Undressed (Undone by Love) (27 page)

A slow, easy smile spread across Colin’s face
. “So now you know. I think I began to fall in love with you the day I made your acquaintance, just after I trounced you in Lady Brandon’s garden.”  He moved to her side, reaching out to stroke her cheek with his bandaged hand. “I’ve loved you from the moment I heard you talk about the stars and the moon, about Glenbroch and the pride you have in running it. I knew then that you were extraordinary. I married the single most magnificent woman in the world, and I will do anything to keep her.”

“Then hold me, Colin, if it willna pain your hands too badly
. That’s all I ask of the man I love above all else.”

She watched as he stripped down to his trousers, his eyes never leaving her face as he did so
. Seconds later, he was beside her on the bed, his arms wrapped protectively about her. As the sun began its slow ascent into the sky, she laid her cheek against his hard, muscled chest, listening to the rhythmic beating of his heart.

Home
, Brenna thought as Colin leaned down to kiss the top of her head. She was home at last, in Colin’s arms.

Epilogue

“Ye don’t have to do such a thing, Colin
. Truly, ‘tis not necessary.”  Brenna’s gaze swept appreciatively over her husband, the bright sun shining down on his gleaming fair head like a halo as he leaned against the tall standing stone, one of an ancient circle there in the glen. “We’re already lawfully wed, ye know.” 

“And yet Mrs. Cannan and your friends, your staff, your tenants, they all missed seeing the Maclachlan of Glenbroch made a bride, didn’t they
? No, I cannot deny them the pleasure. Forget the formal ceremony. In true Scots tradition, we will simply clasp hands on the steps of the church and I will declare you my wife. And then we will invite everyone from miles about to our home for a feast in honor of our marriage. At Castle Glenbroch.”

Brenna nodded, smiling up at her handsome husband with delight
. Amazing how his health, his vigor, had restored so quickly there at Glenbroch. Only a fortnight had passed, and yet his cheeks were no longer gaunt, his eyes no longer shadowed. A smile danced upon his lips once more, his good humor at last restored.

“London is our home, too,” she said, reaching down to pluck up a stem of heather
. She brought it to her nose, inhaling the familiar sweet scent. “Already I find myself missing Jane and your dear mother. I suppose I miss Lord and Lady Danville a wee bit, too, though I don’t care if I ever lay eyes on Hugh Ballard again,” she added with a scowl.

Colin nodded, running one hand along the stone’s smooth, stark-white surface
. “Oh, don’t worry. Ballard has hightailed it out of London by now, I’m sure. Sinclair, too. The pair will no doubt bide their time in the country till the scandal fades away. I was thinking, what if we make our home in London during the summer months, whilst Parliament is in, and Glenbroch for the remainder of the year?”

“But what of your family seat in Essex
? Glenfield, ‘tis called?”

“Jane and my mother can remain at Glenfield during the winter months
. It shall be their home to live out their days in, just at the top of the road from Lucy at Covington Hall. I’ve no need of it, after all. I like it here at Glenbroch. This is perhaps the finest land I’ve ever laid eyes on.” 

“Och, next thing I know, ye’ll be wearing a kilt and sporran and speaking with a brogue.”

“Hmm, perhaps I will,” he teased, his eyes dancing mischievously. “Only I worry so about the drafts.”

Brenna laughed, rising up on tiptoe to kiss his smiling mouth
. “So this is why ye brought me here, Colin? To tell me that ye plan to wed me once more, here on Scottish soil?”

“That,” he said, reaching into his coat pocket, “and to give you this.”  He held out a heavy piece of folded parchment
.

“What is it?” she asked, reaching for it
.

“Open it and see for yourself
. It’s a belated wedding gift. I managed to obtain it just before I left London. You said this circle of stones was special to you, so I thought it the perfect place to present it to you.”

      Curiously, Brenna broke the seal and unfolded the page, her eyes quickly scanning it
. “A deed? I dinna understand.”  She looked up and met Colin’s gaze. The love she saw shining in their depths nearly took her breath away. It had been there all along. However had she missed it, doubted it?

“Hampton’s estate,” he said, brushing a lock of hair from her forehead
. “The land neighboring Glenbroch to the east, Mr. Moray tells me. I was able to buy back the deed from Harold Mifflin, and now I’ve deeded it to you. The land is yours.”

Brenna swallowed the lump in her throat
. Tears burned behind her eyelids—happy tears. Joyful tears. “However did ye do this?”

“With some help from Mandeville
. Mifflin didn’t want to give it up, that’s for certain. Tightfisted bastard. Anyway, it’s yours now, to merge with Glenbroch. I somehow imagine you a far better manager than I could ever be, and perhaps you can set up Mr. and Mrs. Cannan in the main house. As caretakers, so as not to hurt their pride.”

A tear fell from the corner of Brenna’s eye, coursing down her cheek
. Lord, but she’d become so emotional lately, so quick to tears. She reached up to wipe it away, but Colin beat her to it, brushing it away with his thumb. Encircling her waist with his hands, he drew her toward him, claiming her mouth with his own.

After several pleasant minutes, Colin’s mouth retreated, leaving her breathless
. “Did you feel that?” he asked, his brow furrowed.

“Feel what?” Brenna asked, still attempting to regulate her breathing.

Still grasping her shoulders, he took a step away from the standing stone he’d been leaning against. “I could swear I felt...something. In the stone. Like a vibration or something.”

“Hmmm, and perhaps if ye look behind it, you’ll see a fairy,” she teased
.

