As
in the Highland custom, Aiden wore the plaid belted at his waist, the length
pulled from the lower right opening of his doublet, around his back and pinned
at his left shoulder with a silver brooch bearing the Atholl arms. The valet
had put forth a good effort ensuring there was neither wrinkle nor hair out of
place.
He
regarded himself in the looking glass above the mantle in the drawing room,
sliding one foot forward as he would do for a portrait. Not liking the image,
he puffed out his chest and moved a hand to his lapel.
God’s bones, take me to sea
where I can cast aside these frills.
Tuning
his back to the looking glass, Aiden resorted to pacing and pulling out his
pocket watch. The coach would arrive in five minutes, and Maddie hadn’t yet
made an appearance.
At
least a light glowed from beneath her door indicating she was within. It cast a
hazy glow in the otherwise dark passageway. After pacing around the chamber
half-dozen times, he again eyed his timepiece. Another minute had passed.
Perhaps he should knock on the door—perhaps Maddie’s mantle clock had stopped
and she was unaware of the time. Just as he started off, her door opened. A
burst of light flooded the passageway, and with the tap of dainty footsteps, an
angel emerged.
Aiden
knew she’d purchased a new gown, but he hadn’t expected this. His mouth went
dry and he suddenly needed to take in two stuttered breaths to steady the
thumping of his heart.
Christ, men aren’t supposed
to experience such heart hammering. Especially men bred for the sea. Damnation.
She
smiled, and his goddamned knees wobbled. He should have taken a healthy tot
whilst he was pacing in the drawing room.
Her
golden gown rustled as she walked forward, with a matching fan in her hand. She
moved the fan to her waist…just below her breasts. Creamy skin Aiden knew to be
softer than spun silk swelled above a dangerously plunging neckline. His mouth
went completely dry. If Maddie’s serving maid had been anywhere but behind her
lady, Aiden would have taken the lassie into his arms, pushed through his
bedchamber door and damned the recital.
“I
hope I haven’t made us late.” Maddie batted her eyelashes as if she had no idea
of the effect she had on his aching cods. “Miss Agnes spent ever so long
curling my hair.”
Aiden’s
tongue slipped over his bottom lip. “Your curls are exquisite. You are
exquisite, m’lady.”
Agnes
cleared her throat, coming up behind with a cloak over her arm. “You’d best say
so, m’lord. It took the greater part of the afternoon to make those ringlets.”
Nay,
there’d be no slipping into the bedchamber for a hasty sampling of those
pearl-tipped bosoms.
Aiden
glanced to his pocket watch—they still had a few minutes—and now that he knew
Maddie was ready, there’d be no harm in making the coach wait for a minute or
two. “Fine job, Miss Agnes,” he said with more sobriety than he felt. “I think
you deserve a healthy tot of fine spirit for taking such fine care of her
ladyship.”
“Have
we time?” asked Maddie.
Aiden
led them into the drawing room and gestured to the settee. “A stolen moment
will not set us behind overmuch.”
Agnes
gave a firm shake of her head. “You needn’t make a fuss for the likes of me.”
“It
is no fuss. You take good care of your lady, and for that I want to thank you.”
Aiden poured three tots of sherry and offered each of the ladies a glass.
“Shall we drink to Miss Agnes?”
Blinking,
the woman drew a hand over her mouth, dipping her head and smiling broadly.
“Heavens.”
“Aye,
we should.” Maddie patted her chambermaid’s knee and raised her glass. “To the
woman who has seen me through one and twenty years of happiness. I have no idea
what would have become of me if you hadn’t been by my side. Sometimes I’ve felt
as if you’re the only person in all of Christendom who cares.”
Aiden’s
gut twisted. He cared a great deal, but it was inconceivable that Maddie had
been made to feel like an outcast from such a young age. He drank thoughtfully,
watching the two women as they sipped. Even their mannerisms had become
similar. “Miss Agnes, how long have you been serving Lady Magdalen?”
The
woman’s eyes glistened with pride. “Since the day she was born. The moment I
held her in my arms I knew my purpose.”
Aiden
glanced to Maddie and knitted his brows. “Did your mother pass in childbirth?”
Shaking
her head, the lass bit her bottom lip. “Nay. My mother knew I would have a
better life if she gave me to my father. Only…” Maddie looked away, and took
another sip.
“What?”
“The
one caveat was that she could never set eyes on me again.”
Grumbling
under her breath, Agnes guzzled the remainder of her sherry. “We shan’t discuss
the countess any longer. It sets both of our hackles to standing on end.”
“Agreed.”
Aiden set his glass on the mantel and offered Maddie his hand. “Shall we be
off, m’lady? We do not want to miss the opening. I hear it will be most
spectacular.”
Maddie
tapped the chambermaid’s shoulder before they strolled toward the door. “I want
you to take some time for yourself this night. Do something that will make you
happy. You have nothing to worry about, my pet. I’ll be in Lord Aiden’s capable
hands.”
