Chapter Eleven
Marion was seated by the fire when the queen and Alexander’s sister entered the library.
She had already straightened her gown and hair, but she was certain she was somewhat disheveled.
Or maybe that was her insides. The madness coursing through her veins left her uncentered like a ship adrift at sea and seeking something with which to tether.
“Lady Marion, are you unwell?” the queen asked. The two women sat with her, both wearing concerned expressions. “The earl, while tearing off, told us to see to you.”
See to her? She wasn’t ill by any stretch of the imagination and she was not about to tell them his kisses had turned her insides to jelly.
“I assure you both, I am quite well. Maybe his lordship merely wanted me to have some company.” Or maybe she wanted company different than his to distract and help process just what was happening to her.
She’d been around women who had become newly involved in an amour and had never viewed anyone seeming to possess masking or managing these types of feelings. Either they didn’t feel them, or they were very good at hiding them.
“Very well,” Lady Jean said, “I shall have refreshments brought to the great hall if you like.”
“Lady Jean, might we take our refreshments in here?” There was something quite comforting about this place. Like it had a welcoming and easy presence.
“Aye, my lady,” she said. “I am pleased you like our wee collection. ’Twas my mother’s favorite place in the whole castle, bless her.”
“I can see why,” Marion said. She liked the room, and she liked Lady Jean. The woman knew a great deal about the history of her clan and her pride shone through in her every action.
They chatted for a while as Jean described the portraits on the walls as well as the tapestries that had been handed down. She explained Inverary had only been around for less than half a century, but they’d worked hard to preserve the family’s heirlooms and treasures.
“My brother is the second Earl of Argyll,” she said. “The title was passed to Alexander upon our father’s passing three years ago and with the blessing of his majesty. We are grateful for the honor and the support of Your Majesties. We have worked hard to protect these lands and her people.”
Lady Jean was very passionate about her family, causing Marion to pause.
Did she know half of her lineage? She’d been so caught up over the past years of fighting against her parents’ aspirations for her, she had lost sight of her own histories somehow.
Upon her return, she would surely rectify that and ensure Alice did as well.
The afternoon passed in pleasant exchange as the three shared stories of their families and their thoughts on social gatherings. It turned out, the queen preferred quiet evenings, but her husband was never happy unless the house was full, as it were.
Marion could see how a social gathering here could be full of people, but also not chaotic like the king’s court tended to be. And she wouldn’t have long to find out for there was just such a gathering planned.
“’Twill be quite different from your lavish affairs, Your Majesty,” Lady Jean said. “We will have country dancing and storytelling, but the food will be decadent, that much I can promise.”
“I welcome the change, Lady Jean, and thank you for your hospitality. Truly, these woods and these grounds are so very serene, I am certain the most troubled soul could find solace here.”
And that was it. The point Marion could not find up to now.
There was something about the way the castle was situated and surrounded, almost enveloped in beautiful foliage and trees, that whispered, “safe place.” Even though the feelings the earl drew from her were somewhat alarming as they were so new, she was never in danger.
Everything about that man also whispered the same thing.
“The men have returned, and they’ve killed the buck!” one of Lady Jean’s younger brothers called from the doorway. He was a bit young for formalities, but he still stopped and moved to the queen and bowed his head then ran off.
Lady Jean looked to the queen who smiled and nodded then stood. “Ladies, shall we take ourselves to greet the men?”
“Aye, that we shall,” Lady Jean said and directed them through the hallway and exited the castle.
Marion was not prepared for the sight that awaited.
While she could not see the animal clearly for it had been wrapped in great canvas to protect it from the heavy drizzle, its size was unexpected.
She’d never seen a buck, but didn’t expect this great protrusion above the relatively large cart that carried it off to the area of the butchery and kitchen.
“Congratulations on your kill, husband,” the queen said.
He dismounted and kissed her on the forehead. “’Tis the second most joyous thing I have ever done in my life.”
Anyone who had eyes would have understood his meaning. It was obvious the king possessed affection for his wife. Marion admired that. That was how a marriage should be, and it had been long since she’d viewed such in her parents.
