Chapter Fourteen
Maisy frowned at the mess piled on the large desk that took up one half of the study. There was a stag’s head mounted on the far wall that Maisy was certain was watching her. The dark drapes made it feel like late evening instead of morning.
She pulled them back allowing the sunlight in and found the additional light did nothing to make the room look better. After all the repairs were made to the castle, Maisy would see this room put to rights with lighter colors and less… rubbish.
The ledgers were scattered all over the surface of the desk in no particular order. Among the books, receipts, and charges were a number of empty glasses and a few empty bottles. The decanters on the cart by the wall were all empty as well.
After a mild straightening, and organizing the ledgers into a tidy stack, Maisy selected the most recent one and opened it to find the last recorded entry was near on five months ago.
Pulling out the pile of documents, she found bills from just last week.
It appeared the steward was not keeping up with the accounts as much as he was the whisky.
It was no matter. Her father’s books had been a mess when Maisy had taken them over. It would take some time to catch everything up, but then it would be done and it would be easier from there.
Except her numbers were not matching what the solicitor had told Iain was in the account. There was money missing. A fair amount of it. With no records of where it went.
She was in the process of calculating the discrepancies when she was startled by someone who had entered the room.
“What the devil are you doing, woman?” the man shouted at her. He was not so large as Iain or Jack, but he was bigger than her, so she immediately stood so she was on her feet and could run if needed.
“I am Lady Kesson, and while it is true I am a woman, I’d appreciate if you addressed me properly.” She stood straighter in the way she did when she scolded her brothers for acting like beasts.
“Very well, Lady Kesson,” he said her name with quite a lot of condensation and a sneer. “These are my books and shall make no sense to a female.”
“Who are you?”
“Mr. Garrow. I’m the steward of Kesson Castle. So if you will leave me to my business…”
Maisy couldn’t help but wonder if he’d meant the books or the bottle in his hand when he spoke about his business. Either way, it didn’t matter, because he was making a mess of the books at the least, and stealing at the worst.
“I’m afraid I cannot do that. You see Lord Kesson has asked me personally to review the ledgers and report back to him.”
The man laughed. “You will report back to him? No. That is my job. Get out.”
“I will do no such thing. This is my home now, and I will say who stays and who leaves. And you, sir, will be leaving.”
“The hell I will.” He stepped closer and Maisy felt the panic she experienced when Nelson came at her while angry and in his cups. She knew if she allowed her fear to show, she would lose this battle. She remained where she was with her back as straight as a fencepost and waited for whatever came.
His hand was raised and she closed her eyes expecting a strike, but when it didn’t come she opened her eyes to see Iain wrestling the man’s arm behind his back and twisting it until the Mr. Garrow fell to his knees with a grunt.
“Why are you yelling at my wife? And did you honestly think to strike her?” Iain said, still twisting the man’s arm.
“This is Mr. Garrow, the steward,” Maisy supplied.
“I don’t care who he is, he was about to hit you, so he is no longer employed here.”
She was rather touched that he would defend her so valiantly.
“Thank you.”
“Bid your apologies to my wife, Mr. Garrow,” Iain demanded.
“I’m bloody sorry,” the man spat and then groaned when Iain pulled his arm back farther.
“That wasn’t polite, was it? Do you want to try again, or should I just finish with ye?”
The man said nothing as he gave her a scathing look and snarled.
“Very well then.” In a move almost too fast to track, Iain dropped the man’s arm and then punched him. Mr. Garrow fell in a heap to the floor.
“Hodge!” Iain bellowed. The man came into the room and looked down at Iain’s feet with a sigh. As if it wasn’t the first time he’d walked into a room to find Iain had knocked someone straight out.
“I’ll get some assistance to have him tossed out. And I’ll make sure the staff knows this man is no longer welcome on the grounds.”
Iain nodded and then came to Maisy.
“Are you all right? Did he hurt you?”
