Chapter 13
Laura had thought she might have trouble sleeping that night after her restrained but passionate encounter with Nicholas, but she dropped off into a deep slumber as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Her dreams were delightful, full of kisses and touches, and she woke refreshed and full of a wonderful, joyous energy.
She wondered how Nicholas would greet her that morning, since by now the news of their kiss would be all over the castle and the village. Eleanor and Fenella had congratulated and teased her on the way home with great enthusiasm, as Laura had known they would.
“Satin or velvet for the wedding dress, Laura?” Eleanor asked.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, you two!” Laura protested, blushing hotly. “It was just one kiss!”
“A combination of both I think,” Fenella replied, ignoring her. “In a shade of greyish-violet with pale cream lace trimming.”
“I think crimson would be better,” Eleanor replied, looking Laura up and down with narrowed eyes.
“I am here, you know!” Laura cried indignantly. “And I will decide when and if I am going to marry!”
“Of course you will, dear,” Fenella said soothingly, patting Laura’s knee. “I am so sorry.” However, her eyes were twinkling with mischief, and she did not sound sorry at all. Laura had the feeling that her wedding had already been planned even though no proposal had been made or accepted.
Laura was making her way down to the breakfast room, her mind still full of Nicholas’s kiss, when she saw Charlotte approaching her, looking pale and a little out of sorts.
“Good morning, Laura,” she said, managing a smile.
Laura returned the smile and linked her arm through Charlotte’s. “Good morning!” she said happily. “I wanted to tell you about the ceilidh last night. Can you recommend a good dancing teacher? It seems I still have a lot to learn, although I had a wonderful time.”
Charlotte shook her head. “I’m afraid not,” she replied. “I am not much of a dancer either.”
“I love dancing,” Laura admitted, “and these Scottish reels and jigs are so energetic! I think I might have had a little too much wine, though—the Aunties brought some with them, of course.” She rolled her eyes.
Charlotte laughed, but said nothing.
“And I have never seen so many redheads!” Laura said incredulously, shaking her head. “One of my friends used to call them ‘carrot tops.’”
Charlotte nodded and smiled. “Very apt.”
“Are you coming for breakfast?” Laura asked.
“Later perhaps,” she replied. “In fact, you are just the person I wanted to see, you may be able to give me some advice. You see, I am not feeling very well at the moment - I have just thrown up my morning tea, and I feel as though I might do the same with my breakfast.”
“Oh, dear.” Laura was genuinely concerned, since she had become very fond of Charlotte. “Have you seen the healer?”
“I was on my way, but I thought I might speak to you first, since you have some experience. You see, I think I may be pregnant. My courses are usually very regular, but I am now two weeks overdue, and I’m told that being sick in the mornings is one of the first symptoms.” She looked at Laura hopefully. “Is that right?”
Laura was nonplussed for a moment, unable to think of a single word to say.
She had thought she had got away with her ruse by now.
She almost panicked, then remembered something that she had heard one of her own maids speaking about when she was discussing her experience with a fellow staff member.
She had listened carefully, since she had never been taught about the facts of life by either of her parents.
Now she was thankful that she had eavesdropped.
“It is,” she answered. “I was very nauseous, but not actually sick. It goes away after a while, though.” Her heart was pounding furiously as she told the lie, but she tried to keep her voice level and calm. “Congratulations, Lottie. Have you confirmed this with the healer?”
Charlotte shook her head. “I am on my way to do it now,” she replied. “I was so tired last night that I wanted to go to bed as soon as I said goodnight to you, but I managed to stay awake long enough to speak to Nick. He was very worried about you, Laura.”
“I know, Lottie.” Laura nodded, “but there was no need. Really, I am fine.”
“He cares about you a great deal, I think,” she observed, smiling. “And I think you feel the same about him, do you not?” She looked at Laura keenly.
“I-I think he is a good man,” she replied awkwardly, then changed the subject abruptly. “Now, I am very hungry. Do you feel well enough to eat breakfast?”
