"Charm is worthless. If you'd been a crofter's wife like I used to be, you'd ken what I mean—hard work, day in, day out. I'm grateful your ma allowed me to come here to work."
"Surely there is a younger, less repulsive single chief somewhere in the Highlands."
Aggie helped her undress. "A man is a man. Makes nay difference his age."
Cat doubted the truth of that. "If Brodie were here, he would prevent this. What must I do?"
"Obey your mother, that's what." Aggie hung up her clothes and then left.
Feeling ill, Catriona crawled between the featherbed and counterpane, but she was sure to get no sleep this night. She stared up at the dark canopy held aloft by carved wooden posts. As the minutes passed, her desperate thoughts shifted into dreams. She held a missive with her brother's name scrawled on it. She turned it over, broke the red wax seal, and opened the paper. But she couldn't read the words. 'Twas too dark. The harder she strained to see them, the blurrier they became.Blast!
Waking slightly, Cat turned onto her side, and the dream changed. She lay naked in a strange—but large—sumptuous bed with someone... a man.Heavens! Torr MacElrath?
The dim candlelight revealed the rugged masculine beauty of his familiar face. His darkened green eyes gleamed. A whiff of his clean, musky male scent reached Cat, making her want to press her nose against his chest and inhale him.
He skimmed his fingers over her arm and her stomach, sending swirls of pleasurable sensations through her. He should not touch her thus, should he?
Why not? 'Twas only a dream.
She had always secretly yearned for Torr's attention, but he didn't appear to know she existed, aside from being the pesky little sister of his best friend.
His intent gaze searched hers. Slowly, he moved his face closer and pressed his lips to hers. Oh goodness, if only this dream could come true. She had often fantasized about kissing Torr.
His mouth demanded she focus solely on him. Was this what a real kiss from a man felt like? Not a dry little peck, but a sensual feasting, his tongue tasting inside her mouth, flicking, tempting, teasing.
Mo chreach!
He would probably be an expert at kissing. Her body heated and tingled so intensely that she awakened.
"Oh heavens!" That kiss, in adream, had affected her more than anything she'd experienced in real life.
Why on earth would she dream of him? She had not seen him in over a year. But indeed, she missed seeing him. He used to visit Brodie often, but he hadn't since they'd both been cursed. What form did he shift into? Brodie had never told her whether he also turned into a selkie.
Had her dream been a vision of what was to come?
She sat upright in bed. "Faith!" Had she dreamed of her future husband as her mother had advised?
"What if I could marry Torr instead of the MacPeter?" she whispered, a thrilling chill covering her body.And why not?She refused to put her future in anyone's hands but her own.
She did not care that Torr, a third son, was not a chief. He held the respectable position ofbladairor spokesman for his older brother. Torr was the most intelligent, well-read man she'd ever met and a skilled warrior knight.
She leapt out of bed and, in the meager dawn light, dressed as best she could without Aggie.
She had to think and make plans. How would she convince Torr to marry her? She had to escape this castle before they forced her to marry MacPeter. She must leave today.
Needing to use the garderobe, she hastened into the corridor. The scent of bread baking wafted up from the kitchen, distracting her. If she decided to run away, she would need to take food along. She must start gathering it this morn.
The steward stepped from the stairwell at the end of the corridor, whistling and carrying a letter. The missive from her dream popped into her mind, startling her. She paused.
"What is that, Drury?" she asked.
He bowed. "A missive for his lairdship, m'lady. I'm going to put it in his chamber."
Dear heaven, her dream held some truth. She simply must read it.Now. If Drury put it into Brodie's chamber, he would lock the door.
"I'll make sure my brother gets it." Catriona held out her hand.
The steward drew back, clutching the missive to his thickset abdomen. "But, the chief should open it."
