Page 33 of Highlander’s Fruit of Eden

“ Did you see how uncomfortable Greyson looked?” Harris said with a wicked grin curling his lips as he strolled out of the doors of the church. “He looked weak and a bit frail did he not, Charles?”

Charles rushed to his father’s side the moment he heard his name. Harris glanced over his shoulder as his eyes twitched on seeing Charles three steps behind him.

“Well?” Harris asked pulling his white gloves off as he held his oakwood cane with one hand and scanned the crowd gathering at the carriages to bid the bride and groom farewell.

“I suppose any man on his wedding day would look as he did,” Charles answered.

“I certainly did not,” Harris said. “Your mother and I were well matched. She had a fortune she brought into the marriage and a mind for business. Lucky for us, the Laird asked for no dowry for your sister.”

“So, what did you give him for Rhea?” Charles asked with an arched eyebrow.

“Dear boy, you really are slow,” Harris said with a wave of his hand. “And here I thought that plague would be eradicated when your sister left.”

“What father is so eloquently stating, dear brother, is that the Laird offered to pay us for Rhea,” Theo said chiming in as he scrambled to Harris’ side with a wicked grin that matched Harris’s.

“Seems the Scottish warrior couldn’t find a bride in his own country for reasons unknown and had to search for one in England. ”

“Leave the gossip to the women,” Harris chided as he moved to the cobbled road, pushing past the guests waving and cheering the newlyweds goodbye.

Harris didn’t blink an eye as Rhea’s carriage moved past him; his only concern was to get far enough away from the clamor of the guests as soon as possible.

“Do you think the Laird will be kind to Rhea?” Charles asked as he followed closely behind his father and brother. Harris turned on his heels and glared at his son. His lips flattened as he shook his head.

“Rhea is no longer our concern,” Harris said. “The deal was struck, the papers signed, and the ceremony complete. Her happiness is of no issue to me. I just cannot believe the Scottish fool went through with the process.”

“Some Scottish warrior,” Theo laughed. “The man looked as if he had one foot in the grave and would keel over any moment,” Theo continued as he walked next to Charles with a huge grin plastered on his face. Harris huffed and shared the smile.

“Well, age does that to a weaker man,” Harris said. “But even if he turns Rhea into a widow in the near future, I’m sure she’ll be taken well care of in her new home.” Harris paused on the street as he rubbed his chin. The smile on his face grew and twisted.

“If she does become a widow of that estate, we can go to her with open arms and ‘help’ her allocate her new lands to our purposes,” Harris mumbled as the thought grew in his mind like a weed. He pulled in a long deep breath and shook his head.

“Father?” Theo asked a bit confused by his father’s mumbling.

“Yes, yes, all is well,” Harris snapped.

“We’ll have to see how this marriage arrangement agrees with our expanding the trading business.

Perhaps it will work out to our advantage.

Now come. Since the bride and her groom left so hastily, we can cancel the reception and save a few pounds in the process. ”

“But all these people,” Charles said, glancing over his shoulder to stare at the guests chattering amongst themselves as they piled out of the church. “Won’t it be rude of us not to have some feast of sorts?”

“Nonsense,” Harris said waving his hand about. “These people came for a wedding, and a wedding they got. Come, Theodore, with the marriage of your imbecile sister completed, we can start looking for a respectable bride for you.”

Without further notice, Harris turned back to the street. He stamped his cane on the ground as the irritation flooded him. Pulling in a long deep breath, his eyes narrowed as a young woman sprinted to the carriage before him.

“Where precisely is our carriage?” Harris demanded.

Greyson’s eyes popped open when the carriage jostled him about as they rode over the bumpy terrain.

Panic shot through him, stealing the very warmth of his body.

Scanning the dark compartment of the carriage, he searched for any signs of danger, only to have the panic ease the moment his eyes fell on Rhea.

Instantly, his heart fluttered in his chest as he found her snuggled against his arm sound asleep.