Charlotte shook her head. “I won’t risk it,” she replied. “Let me get an answer from the healer first, and some advice. I hope she can give me a potion or something to stop the vomiting!”
Laura hugged her. “Good luck,” she said.
“Thank you,” Charlotte answered. “Not a word to Kenneth if you see him, though. He has no idea.”
“Of course,” Laura agreed, “he should be the first to know.” Then she watched as Charlotte walked away.
Something was stirring urgently inside her, and she changed her course and made her way to the nursery. Breakfast could wait; she felt a sudden, urgent need to see the baby, and it was a hunger much stronger than her need for food.
When she opened the door, Laura was startled to see Nicholas sitting in the chair that Maisie usually used when she was feeding the babies, holding Andrew in his arms and singing to him softly.
His voice was a deep baritone and sounded infinitely soothing; Laura would have been very happy to have the lullaby sung to her.
Andrew clearly agreed. His soft, rounded features looked utterly at peace as he slumbered in his father’s arms, and as she watched, the corners of his lips turned up in a tiny smile.
He was obviously dreaming about something pleasant, and a wave of tenderness surged up inside Laura as she watched father and son sitting together in complete peace.
Nicholas wore an expression she had never seen, or thought to see, on his chiselled masculine features. It was one of complete and unconditional love that softened his usual appearance of hard authority or wicked humour, and it was such a beautiful sight that it brought tears to her eyes.
‘Nobody ever looked at me like that,’ she thought sadly, then she remembered Mairi, Andrew’s mother, and the look of helplessness on her poor face as she handed the infant to Laura.
‘I hope you are at peace now, Mairi,’ she thought. ‘Wherever you are, rest assured that your child is safe and loved. He will come to no harm as long as his father is here to protect him.’
Then Nicholas looked flushed up as he saw Laura watching him, clearly embarrassed at having been caught in a moment of vulnerability.
After all, it was not considered manly to show such tender emotions as love or affection.
Warriors could not afford to display tender feelings: it made them look weak to their fellow soldiers and their enemies.
Real men were fierce, proud and aggressive, after all: emotions like love and sympathy belonged to women.
“Laura,” he said huskily, and his expression changed to one of wariness. “I came to see how my son was faring.” Then, unexpectedly, a smile of pure happiness crossed his face as he looked down at Andrew.
It was so touching to see the contrast between the strength and size of this big, strong man and the tiny infant in his arms that for a moment Laura could say nothing. She drank in the sight of them, her whole being suddenly suffused with a love that was so fierce she could hardly bear it.
She crossed the room and pulled up a chair beside them, then reached out to touch the baby’s soft, warm cheek.
“I never believed I could feel this way,” Laura said softly. It was not a lie. Even though she was not the woman that had carried the baby in her womb, she knew now that she would kill for little Andrew, or die for him. She was astonished at the strength and ferocity of her feelings.
“Neither did I.” Nicholas’s voice was husky and warm. “Would you like to hold him?”
“I would, very much,” she replied, holding out her arms. Nicholas leaned over and with infinite gentleness placed Andrew’s tiny form into Laura’s embrace.
Their bodies brushed against each other, and as their hands touched, Laura felt a bolt of desire shoot through her.
Nicholas Munro was everything she wanted in a man; strong, brave, and sensual.
As well as that, she had seen, under the hard exterior that he liked to present to the world, that his soul was as gentle as a child’s.
The baby settled in her arms and as she looked down into his dear little face Laura felt almost overcome with a love so strong that it brought tears to her eyes.
She felt Nicholas looking at her and raised her eyes to his, then he lifted his hand to touch her cheek while his gaze drifted to her lips. A moment later, he bent his head to kiss her, sweetly and tenderly, and she responded in the same way as she gently cradled the baby.
“Perhaps we should talk about what happened between us last night,” he murmured as they drew apart.
Laura nodded slowly, then looked down at the baby. “Not here,” she said.
