Chapter 18
Magnus was sitting at the dining table with a quill and inkpot in front of him when Leah finally joined him.
She looked a little more melancholy than she had at the wedding, and he wondered if she was having second thoughts. He hoped not, given the time they had spent together in her room. It had been quite a surprise to find such a vixen beneath her very prim and proper facade.
He stood up as she entered, gratified to see that she, too, had written a list of requirements. After the wedding, they discussed what they might need from their marriage and came to the conclusion that it was best to agree on things from the beginning.
It had seemed a little cynical in Magnus’s mind, given the impure thoughts he had been having about his wife, but he was determined to allow her her freedoms, whatever they may be.
“Please sit,” he said quickly, pulling two chairs up to the table so they were not yards away from one another as they had their conversation.
She gave him a faint smile and took a seat. Despite wearing thin slippers, she hooked her feet under her nightgown on the edge of the chair, hugging her knees to her chest, clearly cold.
He removed the heavy fur he wore around his shoulders and draped it over hers, gratified to see a happy smile cross her face as the warmth enveloped her.
“Thank you,” she said graciously. “I am still not used to the Scottish weather.”
He chuckled. “Ye will have to get hardier when winter comes. I have seen the castle covered in three feet of snow at Yuletide.”
To his surprise, she did not look unhappy at the prospect of cold winters. Her expression softened, and she sighed happily.
“I love the winter. Sitting around the fire and drinking whisky while watching the snowfall sounds like a wonderful way to spend a day.”
Magnus could not disagree with that. He had always favored the winter months at the castle, perhaps because it was so difficult for him to receive any visitors.
There had been times when the water around the castle became completely impassable, with great tracts of ice and mud slowing the boats. It was hell for getting their supplies but wonderful for the solitude.
He cleared his throat and took his seat opposite her, attempting a warm smile but still uncertain quite how to treat this English woman who had fallen into his lap.
“Have ye thought any more on what ye wish from this marriage?” he asked, looking at the sheet of paper in her hand. “Or is that another list of the dragons I have fought and the battles I have won? One man against a thousand?” he teased.
She cocked her head as she considered his question. “Hmm, if there were dragons in Scotland, that would be a worthy foe indeed for the greatest Laird who ever lived.”
Magnus could not help the rich laugh that escaped his lips at that concept. It was a foolish notion, but just hearing her jest about his reputation made warmth bloom in his chest. He wanted her to admire him, he realized. The idea was a pleasant one.
“So? I shall allow ye to start, as ye are the lady of the castle now.”
He sat back in his chair, propping one booted foot on the fire surround and waiting to hear what conditions his new wife would propose.
“Are ye still set on us living apart?” she asked, surprising him.
“Aye. I am. I think it would be safer, given the circumstances. We may be relatively secure on this island, but I wouldnae wish yer association with me to bring ye harm.”
“You do not even know that Elizabeth was killed in such a way, though. What makes you so sure it was not as you were told—that there was an accident?”
Magnus watched those blue eyes flick to his, an innocence in them that he hoped would never be lost.
“I saw her body, Leah,” he said quietly.
“They said the axel broke, that she was—” He shook his head, not wishing to give her the details of the awful things he had seen.
“I didnae believe it then, and I willnae believe it now. The coachman’s body was thrown over the cliff, yet the path was several feet from the edge.
Nay. It was a deliberate act, of that I am certain. ”
Leah’s hands shook as she held the paper, looking at him with the same pitying expression she had before. “I am sorry. That must have been awful.”
“Let’s leave it at that. Do ye have conditions or nae?”
“Must we be separated straight away?”
He grunted, thinking it over, unwilling to admit even to himself that the idea of having her around for a little longer was extremely appealing.
“Perhaps for a month, we can live here while yer castle is being prepared,” he suggested, feeling a rush of excitement that they might be able to spend more time getting acquainted with the many chairs around the castle.
