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But now, who was this woman? Slapping him after he’d kissed her but then the very next day accepting a walk from a stranger who was a former enemy of the clan? Now, she sought to embarrass him further by not accepting his own invitation to walk. He couldn’t bear it. He was certain that both John and she were probably laughing about his inability to woo her properly. He told himself that he didn’t much care, but now with Charlotte pushing him to prove that he was not afraid had fueled him.
If he was honest, he had hoped that Elizabeth would say yes. Then they could walk together, and he could find the time and the words to apologize. But now, he didn’t even want to anymore, when her attitude now seemed fixed against him. Inwardly, he cringed at the thought of what Mrs. MacLean would say. His attempt to apologize had gone to Hell, and now he would have even more ground to cover to try to get back in the woman’s good graces. He wasn’t sure which woman’s good graces he was thinking of… Elizabeth’s or Mrs. MacLean’s.
Not that he cared. Not really. Elizabeth did not even mean to stay for that long, did she?
He left the library, deciding he needed to go home. His work was done for the day, and since Angus had not yet returned, he would ride Uaill home and wash and change his filthy clothes from the night before.
An hour later, he stepped out from the small stone cottage with a thatched roof that had been his parents’ house and now belonged to him and stared off at the expanse of the Sound before him. It was a relatively long journey from Duart to there, but he resided on one of the highest hills, so the journey was worth every minute.
His hair was wet, and with his clean clothes, he felt like a new man again and not simply bristling with anger. The smell of liquor was now washed from him and the sweat from sleeping alone on the floor like a pig. He smirked. Perhaps that was part of the reason why Elizabeth had rejected him twice now. He was simply repulsive, and remembering his stained waistcoat, he knew he had not looked the part of the handsome, romantic suitor very well.
Feeling hungry, he planned to return to Mrs. MacLean to see what food he could gather from the stores when he saw a horse flash by him. He knew by the light brown color that it was the mare he had given Elizabeth, and to his annoyance, his skin tingled excitedly at the sight of her galloping on the hill, her long blond hair now loose and blowing recklessly in the wind. She did not seem like she noticed him, and she stopped atop the highest point of the hill, just a little up from his cottage.
Liam stared after her. This was his chance. He had a sudden impulse, and so he ran after her. As he grew closer, he was amazed by her beauty, so refined, almost angelic before but now wild and unruly. Dismounting the mare, she nearly resembled a Scotswomen in the way her curls hung about her, caressed by the sweet wind of Mull.
He approached her, and when she turned to face him, her face showed nothing of anger or frustration like it had in the library. She looked excited. Her icy blue eyes had bloomed in color, and he could now even see specks of green in them, coming out against the lush green of the hills. She said, her voice like the reverent whisper in a church sanctuary, “This is the most beautiful sight I have ever beheld.”
Her eyes turned back down to the view where the base of the hills ran into a graveled beach and then out to mystical blue water. Liam was frozen to the spot, a heat filling his whole body as he observed her awe. He quite agreed with her statement, but his eyes were fixed upon her instead. “That it is,” he replied in a low voice.
At first, he wasn’t sure that he had spoken, but then she turned back to him, and Liam saw her expression as her mind registered his words. At that moment, he wanted nothing else in the world than to kiss her passionately, but he stood firm. His fingers tingled, and his stomach yearned, but he did not move. He did not want to scare away this wild beauty who was suddenly becoming the only thing in his world at the moment. He was afraid to blink in case the image would flee, and he would be left alone, and his life would suddenly seem suddenly cold and empty.
His voice croaked into life. “I am sorry, ye know, lass. For the kiss and for what I said.” He stumbled and faltered as he thought of the words. Her chest was still heaving for breath after her furious ride, and she watched him sort out the words to say. “I was a drunken fool. I found myself alone on the cold stone floor the next morning, with stains upon me waistcoat as ye saw. I didnae even remember the words I said tae ye until later. Mrs. MacLean said that all the servants knew about my foolishness. Ye were right tae slap me.” He laid a hand on his cheek and laughed a little.
“I can still feel the fire ye left there. It was rightly deserved. Me ma, God rest her soul, would have been proud of ye.”
He waited a moment, watching Elizabeth’s expression. It melted into a smile, and she laughed as well. “I must say, I have never slapped anyone before and with such vehemence.”
Liam rubbed his cheek. “My cheek here would say that ye are well-practiced at it.”
She laughed once more and then stopped, her eyes watching him. She looked like she was about to say something else, but she didn’t. She bit her lip and furrowed her brow, and Liam felt his stomach tighten with desire. He would forever remember the feel of her plump, soft lips on his, and his body ached for that feeling to return.
He turned his eyes out to the sea, wondering what to say next. Did she not accept his apology? When he turned back, Elizabeth was right in front of him, and he could feel her breath caress his cheek. Their eyes met and locked, a mixture of green and blue. Liam felt lost at sea. And then, in another beat, as if time had stopped, Elizabeth leaned forward and kissed him herself.