“No. He didn’t have a chance. Thanks to you.” She reached up and kissed him. She wasn’t sure why seeing him defend her with violence, made her blood flow hot through her body, but she couldn’t stop herself from showing him how thankful she was. “I should like to go to your room.”
“Oh.” He stumbled back, then swooped her up into his arms and rushed from the room. He pulled away so she guessed he could manage the stairs, but she used the time to kiss his neck and bite along his ear causing him to moan. “Almost there.”
Inside his room he used his foot to kick the door shut and then unceremoniously dropped her on the bed before he stood back and tugged his shirt over his head. She frantically pulled at her gown from the back, but it was no use, someone would have to free her laces so she could get out of it.
“No time,” he said breathlessly and tossed her skirts up, pulling down her drawers. She felt the air on her body where she was wet for him. With her dress up like it was, she lost sight of him. But then she felt him touch her there with his tongue and she didn’t give another thought of the dress.
Iain wasn’t sure what had caused their frantic state, but he couldn’t be bothered at the moment. Not when his wife was quivering and had her fingers clenched tightly in his hair. She was on the brink of her pleasure, and his only reason for life was to get her there.
He licked and sucked her wildly and a few seconds later, she shouted and he felt her slicken with desire. As she caught her breath, he took the moment to dispense with his boots and clothing. Then deciding he needed to see her body, he sat her up enough that he could make haste with her laces.
She laughed at his curses when all the clothing she was wearing got in the way.
“’Tis not funny. I will happily take my knife to this gown and just replace it later.”
That only made her smile as she assisted in getting naked.
He didn’t know how he was in such a state when he’d just been with her the night before. Usually after he’d had release he was sated for some time. But being with Maisy seemed to make his blood even more heated. Sated was not a word he would have used to describe himself.
She was seated on the edge of the bed while he stood above her to remove the gown over her head. He wasn’t prepared when her hand enclosed his cock and began stroking him.
Her fingers were sure and steady, and while he wanted her to stop so he could proceed with what he wanted most, this felt too good to stop.
If he’d been surprised by her touch, he was completely shocked when she leaned forward and took him in her mouth like a seasoned mistress.
“Good God,” he mumbled, moving closer so she didn’t have to lean so far. “Maisy.”
“Am I doing it correctly? Caro says this act gets her anything she wants from her husband.”
“Your friend can have anything she wants from me as well, in thanks for teaching you this.”
Maisy laughed. She may not have been an experienced seductress, but that laugh had his bollocks tightening. What was it about this woman, who was lovely if not understated, but had him completely enthralled?
As if another person inhabited his mind beside him, a voice that could only be his own, answered the question.
“You are mine.”
When she moaned with her lips around him, the vibrations teased him to the point of no return. He did his best to warn her, but she only redoubled her efforts until he gave in and spent himself into her throat.
He’d never been so shaken in his life. Even being aboard ship during a storm had not had such an effect.
He slumped into bed next to her and pulled her tightly against him.
“Your hair is fire where the sun touches it,” he muttered aloud a few moments later. He’d caught his breath but his mind was still a bit muddled.
“I don’t know why I became so desperate after such a frightening ordeal,” she said quietly. He turned his head to look at her. She was thoroughly ravished. Her hair was a mess. Her gown was wrinkled and twisted on the bed where he’d tugged it mostly off so he could get to all his favorite places.
“It could be that being faced with one’s mortality makes them grasp for things that assure them they are still gratefully alive.
” He’d felt that way a few times after harrowing storms at sea.
When he wasn’t certain he would make it through alive.
He grinned at her. “But I should like to think it is because you were so impressed with how viciously I protected you. A female’s primal need to breed with only the strongest, virile stock. ”
She laughed and then rolled closer to kiss him.
“I think that might be it. You were quite virile indeed.”
“Perhaps I should show you again so you can be sure.”
He rolled over her and thought for a moment about how perfect this moment was. With both of them a mess in the middle of the day, laughing while having sex. He didn’t think he’d ever laughed during sex. He found he liked it very much.
Perhaps, too much.