Page 52 of A Virgin for the Vicious Highlander
“I mean nothin’ to him,” Cecilia retorted, a tad harsher than she had intended. “He’s doin’ his duty, nothin’ more.”
Lennox nodded slowly. “So, it’s the groom ye’re nae keen on?”
“I’m nae keen on any of it,” Cecilia sighed, staring down at her lap. “I doubt there’s any lass in this world who’d want to be married to such a mercurial man. And nay lass wants to be told she’s an obligation.”
Lennox expelled a sigh that plumed in the wintry air. “I’ve kenned him for a long, long time.” He paused. “He’s nae the friendliest of men, I’ll grant ye that, but he’s nae like that without good reason. Ye might nae believe me, but he’s a good man. A very good man. He’s just endured a lot, that’s all.”
“Ye think he’s the only one?” Cecilia huffed, frowning at him, wondering if he would answer some of her questions if she were to ask. Or whether his loyalty to his Laird would forbid him from being too honest.
Lennox laughed softly. “Ye have a point there, but what I’m trying to say—badly, I’ll admit—is that ye should be patient with him. Think of it like… he’s wearin’ armor all the time. There’s more to him beneath that armor if ye have the patience to wait until he removes it.”
“Or a mask…” She gave him a pointed look, and his eyebrows knitted together as if he was trying to decide whether he had said too much.
He shrugged. “A mask, armor, a shell—ye understand what I’m tryin’ to say. He’ll be good to ye. Ye’ll see.”
“Ye dinnae need to defend him, Lennox,” Cecilia said quietly. “He has made his intentions very clear. I dinnae think he means to have anythin’ to do with me once we’re wed. So, perhaps there is a different man under that mask, that armor, that shell, but I’ll never get to see it. I’m just a duty to get out of the way.”
She had thought perhaps therewasa softer version of Murdoch. In truth, she was certain she had seen a glimpse of it on the night he “proposed” while holding Dipper in his arms. The puppy had been so calm and content with him, as if sensing that he was a good person, but she could not afford to fool herself into thinking that her future husband would change overnight.
He’s more likely to end up resentin’ me for trappin’ him in a marriage that he didnae want either.
He had shown no signs of that, actually. But then again, she had not seen him for days, so she couldn’t gauge his mood.
“Cecilia,” Lennox began gently. “I?—”
An eager mass of white fur interrupted him.
Dipper tried to jump and claw his way up into Cecilia’s lap. The puppy’s arrival surprised her, and as she scooped him up into her arms and turned around, she smiled at the sight of a harried Tara.
“I’m so sorry, Cecilia,” Tara wheezed, halting when she spotted Lennox. “I… um… I was… Nay, sorry, what was I sayin’? Aye, that’s right—a servant was comin’ into the gallery, and I took me eyes off the wee menace for a second. He shot out as if he’d been waitin’ for the chance. Must’ve scented ye out and wanted to join ye.”
Cecilia held the puppy close, smothering him in kisses. “Ye’re goin’ to be naught but trouble, and I wouldnae be without ye.” She smiled and leaned back when Dipper started licking her face far too enthusiastically. “Is that true, eh? Were ye tryin’ to find me? Were ye jealous of me bein’ outside without ye? Well, go on then.”
She set the dog back down on the grass and off he went, shooting across the gardens and stopping every so often to look back as if to say,What are ye waitin’ for? Chase me!
Laughing for the first time in a while, Cecilia got up and did just that. “If it’s chasin’ ye want, then it’s chasin’ ye’ll get!”
Hiking up her skirts, she ran after the puppy, darting this way and that, making him chase her in return until her lungs were on fire and her entire body was warm with the exertion.
She looked back at Tara and Lennox at the same time as Dipper, and though the pair were not sitting close to one another—indeed, both were standing a fair distance apart—she could not help but notice them stealing glances at each other.
Is thatthe secret keeper of her heart?
Cecilia had been too wrapped up in her troubles to remember the accusation that had driven her to the tower all those days ago. The accusation that Tara and Murdoch were betrothed already. She had not stopped to consider who was theactualbetrothed if it was not Murdoch.
Smiling at the adorable awkwardness, hoping she was right, she made a mental note to ask Tara another time, when the man in question was not nearby.
“What do ye think, Dipper?” Cecilia whispered. “Do ye think they’re in love?”
Misunderstanding, or perhaps understanding perfectly well, the puppy took off toward the pair and began tugging on Lennox’s bootlaces, eagerly trying to pull him into the game.
They’re like bairns, runnin’ around like that.
Murdoch watched the scene in the gardens from the cross-hatched window of his bedchamber. The trio and the dog werequite a way down, but their laughter and giddiness carried on the wind, drifting through the glass to his ears.
But that was not everything he had seen.
He had observed Cecilia and Lennox before they were interrupted by Tara. He had noticed their closeness, how she had smiled and chuckled in his man-at-arms’ presence, how he had confidently taken hold of her arm and crouched in front of her as if they were familiar with one another.
