Chapter 17
For the second night in a row, Skye went to sleep with an uneasy feeling in her chest. Dougal had nearly kissed her yesterday, and had he not brought up her rule, she would have let him.
She would have tossed it out of the window to feel his rough lips against hers. Would his stubble prickle? How would it feel against her skin or under her hands?
What would he do with his tongue?
He was quite skilled. That time in the drawing room when he had wrung pleasure from her was proof of that.
Freya had talked of such kisses, how a man could use his tongue to explore. Skye had been disgusted at first. It had sounded horrendous. But now it was all she could think about. She wanted to know what it would feel like to kiss Dougal.
She settled into bed that night, staring up at the ceiling.
How many sleepless nights had she endured because of him? She had lost count at this point. She rolled over onto her side, tucking the covers up to her chin.
She drifted in and out of sleep, waking up to dreams of Dougal making her climax again and again. The tingling between her legs was tempting. She slid a hand down her nightgown, touching her damp inner thighs.
A creak outside her door had her wrenching her hand from between her legs, staring wide-eyed at the darkened wall. She had nearly given in to the urge to touch herself.
It was all Dougal’s fault. Yet another grievance she could add to her list.
When the sun shone through the window, she started her morning much like she had the other day—wrenching the covers over her head to block out the light.
But she had to get up. She had promised to help Lily this morning.
Lily was convinced that she had to help the baby goat and Blossom bond as family. The problem was that she had no idea how to go about it, which was how she had managed to convince Skye to help.
Skye dressed quickly, choosing a simple gown of soft yellow wool. It was a practical dress that would allow her to chase after a kitten and a goat without worrying about ruining anything fine.
For the second time in a row, she left her hair loosely braided, tucking a few stray strands behind her ear.
Lily was already waiting by the window just outside her bedroom with Blossom and the goat. She waved Skye over, beaming from ear to ear. “Skye, ye came!”
Skye smiled. “I promised ye I would come, did I nae?”
“Aye!” Lily exclaimed.
“Have ye thought of a name?” Skye asked, smiling.
Lily shook her head. “Nay, I havenae come up with one yet! I want to wait and ask Da if he’ll pick one with me.”
That made Skye’s heart swell with joy.
“Did ye think of a way to help Blossom and her new family bond?” Lily asked.
She had thought about it for the better part of the night, and the only thing that came to mind was a competition.
“A competition,” she said.
Lily puffed out her cheeks. “I like that, but what type of competition?”
“I didnae get that far in me planning yet.”
She clapped her hands together. “Daenae worry, Skye. I’ll think of something.” She paced up and down the hall in front of her bedroom, trying to think of something. She gasped suddenly, giving a twirl. “I ken! We can do a singing competition!”
“A… singing competition?” Skye asked carefully. “I suppose… that’s an option.”
Lily nodded. “Aye, and ye can compete too!”
Skye paled. “Lily, are ye sure ye want me to compete?”
Lily nodded again, excited.
A singing competition was perfectly fine for the animals, but not for Skye. She was not a very good singer. She was tone-deaf, as Freya often lovingly pointed out, and her voice alone might prevent the birds from nesting here for the rest of the season.
Lily pleaded with her, pushing out her lower lip and clasping her hands tightly together in front of her. The wee lass wanted her to join in the fun, regardless of her singing skills.
“Alright, I will. But I must warn ye, I am nae a very good singer,” Skye relented with a sigh.
Lily shrugged. “Grandmaither isnae a good singer either, but it’s never stopped her!”
“Then I suppose that settles it!” Skye exclaimed weakly. “I’ll be competing alongside Blossom and yer new baby goat.”
She had never claimed to be a singer, but that hardly seemed to matter as she stood before Lily, the kitten, and a rather unimpressed goat, clearing her throat with far more confidence than the moment warranted.
She looked around, grateful there was no one else there. The one person she did not want to bear witness to this humiliating ritual was Dougal. He would find this ever so amusing. For her sake, it was best if he stayed far away.
It was the only way to avoid utter humiliation.
They headed out to the gardens where Lily insisted the competition should be held.
“Right. The rules are simple. Each of us sings a verse, and I decide the winner,” Lily exclaimed with glee.
Before Skye could respond, she heard footsteps. When she turned to look she saw that Kenna was walking up to them.
Once she was close enough, Skye noticed that she was barely able to contain her laughter. “I think that sounds fair.”
Skye flushed. “Lady Kenna, it’s nae fair for ye to be left out of the competition.”
“Oh nay, this competition is for ye and Lily. I fear I am far too old to compete, isnae that right, Lily?”
Lily giggled. “Aye, Grandmaither.”
Skye opened her mouth to protest that logic, but Lily interrupted before she could. “The goat is going to be excited to sing.” She bounced on her toes, cradling Blossom against her chest.
“The goat,” Skye said solemnly, “will sing whether we ask her to or nae. That’s how goats are. They cannae help themselves. It is simply the animal in them.”