“Very funny, indeed
. Fine, have a laugh, but I vow I felt something.”

“Did ye really?” Brenna asked, serious now
. “Surely ye have heard the legend of these stones?”

“No
. There’s a legend?”

“Aye
. ‘Tis said that this is the place where the ancient Pict priestesses came to conceive a child, for it ‘twas known to be fertile ground. They’d bring a lover here, and make love right in the center of the circle. And then they’d come to stand, well...” She trailed off, biting her lower lip to keep from laughing. “Right there, I think. Right where ye are standing.”  Brenna couldn’t help but smile as Colin took two steps away from the stone. “And if a child had been conceived by the act the stones had borne witness to, then the stone would vibrate.”

“How very strange,” Colin said.

“’Tis strange, indeed. Stranger still that it would vibrate whilst ye leaned against it. I’m fairly certain that ye are not with child, after all.”  Brenna endeavored to keep a straight face. ‘Twas difficult, as the puzzled look on his face was near priceless. “Hmmm.”  She tapped one finger against her chin, pretending to consider the situation. “Do ye think that perhaps since I was leaning against ye whilst ye were in turn leaning against the stone...”  She shook her head. “Nay, perhaps not.”  Her mouth curved into a smile as Colin seemed to finally grasp the full meaning of her words.

His eyes grew wide as he reached for her, one hand splayed against her stomach
. “Are you trying to tell me something, Brenna Maclachlan?”

“Lady Rosemoor to ye,” she retorted
. “And aye, I am. With child, I meant. A son, if my dowsing pendulum is correct.”

The expression on his face was pure rapture
. Brenna had never before seen her husband look so happy, so utterly delighted as he did at that very moment. “Thank you, Brenna,” he said, his voice husky, and then he sank to his knees, his mouth pressed against her stomach. She stroked his hair, the soft waves slipping through her fingers like silk.

“No, thank
you
, my love,” Brenna responded, growing teary-eyed once more, blast it.

He rose, peering down at her curiously
. “Did you hear that? You said ‘you.’”

“Well, of course I did
. What else would I say?”

“Ye
. Usually you pronounce it ‘ye.’  Only just now, you said ‘you.’”

“I think
ye
are losing your mind, Colin Rosemoor. I dinna say any such thing.”

“I make you a viscountess and next thing I know, you’re speaking like an Englishwoman
. It won’t do at all. And while I’m on the subject, I’ve yet to see you swim in the river in nothing but your undergarments and then lie on a rock while you wait for them to dry. You would deprive me of that? I’ve carried that mental image in my mind for so long now it’s nearly driving me mad.”

“I dinna know it meant so much to ye,” she said with an easy laugh
. “I knew I shouldna have said such a thing to a gentleman.”

“Oh, I’m no gentleman,” he said, tossing his coat to the ground
. His fingers flew over the buttons of his waistcoat, and then it joined his coat in the grass at his feet. Quickly, he slipped down his braces before untying his cravat and unbuttoning his linen.

“What on earth are ye doing?”

“Undressing,” he said with a shrug, then pulled the shirt over his head. “I suggest you do the same.” 

“’Tis fairly obvious what ye are doing, Colin
. I only meant why.”  Good Lord, he was unfastening his trousers now. She looked about wildly to make sure no one was about. Mercifully, the glen was silent but for the birds chattering gaily as they flitted through the sky above them.

Colin cleared his throat to gain her attention
. “Lady Rosemoor? You really should get undressed. I feel quite silly standing here like this. Alone. Drafts, you know.”

She returned her gaze to her husband
. He really
was
naked; his skin cast a golden yellow from the bright midday sun above. And he was aroused. Heavens above, but he was aroused.

As am I
, she realized with a start, reaching around to unfasten her gown as expeditiously as possible.

“It’s only fair to the stones, you know,” he said, standing there watching her like a Greek god, all hard planes and corded muscle
. “We’ve deprived them of the first part of the ritual, after all. Bearing witness to our lovemaking. I suppose we must put forth our most impressive effort. Wouldn’t want to seem unworthy, you know. Not after they vibrated for us and all that.”

At last Brenna’s gown fell to the grassy carpet with a swish
. She stepped out of it, quickly undoing her stays. They, too, fell to the ground. In seconds, she’d removed her stockings and slippers. Her hands shaking with anticipation, she pulled her shift over her head and deposited it with the rest of her garments. Undressed at last, she stood before her husband, waiting for him to take her into his arms.

Instead, he frowned
. “What’s that there, on your leg?” he asked, moving toward her with narrowed eyes.

“What?”  Brenna looked down
. “Oh, ye mean my birthmark?”

“I can’t believe I’ve never before noticed it
. Right there.”  His fingers brushed her thigh, sending ripples of delight racing across her skin.

“Aye, it’s been there all along,” she said
. She’d always despised it. And yet, if it weren’t for the birthmark, they might never have identified her as Lord and Lady Danville’s daughter, setting in motion the chain of events that had led her to Colin. For the first time in all her years, she looked at the mark with affection.

“I say, it almost looks like...No, it must be my imagination.”  He shook his head.

A fleur-de-lis
, Brenna added silently, smiling to herself as she reached up to embrace her husband.
Flower of the lily
.

He shrugged, his hungry mouth finding hers and claiming it with unrestrained passion
. Hands moved against bare skin in unabashed exploration as they sank to the soft, springy grass in the center of the stones.

She’d made up the legend, of course
. Surely a wife was allowed one secret from her husband, wasn’t she?

Copyright ©
2006, 2014 Kristina Cook Hort

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