A light touch of her elbow made her jump, though she didn’t have to guess who it was.
“Lady Marion, might we take a walk in the gardens?”
She looked up to see the earl staring down at her. In this light, his eyes were so blue she was certain even the ripest blueberry would be green. How could she resist him and why would she want to?
“Aye, my lord. I would like that.”
He tucked her hand in the crook of his arm and led her down the stone path that led to the gardens separating the castle and Loch Fyne.
For long moments, neither spoke, giving her time to take in the serenity and peacefulness of a place where the loudest activity was the seagulls fighting over a fish.
“Do you like my home, Lady Marion?”
“Aye, my lord. ’Tis a beautiful place and is peaceful which reminds me of my home, though I do not have a loch at the edge of our lands.”
“Posso Tower, is it?”
“Aye.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Well, ’tis not as grand as Linlithgow Palace, nor as large as Inverary Castle, but ’tis peaceful like here with rolling hills and quiet save for the creatures who share the land.”
They lost sight of the castle as they strolled through the hedges and bushes of beautifully bloomed hawthorne, bunches of heather, spreads of bluebells, and yellow daisies. Truly, it was like they’d tamed the wild and groomed it to appear domesticated.
“Aye, I believe I too found Linlithgow Palace to be a wee too boisterous.” He turned to her then. “Lady Marion, there is something I wish to ask you.”
“Aye, my lord?”
They stopped and faced one another. He took her hands in his and raised them to his lips.
“I have a passion for you, Lady Marion, that has a need to be unleashed.”
“My lord, I—”
“Nay, please let me finish,” he said as he released her hands and raked his hand through his hair then turned from her for a moment.
Turning back, he said, “I do not wish to dishonor you or your family, but my need to be near you increases by the second, and I cannot imagine you finding someone else.”
He looked like he was in pain. Marion moved to him and placed her hand on his cheek. “My lord, what ails you?”
His hands were around her waist in an instant as his lips claimed hers. She opened to him as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his. She had no capacity for restraint like earlier. She wanted him, every part of him touching her in every way.
His body was hard and thick and melded perfectly to hers, and she wanted to feel so much more.
Marion brought her hands to his shoulders and pulled at them.
He groaned in his throat and slid one hand down to cup her bottom which was near impossible to find considering the layers of her skirt.
After shifting his hand a couple of different ways, the action struck her as humorous as laughter welled up from within her.
Probably from the nervous excitement of their shared passion, but in the next moment, Marion had released him and was laughing as she tried to catch her breath. His bewildered expression made her humor all the more ridiculous, yet it was unrelenting.
“Lady Marion, you must tell me what amuses you,” he said, clearly not sharing her mirth.
“I do apologize, my lord. But you see, my gown—well, my gown has many parts to it.” Her mirth turned to embarrassment, for how could she tell him he’d been nowhere near his intended mark.
Realization dawned on him and thankfully, he was not too arrogant to realize the relative impossibility of him ever finding her buttocks.
“I see, my lady. Your mirth is about the situation rather than my attempt.”
“Aye, my lord, for I much enjoy your attempts,” she said, wondering where this wanton response came from. That wasn’t true; she knew exactly from where. From the same place that throbbed and pulsed every time he laid hands and lips on her. And she was growing to enjoy it.
“Well then, next time,” he said leaning close to her ear so that his hot breath spread down her neck, “I shall find alternative access.”
He then straightened and offered his arm again as if nothing had happened.
“Now come, my lady. I need to finish this discussion with you before we have need of an entirely different one.”
*
They sat on a stone bench overlooking the loch for a spell so that Alexander could collect his thoughts.
What was happening to him? He’d always held confidence when in the presence of a woman, even one for whom he’d held a passionate interest. But this?
Nay, this was territory for which he had no navigation.
His plan was sound. Under a formal courtship, they could spend time together and really see if they were compatible in more than just a physical way. His first betrothal had been arranged by his father and, well, he was not prepared to venture down that path at the moment.
“My lord, you wished to ask me something?”