As if summoned, the goat let out a long, indignant bleat.
Lily dissolved into giggles, nearly dropping the kitten in her delight.
Skye thought the goat sounded much better than she did. When she attempted to sing, it might flee into the nearby hills. Lily would be distraught to lose it. And it would be entirely Skye’s fault.
Yet another reason she should never sing!
“See? A natural talent.”
“Ye go first, Skye!”
Kenna smiled. “Aye, I think we all want to hear Skye go first.”
Oh, she was truly enjoying this.
Skye did not take her teasing personally, but for someone who abhorred singing as much as she did, she wished it were directed towards anyone but her. She and singing did not mix!
“Very well.”
She straightened, cleared her throat for good measure, and launched into the first verse of an old ballad her nursemaid had taught her, one she’d never managed to hold a proper tune for in her life.
Her voice cracked spectacularly on the high note, and Lily’s giggles turned into full, helpless laughter, one hand pressed over her mouth.
“That was terrible!” Lily exclaimed, going as far as to cover her ears in mock distress.
Kenna was barely containing her own laughter. “Aye, I have heard better, but trust me when I say I am nae much better, Skye.”
It did help ease Skye’s embarrassment a little.
“I willnae deny it.” Skye bowed with as much dignity as she could muster. “Yer turn, sweetling. Show me how it’s properly done. I have a feeling ye can sing better than all of us combined.”
Lily sang next, sweet and off-key in an entirely different, more forgivable way, before turning expectantly to the kitten, who responded to her coaxing with nothing but a bored blink and a long yawn.
“Blossom refuses to participate.”
Lily lifted the kitten, giving her a pout. The kitten meowed in protest, but that was the only sound she made. She remained stubborn, refusing to let out a peep no matter how much Lily tried to get her to sing just a few notes.
“Then she forfeits,” Skye declared. “Which leaves only our final contestant.”
The goat, unprompted, let out another long bleat, this one somehow even more indignant than the last, and Lily clapped her hands together in delight.
Skye resisted the urge to wince at the sound. It seemed like the goat was a better singer than she and Lily combined. This was not how she saw the competition ending.
“The goat wins! The goat wins every time!”
“It does seem terribly unfair to the rest of us,” she agreed, laughing despite herself. “But I suppose we cannae argue with talent like that. Some are born gifted.”
The goat bleated in response, almost as if agreeing that its talent could not be brushed aside.
Skye felt the rest of her humiliation fade away. Lily was laughing, twirling around and having the time of her life. If this was what it took to get her laughing, then so be it. Skye was willing to take a little humiliation. It was worth it.
She caught sight of Dougal then, leaning against the back door that led to the gardens, arms crossed, watching them both with an expression she hadn’t seen on him before. It was soft and unguarded, but it was gone as soon as she’d noticed it, replaced by the careful stillness he wore like armor.
Stephen appeared a moment later, sketching an exaggerated bow before launching into a verse so deliberately terrible that Lily nearly fell over laughing, clutching Skye’s sleeve to keep her balance.
Skye laughed along with her, though she couldn’t help noticing the way Dougal’s jaw had tightened at the sight of Stephen making such a fool of himself for Lily’s amusement, his arms flexing.
She noticed the jealousy setting in again. He had told her he didn’t want her laughing because of another man, even if that man was Stephen. She felt desire coil low in her belly.
What would Dougal do to teach her a lesson? A part of her wanted to find out.
When the game finally wound down and Lily ran off to show the goat to the servants, Dougal pushed off the door and walked over to Skye. He caught her arm as she made to turn away.
“Ye didnae listen to me the first time,” he grunted, so close she could feel his hot breath on her face.
“I daenae recall that being a rule I agreed to,” she shot back. “Ye told me the rules, but I never agreed to any of them, did I?”
“I’ll be expecting ye in the attic tonight, lass.” His eyes held hers, dark and certain, leaving no room for argument. “See that ye daenae disobey me twice in one day.”
Skye placed her hand over her chest, trying to calm her racing heart.
It wasn’t fear making her pulse skitter. She recognized that much, even when she tried to convince herself that it was anything but anticipation and desire. Fear didn’t feel like that. Fear did not settle warm and low in her belly, leaving her counting down the hours to nightfall.
She was excited. She couldn’t deny it anymore. Desperately, she wanted her heart to steady, but it refused to listen and kept racing. Maybe she truly had lost her mind by agreeing to any of this in the first place.
But here she was, looking forward to meeting him in the attic later that night.
One word. It was all it would take for her to end this. But she didn’t, despite their previous argument.
“Tonight, then,” she whispered to herself, her cheeks flushing at the thought of what Dougal might do.
Would he touch her the same way he had before? How much further would he go?
She wasn’t sure, but her imagination was running wild. She supposed she was going to have to wait and see tonight what he planned to do with her.