Chapter 10
“Ipromise we will visit as soon as we can,” Avery said, kissing Melissa on the cheek while bouncing her youngest on her hip.
“Can’t you stay just a little longer?” Melissa asked with a great sigh of exasperation. “I really don’t know what I’m going to do with all of you gone.”
“I’m afraid we can’t stay any longer,” Avery explained. “Darragh has already spent too much time away.” She stepped aside as their mother came to greet them.
“You’re going to learn how to be the wife of a laird, dear.” Daphne kissed her daughter on the cheek after giving her a hug. “You’ll do just fine. Remember everything I’ve taught you.”
Darragh’s carriage was packed and ready to go as the family said their goodbyes in front of the castle.
Melissa had enjoyed having them all around, mainly because it had served as a distraction between her and Daniel.
She didn’t have to spend too much time in his company if her family was around.
Something she avoided since realizing that she’d enjoyed their kiss.
“I’m afraid we cannae stay any longer, lass,” Darragh apologized as he too came to greet her after ensuring that everything had been properly loaded onto the wagon that would follow behind the carriage.
“Send word if Daniel gets out of line, I’ll be here in the blink of an eye,” he whispered to her when the others left to climb into the carriage.
“Thank you.” Melissa laughed, feeling slightly more at ease with Darragh on her side. “I’m sure I’ll manage him just fine.”
“Aye, I ken ye will.” He gave her a concerned look that was barely hidden behind a smile, before climbing into the carriage. He’d become a protective figure in her life after everything they had endured together as a family.
Standing aside, she waved at the carriage as the whip cracked in the air with a sharp snap, urging the horses on as their hooves crunched the gravel beneath their iron shoes.
“What am I going to do now?” she whispered to herself as the carriage drew even further away from the castle before disappearing entirely down a hill. Turning to the right, she looked at the tall towers of the castle and the large wooden doors that lead into the main hall.
Deciding that she didn’t want to risk seeing Daniel on her own, she set off in the direction of the cherry trees that grew in an almost wild orchard behind the castle.
Her mind was filled with questions as she slowly made her way to the thicket of bright pink trees that were fully in bloom.
Daniel was a conundrum to her, and even more so were her feelings toward him.
The kiss they had shared in the tower had left her confused and disturbed by the fact that she had wanted more.
He held an attraction for her that felt dangerous and exciting all at the same time.
“Dinnae say that.” A beautifully light feminine voice caught her attention, making her stop in her tracks on the path.
She looked around to see where the voice had come from but couldn’t make out the direction through the maze of trunks. Whoever had planted the orchard had decided that neat and orderly rows were just a suggestion, one that they had clearly decided was not for them.
A deep and rich laugh made her even more curious as she realized that it was a man whom the woman was talking to.
Spotting an almost hidden path, she decided to follow the voices and see who it was. She’d only been at the castle for a few days, which was barely enough time for her to meet all of the people in Daniel’s employ.
“I dinnae think it’s as bad as all that.” The woman laughed again as Melissa picked her way through piles of freshly picked cherries.
Some of the farm laborers must be taking a break.
Her spirits picked up. The day didn’t seem as boring as she thought it would be if she could meet a few new faces.
Stopping behind a larger tree, she made sure that her body was hidden before peering around the trunk.
The woman she had heard was standing close to a cart that had been loaded with cherries. Her light voice carried on the wind like a soft melody of a song. She was average height with strawberry blonde hair and fair skin that looked as if the slightest ray of sun would set it alight.
She picked a few cherries from the cart and placed them in the palm of her hand before popping a few into her mouth.
Melissa found her quite pretty, by all accounts. The woman was slim and slight of figure, so slight in fact that Melissa feared a small breeze would blow her away.
The man laughed again as the woman whispered something Melissa couldn’t hear.
Craning her neck, Melissa tried to get a glimpse of the man that was clearly entertaining the woman. Her mind quickly filled with all the possibilities of kitchen maids falling in love with soldiers from the castle.
It’s Daniel!
She leaned even further from behind the trunk.
He was wearing a kilt and an off-white shirt as if he’d been working with the men in the fields. Or the orchards. She corrected herself after spotting a bright red stain on his sleeves. She wondered how it had gotten there after glancing back at the woman’s hands.
“I promise ye it happened just like that,” he said to the woman, giving her a charming smile that made Melissa angry beyond reason. “It’s nae me fault if ye cannae remember what we did back then.”
A pang of shock ran through Melissa’s body when she realized that Daniel seemed to be flirting with the woman.
This is why he said we should each do as we please. The woman must have already been in his life for a while. Perhaps he’s in love with her.
She felt her stomach clenching with the realization that the kiss in the tower had truly been fueled by ale and not lust.
“I think it’s ye that cannae recall things correctly, Me Laird.” The woman laughed again and playfully punched him on the shoulder. “Ye were the one who was always running after me. I dinnae recall ever having to chase ye down, it was always ye that followed me.”
Looking at her long black dress and apron, Melissa wondered who the woman was. Her dress was far too nice to be a maid, yet the stains on the simple apron tied at her waist spoke of work beyond that of a lady.
Not realizing that she’d been leaning on a pile of empty buckets with her leg, Melissa panicked as she suddenly slipped, knocking everything over and drawing unwanted attention to herself.
“Melissa?” Daniel asked with a frown, standing up straight as the other woman gave her a curious look.
“I was just…” Melissa scuttled over the ground to pick up the buckets and place them against the tree without success, making them fall to the ground once again.
“Just spying on us?” Daniel teased her while the woman bit her lower lip to suppress a laugh.
