Page 43 of A Virgin for the Icy Highlander
“Did ye have somethin’ to say to that?” Oscar asked, grinning.
Maddie met his gaze with another of her famously withering glares. “Not at all. I enjoy fiction from time to time. Don’t let me interrupt you, for I’m intrigued to hear your next invention.” She removed her spectacles, wiping them on her napkin. “Please, continue. I am just preparing my eyes for their next bout of exercise.”
A flicker of annoyance passed across Laird Muir’s face, and Grace’s stomach knotted a little at the sight of it.
Of course, Maddie had her own plans, far from Scotland, but Grace suspected it wasn’t a good idea to rile any lairds before her friend had crossed the border back into England. Men and their pride could be a tempestuous thing, after all.
Lilian seemed to pick up on the disgruntlement at the same moment, courageously finding her voice to ease the tension.
“The s-school is wonderful,” she said, clearing her throat. “I would n-not be the lady I am t-today without it. What seemed like a p-punishment has actually been rather… t-transformative.”
“How so? Do tell me,” Oscar urged, recovering swiftly from any insult as he focused all his attention on Lilian.
She took a shaky breath.
“Take your time,” he encouraged.
Grace might not have thought much of his particular style of charm, finding it a little too forthright, but for that singular moment of generosity, she couldn’t help but admire him.
Lilian managed to smile back before clearing her throat again. “We learn a g-great many things, and we all enjoy dancing there and spending time with one another in the g-gardens. It is said to be a place offering unlucky ladies a second chance. We are often sent t-there because we…do not fit. People think that we are b-becoming wife material, obedient a-and…easy to shape. But actually we are encouraged to pursue our interests, a-and we are free to be ourselves in s-such a wonderful place, so different from London. It is particularly beautiful in the summer and when it snows. And there are… fireflies s-sometimes. That is the best time to dance, because it is m-magical when they g-glow with the rhythm of the m-music.”
“What a pity there arenae any glowin’ at this time of year,” Oscar sighed. “Or ye could have shown me how magically ye dance when they’re alight.”
“They can be found if ye ken where to look,” Hunter said, surprising Grace. He looked at her, and she noticed that his faint smirk had lingered. “Do ye also like fireflies, lass?”
She nodded, her breath catching. “I… do.”
“Och, ye’re nae supposed to saythatuntil the weddin’!” Oscar teased, knocking back another mouthful of wine.
Hunter ignored him. His attention was solely fixed on Grace as he got to his feet and walked to where they’d danced the other night. He held out his hand. “Then ye’re comin’ with me, lass.”
When Grace didn’t immediately stand, Lilian delivered a surprisingly sharp elbow to her side. The shock alone had Grace on her feet in an instant. Her legs shook as she took a breath and walked to him.
His hand closed around hers, and his eyes darkened as he pulled her out of the room, apparently to the impossible place where one could see fireflies in November.
It is a ruse. It must be.
She swallowed nervously.
Oh, what on earth am I walking into?
Indeed, she wasn’t sure what to be more nervous about: where he was taking her, or the faint thrum of excitement that prickled in her veins. Although a better question might have been, which was more dangerous?
18
If I’d stayed in that room a moment longer, I’d have cleaved his hand from his wrist.
Hunter ruminated in silence while leading Grace through the gardens of Castle MacLogan. His hand still gripped hers, and he resisted the urge to slide his fingers between hers and interlace them.
He needed to be cautious of those impulses, even though he wouldn’t have been out there with her were itnotfor those impulses and a few others that didn’t bear mentioning if he planned to keep his temper under control.
Kissin’ her hand. I should have punched him in the mouth.
No one would have believed him at that moment if he’d said that Oscar was actually a friend. A very good friend, in fact.
“Are you… quite well?” Grace asked quietly.
He could understand her concern. She had every right to be nervous about venturing into the dark with a man she barely knew, especially one who hadn’t said a word since leaving the Lesser Hall and had made the mistake of kissing her and making her moan in his study. It was a mistake his body didn’t regret one bit, though his sense of discipline kept insisting on it.
