
“That’s fine,” Bella said with a wave of her hand. “The three of us talk quite a lot. You can listen if you want.”
“But first,” Emma said. “It is teatime and everyone is awaiting
us in the drawing room.”
Teagan hesitated and swallowed. “Everyone?”
Bella linked her arm through Teagan’s elbow and walked toward the door, pulling her along. “Don’t worry, our family is friendly. Everyone is welcome. Especially a brother and sister who saved our brother, Sebastian’s, life. I can’t wait to hear the details of the story. Sebastian didn’t have much to say about it.”
“There isnae much tae tell.”
“Liar,” Bella whispered close to her ear. “Here we are.”
Teagan found herself whisked inside a blue drawing room, settled on a soft midnight blue velvet settee in between Bella and Amelia. Facing her on matching upholstered chairs was Emma and who she presumed was the Dowager Duchess of Wentworth.
One glance across the room and she eyed three men sitting and having a serious conversation. At least by their expressions she thought serious. One she knew as Bridgeton, the other must be Northborough, and her heart pounded when she saw Sebastian resting in a chair with his leg up on a footstool. He’d bathed and dressed in casual clothing. He turned her way and his somber expression was replaced with a breathtaking smile as he nodded his head in greeting, causing her heart to melt at his handsomeness, regardless of his bruised face and still swollen eye.
“My dear, Lady Teagan,” the dowager began. “I am so very happy to make your acquaintance. And indebted to you and your brother for saving my son. It would have been a terribly tragedy if he’d been taken from us.”
Teagan’s cheeks heated with embarrassment at being praised by Sebastian’s mother. “Ye are welcome. Has my brother been down? Ah havenae seen him since we arrived.”
“I believe he has just entered.” The dowager nodded in the direction of the double doors.
Lachlan paused to acknowledge the ladies whom she learned he’d met earlier. He kissed her cheek and whispered, “Ah like these people and ye look lovely.” Then he crossed the room to join the men in conversation.
Teagan would love to know what they discussed. If she didn’t know better, she would think they were planning something nefarious.
***
When Teagan entered the drawing room with his sisters, Sebastian’s ears shut off the conversation Bridgeton and Myles were having, as important as it was, and focused his whole being on her. Dressed in finery, she was even more breathtaking than ever. Although she didn’t need expensive clothing and accessories to be beautiful to him. Everything about her moved him. Dressed in rags, a chemise, or a ball gown and his feelings towards her would not change. To his mind and eyes no one could be more precious, elegant, or gorgeous than she.
“Sebastian,” Bridgeton said with frown. “Are you listening? This is important. I would think you would want revenge against Ian Murray.”
***
Sometime during her first night at Stony Cross Manor Teagan got tired of staring at the ceiling, waiting to fall asleep. She donned a robe and wrapped a shawl around her shoulders. After lighting an oil lamp, she quietly strolled down the corridor, down the grand staircase, and into the drawing room they’d taken tea in that afternoon. If only she knew where the library was. A book would certainly help her fall asleep.
As she approached the open doors, a soft glow illuminating from the fireplace pulled her toward it. She placed her lantern on the mantel. The trip from her room through the chilly hallways had her shivering, and she pulled her shawl tight around herself and sighed. “There’s nothing like a warm fire.”
“I agree.”
Startled, she spun around with one hand going to her throat as her heart exploded inside her chest. When her eyes connected with the gentleman sitting in a chair with his leg propped up on a stool, her heart didn’t actually slowdown as one would think. It continued to pound, only this time it wasn’t out of shock at finding she was not along. It was because Sebastian was the other occupant of the room.
“Ye startled me.”
“My apologies. I figured it would be better to say something than have you confiding all your secrets to the flames, thinking you were alone.
“Ah would never do that?”
“Should you not be sleeping?” Sebastian said with a raised brow.
“Ah couldnae sleep.”
“Me neither.” He waved his hand to the empty chair beside his. “Please have a seat. You can still feel the heat from the fire here.”
“Thank ye.” She sat down and pulled her shawl together with trembling hands. “Have ye had word from yer brother?”
“No. But after resting tonight, Smythe and his men are going to travel to find him. Emma seems concerned.”
“Perhaps she just misses him and wants him close by with her expecting and all.”
Sebastian rubbed his hands in front of him. “It’s bloody chilly tonight.”
Teagan jumped up, went to the settee to retrieve a lap blanket, and covered Sebastian with it. She kept her eyes downcast, afraid if he saw her face he’d see the longing in her eyes. A longing for him she was still trying to sort out.
