Page 9 of Highlander’s Captive Bride (Troubles of Highland Lasses #4)

9

B ellamy was sitting at his desk in his study, signing off some new agricultural agreements for some of the farming communities within the clan. However, his mind was really on Daisy and her imminent arrival. He had summoned her, intending to get her to write some new letters to her family, to continue the charade he had created to keep her at Castle Murdoch.

Within a few minutes, a decisive knock sounded at the door.

“Enter,” he said, putting down his quill and leaning back in his chair, anticipation tightening in his belly as she stepped into the room.

She looked across at him as she shut the door behind her, then stepped forward and stood in the middle of the Turkey carpet, her hands clasped at her waist.

Immediately, Bellamy felt the now-familiar tension crackling in the air between them.

“Ye wished to see me,” she stated simply.

The tone of her voice and the inquiring tilt of her head seemed to infer a certain warmth in her demeanor that had not been there before. For some unaccountable reason, it pleased him.

“Aye. Come. Sit,” he told her, gesturing to one of the chairs in front of the desk.

“Thank ye.” She came over and, choosing a comfortable armchair, sat down in it, spreading her skirts around her neatly and folding her hands in her lap before looking over at him.

It was impossible for him to tell from her neutral expression what she was thinking, but he could not help but notice how lovely she looked in a plain, ochre-colored dress with a cinched waist that showed off her neat figure.

He caught himself staring at her, his mind starting to wander where it should not, so he mentally shook himself.

“What did ye want to see me about?” Daisy asked.

“Elodie’s condition and how near ye are to finding a cure, of course.” Bellamy leaned on the desk and steepled his fingers beneath his chin.

She thought for a moment before replying, “Well, I havenae found either the cause or a cure yet if that’s what ye mean. But I would say she’s been more cheerful lately than I’ve ever seen her. That helps because her improved mood means she’s more resilient to the attacks.”

“Oh? And how d’ye account for that?”

“Is it nae obvious?” she returned pertly.

“If it were, I wouldnae be asking, would I?”

“I think ye ken very well that ’tis because ye’ve been spending more time with her.”

“Ah!” Bellamy responded, detecting a warmer timbre in her tone. “That.”

“Aye, that,” she echoed with a small nod.

“I suppose ye must be feeling pretty pleased with yerself, thinking that I’ve taken yer… advice.”

“I’m pretty pleased that Elodie is much happier,” Daisy returned evenly, but he was sure he saw her lips twitch. “As I say, it’ll help her fight whatever ails her.”

He nodded. “But still, ye dinnae have a diagnosis for me?”

It was her turn to shake her head, and Bellamy watched with fascination as a flurry of emotions crossed her beautiful features. There was no doubt in his mind then that she truly cared for his daughter’s well-being and was annoyed with herself for having so far failed to pinpoint the problem.

Warmth spread through his chest at the realization.

“Nay,” Daisy said finally, a small line appearing between her brows. “I still need more time.”

“Ye have as much time as ye need, of course,” he told her. “I’m willing to be patient.” He noticed that the small line deepened for a moment, then vanished as she regarded him.

“Thank ye,” she replied. “I ken how worrying it must be for ye, as a faither, seeing her suffering so. But I promise ye, I willnae give up until I find the answer, however long it takes me.”

“I ken it, and I’m grateful,” Bellamy said, meaning every word.

“It’s so frustrating,” Daisy suddenly burst out, her fingers working nervously in her lap. “’Tis like trying to put together a puzzle without having all the pieces, only ye dinnae ken which ones are missing. Every day, I feel I just need a few more clues to find the answer.”

It was the first time Bellamy had seen her reveal what he believed were genuine emotions about it all, and it moved him, his heart warming further to her. Despite the tension between them, he sensed that the animosity that usually accompanied it had dissipated for the moment. They were actually talking, like two reasonable people having a proper conversation.

The invisible pull she seemed to exert over him just by being in the same room suddenly made him stand up and come around the desk. He perched on the edge by her chair, folding his arms. He did so because, secretly, he found himself fighting the urge to take her in his arms and kiss her.

Instead, he confined himself to saying, “I trust ye. I ken ye’ll find the solution.”

She sighed and said quietly, “But ye ken as well as I do that time is of the essence here. I need to hurry. I must find the answer soon!”

