Eight Hunting Lyons (The Lyon’s Den Connected World)

Chapter Thirteen

B eatrix had felt someone watching her throughout the day yesterday. She had felt those prying eyes on her at Mr. Henkel’s shop and later at Madame Pouissard’s tearoom, where she had joined the ladies after their morning round of shopping.

However, she shook off that odd feeling of being watched as she awoke at the start of a glorious, new day. The hour was early yet, but she was too excited to remain in bed a moment longer.

This was her wedding day.

Her wedding day!

She could hardly believe it.

Her gown, a pale blue silk that matched the color of her eyes, had been pressed and freshened and carefully laid out in preparation for this afternoon. The matching slippers, ribbons, and gloves were set out beside the gown, and it had been arranged that Mairi would style her hair shortly before the ceremony.

But for this morning, the attire was to be casual. How did one dress to watch men bare their arses? She chose an ivory muslin with embroidered blue cornflowers and pinned her hair up in a simple twist, held in place with butterfly clasps of matching blue.

Within the hour, they would all be heading down to the beach to watch the men take their ritual dip in the chilly waters. Harriet and Lottie had decided to permit her attendance since she was to be married within hours afterward.

Besides, they knew she was going to find a way to spy on the event if she was not permitted to attend.

Mairi quietly walked in, surprised to see her already washed and dressed. “Och, Lady Beatrix. I came to help ye, but ye’ve managed on yer own.”

“I was too excited to sleep.”

“Nor will ye be getting much sleep tonight if Master Lucas has any say about it.” She cast Beatrix a saucy grin. “Well, if ye dinna need my assistance, I’ll see to Lady Jenny before I head down to the beach. There is no’ a lady in town who would miss those Lyon boys taking a swim.”

They grinned at each other, both of them blushing.

Mairi laughed and shook her head, her dark curls bobbing. “My Roland’s not bad either, but his rump is as flat as parchment and just as pasty white.”

Mairi had no sooner left her chamber than another knock came at her door. “Beatrix, are ye decent? May I come in?”

She opened the door to allow Lucas in, her cheeks still warm from her earlier conversation with Mairi and her mouth still in a wide grin. “Good morning, Lucas.”

“Och, lass. Ye’re the loveliest thing I’ve ever seen.” He was freshly shaved and still carried the wonderful scent of lather on his skin. He closed the door behind him to lend them privacy as he kissed her. However, unlike yesterday, he did not unfasten her gown but merely gave her a chaste kiss. Well, nothing was chaste about it other than he kept his hands restrained, and she remained with her clothes on. “I had better head down to the beach with my brothers. Dinna tarry, or ye’ll no’ get a good vantage point.”

“We are going to perch ourselves on the overlook with spy glasses in hand. Only Jenny will not join us since she’s afraid of heights. She’ll be on the beach with Cheyne as he dips their son in the water. But he’s going to hand little Fionn over to Jenny before he takes his own swim.” She rose on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “Danielle and I will come down to the beach afterward. I hear there will be food set out in stalls along the High Street and music and dancing into the night.”

“Aye, lass. I’ll take ye around right after the swim. We’ll have a couple of hours before the parade and then our wedding ceremony.” He frowned lightly. “Seems I ought to be fussing more about it. After all, ye are my bride, and I dinna feel as if I’ve done anything special for ye.”

“We have an entire town celebrating. Oh, I know the festivities are not really about us. But it feels that way to me. As for doing something special, you have fallen in love with me. You have changed my life. You have made me happy and filled the emptiness in my heart.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and tipped her face up to his. “There is one other person who I must thank, and that is Bessie Dove-Lyon. How can I ever repay her for the precious gift of you?”

“I gave her a hard time,” he said with a groan. “I think I shall have to crawl on my knees and beg her forgiveness. But I think her best repayment is to know we are happy, and this is truly a love match. Who knew the Black Widow of Whitehall could have such a soft heart?”

He kissed her again, the press of his mouth to hers warm and intense. “I shall see ye later, love.”

Lucas and his brothers walked down to the beach ahead of her and the other ladies. True to his word, Lucas had brought Posy with him.