“I was not,” Melissa answered hotly and fixed her dress after finally replacing the buckets. The mirth on the other woman’s face infuriated her beyond words. She wasn’t about to be laughed at by her husband’s mistress.
“Then why were ye hiding behind a tree?” he asked in amusement.
“I…I…” Melissa stuttered as she searched for words. “I was just going for a walk,” she said firmly when she realized that she wasn’t the one who was having secret rendezvous in the orchard. “Good day to you both.” She curtsied to avoid any further humiliation and turned on her heel.
“Wait,” Daniel called after her, laughing again.
Ignoring all of his protests, she picked a random direction and set off between the trees, determined to put as much distance between her and the uncomfortable scene as possible.
Daniel watched as Melissa turned around and stormed away from him.
Her face was utterly irate at having caught him talking to another woman in the privacy of the orchards.
He couldn’t help but laugh at the adorable way she turned up her nose whenever she was angry or frustrated with him.
She looked as if she were seconds away from stomping her foot and scolding them both.
Laughing, he apologized to his companion and set off after his wife. “Wait,” he called again as he jogged to keep up with her. “Ye dinnae have to leave in such a hurry.”
“No, no,” Melissa said stubbornly while keeping her eyes on the path. “I don’t want to interrupt your little rendezvous,” she huffed as she walked a little faster.
“Rendezvous?” Daniel asked as he caught up with her, smirking.
“Yes,” Melissa hissed angrily, trying her best to get away from him. “It means to meet someone in secret, especially when one does not wish to be seen with a lover!” She picked up the pace.
“I ken very well what a rendezvous means.” Daniel laughed even harder, realizing what she had thought.
“I’m sure you do!” She picked up her skirts and began to pant as she wove in and out of the trees.
“Slow down, lass! Ye will pass out if ye try any harder,” he cautioned, enjoying her irritation immensely as he slowed his pace and kept up with her.
“I will walk as fast as I like!” she retorted through her labored breaths. “You gave me freedom on our wedding day to do as I please, remember?”
He stopped her in her tracks by gently gripping her arm and spinning her around. “Are ye jealous, lass?” He gave her a mischievous smile.
“I am most certainly not!” She glared at him as her chest rose and fell from her efforts of trying to get away.
“Yer doing a fine job of pretending to be if yer nae,” he teased her again with a smirk, reveling in the fact that she’d gotten jealous of another woman receiving his attention.
“Ye should have come out of hiding instead of skulking around the barrels. Ye would have learned the truth if ye did instead of coming to silly conclusions.”
“Oh, just bite me!” she snapped, turning red in the face, and tried to yank her arm away.
As quick as a flash, he spun her around once again and pushed her against the bark of a nearby tree, placing his hand behind her head to keep her from getting hurt.
“Ye should stop being so insolent, lass, there may be consequences to yer actions in the future,” he growled almost seductively as the look of defiance in her eyes made the heat rise in his loins.
“Damn you and all of your consequences,” she whispered back in a husky tone as she glanced at his lips. The heat between them became palpable once again.
His lips were on hers before she had a chance to pull away, crushing down with an insatiable hunger that could only be quenched by her response.
She resisted at first but quickly gave in and pressed her body against his, moaning slightly as her tongue parted his lips and searched his mouth with equal hunger and passion.
He was surprised at first, but he quickly took the lead again, biting her lower lip and pressing her back into the bark with one hand on the small of her back and the other on her hip, gently messaging her tender flesh through her dress.
Melissa gasped as he dipped his head and kissed her neck, nibbling a path down her throat as she tugged at his shirt, placing her hands on the taut muscles of his abdomen.
“Yer a feisty little minx,” he whispered against her lips and drew back slightly. “Ye cannae undress me in the middle of the trees.” His teasing was light, while his breathing was labored. She drove him wild with her delicate hands on his skin.
“Shut up and kiss me.” Her voice was barely above a growl as she sought his lips once again, drawing him in closer with her hands on either side of his face.
Daniel used the hand that had been on the small of her back to yank up her dress, caressing the exposed flesh of her smooth thigh as her leg hitched over his hip, eliciting a whimper of pleasure from her lips.
He was about to devour her when a voice called out to him in the distance.
“Me Laird! Are ye out here?” Ewan’s voice carried through the trees, breaking through the cloud of passion that had fogged his mind.
Drawing back slightly, Daniel examined Melissa’s flushed face and the intense look in her eyes.
“We’ll finish this conversation at a later stage, ye didnae see what ye think ye saw,” he said in a husky voice as he lowered her dress and stepped away from her, but not before giving her thigh a firm squeeze. He loved the feel of her firm curves.
“I thought ye might be out here.” His man at arms stepped onto the path. “I beg yer pardon, Me Laird, ye said to come an’ find ye once all of the documents were gathered,” he explained before turning to Melissa. “Ewan McCollin, Me Lady, at yer service.”
Daniel watched as Melissa quickly fixed her hair and stepped away from the tree as if she’d been caught doing something she shouldn’t. “Pleased to meet you.” She blushed and averted her gaze when Ewan noticed the disheveled state of her hair.
“She disnae need yer service,” Daniel said gruffly as he looked at the man’s unkempt and bushy beard.
The thought of another man seeing her in a compromised state irritated him.
“Let’s get on with it ‘afore the sun sets on us.” He turned toward Melissa and gave her a smile before walking away with his man at arms, his breaths still labored from the passion that coursed through his veins.
Keeping away from Melissa was a lot harder than Daniel had thought.