“I can ask ye the same question. Fancy meetin’ ye here, aye?”
“I heard a disturbance and feared for your safety. I did not know if a suitor had taken to climbing the trellis to reach you, or perhaps an errant invasion of frogs was taking place. One never knows with you, My Lady.”
“I assure ye, I was just trying to find Orion’s belt.” Elspeth pointed in the distance.
“It seems you are right,” Hugo said. “It has been a while since I took the time to stargaze, but that is definitely Orion’s belt. You have a keen eye.”
“Me faither used to show me when I was a wee lass.”
“You are wistful tonight,” he noted softly. “You miss Scotland, do you not?”
“Aye, more than ye ken.”
“Goodnight, sorceress,” he said, closing the shutters.
“Goodnight, Yer Grace,” she whispered to herself.
She drew her curtains, opting to leave the shutters open to let the fresh air into her room. Much as she wished for the wilds of Scotland, this would have to do.
She walked to her bed and climbed in, pulling the lush duvet up to her chin. She wriggled her body in several positions before getting it just right. She rested her head on the pillow and let her mind wander.
She tried to focus on plain things, like running streams and fluffy clouds, but all she could see was him.
Him.
She rolled over onto her stomach and thought of the night in the tiny room they shared so many weeks ago now. She thought of the way his body glistened in the low candlelight, wet from the bath. His shoulders were impossibly broad, his muscles so large and bulging.
She slid her hand down her stomach, gently stroking herself over her nightgown as she thought of how he had felt between her thighs.
The feel of his touch, of his mouth on her.
How she longed to feel it again. Much as he angered her, she burned for him even more. She hated knowingjust howclose he was to her.
If she pressed her ear to the wall, would she hear his breathing? Did he stay up at night, thinking of her?
She stroked herself faster as the idea of him thinking of her flooded her being. She wanted to be rid of him so badly that she had no time to think of how it would be to leave this place.
What do I want? she asked herself, lifting her skirts to expose her sex.
She used her wetness to slide her fingers up and down, up and down as she thought of his bare back, his wide shoulders, his greedy smile, his blue eyes.
She quickly realized that there was nothing she could do to satiate herself, so she threw herself on her back with a huff.
Is there nothin’ this arse cannae do to infuriate me? To frustrate me beyond belief? Even when he isnae doin’ somethin’, he is doin’ somethin’.
She stared up at the ceiling until she succumbed to heavy slumber.
Chapter Seventeen
“Goodness, lad!” Elspeth giggled, trying to salvage the sludgy mixture in the wooden bowl. “Perhaps a bit less sugar, youngpâtissier!”
“I am doing my best, My Lady!” Timothy pleaded as he grabbed a spoon from the counter and used it to scoop more flour from the jar. “I have never baked a thing before in my whole life! This is so exciting!”
“Well, I think ye need more liquid and less dry ingredients,” Elspeth said, gesturing to John on the other side of the counter with her spoon as she glanced at the recipe they were trying to follow. “Laddie, pour a dollop of fresh milk, and hopefully we can get somethin’ that resembles dough!”
“Here you are, My Lady.” John delicately poured the milk into the bowl. “Does that look like enough?”
“Indeed, John! All right, lads!” Elspeth’s voice rang out. “Now, we stir. Gently, now! Matthew and Thomas, are ye doin’ all right over there?”
