Page 125 of Wicked Highland Heroes

Chapter Nineteen

Erroll had wanted his wife again in the night, all night, but had given in only once. She was all but a virgin. Blane had clearly taken her maidenhead, but if there had been more, it had been so little and so long ago, it was a bare technicality. Had Erroll given in to his baser instincts, she wouldn’t have been able to walk that morning. A possibility that pleased him more than it should have. It was probably best that he’d woken to find her gone from his bed. He guessed that had as much to do with the uncertainty of how to face a man who had done to her what he’d done, and the possible embarrassment of a maid walking into the room while he had his head between her legs.

He entered the drawing room to find Eve surrounded by the ladies of his immediate family, including the newest addition, Grace Crenshaw. Eve looked up from the papers she and his mother were absorbed in and Erroll’s breath caught when he realized that the shy smile on her face was for him. The picture she painted sitting in familial harmony with the women of his clan made her far more beautiful than she had been even in last night’s fine muslin dress. He recalled the vision he’d had of her waiting for him at home, her belly swollen with his child, and suddenly his fears melted away and he wanted that fantasy to become a reality more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life.

“Good morning, Erroll,” his mother said.

“Mother.”

He crossed to her chair, bent, and kissed her cheek, then did the same to Eve. She blinked in obvious surprise, and Erroll caught the knowing glance his mother cast in Olivia’s direction. Women knew far too much. The thought should have worried him. Instead, he gave Olivia a kiss, then his younger sisters, and even Hilary, who turned her head aside in an effort to thwart him. Erroll grasped her cheek and planted a kiss anyway.

“Ungrateful wench,” he muttered when she shot him a dagger-filled look.

He ended with Grace and surprised everyone, including himself, by giving her a brotherly kiss on the cheek, as well.

“You are in a fine mood this morning,” his mother commented.

Yes, women knew too much. “What are you ladies working on?” he said.

“We are running low on food,” she replied. “So we’re planning another menu and wondering who we can bring in to help with the preparations.”

“Do you expect that many guests today and tomorrow?” he asked.

“Aside from the thirty we have housed in guest rooms and the dowager cottage, there are thirty-six more who have said they will attend today alone. More are sure to arrive, and that doesn’t include tomorrow.”

“Why not have ladies outside of Ravenhall prepare some of the food?” Erroll said.

“That is a marvelous idea,” she said. “Eve, would you mind helping to recruit more ladies?”

“Of course, but should I leave with so many guests in the house?”

“Why not? It is our party, we can do as we please.” His mother looked at him. “Would you have time to escort your wife, Erroll? You will also need to arrange for more supplies.”

“I am at your service.”

“Perhaps Olivia is a better choice for this task,” Eve said. “She must know the ladies.”

“Erroll knows them well enough,” Olivia said, “and they will be glad to meet the newest addition to our family.”

“Shall we say one hour?” Erroll said.

“That will do perfectly,” his mother said before Eve could protest, and Erroll could have kissed her again. So he did.

Twenty minutes after they left Ravenhall, Erroll rode alongside Eve and found himself thoroughly entranced. Whether the shock of their marriage had worn off, or she had simply resigned herself to the situation—or perhaps the fact that he had bedded her properly—she was more relaxed then he’d ever observed, and the change was miraculous. Her eyes shone and her cheeks flushed. She looked happy. Did that mean she could be happy with him?

“I have never seen so many sheep,” she said.

He looked west, away from the channel, at the sheep grazing on rolling hills. “You will see more farther north, deeper into the Highlands, or even in the Outer Hebrides,” Erroll said.

She looked at him, eyes wide with laughter. “More than are here on Mull? Impossible.”

He laughed. “This flock is but one of six or seven tended by Reid Morrison. His wife is the first lady we will visit today. “

“Reid must do very well by his herds.”

“He does very well tending them,” Erroll replied. “My father is a fair employer.”

“Your father?”