She looked up at him then, her big, brown eyes full of anxiety. The urge to comfort her overcame him, and he reached out and laid his hand gently on her shoulder.

A look of panic appeared on her face then, and she rose abruptly from her chair, so quickly that she stumbled against him. Bellamy’s instincts kicked in, and rational thought flew out of his mind as he caught her in his arms.

Her hands went up in front of her as if to push against his chest. Instead, her palms rested there. He felt their warmth burning through his shirt. Her head tilted upwards, her gaze meeting his. Her lips were slightly open, so plump and inviting that he could not fight the arousal that was compelling him onwards.

Taking her face in his hands, his eyes scanning hers and seeing a desire that matched his own, he lowered his lips to hers, caressing them gently. When her hands closed on his wrists and he felt the tip of her tongue graze his lips, snaking between them in hesitant exploration, heat surged through him.

His arousal flared to new heights, growing hard against her belly, and any uncertainty he might have harbored fled.

He smiled against her lips as a realization suddenly hit him like a tidal wave: she wanted him as much as he wanted her. It was then that he abandoned all restraint.

* * *

Daisy was caught up in a dream of raw desire, powerless to resist the tide of need for this man that was flooding her body like a river of fire running through her veins. All thought vanished as she gave herself up to the heady feeling of his strong arms encircling her, crushing her to his chest. At that moment, she was swept away by desire, her mouth craving his with a shocking, passionate hunger she had no wish to deny.

The unknown feeling of his hardening manhood pressing against her belly, which should have been shocking, only inflamed her further, driving her to pull him closer, her arms wrapping around his neck, her fingers tangling in his hair. Their tongues entwined in a tantalizing dance as she answered every questing demand of his mouth with her own.

She did not know what would have happened if someone had not hammered on the door just then, crying out her name. She and Bellamy leaped apart, staring at each other in alarm.

“What is it?” Bellamy called out, straightening his ruffled clothing and combing his fingers through his hair.

“Oh, M’laird! ’Tis Lady Elodie, she’s having some sort of attack. Poppy says ye must come right away!”

The maid had not finished her sentence before Daisy was at the door, wrenching it open, with Bellamy hot on her heels as she raced down the hallway and up the stairs. They arrived at Elodie’s chamber door together and burst into the room, panting.

Poppy was at the bedside, her arm around Elodie’s shoulders, helping the child to sit up as she vomited into a bowl. She looked up when she heard the door burst open.

Daisy and Bellamy ran to the bed.

“Has it just come on?” Daisy asked the servant as the poor child retched into the bowl and then lay back against her pillow, which matched her pallid complexion.

Poppy nodded frantically. “Aye, about five minutes or so ago.”

Elodie whimpered and clutched her stomach. “Ach, Daisy, make it stop, please!” she sobbed through clenched teeth.

“I will, darling,” Daisy told her, hurrying to the door. “I’ll get the medicine from the healing room. I’ll be back in a trice.”

She ran as fast as she could to fetch the medicine and was back at Elodie’s bedside a few minutes later, dosing her with the concoction that had proved effective in soothing the pain.

The Laird sat by his daughter, his expression anguished, holding her hand tightly as they all waited for the medicine to work. Daisy sat on the other side of the bed, checking Elodie’s pulse, eyes, tongue, and temperature, while Poppy went to empty the bowl down a drain.

Elodie writhed on the bed, whining with each fresh cramp. But after twenty minutes or so, she began to grow calmer.

“Is the pain starting to go now?” Daisy asked her.

Elodie nodded weakly, clinging to her father’s hand as if for dear life. Daisy was moved to see him resting his head against her small fist, pressing his lips to it. Lips that had been on hers just half an hour ago.

In light of the situation, guilt pierced Daisy like a spear.

After a while, the valerian in the concoction began to take effect, and Elodie fell into a peaceful sleep. The Laird, his brow furrowed, watched his daughter intently, holding her hand and stroking her hair from time to time.

Daisy could not help it, her heart went out to him. Only when Jamie came to escort him to a council meeting and Daisy assured him that she and Poppy would watch over Elodie and send for him if anything happened did he finally agree to leave, promising to return as soon as he could.

“What has she had to eat and drink shortly before this episode?” Daisy quizzed Poppy when they were alone.