Jenny and Mairi brought Fionn down as most of the men were gathering on the sand and waiting for the mist to rise off the water. The sun would burn it away shortly, for the day was already warming, and the skies were clear of rain clouds.

Beatrix and Danielle took spy glasses in hand and settled comfortably on the cliffside overlook. Harriet and Lottie took far longer to make their way up but made it in good time with the assistance of Cheyne’s butler, Brogan. The Lyon brothers jokingly referred to Brogan as their resident Sassenach, for he was a proud Englishman and unapologetic about it. He had also refused to partake in the Pagan Moon swim for all the decades he had been in service to the family.

The day was beautiful, and they were all cheerful as they watched Cheyne dip his son into the water. The crowd whooped with pleasure. Then Cheyne returned his son to Jenny, kissing the top of his dark fuzz of hair and kissing Jenny before beginning to strip out of his shirt and breeches.

The men all followed suit.

Lucas held up Posy to show his pink ribbons gone.

The local women were all out in force and began to clap and cheer as male clothing flew off. Danielle laughed as she pointed out Matthew and Lucas, who were hard to miss since these Lyons were taller than most of the men, and they stood beside Cheyne.

Beatrix could not see Posy but heard his happy barks.

Despite the festive air, Beatrix once again sensed someone was watching her. She shook her head to dismiss this sudden feeling. Was it not logical that the townspeople would be curious about Lucas’s intended bride?

But this did not feel like merely curious glances.

Well, she would stay close to Lucas for the rest of the day. When he was not present, she would stay close to the ladies.

“Raise your spyglass, Beatrix!” Danielle laughed as she stared through her own. “There’s Matthew and his firm, round bottom.”

“Danielle!” the older ladies said but then burst into laughter as well.

Beatrix raised hers and caught a good look at Lucas’s backside as he strode into the water with Posy in his arms. There was the birthmark, the red splotch in the shape of a lion on his bottom. But she marveled mostly at the fine shape of his body.

The men were all in the water by the time she realized she had looked only at Lucas. Well, did she really care to gawk at anyone else? And even though the men were ridiculously at ease while strutting naked, she was not.

And she certainly was not going to stare at Lucas’s brothers.

Danielle seemed to read her mind. “I could not bring myself to look at anyone but Matthew. The other men all seem to blend into one pasty mass. And does it not feel wrong to look at his brothers?”

Beatrix nodded. “Yes, I feel the same.”

Danielle sighed. “Matthew is so handsome, and he knows it. The wicked man struts without shame.”

They set aside their spyglasses as the men waded out of the water back onto shore. After dressing, Cheyne gave a short speech to wish the revelers a merry day. The crowd began to disperse, and the stalls opened along the High Street.

Musicians had also set up, and music began to fill the air.

Cheyne took his son in one arm and wrapped his other around Jenny as they walked back to the castle together. They had taken Posy with them, since the little pug would be squashed amid the boisterous crowd.

Mairi, who had been standing with Jenny, took herself off for town with a young man Beatrix assumed was the girl’s beau, Roland.

Matthew and Lucas waved for them to come down.

“Run along, girls,” Harriet said. “Lottie and I shall walk down at our leisure. Brogan will serve as our escort.”

She and Danielle did not need further prompting.

The brothers met them at the foot of the hill where it met the beach. Lucas wrapped her hand in his and led her into town. “We have a few hours until we must gather for the parade. Let’s enjoy it while we can.”

Danielle and Matthew followed along for a while but were soon lost in the crowd as they kept walking from stand to stand, while Beatrix and Lucas stopped to listen to the musicians.

When couples began to dance, Lucas turned to her. “This is as good an excuse as any to hold ye in my arms. Care to dance?”

“With pleasure, my lord.”

“Ye’re looking at me again with those sparkling eyes. I’m going to kiss ye indecently if ye dinna stop that.”

“I cannot help it. I am in love.”

“In love, are ye?” He grinned as they began to twirl in the street along with the other dancers. “Who’s the lucky man?”