A smile lingered on his lips as he carefully brushed away the curls that lingered around her face.

The silver light of the moon seeped through the cracks of the curtains covering the carriage windows, casting a soft light over Rhea’s face.

Greyson couldn’t believe how much she looked like an angel resting on him.

Her curls were springy, and her eyebrows were dark and perfectly manicured.

She had a button nose, and the way her plump lips pouted as she slept stole his heart.

Sharp pricks of pins and needles ran up his right arm.

All feeling in his arm and hand seemed to be gone as Rhea snuggled peaceful beside him.

Trying to ease the sensation in his arm and hand, Greyson shifted a bit trying to free his arm, but the pricking and stabbing only intensified.

Rhea snuggled into him, making it difficult for him to move an inch without waking her.

Moving as slowly and carefully as he could, so as not to arouse her, he lifted his arm out from under her and curled it around her tiny frame. A moan escaped her lips before she shot up, alert and unnerved.

“Tis all right,” Greyson reassured. “I didnae mean to wake ye.”

He tried to shake his hand without making it obvious as she stretched out.

Relaxing, her shoulders dropped, and she looked at him with such pleading and apologetic eyes that it made his body yearn for her.

The arousal within his bones caused his body to tense.

He scooted to the far side of the seat and flashed her a smile.

“We still have a ways to go if ye’d like to rest a wee bit more,” he said as Rhea was launched into him by the rustle of the carriage.

Greyson’s hands flew to her to steady her as she bounced about.

The rustle caused Rhea to jostle into Greyson.

The way her hand felt on his legs sent his body into a frenzy.

Rhea glanced at him apologetically as she tried shifting off him only to find the next bump tossing her practically into his lap.

“Ye all right then?” Greyson asked as he helped her into the space beside him. Rhea nodded but her eyes were wide and white as she gripped the side of the carriage.

“Perhaps ye should stay close to me,” Greyson said. “The road is bumpy, and ye’d be tossed about all night over there.”

Rhea chewed her lower lip before nodding. Greyson stretched out his arm, and she slipped into the nook beside him. Her warm body pressing against his caused his mind to swirl and skip.

“There now,” he said as he felt her head nuzzle into his chest. Her hand slipped around him as he held her tightly, protecting her from the jolts of the road.

“Ease there,” Greyson said stroking his fingers over her arm. “It’ll be alright. A bit bumpy is all. I’m sure England has had its fair share of stormy weather, nay? It’ll pass, and the road back will be sorted out, I’m certain. Till then, rest. There is still a bit to go. Best try nae to fight it.”

Rhea let out a long deep sigh that caused Greyson’s body to relax. He hadn’t noticed how awkward they had been beside one another until that very moment when they were forced to touch.

While the carriage tossed about from time to time, Greyson’s body shielded her from the harder jolts.

It was almost as if she were a babe in his arms, resting as peacefully as she was.

He sighed as he watched her fight the sleep.

He couldn’t help but smile at her determination not to drift off, but he knew she would give in to its haunting lure sooner or later.

As they rode well into the night, Greyson hummed an enchanting melody that caused Rhea’s eyes to flutter before eventually closing.

“Rest easy,” Greyson whispered as he wondered why he had waited to be married. Feeling Rhea against his chest, clinging to him, the peace and comfort was more than he anticipated. He hadn’t realized his headache was now only a minor ache and not the full-blown pounding like a mallet to a stone.

Greyson soon found himself trying to fight off the sleep that wanted to overtake him. There was a part of him, buried deep inside, that wanted him to stay awake if only to watch Rhea sleep, yet even he wasn’t strong enough to hold back the relentless drone of sleep.

Soon the bumpy road tossed him like a babe in a cradle. The rocking became soothing, and as the pitter-patter of rain trickled down on the roof of the carriage, Greyson closed his eyes and let Rhea warm his body.