Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“I’d like to ken how ye keep gettin’ into me study,” Cameron said to the gray kitten that was sitting atop his desk.
Miss Crusoe blinked at him slowly. She seemed completely unbothered at being caught. It was as if the tiny creature had decided she had more claim over his study than he did.
“Fine, daenae answer me,” he said, pushing his hair away from his face. “Ye’re lucky that I daenae have any paperwork to finish.”
At his words, Miss Crusoe stretched. Then, she plopped down onto her side, her paws needing the air. When he took a few steps closer to her, he heard the deep rumble of her purr.
“Just as ridiculous as Margo,” he grumbled, scratching the top of the kitten’s head.
Dropping his hand, Cameron walked over to the window overlooking the courtyard. The castle was resuming normal operations now that they’d finished repairs. And, after his trip to the village this morning, it seemed that the villagers were on the way to resuming their lives as well.
Without more pressing issues to attend to, his mind drifted back to Margo. The deadline on the agreement that he’d made with her father was fast approaching, and he hadn’t cobbled together a plan that would please his Council and convince her father.
“Even if they believed a healer tellin’ them she was with child, they would still want proof,” he said, looking over his shoulder.
Miss Crusoe was watching him through her big blue eyes, her head tilted to the side as though she was considering his words.
“Perhaps we could trick her father and find a newborn child to present to him. Me Council would ken, however, would they nae?”
Miss Crusoe turned toward him, and lay down with her paws tucked beneath her body. Her eyes slipped closed, the gesture feeling almost dismissive of his problems. It was as if she were saying that he already knew the answer.
“I’m nae touchin’ her,” he growled to himself, both a warning and a prayer.
His control grew thinner and thinner by the day. Now, he was no longer dreaming of her body in the abstract. The feeling of her mouth against his, the sensation of her breasts against his chest, were etched into the very core of his being.
And her laugh.
Making her laugh had felt better than winning any battle he ever had. It confused him, how a simple sound made his stomach swoop the same way it had the first time he’d stepped foot on a fishing vessel. It was just as addictive, too.
The same way the soles of his feet had seemed to itch with the desire to run off and stowaway on one of the boats when he was a boy, his palms burned with the need to pull Margo close. She was too much of a temptation.
“I cannae stay around her if I mean to keep meself from breakin’ her apart,” he said, going back to his desk and flipping through the stack of missives he’d been putting off. “I ken it’s in here somewhere.”
Miss Crusoe watched him, reaching out to hit the corners of the pages as he searched. When he pulled out the letter he was looking for, she stood on her hind legs, swatting at it. She didn’t stop until he picked her up and tucked her against his chest.
“Perhaps it is time that I help me cousin with the granary he’s been meanin’ to rebuild,” Cameron muttered as he read through the missive. “He’s been askin’ me for nearly half a year.”
Miss Crusoe mewed, sounding as if she were upset with him. He let go of her, pocketing the parchment and walking toward the door. When he stopped, he turned back, expecting to see the kitten following him.
“Ach, as I said,” he said at the threshold of the door, “ye’re just like Margo; a confusin’ wee thing.”
He spent the next few hours informing his Council of his upcoming absence and making arrangements to keep the castle running. On his way to his quarters, Gavin stopped him with a palm to his shoulder.
“What are ye rushin’ around for?” Gavin asked, his tone conversational, but the look in his eyes anything but. “I heard that ye called a meetin’ with yer Council.”
“Ye were lookin’ for me,” Cameron said, allowing himself to be stopped.
“Ye werenae in the Great Hall,” Gavin explained, dropping his hand from Cameron’s shoulder. “I was worried that somethin’ may have happened.”
“Nay, nothin’ has happened,” Cameron reported. “I will be goin’ east to assist me cousin with his granary. I will leave tomorrow at first light.”
“And ye willnae even give yerself a day to rest?” Gavin said, narrowing his eyes and scanning Cameron’s face. “Ever since ye got back from England, ye have had one task after another.”
“The work doesnae stop,” Cameron said. He would not rise to whatever bait his friend was attempting to dangle in front of him. “I have been pushin’ off the granary project for months. If it waits any longer, it may nae just be repairs that need done.”
“Ach, I suppose ye’re correct,” Gavin said. “I am still of the opinion that ye should spend a day here. I’m sure yer wife would appreciate havin’ some time with ye.”
“She’s occupied with her kittens,” Cameron replied, sidestepping his man-at-arms and continuing on his way to his chambers. “I trust ye to look after Lady MacLeod and her sister while I’m away.”
“Does she ken ye’re leavin’?”
The question nearly made Cameron’s stride skip. Clearing his throat, he said, “She doesnae need to bother with logistical concerns. Let her be carefree.”
Refusing to give Gavin a chance to prolong the conversation, Cameron rounded the corner. He made it to the wing of the castle he shared with Margo without crossing paths with another soul. As he passed by her door, he hesitated.
I should tell her that I will be leavin’.
Just before he knocked, the sound of claws scurrying over the stone stopped him.
He paused, watching as Miss Crusoe came bounding down the corridor with Friday in tow.
When the kittens reached the threshold, they squished themselves down as close to the floor as they could and dragged themselves underneath it.
So that’s how they’re gettin’ into every crevice of this buildin’.
Shaking his head, he went to his chambers. It would be better for both of them if he did not see her before he left. He no longer trusted himself not to pull her against him, to devour her mouth the same way he had by the cliffs.