“Ye can oversee all the renovations that will be needed. It’s on me estate, on the other side of the water, so it isnae far. ”
She nodded sagely, and he watched with amusement as she picked up the quill he had left on the table and dutifully ticked something off on her list.
“Just how many conditions have ye got written there?” he asked.
“Never you mind. I have not asked to see yours in advance, have I?” she said as she read over the remaining conditions.
“Well? What else is there, then?”
“I should like to…” She cleared her throat, her eyes darting to his and back to the paper. “I should like to get to know you a little better before we… are intimate with one another.”
A smile spread across his face, which grew wider as she scowled at him.
“I would prefer that we spend some time together. Perhaps an hour every day after our evening meal. It would give us a chance to get to know one another. It is not as though either of us ever planned to be wedded in such a way so soon.”
“So soon?” he asked, deeply amused. “Did ye have plans when ye harangued me in that carriage, lass?”
She stifled a laugh. “I thought you were going to slit my throat. Thoughts of marriage were very far from my mind.” He snorted as she shook her head.
“And I would like to finish writing my book. If Daphne ever forgives me for having to miss our wedding, I have written to her, asking her to send over the pages that I did not have a chance to bring with me. I would dearly love to finish at least one book before we have a child.”
Magnus’s fingers tightened on the arm of the chair as she shocked him yet again.
The act of creating a child with Leah had plagued his mind from the instant he had first laid eyes on her, but the image of a baby in his future only stirred sadness and guilt in his heart and memories of loss.
He had not thought that she would wish for children, let alone bring up the idea.
I suppose it would have been na?ve of her to assume I wouldnae want an heir. She kens her own mind, I’ll give her that.
“Very well,” he replied, liking the light that had reentered her eyes at the talk of her book.
“Whether ye have me wrestlin’ bears or killin’ wolves with me teeth, I would wish for ye to have the chance to write yer book as well.
I have never seen ye look so excited as when ye speak of yer writing. ”
Her eyes danced with joy at that statement, and she gave him a wide smile. And as he looked at her, he vowed he would try to put that smile on her face as often as possible. It was the brightest, most wonderful thing he had ever seen.
“My final condition is that there are no more secrets between us,” she said as her amusement faded, and she fixed him with a pointed look. “If I find out that you have kept anything else from me, I shall return to England and live with Wellton.”
Magnus felt the growl rumble in his chest, and he watched with satisfaction as she shuddered under the force of it.
“Ye willnae speak of other men in me presence—especially nae elderly men ready for the grave. Ye are mine now, and I shall have ye treated as such. There will be nay more talk of England for a good long while.”
“Very well.” She sounded relieved. “We can agree on that.”
He nodded with satisfaction. “I shall ensure ye have everythin’ ye could ever need in yer castle.
Ye may buy whatever ye need, one hundred quills and reams of paper if ye so wish.
Dinnae feel because it is on me estate that it isnae yer home.
As far as I am concerned, what’s mine is yers, including the castle and any money that must be spent to furnish it. ”
For a long time after that, he did not meet her gaze, aware of her eyes on him as she sat up straighter.
Eventually, she rose without a word, relieving herself of the fur he had given her and, to his surprise, draping it back around his shoulders. Having come into contact with her skin, it smelled of flowers and wild hillsides, and he never wanted that smell to fade.
“Thank you. I am very grateful to you for everything you have done and all that you have offered me.”
He waved her off, staring into the fire.
“I am sorry I wasnae honest with ye, lass. I could have saved ye a great deal of heartache if I told ye about Gibson and Elizabeth from the start. I suppose I am nae accustomed to speakin’ of such things nay more.
The past is best buried—that’s what me faither used to say. ”
A small hand came to rest on his shoulder. “I climbed into a carriage to escape my past, Magnus. I cannot blame you for doing the same. We both got what we wanted, the privilege of a marriage without its problems.”
As her hand left his shoulder, the residual warmth fading, Magnus felt his chest tighten at her words.
Despite knowing they were what they had both agreed on, they seemed cold and hollow as he watched her walk away from him.