Page 35 of The Runaway Bride and the Highlander
Maxwell watched in utter delight as Skylar slowly undressed before him. Clearly, she was nervous, though no matter how many times he tried to ease her mind, she stubbornly refused any assistance. It confused him somewhat, for she had not acted in such a way when he was with her in her bedchamber a couple of nights previously. She had given herself willingly, and from her reactions to his touch, she enjoyed the pleasure he had evoked from her. It made little sense that she now appeared terrified.
He had noticed her nerves in the chapel when they were wed earlier that day, but then, her anxiety appeared rather normal under the circumstances. Being told she was getting married not a day before would likely do that to a person. She had looked stunningly beautiful, and he had struggled to hide his delight when she finally came to stand beside him at the altar.
During the evening feast, however, Maxwell had noticed her becoming increasingly more uneasy until eventually, guessing the issue had something to do with the wedding night, he had thought it best they retire early, so she did not embarrass herself in front of the entirety of those gathered.
Try as he might, she did not want to talk about her shaking state, and in the end, seemed to want to simply get on with it. Perhaps, once their intimacy began, she would settle a little.
When she finally stood by the bed in only her shift, waiting upon him, Maxwell did not hesitate to go to her. He had been waiting for this moment all day, and though he had not wanted to ruin her several days before, she was now his to ruin. Yet, the moment he took a step toward her, Skylar swiftly put her hand up determinedly toward him.
“Wait,” she cried, her shaky voice trying to sound firm.
He furrowed his brow in even further confusion, but his bewilderment only grew at her actions immediately afterward. He watched as she swiftly bent and grabbed something from her dress. She then threw herself on the bed, stuffed some form of material in her mouth, and lay there motionless and as straight as a sword.
Maxwell was dumbfounded, and after she mumbled she was ready for him, he could only stare at her in stunned astonishment. But then, the amusement welled up inside of him, for he simply could not help himself. She could not imagine how hilarious her whole performance had been. It only made it funnier to him that she had some strange connotation of what was supposed to happen.
Once the laughter began, he could not stop it, and chuckling so hard his sides hurt, Maxwell found himself falling to the floor in the weakness he felt. He guffawed for some time, still hardly believing what had happened, and when he finally looked up toward her, the scene he saw only made him laugh even harder.
No longer lying down, Skylar had pushed herself up on her elbow, the cloth still hanging out of her mouth, looking at him with wide eyes and a beaming red face. Clearly, she did not see the hilarity of the situation, which inevitably made the whole circumstance even more amusing.
“Good God, lass,” Maxwell said, still chuckling while at the same time trying to catch his breath. “Ye’re going tae kill me on our wedding night.”
Pushing himself up from the floor, he moved over to the bed and breathlessly sat down beside her. Tugging the cloth from her mouth, he looked down at her mortified face.
“What the devil are ye doing?”
The heat raged in her cheeks, and she could not hold his gaze. He took her chin tenderly in his hands once more. She had no choice but to look at him then, and stammering in her uncertainty and embarrassment, began to explain herself.
“I… I… I was doing what I was supposed tae do,” she stuttered.
“Which is what, exactly?” Maxwell pressed, not able to keep the beaming smile from his face, for he was still highly amused and simply could not hide it.
“Well, Katherine told me—”
“Katherine?” Maxwell asked with a frown.
“My maid,” she explained.
“Och, I see,” he said, now understanding a little bit. “Do go on.”
“Well, since I didnae have a mother tae explain me and I was in a nunnery the past years… I didnae ken what happened in a marital chamber. So, I asked. Katherine told me that I ought tae lay down and pretend I was dead, that ye would do everything. And…” she faltered.
“And?” Maxwell encouraged, trying to sound kind but still struggling to keep the smile from his face.
“And that it would hurt a lot. She told me I should take a cloth and put it in my mouth so nae one would hear me scream.”
“Christ Almighty,” Maxwell cried, not able to help yet another chuckle from escaping. In fact, he chuckled again for another minute at the absolute ridiculousness of it all.
“I dinnae see what’s so funny,” Skylar pouted, dropping her eyes again.
“Och, Skylar,” Maxwell soothed, brushing his knuckles across her cheek. “Ye’ve been told a load o’ old tripe. That’s nae the way it is at all. Nae wonder ye’ve been trembling like a scared bairn all evening. Someone has told that tae Katherine, probably tae stop her from throwing herself at one o’ the stable hands. Those old maids ought tae stop terrifying the lasses.”
“Ye mean it’s nae like that?” she asked, now looking at him with wide eyes, conveying the innocence of a child.
Maxwell shook his head and smiled gently down at her. “Nae at all. I promise I’ll be gentle. There’ll be nae screaming.” He smiled wryly. “In fact, if I do everything right, it’ll feel even better than the last time we were together. Do ye remember how much ye enjoyed that?”
Her face reddened again, a deep blush blooming at the forwardness of his question, but she still nodded in reply.
“Good,” Maxwell said, now convinced he had assured her if only a small amount, for she still did not look entirely at ease.
