Page 77 of A Virgin for the Vicious Highlander
I want her with me. I want her to be me wife, properly. I want to… learn how to love her the way she deserves.
It was a shocking revelation for him, and one that demanded quick and decisive action.That,at least, he could do.
“If ye’ll excuse me,” he murmured. “I have somewhere to be.”
He carried the puppy with him, for nothing would make his apology better than Cecilia’s beloved foundling of a dog. And if he could not convince her to come back, at least the pup would be where he belonged.
Just then, Tara called out to him. “M’Laird?”
“What?” he replied abruptly, conscious that he had no time to waste.
Tara smiled. “Good luck.”
CHAPTER 33
“And he really hasnae sent a letter forye to return?” Paisley asked, sipping from a cup of medicinal tea that the healer had brought into the bedchamber. A brew to help with the sickness that had recently been plaguing her, or so the healer had proclaimed.
Cecilia, standing by the window, let out an exasperated groan. “Anyone would think ye couldnae wait to be rid of me. Am I such terrible company?”
“Of course nae!” Paisley insisted, laughing lightly. “I’d leap at the chance to have ye here at me side permanently, but… I cannae help but think that’s nae what ye want. Ye were never one for starin’ out of windows, nor were ye someone who wasted time pacin’ about rooms. But ye’ve been restless since ye arrived, and I suspect I ken why.”
Cecilia turned away from the beautiful view of the sunset over the dramatic mountains and the forest beyond the twinklingriver. “I’m tired of talkin’ about Murdoch, Pais. Please, let us talk about somethin’ else.”
“As ye wish,” Paisley replied softly. “But ye care for him, do ye nae?”
Cecilia pulled a face. “It doesnae matter. He… has retreated behind walls I cannae climb over, break through, tear down, toss a hook over. Truth be told, I think he’s more stubborn than me, and that’s sayin’ somethin’.” She sighed. “Now,please, let us talk about somethin’ else.”
Paisley nodded, her expression almost sad. “How is Maither Superior?”
“Ye realize ye can call her Mairie now, aye?” Cecilia forced a laugh and went to perch on the side of the bed, where Paisley sat propped against pillows, covered in a mountain of blankets and furs.
Paisley chuckled. “Old habits.”
“Aye, hersisgettin’ rather worn.” Cecilia smiled. “She’s well. I think she’s glad to be where she’s comfortable again, though I ken she misses Aileen terribly. I do too, in truth. But I’m pleased she’s given me permission to visit her whenever I like—me aunt, I mean. I dinnae ken where I stand with Aileen after leavin’ so suddenly.”
“She’ll understand,” Paisley assured her. “If anyone does, I imagine it’s her.”
Cecilia shrugged. “Maybe.” Her shoulders sagged, her chin dropping to her chest. “I wish none of that unpleasantness had ever happened, Pais. Castle Moore was startin’ to feel like home, and I’m strugglin’ to accept the notion of losin’ another one.”
“I’m sorry, Cecilia,” Paisley murmured. “I sometimes forget how much ye’vebeen through, too.”
They’d have kenned what I should do.
Indeed, Cecilia wondered what life might have looked like if she still had her mother, father, and grandmother. Very different, no doubt. But they had all been taken from her—by war, by sickness, by fate. Still, at least she would always have Paisley and Mairie. That was something.
A knock sounded at the bedchamber door, startling both women out of their quiet reverie.
“There’s a stray at the gates howlin’ for a certain Lady Moore,” Camden’s voice called through the door, for though it was his castle, he did not mind giving his wife and her best friend their privacy.
Cecilia sat up straighter. “Pardon?”
“Och, come and put the poor creature out of his misery, or else he’ll have all the wolves in the area howlin’ too,” Camden replied. “At least toss him a bone before he starts scalin’ the mountain to get to ye.”
Paisley stared at Cecilia. “Murdoch?”
“I suspect he has come to deliver me summons, nothin’ more,” Cecilia replied, her heart racing at the mention of her husband’s name.
Apparently, he had come for her, and now that he was here, she was not certain if she was ready to see him.
