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Jamie laughed heartily. “Aye, I’ll need to send another lad down with ye tae give ye a bit more competition.” He paused. “We donnae know if she’ll say yes, of course. She is unpredictable, that woman.”
“Have ye had any more of yer...romps?” William chuckled to see his friend’s discomfort.
“Nay, I’ve been avoiding her, tae be honest.”
“Doesnae sound like a man on the verge of proposal.” William looked at him, confused.
“I don’t know. Now that I knew I wanted tae ask her, I was afraid I’d…”
William laughed. “Lost yer touch in the realm of women, have ye? I like Amelia even more now, to make ye want tae cower at the threat of ‘battle’”.
“I’d never lose me touch, lad. Want me tae return tae the whorehouse with ye?” Jamie jokingly threatened.
William held his hands up in mock fear. “Fine, fine. Donnae get yer breeches twisted about it. What are ye afraid of?”
“Afraid I’ll somehow show her my feelings before I’m ready tae. I think I fear the rejection.”
“Good lord, this woman has ye spouting all kinds of rubbish. Donnae be afraid, ye idiot. What comes will come. And ye both should too.” William burst into a fit of laughter, and Jamie rolled his eyes.
Soon, they came upon Amelia at the bench by the castle, writing furiously. Jamie’s body tensed, worried about what to say to her. It had been a few days since their last kiss, and they had not really spoken.
William approached her first. “I see the poetess is hard at work. I think I’d prefer this type of work tae lifting heavy boulders with this bastard.”
Amelia looked up, squinting, and smiled at William. “I’d like to see what you would write, William. I bet that you’re secretly a romantic and have plenty of love poems in that mind of yours, simply waiting to be read to the right woman.”
She winked, and then turned her gaze to Jamie. The smile she was wearing dropped, and her lips opened slightly in surprise. She had only seen him lately in the dark of the evening. Now out in the sun, he was beautiful. His green eyes were greener than ever in the blaze of the warm afternoon, matching perfectly with the lush green at their feet. His shirt was open a few buttons, and Amelia could see his sweat glistening on his strong chest and his muscled forearms. His hair was back, but pieces had fallen out and were following the breeze’s direction. His beard had been clipped, and it also shone with sweat in the sun. His mouth was turned up in a beautiful smile, his teeth gleaming, looking directly at her.
“Right, well I’ll be off then and let ye two lovebirds have yer way with one another.”
Amelia flushed and turned towards William. “How does a woman keep her composure around such an impertinent ass as you, William?” Jamie started laughing and William followed suit.
“I don’t want women tae keep their composure. What’s the fun in that?” He smirked and turned and walked away towards the castle, leaving Jamie and Amelia alone.
There was a slight pause before Jamie sat down next to her on the bench. Amelia could feel the heat filling her the nearer he came. She started to breath quicker. She hoped he didn’t notice. She was worried he was about to tell her that he did not want a repeat of the events of last week. Something must be wrong with her.
“What are ye writin’ lass?” Jamie leaned back on the bench his elbows lifted to rest on the top of it.
“‘Tis none of your concern until it is finished and ready to be read.”
Jamie smirked and leaned in close to her ear, his lips touching the edge of the lobe slightly. “I want ye tae be my concern.”
Her whole body tingled at this surprise gesture. She felt frozen, locked to this position. He could do whatever he wanted at that moment.
Jamie remained there for a moment, and then whispered, “May I return to yer room this evening, Miss Parker?”
Amelia was so surprised and relieved at the revelation, she could only nod.
In response. Jamie pressed a kiss to her ear, and then stood. Seeing her shocked expression, he laughed before turning away to walk back to the castle.
Amelia stared at his back for a long while, watching the broad shoulders move in his gait, seeing the muscles straining to be free from the white shirt which clung even tighter on him because of the sweat. She swallowed. He wanted to be with her again. A frisson of lovely anticipation trickled through her core. She sat back in the bench, simply letting the feelings wash over her. “He’s still a cad, but he makes it impossible for me to resist him.” She wanted to laugh, but then a new feeling threaded threw her, adding to the ache of physical need. She couldn’t quite put it into words, but then she looked down at the story poem she had been feverishly writing since morning.
Her character, Agnes, had left her homeland to find freedom and peace, and she met a man, Jerrard, in the green hills of her new land, who touched her in ways she never thought were possible. Amelia had been pondering for a long time trying to think of the next line to express Agnes’ thoughts and feelings, but her inspiration for the day had only gone so far. She closed her eyes and thought of Jamie. She smelled him in her mind, peppermint and rosemary. She thought of the way trickles of sweat made paths down his hard body. She thought of how much he loved his mother and missed his father. She thought back to their discussions of books and their love of stories. She remembered how the pairing of their lips felt like two coals ignited by fire.
She then moved her pencil across the page, filling in the last few lines of a stanza:
To be near him was bliss, every inch of her afire
Her heart was his, for too long she had been a liar.
She let the words swirl around her mind. This poem was about her. It was about Jamie. She was in love with Jamie Kinnaird.
