“There ye are, my lady,” Jenny said, interrupting her thoughts. “If that be all, I’ll be heading to the servants’ quarters now.”
“Are you all right there, Jenny?” Merry turned to her maid, who was more of a friend than a servant. “I know my sister and brother-in-law treat their people well, but you’re accustomed to having your own room set off beside mine.”
Jenny shooed away her worries. “The girls and I are old friends now. It reminds me of being back home with my sisters. In fact, I shall miss them when we return home.”
“I am glad.” Merry nervously plucked at the ties of her chemise and forced a smile. “Good night, then. Sleep well.”
“You as well, my lady.”
As the maid left and the door clicked shut behind her, Merry pulled in a deep breath and held it to try to calm her racing heart. She would be strong and get through this. One way or the other, she would keep to the vow she had made not only to Duncan but to herself as well.
“Time to build my wall.” She piled the extra pillows and blankets she had requested on the end of the bed, then clambered up onto the enormous thing and set to work. Bundling the blankets into large rolls,she used them as the foundation of the divider running down the middle of the bed. Next came the pillows, piled one on top of the other from the headboard to the footboard.
“Good gracious,” she said as she eyed her handiwork. It reminded her of the forts she and her sisters had built when they were children and couldn’t sleep. As the door latch rattled, she launched herself onto her side of the bed and pulled the covers up to her neck.
Duncan entered, closed the door behind him, then arched a brow at her defenses. “Are ye certain ye dinna wish me to fetch ye some stone and mortar?”
“I simply thought it wise to place a barrier between us. To stave off temptation.” The only problem was that she still wanted him oh so very badly. Their wedding night had awakened a fury within her, a punishing fury that did not at all approve of her determination to be chaste until Duncan saw sense.
As he disrobed, she couldn’t resist staring until he paused and shook a finger at her. “Nay, lass. Face the wall, aye? To stave off temptation.”
With an indignant huff, she turned onto her side and stared at the green-and-pink floral wallpaper she had never particularly liked. The bed shifted as he settled into his spot. With a yank on the covers, her pillow barrier toppled over.
“Do ye wish to rebuild, or shall I?”
“I shall do it, thank you very much.” She popped up to restack the pillows and came up short. Her inner fury crackled with renewed fire. “You are naked.”
“Aye.” With a most irritating nonchalance, he stretched and folded his hands behind his head. “I always sleep naked.”
“But we are not…” She couldn’t quite put her thoughts into words.
“We are man and wife. There is nothing inappropriate about my lack of clothing in our bed.”
Not once did he take his focus off the ceiling, but she noticed the bedclothes covering him from the waist down were slowly but surely rising as though propped with a pole. Good. At least he would suffer as much as she would. She flopped back down on her side, wishing she had chosen the space closer to the window. The room had become insufferably warm.
“If ye wish to disrobe, ye can, my own. Ye would be cooler.”
How had he known she was about to break into a sweat? “I am fine,” she lied, yanking the covers back up to her chin. “But if you wish to open the window wider, I would not be opposed to the idea. That is…if you are overly warm.”
As he rose and strutted to the window, she realized the error of her offer. The golden glow of the bedside lamp caressed his sculpted body like a lover—like she could do if only she would relent. Once again, she flopped over onto her side and stared at the ugly wallpaper. This torture was unlike any she had ever known. Her body was determined to betray her.
“Better?” he asked as he climbed back into the bed.
“Yes. Thank you.” She curled into a tighter ball, bumped the pillows with her bum, and toppled her wall again. “Drat! Drat! Drat!” As she rose to repair the barrier, he caught hold of her wrist and stopped her.
“Leave them, lass.”
“We need them.”
He slowly shook his head and pulled her closer. “Nay, we dinna need them.” With a powerful swipe of his arm, he knocked the pillows and rolled blankets onto the floor. “All we need is each other.”
His fathomless gaze pulled her in and held her prisoner. Stubbornness waning, she erred again when she tried to push away. The ripple of his hard muscles responding to her touch spurred the memory of lying beneath him, welcoming him in where he belonged.
“My vow,” she whispered, frantic to give in and love him, yet justas frantic to be true to her heart.
“Is not broken,” he answered just as softly.
She frowned down at him, afraid of misunderstanding, afraid of hoping. “What do you mean?”
