Page 14 of A Bride for the Wicked Highlander (Daring a Highland Laird #2)
“ Y ou have to come out at some point, Maddie!” Grace called from the main body of the bedchamber, the creak of floorboards painting a picture of increasing stress.
In the adjoining annex that had been earmarked as a dressing room, Maddie smoothed her hands over the luxurious silk of her dress.
She had never understood fashion, preferring practicality and comfort over gowns made of fabrics so precious and expensive that they had to be worn as if they would break at any moment.
But this had been her one foray into the world of fashion: a gown she had designed herself, that was never meant to be involved in something as frivolous as a wedding.
I never got to wear it for my finishing ceremony...
There had been a finishing ceremony for the ladies who were leaving in December just gone, but Maddie and Lilian had decided not to attend, in solidarity with their absent friend. Back then, they hadn’t known if Grace would ever be returned to where she belonged.
Nevertheless, Miss Sutton had promised to let them take part in the next finishing ceremony, but that was still eleven months away.
.. and so much had already changed that, perhaps, they would never have their ceremony as a trio at all.
Grace was married, Maddie soon would be, on the opposite side of the country, and Lilian didn’t plan to leave Horndean at all.
Maybe, their opportunity to celebrate their years together at the school had already passed.
“Maddie!” Grace shouted, the creaks increasing with her pacing.
“I’m coming!” Maddie called back, taking a long, hard look at herself in the mirror.
In truth, she still couldn’t quite believe that it had come to this.
In an hour’s time, she would be Madeleine Blaine, the Lady of Muir, married to a man who had kept her awake all night.
An infuriating, arrogant, flirtatious, handsome, dangerous, thrilling man who must have known he would slip into her dreams after kissing her like that.
She touched her fingertips to her lips, searching the face of her reflection for any obvious change in herself.
She felt certain that everyone would be able to see the fact that she was no longer an unkissed woman, who had—to her annoyance—yearned for more.
Yet, to her meager relief, she didn’t look any different.
If it wouldn’t see me cast out of the country, much less the universities, I would write an entire thesis on the effects of a kiss.
“Valerian root and lavender both have soporific qualities,” she murmured to steady her nerves. “Wolfsbane alleviates a fever and eases pain. St. John’s Wort calms a worried mind. Peppermint oil is useful in healing wounds, though it stings rather a lot. The nightshades have many uses, though?—”
“Maddie, so help me,” Grace urged. “If you don’t come out in the next five minutes, I’m afraid I’m going to have to come in there and fetch you. I doubt I have the strength or height to throw you over my shoulder, but I swear to you that I will try.”
A small laugh escaped Maddie’s lips as she took one last look at herself, sucked in a deep breath, and headed out into the main bedchamber.
Grace skidded to a standstill, halted mid-pace by the sight of her friend. Her eyes widened to the whites, her eyebrows rising almost to her hairline, her mouth falling open.
“That awful?” Maddie smiled nervously. “I confess, I only chose the color because I hadn’t seen it before. I neither know nor care what suits me, but Mrs. Dunn said it’d... be nice against my complexion.”
Grace hurried forward, grabbing Maddie by the arms as she took a closer look, nodding all the while.
“Maddie, it’s the most beautiful gown I’ve ever seen!
” she gushed. “Although, I suspect that has more to do with the woman wearing it than the gown itself. I have always said you could wear a potato sack and make it look resplendent.”
“It was supposed to be my finishing ceremony gown,” Maddie said, clearing a lump from her throat. “Who’d have thought I’d be wearing it to be someone’s wife instead?”
A line appeared between Grace’s eyebrows, her expression tinged with sadness. “It really isn’t too late to abandon this plan, Maddie. If you can’t do it, I promise that Hunter and I will do everything within our power to keep you hidden from your father.”
“And I promise you that there is no such place where I can be safe from him,” Maddie replied with a sigh.