Yet, as he prepared for sleep, his eyes kept drifting to the door connecting their rooms. It would be so easy to walk through it and indulge the desires that were driving him mad.
But I willnae.
A kitten’s tiny paw tapping Margo’s nose pulled her into consciousness. She glanced around her chamber. The morning sun was streaming in, and all five kittens were lounging on her mattress.
“Have you decided you’re too good for the basket that Cameron made for you?” she asked, removing Miss Crusoe from her chest before sitting up and stretching her arms above her head. “Or perhaps you’re all hungry?”
Instead of waiting for an answer that wouldn’t come, Margo got out of bed. As she shuffled across the floor, Tilly knocked on the door twice before pushing it open. When she saw Margo was up, her eyes widened.
“I dinnae expect ye to be awake,” she said apologetically as she slipped inside. “I was just stoppin’ by to feed the kittens; Eleanor was worried about them.”
“I did sleep longer than I intended,” Margo admitted as she walked over to the window. Broken pieces of conversation and laughter drifted through the air. “I had a bit of trouble sleeping last night.”
“Was it the kittens?” Tilly asked, setting down the incredibly unappetizing mixture of milk and fish. “Now that they’re bigger, they do nothin’ but get themselves into trouble.”
“No, no,” Margo said, looking away from the activity below. “My mind just refused to quiet down.”
She admitted to herself she was understating the depth of her sleeplessness. The kiss, the teasing in the courtyard, the conversation with Eleanor, it all circled through her mind again and again. She’d had far too much time in her hands to over-analyze everything.
“If that happens to ye again, I can get ye a tincture from the healer,” Tilly offered, using her hand to keep Miss Crusoe from crowding her siblings away from the dish. “Or I can just bring ye a glass of whisky. I’ve heard that a wee bit before ye lie down for bed will help ye sleep like a bairn.”
“Perhaps I will try that the next time I am struggling to fall asleep,” Margo said, laughing at Treasure nearly tumbling face-first into the feeding bowl.
When the kittens finished eating, Tilly helped Margo get ready for the day. As the maid straightened her gown and fixed her hair, Margo’s eyes kept drifting toward the door connecting her chambers to Cameron’s. There was a certain pull to the passageway that she could not deny.
The fact that she could hear Cameron pacing long after the rest of the castle had gone to sleep only made her more curious.
Part of her had expected him to appear. It was that same part that was sure he’d come through the door any moment now, to explain away the kiss they had shared or pick an argument to put some distance between them.
“Are ye sure ye’re feelin’ well enough to dine in the Great Hall?” Tilly asked as she stepped back.
“Of course I am,” Margo assured her, giving her the best approximation of a carefree smile she could muster. “Though, I may come up and rest after I eat.”
“That sounds like a wonderful idea, me Lady,” Tilly said approvingly. She glanced at the kittens once more before gathering the empty bowl and heading toward the door.
Margo followed her without another word. In the corridor, she glanced at Cameron’s chambers. She hadn't heard him once this morning. She looked for him around every corner, and when they reached the Great Hall, Margo was almost disappointed to see he was not dining with everyone else.
“Tilly said she was going to feed the kittens fish this morning,” Eleanor said, leaning in close as Margo took the seat next to her. “Did they like it?”
“They were tiny beasts,” Margo reported, a genuine lightness settling over her. She was not sure she would have survived the noise in her mind if her sister weren’t here. “Ate their entire meal so quickly that I hardly realized they’d finished.”
“I would like to watch them eat at their next meal,” Eleanor said decisively.
“Then you may,” Margo replied as she was served. As the servant stepped away, she asked her sister, “Have you seen the Laird this morning?”
She did not know why the words came out. Her curiosity felt as though it were an insurmountable problem. It bypassed her conscious mind, seeming to force her speech and actions.
Eleanor hummed pensively, the thought apparently running through her mind the entire morning. “No,” she said finally. “I have not seen him.” She leaned in, flashing Margo a private grin. “Are you looking forward to seeing him?”
“It’s not that,” Margo said quickly, grabbing onto her fork with more force than necessary.
She took a moment to eat a mouthful of haggis, letting the savory flavors ground her.
When she swallowed, she felt more in control of herself.
“I suppose I was a bit… cheeky with him yesterday. I am expecting to be… spoken to about the nature of my teasing.”
Eleanor raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t make sense. What makes you think he is going to chastise you? Has he done so before?”
“Not exactly,” Margo said, unable to articulate the reasoning behind her feelings. “And perhaps that’s not correct. I just have a strange feeling, that's all.”
“You are thinking too much,” Eleanor said, breaking off a morsel of her bannock.
She popped it in her mouth, a poor display of manners that she would never get away with back in England.
“You had a bit of fun, and now you think he is going to fault you for it. I do not think he’s anything like Father. ”
Margo’s entire body froze, her breath catching in her throat. She had not even considered that she had been comparing the two men, and she wanted to dismiss the idea as soon as possible. When she opened her mouth to do so, no sound came out. She swallowed hard, then held her sister’s gaze.
“When did you get so smart?” she asked, everything else feeling like it revealed too much.
Eleanor ducked her head, the compliment shifting the conversation. Now that Margo had the high ground, she playfully poked her sister’s side, making the girl giggle. She didn’t stop until Eleanor swatted her hand away.
“I am worrying too much,” Margo admitted with a sigh. “But someone has to do it.”
“But must it be you?” Eleanor asked, scooting away before Margo was able to tickle her again.
Though the two giggled together, Margo knew that the question would haunt her.