AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Five
The corners of Angus’ mouth turned up slightly. He put his hands behind his back and walked to one end of the table, and pulled out the chair. He raised his eyebrows.
Charlotte finally recovered herself. “Correcting me again, I see,” she said. But, she stood anyway, brushing her hands on her skirts, and Angus felt a little satisfaction at her somewhat quiet acquiescence to his motion.
She sat and allowed him to push in her chair for her. For a brief moment, his knuckles brushed upon her back, and Angus wished his hands could have remained there for just a little longer. He moved to the other end of the table. He was nearly speechless from the way she looked when he had first seen here there, drinking her wine and sitting in her beautiful silky green gown. But he tried his best to recover himself. He’d expected to be eating alone, knowing that Charlotte would not want to eat dinner with just him for company. But here she was, resplendent, dressed as she would be for a fancy ball in London, the fire and candlelight dancing off of her curls.
His eyes wandered from her face to her neck as he sat on the other side. The light ribbon tied tightly around her long neck made him swallow slowly, imagining the way her skin would taste there. He followed it further to her low neckline, and he had to look away. His thoughts were becoming too dangerous to continue in the company of someone else.
He realized he should reply to her biting statement. “Well, I thought I would be dining alone this evening, but since yer here, perhaps we should stand on ceremony. The table is certainly set for that.”
Charlotte looked it over. “Yes, why is it done up so? Surely this meal could feed a whole band of warriors, but instead, it is left to you and me to devour. I don’t think it will be possible.”
Angus said, “I have a feeling that Julia had something tae do with this? Perhaps as a parting gift, since they couldnae see us when they leave so early in the morning?”
“Perhaps…” Charlotte trailed off, but she stole a glance at Angus, who hadn’t taken his brown eyes from her.
Since the image of Charlotte in his bed had come to him in the library, he could not shake it off. He had felt a prickling of desire then, and it had grown a little stronger when he saw her again and when they had quarreled, but this was different. It was as if his body was consumed with it, and he had to fight hard to get it under control now that he had unleashed it. He could barely remember the argument they’d had in the library; his mind was so full of something else.
He cleared his throat, searching for a way to continue the conversation before grabbing a piece of food. “Have ye decided what the illness is?”
Charlotte took a drink and shook her head. “No, I’m afraid I could not focus very well in the library.” She looked down and coughed. Angus felt a flutter like she might be referring to something akin to desire, but she moved past it and continued. “I tried later, but it was to no avail. I found something similar to it, but it is not quite what I am looking for. I will try to ask about what the diet is of the people I visit tomorrow. That affects people more than we think.”
“Well, I could tell ye that. I’m afraid it’s very similar tae what we eat here, except they get much less of it.” Charlotte’s eyes scanned the table. Yes, she had noticed in her time that fruits and certain vegetables were few and far between, especially during the wintertime. She was used to having almost everything available to her at home, but now that she was living here, she was beginning to miss a few things. It only came to her now, as she stared at the food.
“Yes, it must be much less after the situation before Julia arrived.”
Angus nodded solemnly, chewing a piece of bread quietly. Then, he said, “If Julia had nae come, I dinnae know what we would have done. She saved us.” He exhaled a long sigh.
Angus realized that they had just spoken for several minutes without arguing about something. He smiled, and Charlotte looked surprised. “A smile, Angus MacLean? I confess that’s a rare sight.” She took a heavy sip of wine and refilled her glass, loving the feeling of heat that spread through her every vessel, acting as a magic spell to relax her.
He stopped smiling, but it remained in his eyes. “Aye, I try nae tae smile too much. There is nae always so much tae smile about, lass.”
“Oh, really?” She lifted an eyebrow. “I would think that finding new and fresh ways to torture your sister’s guest would give you plenty of entertainment.”
Angus chuckled then, sitting back in his chair comfortably. He stared at Charlotte while he took another drink of his wine. He realized it then. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. She had a wild, ostentatious beauty, but then, when she added this sense of humor to the mix, it made her even more desirable. He suddenly began to ache to touch her.
He saw Charlotte stare back at him, and her lips parted slightly as he took her in. But, then, he broke eye contact and moved forward to eat again. “Ye are right. ‘Tis plenty of fun for me tae follow a wild woman around the hills and forests of this Isle endlessly tae make sure that she is all right.”
Charlotte scoffed. “Well, I would much rather be a wild woman than a dull and overly cautious man.” She crossed her arms and waited for his reply. He did not fall for the trap just yet.
He paused for a little while, her words sinking in. “Dull, am I? Well, I will have tae be dull in order tae save this clan while my brother leaves us.” His voice had taken on a tinge of anger, and he could sense Charlotte stiffening. No, he did not want to ruin this evening. It felt so good to be near her, to talk to her without fighting. So, he cleared his throat and tried again.
“Can I ask ye something?”
Charlotte continued to eat, but she nodded, her curls bouncing atop her head as she did so.
“What is it that ye like so much about being on this Isle? What is it that draws ye?”
Charlotte looked up again at Angus, watching the light bounce off his hard features. “Out of all the questions that you might have asked me, I would never have expected this one.” She swirled the wine in her glass and smiled a little. She sighed. Angus’ eyes were still on her. Even when she looked away, she could feel them watching her, as if looking inside of her and guessing what she was about to say.
Charlotte was used to having men’s eyes on her, but this was so different. His eyes were filled with something she could not quite identify. Could Julia truly be right? Was Angus attracted to her? “I suppose I love the fresh air and the countryside. And here...I can just be. Whoever I want to be. Whereas at home, I had to be something else.”
She stopped, letting the words she’d said softly float out into the air. She took another large gulp of her wine. It was filling her head and making her feel light, but she still knew that what she had said was more than she would have said to anyone. She looked at Angus hesitantly. His expression had not changed, but she could see his jaw muscle clench slightly. Was he angry at what she’d said?
He spoke, but he sounded like it was troubling him to do so. “What did ye have tae be, lass?”
Charlotte exhaled a long breath. “Perfect.” She took another drink. This evening was going a lot differently than she’d expected. She’d just revealed things to Angus that she had hardly revealed to anyone and had not totally revealed to herself. She realized then that she’d probably had too much to drink.