“You might know him. He’s someone my father disapproves of. But I rather like him, even though he is an arrogant Scot.”

“I am sure he is brilliant and as handsome as sin.”

She giggled. “I wouldn’t go that far. He’s all right.”

Lucas twirled her again. “Just all right? I am deflated, lass.”

She had never felt happier, and she knew it showed on her face. “Very well, perhaps I was a little restrained in my description. He is magnificent in every way. Truly wonderful and spectacular.”

“I can tell ye for certain he feels the same way about ye. In fact, he is so overcome with happiness, he has a good mind to kiss ye here and now.”

She laughed again. “You wouldn’t.”

Apparently, he would.

The townspeople cheered as he stopped dancing, drew her up against his body, and planted his lips on hers. He kept them on hers for far longer than was proper, which she supposed was entirely the point.

When he ended the kiss, he ordered a round of ale at the Stonehaven Tavern for everyone. The tavern owner’s stall was immediately overrun.

The musicians played on, and Lucas ordered ales to be brought out to those men as well.

All the while, he kept his arm around her as though afraid of losing her in the crowd.

Beatrix supposed it was prudent since the High Street was packed with revelers, many of whom were already tipsy, even though it was not yet even close to noon. “I’ll take ye back to the castle after the wedding ceremony. There’s a reason this day of feasting is called Pagan Moon. I would no’ want ye out when the revelry gets too wild.”

They walked around for a little longer, then stopped at the charming tearoom, Madame Pouissard’s, for a quieter moment. “Ye won’t find better desserts anywhere in Scotland or the fancy establishments in London,” Lucas said with pride.

The proprietress, a beefy Scotswoman by the name of Caitlin MacInnes, remembered her from yesterday and immediately came over to strike up a conversation with her. It turned out, Caitlin had married a French chef in service to the royal family in their palace at Versailles. The man had fled for his life when the revolution brought chaos to France, and he wound up in Stonehaven. “My dear Francois taught me all I know. He’s left us now.”

“Oh, I am so sorry for your loss.”

“Dinna be, m’lady. He was an excellent chef but a temperamental man. He ain’t dead. Only gone back to France. But this is my home, and I was no’ going to leave.” She shrugged. “He knows where to find me if he ever wants to come back. But I do thank him for all he taught me.”

Madame Pouissard, as she insisted on being called, began to rattle off names of desserts in French, which sounded quite odd with her thick Scottish accent.

Beatrix waited for the woman to walk away before she turned to Lucas. “I think I might have ordered shoe leather. I’m not certain. She did mean choux , did she not?”

Lucas winked at her. “I have no idea what I ordered. I hope it was a lemon custard. But this is a very popular place, and she is an excellent baker, so I expect we’ll survive whatever she brings us.”

When they had finished their desserts, Lucas excused himself a moment. “Wait for me here, Beatrix. Enjoy yer cup of tea. I have a quick errand to run, and I’ll be right back.”

He kissed her cheek and hurried off.

The moment he was gone, she felt a prickle run up her spine. Someone was watching her again, although she could not tell who it was. Perhaps it was the same person she had sensed watching her yesterday. Madame Pouissard’s tearoom was now filling up, and she expected that many in the crowd were eager for a look at Lucas’s soon-to-be bride. But there was one among them who was studying her beyond mere curiosity.

By the time Lucas returned, the feeling was gone.

Since she did not wish to spoil their day, she resolved to keep quiet about it for now. Likely, it was nothing.

Besides, Lucas was not going to let her out of his sight again for the rest of the day. “We had better return to the castle,” she said, quickly rising. “You and your brothers have to prepare for the parade and then our wedding.”

“Aye, lass. Let’s go before I kiss ye again.”

Beatrix went straight up to her room to bathe and prepare herself for the ceremony. Mairi had returned to assist her. She heard voices in the hall and knew everyone was back.

She relaxed in the tub of steaming water, lathering herself with a cake of lavender-scented soap she found soothing to her senses. She closed her eyes and wondered about this feeling she had of being watched yesterday and earlier today.

Had she imagined it?

Should she have mentioned it to Lucas?