As she was just about to step away, he reached for her hand. “Do I make you nervous?”
“Sometimes.” Was that her breathy voice?
“What’s changed? I don’t think I made you nervous before?”
Closing her eyes, she breathed in, hoping to steady herself. Her body trembled and her heart pounded as though it wanted to leap out of her chest. She’d never felt flustered like this before, and she didn’t like it one bit.
“Everything is different now. Ye are nae bedridden. The stitches are ready tae be removed from yer leg and face. Yer arm and ribs must be feeling better and well on their way tae being mended.”
Sebastian used his good leg to kick the footstool aside, then he moved the lap blanket and tugged her hand so she fall into his lap with a gasp.
“Sebastian...yer leg.”
“My leg is fine. The physician removed the stitches this afternoon. He said you did a good job. As good as he could have done. Now let yourself relax. I’ll keep you warm. Besides, I’ve been dying to hold you again.”
“So that is what is changed? Ah thought ye face seemed different. Before she realized it her fingers were tracing the thin red scar down one side of his face. “But what if someone sees us?”
“Sweetheart, the house is quiet. Everyone is asleep, and it will be two hours before the servants arise. So in the meantime it’s just you and me.”
“Ye and me,” she murmured. He and I. It was scandalous and most improper for her to be in a room alone with him, never mind sitting on his lap dressed in her night rail. Once he pulled the lap blanket around them both and held her close, she didn’t care who saw them. There was something undeniably comforting about Sebastian. She could no more stay away from him than a moth could stay away from a flame.
“Yer family is so nice. Ah’ll admit Bella, Amelia, and Emma can be a bit much, but in a good and welcoming way. Ah never had a sister, but if ah did ah’d like tae think we’d be as close as they are.”
Sebastian chuckled, causing his lap to shake. “Bella and Amelia have always been close. When Emma came to live with us, she fit right in. Two sisters became three.”
“You told me before that Emma and Wentworth married. How long after they met did they wed?”
***
Sebastian smiled then winced at the memory of when Emma first arrived, that and his ribs hurt. But the pain radiating from them would not interfere with the opportunity to hold Teagan close. This was the part of the story Sebastian didn’t care to relate, but if he wanted a future with Teagan, and he did, he needed to be truthful from the start. “When Emma first came here, Wentworth and she appeared to dislike each other very much. Truth be told, I fell for Emma and asked her to marry me.”
A little gasp was all he heard from Teagan, and he wondered what she was thinking. “She tried to turn me down, but I wouldn’t listen and told her to think about it. Later that day, I came upon her and Wentworth in a compromising situation.”
“Hate t
urned tae love?”
“Something like that. Anyway.” He needed to get the words out before he changed his mind. “I attacked my brother.”
Her gasp was quite a bit louder this time, but still she stayed silent. Still waiting, no doubt, for him to continue. “We fought. Emma stepped in between us. I was angry, I told him I was going to America to run Hamilton Oil for him. I left that afternoon and stayed at a hotel until I could purchase passage on a ship.”
“Ah’m sorry. It must be hard on ye seeing Emma and yer brother together and so happy.”
“Not anymore. I spent nearly two years in America, sold all Wentworth’s holdings, and came home to realize I never really loved her at all. Oh, I love her like a sister, but nothing more.”
“What is America like?”
Sebastian was so very thankful she didn’t pursue his relationship or feelings for Emma. “I only traveled throughout Massachusetts. Boston is much like any bustling port and city in England. At times, if I closed my eyes and listened to the voices around me, I thought I was right here in England with all the British accents. There is still some unrest. The Indians pose a threat in the Midwest, but I never traveled there. While Myles was there he traveled all over. Met several Indians and said they are misunderstood. Also, I was told New Orleans is like a small France.”
“Will ye go back someday?”
Will he? “Probably not. It was a nice adventure. I made Wentworth a lot of money in the sale of his holdings, and he transferred some of that wealth to me. So although I was born a second son, I am wealthy in my own right, thanks to Mr. Hamilton. Before Wentworth inherited, we worried he might be thrown in debtor’s prison.”
“Surely a duke wouldnae be subjected tae such a place?”
He liked that she took offence to his brother’s plight. “We didn’t believe it would come to fruition, but one never knew. Thank goodness my brother and Priney have such a good relationship.”
“Speaking of the prince, when do ye think we can get an audience with him?”
“When my brother comes home, he’ll send word. Are you still worried about your safety?” Sebastian hated that she had lived in such fear and didn’t want her to ever feel that way again.
Lord Sebastian and the Scottish Lass Page 8