Page 61 of A Two-Faced Laird
“Come wi’ me.”
He led them downstairs and into a wood-panelled room with a small circular window on one side and a large, comfortable-looking bed in the middle. On each side were cupboards, and a long built-in wardrobe faced the bed.
Every piece of furniture was fixed to the floor to stop it from falling over when the boat was in motion. The comforting smell of wood and the warmth of the room made Edina feel cosy and secure, even though she knew she would find it difficult to become accustomed to the floor wobbling underneath her feet!
“It will take some time tae get your sea legs,” the captain informed them, smiling.
“We have both been on boats before,” Aidan told him, remembering a particular adventure in which he had ended up in the sea and had to be rescued by a sailor. Edina, for the first time in her life, had been reduced to tears because she had honestly thought he was going to die.
Edina was thinking the same thing—she could never have imagined that she and Aidan would be standing on a boat to Paris in the first week of their married life!
She and Aidan? Crazy, funny, fearless Aidan? She could still not believe it. She looked up at her handsome husband, the man whose children she would bear, who would protect her for the rest of her life, and was almost overwhelmed with love.
They had intendedto stay for a while in Paris, but while both of them loved France, they had been there for only two weeks before Edina began to feel homesick. They were staying in a pleasant inn on the left bank of the River Seine, in the area where many artists plied their trade.
They had seen many ancient cathedrals, statues and paintings, and dined on food the likes of which neither had tasted before. As she tucked into her coq au vin on the last day of their holiday, Edina was surprised to find out that someone had wasted good wine by pouring it into the food!
“But why?” she asked, puzzled. “I cannot taste any wine in here at all.”
“It blends in with the taste of the chicken and vegetables,” Aidan replied, laughing. “Scottish cooking is quite different from French, Edina. We had a French chef for a while—he was wonderful!”
After that, Edina was introduced to the delights of crème brûlée and immediately fell in love with the sweet, crunchy but creamy dessert.
“I think we need a French cook too!” she said fervently.
“I think this will be the last bit of French food we see for a while.” Aidan’s voice was sad. “But it has been a wonderful adventure.”
“Indeed it has,” Edina agreed, smiling, “but I am finished adventuring for a while. Now I want to settle down and make a home.”
“And babies,” Aidan said, grinning.
They left the restaurant to take a leisurely stroll along the River Seine, and came to the artists’ quarter. They walked slowly along, admiring the drawings and paintings, until they came to a man who was drawing portraits in charcoal. The work on display was very finely crafted; the artist was obviously very talented.
“Can you draw my wife?” Aidan asked suddenly.
“Oui, Monsieur.”The man was French, but had obviously been asked the same question many times before.
Edina thanked the man in her dusty French.
“Asseyez vous, s’il vous plait, Madame.”
He indicated a wooden chair, and Edina sat down and looked at the river traffic, keeping her head perfectly still.
Aidan stood and looked over the man’s shoulder, watching Edina’s image emerge from the charcoal like a living thing growing out of the paper. He wished he had such a talent, then he could draw Edina to his heart’s content, clothed and unclothed. The very thought aroused him.
At last the artist was finished, and he held up the drawing and showed it to them to see if they were satisfied.
Aidan was almost moved to tears.
“Thank you,” he breathed as he took the drawing from the artist’s hands.
There, looking back at them, was a perfect image of Edina, identical to her in every way.
“It’s a wonderful likeness,” Edina marvelled, shaking her head in wonder.
“Vous êtes très belle, Madame.” the man said warmly.
He was a small, thin waif of a man, with dark brown hair and grey eyes like her own, but without the violet tint.
