Chapter Ten #2
“Do you feel life has meaning now?” Harry suddenly asked Monty, curious as to his response.
The general turned to him in surprise. “I was just thinking that. I was looking at the passing scenery that I have seen a dozen times before, and it all looks new to me. There is no reason other than the pleasure I have in Ariana’s speaking to me.”
Harry took in the stately firs lining the road through Moncrieffe’s estate. It all looked the same to him now as it had when they arrived. They were trees, and he doubted any emotion, even love, could make them seem different to him.
“Do you still believe I’m a madman, Chattan?” the general asked.
“Sir?” Harry said.
“The Shakespeare you quoted, saying love is akin to madness. I don’t feel like a lunatic right now, Chattan. I feel bloody damn brilliant.”
Harry was stunned by this change in his friend wrought from nothing more than a simple, courteous conversation with a woman who should have been more courteous before.
“One woman, Harry,” Monty said as if reading his mind. “Try to value one woman. Then maybe you’ll see that everything, even trees, is more than what you thought them to be.”
Harry didn’t care about trees, but he had been thinking of only one woman.
And Portia Maclean had made it very clear she wanted nothing to do with him.
A bothy was a stone cottage left open to all. They were built for shepherds and travelers alike. Anyone was welcome to use them, and bothies of all sizes and shapes could be found around the Highlands.
Portia had chosen this particular bothy because it was located away from any road or path.
Nestled between two rolling hills, it was not easily seen.
In fact, someone would have to search to find it.
The bothy was also not far from the Great Oak and Crazy Lizzy’s cottage, giving Portia the excuse she needed to go for a walk on a Sunday afternoon.
Mr. Tolliver had stayed for the Sunday meal Glennis had waiting for them after church. Lady Maclean had been so petulant about his continued presence that she had gone to her room without joining them.
“She’s pouting,” Minnie had told Mr. Tolliver.
“She doesn’t approve of us. I should have asked her permission for your hand first. I should have been more proper.”
Minnie had leaned forward and placed her hand over his. “She would have said no. She has some ridiculous notion that I would have caught the eye of Colonel Chattan and we would have all returned to London.”
That statement had set off new concerns for Mr. Tolliver. “Do you wish to return to London?” he’d asked, and Minnie had laughed before assuring him she wanted plump, happy Highland babies.
Portia hadn’t stayed to hear more. Their obvious love for each other was more palatable when she wasn’t facing social ruin. She now knew everything they said about Colonel Chattan was true. The man was an unrestrained libertine. She knew because she had “libertined” with him.
After retrieving the book from its hiding place under her bed and placing it in a covered basket, Portia knocked on her mother’s door. “Mother, I need to deliver some bread to Lizzy. You must come downstairs and chaperone Minnie and Mr. Tolliver.”
“I’m not feeling well,” came the weak reply. “You must do it. Oh, and bring me another piece of that chicken we had for dinner and some more peas. I find myself famished.” Her voice had grown stronger as she spoke, and something inside Portia snapped like a twig that was too brittle.
“Mother,” she said, “I am going out. Go downstairs and sit with your daughter and her intended. The chicken is in the pantry.”
With those words, Portia turned on her heel and left.
Ran, actually, because she’d never told her mother no.
She’d always done as bid. But she had more pressing business right now and a flurry of conflicting emotions that were making it hard for her to focus on her own needs, let alone the demands of others.
She put on her cloak and went outside. The bothy was about a mile walk from Camber Hall. The fresh air and exercise felt good. It cleared her mind and gave her a moment to prepare for her meeting with Colonel Chattan.
This would be their first and last meeting. She’d already decided that. She would hand him the book and march off as quickly as possible. There was no use in lingering, because he might have ideas that she would be as unrestrained as she had been the night before.
Consequently, Portia had taken great care in her appearance.
She’d put one of her mother’s lace Spanish vests over her shoulders so that her chest was covered.
She’d pulled her untamable hair back as tightly as she could and pinned it severely.
Finally, she wore her spectacles. They hadn’t deterred him last night but they were one more barrier.
She tried not to think of the night before. She wanted to erase it from her mind and thought she had succeeded until she arrived at the bothy and saw his horse tethered and grazing there.
He had to be inside.
Portia gripped the handle of her basket with both hands. Her mouth had gone dry and her blood started pounding in her veins. She walked toward the stone cottage.
There was movement in the open doorway. Colonel Chattan had seen her arrive. He came out, ducking so that he didn’t hit his head on the top of the door.
He wore his greatcoat open. He looked dashing, a man at home in the world whether it was a battlefield or an isolated stone cottage.
Portia reached for the book. All she had to do was hand it to him and leave. She didn’t even need to speak.
And then they would be done.
He’d have what he wanted and she could return to her safe, predictable life.
A soft meow caught her attention. Owl had followed her. The cat now leaped up onto a large rock in the hillside.
If Colonel Chattan saw Owl, he gave no indication. His eyes were on her. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a coin purse. He was going to pay what he’d promised.
Portia was both thankful and insulted. It was hard to look in his eyes as she approached. There was something about him that drew her to him, and it was best if she kept her attention on anything other than how handsome he was or how masculine.
She held out the book.
He held out the money.
Portia reached for it as he reached for the book—and then, she didn’t know how it happened, but she found herself in his arms.
And he was kissing her.
And she was kissing him back for everything she was worth.