Chapter 14 #3
Tonight there would be no lighthearted discourse with Garrett, no shared laughter, and no conflicting emotions as he walked her upstairs.
She would stay in her room until it was time to sneak out through the tunnel.
By then, she hoped, he would have retired for the night.
She would simply have to find some other way to pass the time.
Madeleine’s gaze swept her chamber, awash in soft candlelight, and settled on her open wardrobe.
She caught an enticing glimmer of sapphire-blue satin and knew exactly how she would while away the hours.
She would try on her mother’s gowns for one last time.
It was a girlish fancy, perhaps, but she did not know when, or if, she might have another chance.
She crossed to the wardrobe and pulled out the blue satin gown with its silver brocade bodice and underskirt, then ran to her bed.
She was overcome with nostalgia as she changed, her troubled emotions forgotten for the moment.
The fabric glided like cool water over her skin and pooled at her bare feet.
It had been such a long time since she had tried on this beautiful gown. Her fingers trembled as she pinned the bodice to her chemise, knowing it would not look quite right without stays but not caring. She hadn’t worn a corset since that afternoon at the loch.
The memory of Garrett’s kiss came flooding back to her as if it had happened that very day, and her wretched torment began anew. She tentatively touched her lips, feeling again the blazing heat of his mouth upon hers.
She had found herself thinking of that moment many times over this past week, especially in Garrett’s presence. He seemed to elicit the wildest imaginings in her—
“No more,” she warned herself unconvincingly, crossing to the full-length mirror. As she stared at her shimmering reflection, she tried to shrug off the vivid memory, but the unsettling sensations stayed with her, taunting her.
Would Garrett find her lovely in this gown? she wondered, shivering with excitement. She trailed a finger along the low-cut bodice and up the lush curve of her breast, sighing softly.
She turned, her satin skirt rustling and swaying, and stood in profile. Her hands strayed to her white throat. She lifted up her hair, envisioning a more sophisticated style, then she let it tumble down her back in a riot of tangled chestnut curls.
She closed her eyes, her hand sliding slowly down her body from her neck to her curved hip. An image of Garrett leaped into her mind, and she sighed again. He was dripping wet, naked and his strong hands were caressing her own wet skin…
“I far prefer your hair down, Madeleine, wild and unfettered. Like you.”
Madeleine’s eyes flew open and she whirled on her intruder, mortified that he had seen her… God’s wounds, she had never felt so embarrassed!
“Garrett! How—how long have ye been standing there?”
“Not long,” he said quietly, stepping inside the room.
“Forgive me for startling you, Madeleine. When you didn’t meet me in the drawing room, I decided to come and find you.
I knocked, hearing your footsteps, and opened the door slightly.
” He paused, his eyes raking her from head to foot. “I see you’ve dressed for dinner.”
Madeleine moved away from the mirror, flustered by the way his gaze was fixed upon her, as if he would devour her whole. She shivered at the thought, struggling to maintain what little was left of her composure.
“Garrett, ye really must leave. I canna sup with ye tonight.”
“No?” he asked, drawing closer to her. “Then why the gown? It is a most becoming one, I might add.”
“‘Twas my mother’s,” Madeleine blurted, becoming increasingly unnerved by his presence. “I wanted to try it on, that’s all.”
“It fits you perfectly, Madeleine,” he said appreciatively. His gaze wandered to her breasts, which thrust against the neckline. “Perfectly.” He met her eyes, his expression growing serious. “Why won’t you dine with me?”
She retreated a step, her heart pounding furiously as she took another desperate stab at dismissing him. “I’m feeling a bit out of sorts, Garrett,” she said, smiling weakly. “Perhaps another night.”
He did not reply but studied her closely. Odd tremors shot through her, and she had to fight to calm her breathing.
Her gaze moved over him, and her pulse fluttered as she noted the simple elegance of his clothes.
He wore tight-fitting black breeches which accentuated his slim hips and sinewed thighs, and a full, white shirt which heightened the golden cast of his skin, the open collar revealing a nest of dark blond curls.
His hair shone like burnished flame in the flickering candlelight, while his striking features were half cloaked in shadow. Oh, why did he have to be so handsome?
“I’ve been feeling a bit out of sorts as well,” he said at last, his voice laden with a deep intensity she had not heard before. “Perhaps we suffer the same malady, you and I.”
“M-malady?” she stammered.
Garrett nodded, his eyes searing into hers. “A fever, a fire burning in the blood, an ache that has but one cure. That’s how I feel whenever I’m around you, Madeleine.” He reached out and smoothed a silken tress. “Who were you thinking of when you stood before the mirror? A lover, perhaps?”
Madeleine gasped, her cheeks firing hotly.
She gave no answer but frantically attempted to brush past him.
Her foot caught in her skirt, tripping her, and she cried out as she began to fall.
The next thing she knew she was staring into Garrett’s eyes, his arms tightening like a vise around her trembling body.
“Who were you thinking of, Maddie?” he whispered huskily, his warm breath fanning her cheeks.
She shook her head, unable to speak. Unbridled sensations rippled through her body.
Then his mouth found hers, and she knew nothing but the passionate power of his kiss.
His lips ravaged hers, his tongue flicking at her teeth, and she opened her mouth to him.
She moaned as he held her to his chest, his fingers twined in her hair.
“Tell me who you desire,” he demanded hoarsely, forcing her head back and covering her throat with biting kisses.
Madeleine nearly screamed aloud as his mouth found the hollow between her heaving breasts, his lips like hot brands upon her flesh.
In a passion-dimmed daze, she felt his hand cup her, his fingers dragging away her bodice and chemise.
His tongue circled a sensitive nipple in a ring of moist, molten fire.
It was hot, insistent, provoking the forbidden hunger already raging within her.
If she did not deny him now, she would be lost.
“No,” she murmured, bracing her hands against his chest even as every part of her cried out to meld with him, to feel the wonder of his skin against her body. “No, Garrett, please. I want ye to stop… Stop!”
Her wrenching cry echoed about the room, and tears sprang to her eyes as Garrett pulled abruptly away from her. His expression was unreadable, though his eyes were gray and storm-tossed, his breathing jagged.
“It seems I was wrong once again,” he said cryptically, running his hand through his hair.
Madeleine straightened her bodice, fighting against the tears that would course down her flushed cheeks. “Please, go,” she managed to say, glancing away from him.
“My apologies, Mistress Fraser,” he said stiffly. “I promise you it won’t happen again.” He strode across the room and was gone, his determined footsteps resounding in the hallway.
Madeleine stumbled to the door, scarcely able to see through the tears swimming in her eyes. She shut it and drew the bolt, then leaned her forehead against the polished wood.
How she wanted to fling wide the door and run after him, to tell him that he was the man she desired! But she would not be a traitor to everything she loved, everything for which she had fought so dearly.
“Ye’re the mistress of Farraline,” she whispered fiercely, walking back toward the bed.
“Dinna forget it! Yer people are depending upon yer care and good judgment.” Strangely the words gave her no comfort.
She threw herself on the mattress, the full burden of her responsibility pressing down on her like a terrible weight.
For the first time she cursed the task her father had given her. She buried her face in a pillow and began to weep bitterly, overwhelmed by fear, intense longing, and regret for all that she would never know.