Chapter 28 #2
The sad songs were true, she thought dazedly when her tears were finally spent and she lay exhausted on the floor, wrapped in her shawl.
Love, even at its most fleeting, brought nothing but heartbreak and sorrow. She must have been mad to think Garrett Marshall ever cared.
Madeleine awoke hours later to the sensation of being lifted from the floor where she had fallen asleep.
Her eyes fluttered open, but she could see nothing in the pitch darkness.
She tensed as powerful arms enveloped her, holding her close with aching familiarity, and she knew at once that it was Garrett.
“Wh—what do ye think ye’re doing? Where are ye taking me?” she cried frantically, the mists of slumber still clinging to her thoughts as he carried her down the hallway.
“Our room,” Garrett said, hugging her tightly to his chest. “I’ll not have my wife sleeping on the floor, nor will you sleep any longer in a bed other than mine.”
His words chased the haze from her mind as if he had slapped her.
“No! Ye canna force me to share yer bed!” she exclaimed shrilly, wriggling in his arms.
“In this you have no choice,” he replied firmly. “We are husband and wife, Madeleine. From this night on, we sleep together.”
Garrett kicked the door open and strode into the firelit room, where he set her down so abruptly she almost lost her footing. He turned and shut the door, drawing the bolt into place, then faced her once more.
“I took the liberty of bringing some of your things in here,” he began, walking toward her. “You can move the rest of your belongings tomorrow.”
She shook her head slowly from side to side, retreating backward as he advanced closer and closer. “No, I dinna want to stay here,” she objected nervously, flustered by the way he was looking at her. “Ye’ve no right.”
“I’ve made it my right,” he insisted quietly. When she took another step backward, he suddenly reached out to her, grabbing for her arm. “Madeleine, stop, there’s a tub just behind—”
“No! Dinna touch me!” She jerked away from him and spun around, screaming as she toppled into an enormous wooden tub filled with steaming water.
In the next instant Garrett leaned into the tub, catching her about the waist and lifting her to her feet as she sputtered and coughed, her wet hair hanging down over her face, her gown plastered to her body.
“Ye—ye bastard!” Madeleine gasped, parting her hair to glare at him.
“I tried to stop you, Maddie,” he said with a low chuckle, appraising her sodden appearance. “I thought you might want to bathe tonight, so I brought up the tub for your use.”
Madeleine swept her hair back from her forehead, wringing some of the water out with her fingers. She had never felt so foolish before, standing fully clothed in a tub. She glanced down, surprised by its wide dimensions.
“I bought it in Edinburgh,” Garrett said, as if he read her thoughts. “I wasn’t sure if you had a tub here at the manor house or not.”
“Aye, but not as large,” Madeleine said almost to herself. “‘Tis big enough for two.” She blushed suddenly and looked up to find him studying her most intently.
“Exactly,” he said.
Madeleine inhaled sharply, acutely aware of the desire flaring in those startling gray-green eyes and even more aware of her own racing senses. She heaved up her soaked skirt and was out of the tub in a flash.
“Good night to ye, Garrett,” she said angrily as she sloshed and squished her way to the door. “Enjoy yer fine tub. I’ll not be swimming in it with ye, if that’s what ye were thinking.”
“Touch that latch and I promise you will find yourself back in this tub, but with me,” Garrett threatened softly. “I mean that, Madeleine. This is now your room as much as mine. Ours. We will share it together. Do you understand me?”
Madeleine flinched at his tone and drew back her hand from the bolt. She turned away slowly and met his steely gaze. “As always, Garrett, ye must threaten to have yer way.”
He did not reply. He began to undo the buttons of his shirt, revealing the golden hair on his chest.
“What are ye doing?” she asked shakily, her eyes widening.
“Undressing. If you have no plans for this bath, then I’d like to avail myself of its comfort while the water is still hot.
” He stripped off the shirt, baring his muscular upper body to her stunned gaze.