“Besides, it’s no great feat, marrying Oscar.
Certain agreements were made last night which have tempered my opinion of this entire ordeal, so it’s.
.. nothing, really. It’s just not where I expected to be. ”
Grace gave Maddie’s arm a gentle squeeze.
“If it’s of any consolation, Hunter is confident that you’ll be taken care of.
And, of course, you’ll be able to visit us whenever you please.
I know Ellie would be delighted to see you again; she missed you when you took off on your adventures.
Ailis, too. She keeps complaining that she lost the best apprentice she’s ever had, much to her actual apprentice’s chagrin. ”
A faint prickle of the eyes caught Maddie by surprise, her lashes fluttering to try and stem the tears that were attempting to rise to the surface.
“That’s the part I can’t stand about all this,” she said, forcing a smile that likely made her look half-mad.
“That Lilian and Miss Sutton and Ellie and Ailis aren’t here to see me , of all people, get married.
I’m fairly sure that Lilian will kill me when she finds out, so maybe I don’t need to worry so much about my future.
Our dear friend will cut it short anyway. ”
Grace chuckled, weaving her arm through Maddie’s. “She actually might, you know.”
“I do know.” Maddie rested her cheek on top of Grace’s head as they walked toward the door.
“There’s buried rage in that sweet girl; I’m convinced of it.
And when she hears that I voluntarily put on a gown and didn’t complain, and she didn’t get to see any of it, it will all be unleashed at once.
She’ll be a demon, unstoppable in her fury.
She’ll raze all of Scotland to the ground. ”
Grace covered her mouth with her hand, stifling a snort of laughter. “Ellie will join her in that. My darling stepdaughter will be simmering that she didn’t get to put flowers in your hair.”
They stepped out into the gauzy sunlight that streamed in through the hallway windows, the morning crisp and clear, blue skies and bright sunshine just beginning to melt the frost that glittered across the landscape. A beautiful day for a wedding.
Indeed, Maddie had thought that her heart would be heavier, her disposition gloomy, but her mood felt more overcast than stormy. Gray but not oppressive, with a fair chance of a sunnier outlook.
“Gracie?” she said quietly, falling in step with her friend.
Grace peered up at her. “Hmm?”
“What do you feel when you kiss Hunter?” Maddie murmured, silently begging her body to behave and not cause her cheeks to turn raspberry red.
Grace blinked, her own cheeks flushing a pretty shade of pink.
“Oh... well... I... I can’t even begin to describe it,” she said, her vibrant grin answering most of the question for her.
“It’s like... magic. It is magic. I know that sounds sentimental, and you hate that, but it’s the only way I can explain it. ”
That’s what I thought.
“I don’t hate sentimentality,” Maddie protested mildly. “I hate mawkishness. There’s a considerable difference: one is genuine and touching, one is nauseating. Besides, I am awfully sentimental about you and Lilian, and I fear I always shall be.”
Grace quirked an eyebrow, pulling Maddie a little closer. “Do you think you might ever be sentimental about Oscar?”
There’s as much chance of that as me begging for his touch...
“The most he can hope for is gratitude,” Maddie said instead, ignoring the flutter of her stomach and the traitorous ripple that shivered down her spine.
“In an hour’s time, I’ll finally be free.
I’m not unaware or unappreciative of the fact that my freedom will be because of him and this generous act. ”
She meant it, holding that gratitude in her heart as she walked downstairs with one of her two dearest friends.
And as they made their way out to the waiting carriage that would take them to the church, she found herself thinking about Oscar’s words last night. The ones that had shocked her the most.
Is that truly why he agreed to this? Did he consent because he... wants me, and has done since I refused to let him kiss my hand?
She shook off the thought; it was too ridiculous. She knew herself well, and she was not the sort of woman who inspired obsession. Indeed, it was far safer to believe that Oscar had agreed in order to fend off the requests from Laird MacPhee. Nothing more, nothing less.