Page 121 of Taming the Highland Misfits

“I will never stop loving you,” he said huskily. “You are my whole world, Freya.”

Freya could hardly speak because of the tears that were misting her eyes, but she smiled through them. “And I love you more than my life,” she replied.

Alex turned to the Laird, who had been looking on, and asked: “May I still marry your daughter?”

Laird Murdaugh laughed loudly. “Could I possibly stop you?” he asked.

“No,” Freya and Alex answered at once, then kissed again.

“Thank you for saving my life, Freya,” he murmured. “If it were not for you, they would?— ”

Freya clamped a hand over his mouth. “Don’t say it!” She was shuddering with revulsion at the thought of her beloved being lowered into a dark hole with no headstone to mark his grave as if he had never existed. “You are my love, and you are out of danger. Let that be enough for now.”

EPILOGUE

“Iam completely exhausted,” Bearnard said wearily as he flopped down onto a chair in the parlour. Freya and Alex were sitting cuddled up on a sofa together looking as though they would never let each other go, and Bearnard smiled at them fondly.

Freya’s voice broke into his thoughts. “What have you been doing?” she asked curiously.

“Becoming acquainted with some of our many tenants,” he replied. Since Aidan had been disinherited, Bearnard was the heir to the estate, and although this pleased both him and his father, it meant an intensive amount of learning on his part. “There seem to be hundreds of them. I have also been talking to Aidan.” He ran his hands backward through his thick auburn hair and yawned. “I think I’m beginning to make him see sense, although I suspect it will take a long time for Gerald’s influence to wear off.”

Ever since Gerald Patterson’s trial and subsequent execution, he had been worrying about his brother. It was true that Aidan had been extremely foolish and had allowed himself to be led down a crooked path, but Bearnard could still remember the happy days they had spent together as boys. How different Aidan’s life would have been if Gerald Patterson had not come into it.

“He is such a weak man,” Alex observed, almost pityingly.

“Do not waste your pity on him, Alex,” Freya said angrily. “He is getting exactly what he deserves.” Then she shook her head, irritated with herself. “But I feel sorry for him too, although he does not deserve it.” Later she would learn to forgive her brother, but at that moment her wound was just too raw.

“I know all of this,” Bearnard acknowledged, “but he is still my brother, and despite everything he has done, I love him.” He stood up and poured himself a glass of wine, then smiled at Freya. “How are the wedding plans coming along?”

Freya and Alex smiled at each other, then Freya giggled. “The only thing holding everything up is my dress.”

“Which is the most important thing, of course,” Alex said dryly, casting his eyes heavenwards. “No one cares what the bridegroom looks like. He might as well not be there at all.”

Bearnard was puzzled. “Had you not begun to sew a dress?”

“Yes,” Freya answered, “but my life has changed since then. Everything seems brighter and newer now that Gerald Patterson is not here, so I have asked the seamstress to finish that dress for one of the village girls, and I will be wearing a new one.”

Bearnard smiled. “I have never seen you look so happy,” he remarked.

“I have everything I have ever wanted now,” Freya answered. “Why should I not be happy?” She looked up at Alex, who gazed down at her lovingly.

“I envy you,” Bearnard said, looking a little sad. He stood up and drained his wine glass, then gazed at them for another long moment. “Goodnight,” he said, then he kissed Freya and left.

When he had gone, Alex drew Freya closer and kissed her again. He could hardly get enough of her; he wanted her in every way possible, and there were still two weeks to the wedding. He felt his body reacting to her nearness, then he felt her hand touching his hardened shaft and moaned softly, aroused yet frustrated.

Oh,Ggod, this is torture,he thought.But if it is torture, then why do I want more of it?He cupped her breast and kneaded it gently, then heard her husky cries of desire.

After a few more moments of frenzied kissing and fondling, they separated and looked into each other’s eyes.

“I do not know if I can wait two weeks.” Freya was almost angry. “We are going to be married soon anyway, Alex. Why do we not just throw caution to the wind?”

He smiled at her lovingly. “My passionate Freya,” he said softly, stroking her wild red hair. “I am not only your betrothed, but your father’s employee. I am as impatient as you are, but it’s only a little while.”

“It seems like a lifetime away.” Freya was impatient, and rose from her seat to begin pacing the room as she always did.

Alex stood up and caught her as she reached the window. “I promise it will be worth the wait,” he said with a wicked glint in his eyes.

“Are you sure?” she asked mischievously.