“Just what she usually has. She had coddled egg for her tea, with a little toasted bread. She wasnae sick after that, and I was pleased, thinking she might be on the mend. This came on just after she drank her bedtime milk and honey. She didnae even have a chance to finish it,” Poppy replied despondently, gesturing to the half-filled cup still on the nightstand.

“Pass it over here,” Daisy instructed, extending her hand.

Poppy obliged.

Daisy examined the remaining mixture, dipping a finger in and tasting it, but it tasted perfectly normal. She would take it back to the healing room and analyze it properly.

“Did ye make this yerself, Poppy?”

“Aye, as usual. I heated it over the fire. But it cannae be the milk, as she has the same thing every night, and she isnae sick like this every time.”

“I see.”

Daisy sighed inwardly with frustration. She was no closer to finding out why Elodie responded so badly to some things and not others, and at different times, too.

But I have to find out before I leave. I have to!

* * *

Fortunately, with more medicine and lots of rest, Elodie’s condition improved over the next day or so. On the morning of an unseasonably warm, sunny day, Daisy was watching over the young girl while Poppy was running some errands.

Elodie was sitting up in bed, Daisy was in Poppy’s chair, and the two were playing an enthusiastic game of pairs on the coverlet. It was one of the little girl’s favorite card games.

They paused their game and looked at the door when they heard it open. Daisy’s heart began to race when she saw it was the Laird. Perhaps it was the crooked smile he shot her, but she could not help thinking that he was looking especially handsome that morning in a dark blue velvet coat worn over his kilt, with black trews and riding boots.

Daisy had to smile at the way Elodie immediately forgot about their game and turned all of her attention to her father. He came up to the bed and grinned at her before settling next to her and kissing her forehead. Daisy stole a glance at him and thought she could see relief in his eyes as he looked at the child, no doubt even more pleased than her to see Elodie not in pain and looking better.

“Why, bonny lass,” he told his daughter in a cheerful tone, “ye dinnae ken how it gladdens me heart to see ye playing, and with some roses in yer cheeks.”

“Thank ye, Da. I do feel better, but that’s because Daisy looks after me so well. She gives me the magic medicine that helps me tummy,” Elodie explained, beaming back at him.

“She’s a grand one for the medicine, all right,” he agreed, flicking a glance at Daisy that had her clearing her throat and averting her eyes.

Withdrawing from the conversation, Daisy sat back and listened to the pair talking, stealing sidelong glances at Bellamy. Despite her general lingering resentment of the man, she could not help but feel a little pleased that he had clearly heeded her words concerning his daughter.

Though he had said nothing to her directly about it ever since their argument, he had been coming to visit Elodie several times a day, playing games and puzzles with her for an hour or two. And now, every evening, he would appear to read her a bedtime story.

At those times, Daisy often had to busy herself with mixing her concoctions, silently berating herself for being so amused by his antics. For she had to admit he read very well in his deep, baritone voice and gave all the characters different voices, to Elodie’s great delight.

Sometimes, she found it almost impossible to reconcile the blood-drenched, ruthless brute she knew he was with the man perched on the bed, who displayed such good-humored frivolity and gentle affection to his daughter.

At any rate, as Daisy had previously told him, all this attention from him was having a beneficial effect on Elodie’s mood and self-confidence. Clearly, Elodie finally felt she mattered to her father, which Daisy had correctly divined was of the greatest importance to her.

Daisy liked to think that, when Elodie was cured—which she resolved she would be, by hook or by crook—she had done something to ensure her future happiness.

“Da, when can I go outside again?” Elodie suddenly asked. “I looked out the window today, and it’s so lovely and sunny and warm, I should love to go and sit outside for a while. I havenae been out there for so long.”

“Well…” the Laird began, his sunny expression turning into a frown of concern.

“Please, Da. I promise to be good and wrap up warm. Please.”

Elodie gave her father a pleading look that Daisy thought would melt the hardest of hearts. But knowing how furiously he had reacted last time to her taking Elodie out, she was sure he would make some excuse to refuse the lass’s request.

So, she was taken aback when he suddenly grinned at the child and nodded his head. “Och, how can I resist those puppy dog eyes, eh? Yer wish is me command, young lady. Ye shall go outside if that’s what ye want,” he said, pinching Elodie’s cheek affectionately.