“I’ve set up a screen over there for your privacy, Madeleine,” he said dryly, nodding to the far corner of the room.
“You’ll find your travel trunk behind it.
” His belt fell to the floor with a thud.
“Oh, yes. There’s some food and mulled wine on the bedside table. Help yourself.”
“I’m not hungry,” she said. She glanced over to the screen, delicately painted with vines and flowers, and back to Garrett, who was pulling off his breeches.
At the sight of his lean buttocks, she gasped and scurried to the other side of the room, ducking behind the screen.
She plopped down on the trunk, her heart pounding furiously.
She heard a splash as Garrett stepped into the tub, then his long, contented sigh as he settled himself in the water.
Madeleine’s teeth began to chatter, and she felt chilled to the bone in her sopping wet gown. She was so far away from the fireplace there was little warmth in this corner.
“Ye’ll surely catch yer death if ye sit here like this,” she muttered under her breath, shivering uncontrollably.
“Did you say something?”
“No!” she responded tartly, his deep voice eliciting a tremor of excitement within her.
She jumped off the trunk and threw open the lid, rummaging through the neatly folded clothes until she found her apricot robe.
She quickly changed out of her wet things and gratefully donned the padded robe and a pair of down-lined slippers. She felt warmed immediately.
“There are some towels on the bed if you care to dry your hair,” Garrett called out.
Madeleine wanted to ignore his offer, hoping there were some towels in her trunk, but after a quick search she found none. She sighed with exasperation. If she didn’t dry her hair, the back of her robe would soon be soaked.
She drew a deep breath as she tied the sash securely around her waist, then stepped from behind the screen. She kept her eyes lowered as she hurried over to the bed, where she grabbed a towel and whisked it around her head.
As she began to retreat toward the screen, she hazarded a glance in Garrett’s direction. Her heart stopped at the striking picture he made, his bronzed shoulders and chest gleaming wet, his dark blond hair slicked back. He looked her over as if he could see right through her satin robe.
“Are you sure you won’t join me?” he asked softly, smiling at her with open invitation.
“Quite sure!” she snapped, though inside she wasn’t so sure anymore. She turned away, blotting her hair with trembling hands.
“Then could I ask you a favor, Madeleine?”
She swung around, looking at him suspiciously. “What favor?”
“Would you mind handing me the soap? It’s there on the mantel, a bit out of my reach, unless I stand up—”
“No, no! I’ll get it for ye,” she said uncomfortably.
Taking a wide path around the tub, she snatched the thick bar from the mantelpiece.
“Here.” She handed it to him, his wet fingers caressing hers.
She pulled her hand away as if stung and darted away from him, taking refuge behind the screen, amazed at what his simple touch could do to her.
She chewed her lip as she dried her hair, attempting in vain to blot out the sounds of Garrett bathing.
She was startled by his sudden groan of pain.
She dropped the towel and quickly peeked out at him.
He was attempting to soap his back, but he grimaced, groaning again as he slowly eased his right arm into the water.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, feeling more than a twinge of concern at his evident discomfort.
“It’s nothing. I pulled something in my shoulder today. It was rolling this blasted tub up the stairs, I think. “
She absorbed this, watching as he lifted his arm again and sought to scrub his back. He sighed irritably, his efforts thwarted.
“If—if ye’d like, I can help ye with that,” she offered, venturing out from the screen. She shrugged slightly at his stunned expression. “‘Tis plain to see ye’re hurt, Garrett. I dinna mind, unless ye’d rather not. “
“No, I mean yes, that would be nice,” he said, watching her as she walked to the tub. “That’s very kind of you, Madeleine.”
She said nothing and avoided his eyes as she took the soap from him.
She lathered it between her hands, then dropped the bar into the water with a plunk and bent over him, massaging the rugged breadth of his shoulders.
She could feel him tense beneath her touch, but gradually he relaxed, leaning forward.