They waited with the baby for another half-an-hour before Maisie returned, by which time little Andrew was grizzling and fidgeting.
“He is hungry,” Maisie remarked, smiling as she took the child from Laura’s arms.
“And getting bigger every day,” Nicholas remarked. “You’re a wee stoatir, are you not, wee Andy?”
“And thank you, Maisie,” Laura said fervently. “I have no idea how I would have managed without you.”
Maisie smiled warmly. “It was my pleasure, mistress,” she replied. “He is a lovely wee thing.”
They left the nursery a moment later. At first they walked side by side, keeping proper distance.
But then Nicholas took her hand in a firm grip, and they were both silent as they moved towards Laura’s chamber.
When the door closed behind them Nicholas threw his arms around her and pulled her close, kissing her again, not with gentleness, but with complete unbridled passion.
Laura moaned and thrust herself against him, feeling his hardness against her and loving the sense of triumph it gave her to know that she could make him feel this way.
Nicholas ravaged her lips with his, enjoying the feel of the pliant, warm woman who was arousing all his most primal instincts.
He had no memory of possessing her before, and wondered if he would remember her if he did so again.
He desperately wanted to make her his right there and then, but he knew that he must take things slowly, since she still harboured some resentment against him.
They had to talk, and he pulled away from Laura with great reluctance. Both of them were breathing heavily, and Nicholas leaned his forehead against Laura’s, loving her scent, her warmth, her nearness.
How could he possibly have forgotten her?
“I’m sorry,” he said softly, “for being such a fool, for following you everywhere. I want you to be safe, Laura, but I think I took things too far.”
She smiled at him and kissed him softly again. “You did, but thank you, Nick,” she said softly. “I know you had my best interests at heart, but there are—eighty guards in the garrison? I think I am very well protected.”
“Eighty-five,” he answered, smiling, “and every one of them has instructions to take very special care of you. But if I could protect you by kissing you, you would never have to worry again. I am not good with words, Laura, but I care about you and your safety.” His expression was one of warmth and sincerity, and Laura’s heart melted as she looked into his eyes.
“I think I would enjoy that kind of protection very much,” she answered, with a suggestive smile. “I feel the same way about you, Nick. You need not apologise again.” Then she stepped into his arms once more.
Nicholas sighed with relief, then as desire overtook him, he kissed Laura’s lips, then peppered, soft, ticklish kisses down the side of her neck until he reached the edge of her dress.
He growled in frustration, but he was not exactly a novice at dealing with such situations—in fact, he was an expert.
“Damn!” he said irritably, “why do women wear so many clothes?” Yet he was laughing as he untied the lace at the front of her bodice, loosening the dress so that he was able to push his hand inside and grasp her breast.
Nicholas felt himself stiffen so much that it was almost painful as he gently squeezed Laura’s breast and teased her nipple with his thumb so that it pebbled under his touch.
The soft moan she uttered aroused him even more, if that were possible, and he moved to her other breast, loving the feel of her warm, pliant flesh under his fingers.
“Good?” he asked hoarsely.
“Wonderful,” Laura whispered, then she rubbed her hips from side to side against him, teasing him until he could bear it no longer.
He lowered his mouth to her nipple and began to swirl his tongue around it, then he suckled and bit it gently until she was whimpering with pleasure before he switched sides and gave her other breast the same delicious treatment.
Meanwhile, Laura put her hand on the hard ridge of his erection which she could feel through his breeches, and began to rub it, pressing down firmly again and again in a fast regular rhythm. After a few moments, however, he pulled away, afraid of losing control of himself.
“You are driving me mad, Laura,” he said roughly. “I want you so much.”
Laura opened her mouth to answer, but at that moment there was a soft knock at the door, which she had locked, and she took a step back from him.
“My maid.” She hastily tied her bodice and smoothed down the front of her dress while Nicholas arranged his jacket to cover the bulge in his breeches.
“I have to go,” he said urgently, but the look in his eyes was a promise, and Laura knew he would soon be back for more.