Page 58 of A Virgin for the Vicious Highlander
“I wish ye luck and good health,” he muttered in response, taking another sip of his whiskey.
“Aye, ye too. Both of ye.”
With a nod, Fiona left the way she had come, down the side of the feasting table, and disappeared into the crowd in the Great Hall.
Murdoch did not know how his mother and Mairie had managed to assemble so many people in so short a time, but it was… nice to see the hall filled again. He had resisted for years, but perhaps his mother was right—a lairdshouldhost gatherings to strengthen alliances and to have the opportunity to perform guest rites.
His eyes sought Cecilia again, his stomach twisting when they locked gazes. She had clearly been watching him talk to Fiona, but there was no anger or jealousy on her face. Instead, to his surprise, she flashed him a radiant smile and immediately turned back to the conversation she had been having with Paisley and Camden.
What is she up to?
He did not like things he could not control or predict, and he feared that his wife had become very unpredictable, indeed.
As he watched them, trying to figure out what they were saying by reading their lips, his mind drifted back to what Fiona had said.“Ye cannae give a rare bird like that mere scraps… Make sure that ye help her shine even brighter… Maybe try and be happy for once.”
He brought his cup to his lips, murmuring against the rim, “If only it were that simple.”
Murdoch made his way through the dark, empty hallways and trudged up winding staircases, striding from one pool of torchlight to the next, guided by an instinct he could not quell.
Down below, the festivities were in full swing, the revelry transforming from lively reels and hearty feasting to drunken dancing and an overwhelming cacophony of loud, inebriated voices.
Cecilia had left the celebrations ten minutes ago, sneaking out the doors unseen, but before she had departed, she had paused on the threshold and flashed him one of her beautiful smiles. A smile he could not decipher.
It could only be an invitation…
He knew what he had promised, and he knew he should be staying as far away from her bedchamber as possible, but it was like some force was pushing him in the direction of her room. The same force that had made him unable to resist kissing her, touching her, putting them in a position that now had them bound in holy matrimony.
It will still be a white marriage, as long as we dinnae consummate it.
And he had plenty of ideas on how to get around that imperative. Ideas that would have her moaning his name once more, though perhaps he would get her to call him ‘husband’ instead, to see what reaction it elicited in him.
Eventually, he stepped into the hallway where her chambers were located. He strained his ears in the gloomy silence, catching the puppy yip and bark his contentment as he had Cecilia’s attention once more.
Murdoch approached her door slowly and took a deep breath. He could turn around now and keep the vow he made—it was not too late.
“Cecilia?” He knocked on the door for good measure.
Dipper’s excited barks turned into a low growl, but Cecilia did not answer.
Annoyed that she would dare to ignore him, he tried the door handle… but it would not turn. His wife had locked him out on their wedding night, and he suspected she would not open the door no matter how hard he knocked or how many times he called her name.
He had set the terms of their marriage, and she was sticking to them, despite her willingness and eagerness to be touched by him before.
“I… just wanted to say goodnight,” he called through the door. “So, goodnight.”
With that, he quickly walked away.
This was what he had wanted, this was what he had insisted upon, this was his doing. She was just abiding by his rules. Indeed, the best thing he could do now would be to lock himself in his tower, so he would not be tempted to try again or imagine an innocent smile that was not there.
It had not been an invitation at all, but a wife being polite to her new husband.
Ye damn fool, Murdoch. Ye damn fool.
CHAPTER 25
“Good mornin’to ye,” Cecilia chirped as she climbed up the narrow staircase to her bedchamber.
Murdoch was coming down in the opposite direction, and he frowned when he saw her. “Aye, good mornin’.”