“Hoorah! Thank ye, Da!” Elodie exclaimed, throwing down the coverlet and flinging her arms around her father’s neck.

He laughed, a deep-throated, rumbling sound that sent shivers down Daisy’s spine.

“I ken I lost me temper the last time ye went outside, and I have to apologize for that, lass,” Bellamy told his daughter gravely. “I was worried for ye, ye see, so ye’ll have to forgive me. But Daisy here has convinced me that I was wrong to worry, that the sunshine and fresh air may do ye good. And if it makes ye happy, then I have no objection,” he added, looking across the bed, directly into Daisy’s eyes.

A smile came unbidden to Daisy’s lips, and she felt her cheeks flush with heat.

Elodie clapped her hands, from somewhere summoning the energy to bounce up and down in the bed, though she was still as pale as a ghost and as fragile as a bundle of kindling.

“I’ll tell ye what,” the Laird added after a few moments of thought, not taking his eyes off Daisy. “What if we had a wee picnic, eh?”

Elodie shrieked with joy, and even Daisy could not suppress her laughter. Again, Elodie hugged her father.

“Is that a yes, then?” he asked her, hugging her back tenderly, smiling at Daisy over her shoulder.

Daisy’s cheeks grew so warm then, she had to lower her eyes.

“Aye! A great big aye! I’d love a picnic! I’ll bring all me favorite dolls,” the little girl cried.

“All right, then. Are ye free this afternoon? Would three o’clock suit ye?” the Laird asked in a playful tone.

“That would suit me perfectly, Sir,” Elodie told him with all the gravity of a duchess, playing along. “I’ll wear me best dress.”

“Grand. That settles it. I’ll come and collect ye then, so make sure ye’re dressed to the nines.”

“I’ll be ready, Da. But there’s one more thing,” Elodie wheedled sweetly.

“Oh, and what might that be?” he asked, looking somewhat taken aback.

“Daisy must come, too. She hasnae had any time to herself all the time she’s been looking after me, so ’tis only fair she should join in the picnic.”

Startled, Daisy looked up. Bellamy was staring at her, a slow grin forming on his lips. She was snared by the pair of gray eyes which, when she looked into them, seemed to gleam with an almost wolfish hunger that sent shivers through her.

“I… er…” she murmured in confusion, sure her cheeks were now glowing crimson, and struggling to tear her eyes from his and look at Elodie instead for some respite from the tension.

“Daisy,” he said, and she had to look at him again as he addressed her directly in a low, enticing voice. “Me and Elodie here would be honored if ye’d join us for our picnic.”

Och, by God! Does he ken what he’s doing to me? And in front of the lassie, too!

“Of course, she’ll come, won’t ye, Daisy?” Elodie weighed in, gazing at Daisy imploringly with big, gray eyes in a way that tugged on her heartstrings.

The child looks so happy. I cannae disappoint her.

“I’d be very honored to attend yer picnic, thank ye kindly for inviting me,” Daisy found herself saying, summoning a bright smile for Elodie, who clapped her hands, looking as pleased as punch.

“Well, there we go. ’Tis all agreed,” Bellamy said, sounding mightily pleased with himself as he rose to his feet. “Now, I must go and finish me business for the day, bonny lass,” he told Elodie. “But first, I’ll make sure to call in at the kitchens and order some tasty delicacies for our picnic. Dinnae forget, I’ll be back to collect ye at three o’clock on the dot, ladies.”

“Thank ye, Da!” Elodie said excitedly, blowing him a kiss as he crossed to the door, casting an indecipherable glance over his shoulder at Daisy before leaving them alone.

“A picnic,” Elodie breathed when they were alone. “Och, d’ye nae think I have the best da in the whole world, Daisy?”

Daisy avoided answering her question by laughing and stroking her hair.

Bellamy was full of surprises, it seemed, but the hungry way he had looked at her had been disturbing. Guilt pricked at her again when she thought of it, for it brought to mind the passionate interludes they had previously shared. In turn, that reminded her of her shameless behavior on those occasions, which, in the circumstances, remained incomprehensible to her.

She would go to the picnic, she silently resolved, but only because it would make Elodie happy and do her good. Plus, it would be a nice way to spend time with Elodie as a sort of goodbye before she left the castle for good at Beltane.

At least, this was what she told herself, so as to avoid thinking about the excitement now tingling deep in her belly.