Page 180 of Taming the Highland Misfits

Over the next few weeks, he saw Nessa in passing many times, but she dropped into a curtsey, as all the maids did, and looked down at the floor to avoid his eyes. However, the more evasive she became, the more he wanted to see her, but he persuaded himself he was being stupid. He was married to a very suitable lady of his own class, yet he simply could not get Nessa out of his mind.

One day, as he was coming down from the turrets after speaking to the Captain of the Guard, he found her at the bottom of the stairs. She was on all fours cleaning the stone flags and humming a little folk song in a soft soprano.

“You have a pleasant voice,” he told her, smiling. She looked up, and once more he was spellbound by the sight of her wide, silver-grey eyes.

“M’Laird!” She struggled to her feet. “I’m sorry. I didnae mean tae get in your way.” Once again she looked at the ground.

“You and I always seem to meet over a bucket of water,” he remarked, laughing softly.

She smiled shyly but said nothing. Then, because he simply could not help himself, he said, “Come to my study, please, Nessa. There is something I want to show you. Don’t worry, it will only take a moment.”

He saw her frowning, but knew that she had no choice but to obey him; he was the man who paid her wages after all, and she could not afford to lose her job. He knew that she had heard likely horrific tales of maids who had refused the advances of the Laird and had been summarily sacked. However, he prided himself on being a gentle and considerate employer, and this woman meant everything to him; perhaps she did not realise how much.

He held the door open for her and she stepped inside, then he saw her eyes widen as she took in the mahogany-panelled walls, the silver candelabras on the table, and the jewel-coloured silk rugs on the floor.

Broderick knew that she often cleaned rooms like this, but she had never been in there, his private sanctuary, before. She looked terrified, and his heart skipped a beat as he could see that she was trembling.

“What did ye want tae show me M’Laird?” she asked timidly. “Have I done somethin’ wrong?”

Broderick took a step closer to her and Nessa took a step back, raising her hands as if to defend herself.

“You have nothing to fear, Nessa,” he said gently as he took her hands and clasped them in his own, then kissed them. They were rough and work-worn. “I would never hurt you. I just wanted to say—to say…” He did not finish his sentence, because his eyes became focused on her full, inviting lips, and he bent forward to kiss her. They were as soft as he had imagined, and after a second of startled surprise, he felt her response to him, which was as fervent as his own.

He cupped her face in his hands, feeling his shaft respond to her nearness, and then he wrapped his arms around her and became lost in her. It was heavenly. She smelled a little of fresh sweat and her own musk, which was more arousing to him than any expensive perfume, because it was the scent of honest toil.

At last, they drew apart, and she dropped her gaze to the floor again. “M’Laird,” she stuttered, “I am so sorry?—”

He put a finger on her mouth to silence her. “Do not say sorry,” he said gently. “I should not have let this happen, but I am only a man, and I am weak. Please don’t think I am one of those men who only wants a woman for his own pleasure, Nessa. You are so lovely that I could not help myself, and—” He swallowed nervously. “I love you. I think I have since the first time I saw you, but I told myself I was being foolish. I know it sounds silly, but there it is.”

“I-I love you too, M’Laird,” she replied, looking up. “But I am a housemaid an’ you are a Laird. It isnae fittin’.”

“You love me?” Broderick asked in disbelief.

“Aye, M’Laird.” She smiled uncertainly, but in a moment, they were kissing again, this time more passionately. When they drew apart, he looked into her eyes one more time, raising his eyebrows in a question. Then she smiled at him and nodded. He cupped one of her breasts with his hands and heard Nessa’s soft moan, then he was lost.

He kissed her yet again, and then somehow they were on the floor and he was making love to her. He knew that she was a virgin, because she seemed completely awed and amazed by his every touch, and her cries of pleasure added immeasurably to his enjoyment of her.

When he eased into her the first time she put up no resistance, but squealed in pain as he breached her maidenhead. However, he kissed it away, covering her lips with his to stifle her distress. Yet a few moments later she cried out in ecstasy as her climax hit her.

And that was the beginning. After that, they met as often as they could, and their trysts took place in one of the most distant of the castle’s eighty bedrooms where the likelihood of their being disturbed was remote.

Broderick always withdrew before his climax, but his precautions were not enough. For three months their affair continued, passionate and wild, like a drug that neither of them could give up. Then, one evening, Nessa came to Broderick with some devastating news.

She had been looking pale and a little out of sorts for the previous few days, but he had been too afraid to ask the cause. He was too frightened of the answer.

Once more, she avoided his gaze as she said, “I have missed my courses this month, Broderick.” She passed a hand over her face to hide the tears in her eyes. “I am never late. I asked the wise woman in the village an’ she told me I am wi’ child.”

At first, he was stunned, then, as reality sunk in, he realised what having a child out of wedlock would mean. His life would be irreparably damaged. Janice would probably be livid with rage; she had a very fiery temper, and although many men had children from adulterous relationships, he was a Laird and his reputation had to be an example to others. However, even if his reputation was damaged, Nessa’s whole life would be ruined.

There was no chance of keeping it a secret. No matter how careful he and Nessa were, word would leak out; it always did. Broderick thought for a moment then took Nessa’s hands.

“I think I love you more than ever now that you are carrying my child,” he said softly, wrapping his arms around her. “But I know how hard this is going to be for you.” He planted a soft kiss on her lips. “I will never desert you, my precious one, so do not worry.”

Nessa sighed with relief. “Thank you, lovie,” she murmured. “Some men would?—”

Broderick put a finger over her lips. “Do not say that,” he whispered. “I am not a man who throws a woman aside as soon as she is no use to him anymore.”

Nessa sighed with relief. “I should have known better than tae doubt ye, Broderick.” Her eyes were shining with love. “Thank you.”