Elise (16 page)

“Thank you ... for ... everything, Colin.”

“You’re welcome. Can we go now?”

He was being curt, but Elise forgave him. “I’ve never seen silk such as this. It’s so soft and—”

“I’ve nae wish to hear it described at present I already know exactly how it feels. That’s why I selected it.”

Colin’s voice lowered, and Elise had to tip her head up to hear him.

“Did you pick it from the marketplace in Darjeeling, then?”

“Something of that nature,” he replied.

“You have excellent taste.”

“So I’ve been told. Are you ready yet?”

Elise glided across the room to stand at the door. “I’m sorry I kept you waiting. If you’ll give me your arm, we can proceed.”

“My... arm?”

His voice was low but choked sounding. Elise smiled. “For an escort. You do wish to escort me, don’t you?”

“Perhaps we’d best wait until we reach the others.”

“You’re being silly.”

“And you’re being naive. Would you like another taste? I’ve had a bellyful of staying a correct distance, as it is.”

“Why are you acting this way?” she asked.

“Because I can na’ act the way I’d like. Not yet, anyway.”

“You’re speaking . . . riddles, now.” She’d lost her breath midsentence. He couldn’t possibly be implying what it sounded like he was.

Colin walked past her and shoved open the door, before going out with it. “Oh, Elise, my dearest, with the way you kiss? It’s a riddle that you’re still looking as untouched and innocent as the moment you stepped into this salon. And that I have na’ made certain of how that dress feels ... or rather how you feel in it.”

“You’re being very familiar, Colin. I’m not certain that I like it.”

Elise didn’t think she sounded like she was chastising him, although that was what she was trying for. When a sly half-smile curved one side of his mouth and he raised his eyebrows, she was certain of it.

“All right, I’ll wait, then. It will be midnight soon enough.”

“Colin—”

“That again? It’s na’ going to work. I’ve already said too much. It’s a surprise.”

“What’s a surprise?”

“Are you coming?” He was tipping his head as he spoke and gesturing with a hand at the same time.

Elise knew her eyes were worried. She couldn’t disguise it. She kept her gaze on the hall flooring as she stepped past him, and she kept walking. She didn’t know what she was supposed to do now. She hadn’t kissed him that way on purpose, but she’d not been in control of anything. She couldn’t think, either.

She followed the low murmur of conversation and slight strains of music and tried not to be aware of the man behind her. It was impossible.

“It will look strange if you enter the room as if I’m chasing you, Elise.”

“What?” Her brow wrinkled as she asked it.

“I’m your escort. You’re near to running.”

“Oh.”

Colin held out his arm, and the hand she placed on his sleeve shook. He sighed in an exaggerated fashion. Elise glanced up. The look in his eyes sent her stomach reeling, it was so tender.

“You, Madame, are a minx. It’s hard to believe you’re a lass of more than a score in years. It truly is.”

“If I want insults, I’ll sit beside the Marquise, thank you very much. At least with her, I know why.”

He placed his other hand atop hers and turned to her. “You wish to know of the dress, Elise? Verra well. I’ve had the material some time. I dinna’ know what had possessed me to buy it, at first. I dinna’ know until... well... ahem.” He stopped and cleared his throat.

“Until?” she prompted.

“Make me answer that later, fair?”

Elise nearly responded with his name in a threatening fashion, but she caught herself. He probably read it on her face.

“Anyway, I’ve had a bolt of it with me. I had a devil of a time getting it designed, sewn, and sent here in time, too. Took me another bit of time picking and choosing your jewelry, too. Doona’ think that was na’ difficult.”

“In time for what?” she whispered.

“Our marriage.” He was watching so closely that he saw her immediate reaction. She couldn’t keep it from him. “Does it frighten you so much, little one?”

Elise swallowed. He thought her frightened? She was horrified, yet filled with joy at the same time. She actually felt quite giddy. “What about my ...six weeks?”

“A valid question, to be sure. Any others?”

She couldn’t do this, and he wouldn’t let go of her hand. She’d have to tell him, after all. The words felt stuck in her throat. “I—I may not be a...fit wife for the MacGowan Laird. What of that?”

“Is that your lone objection?” he asked, raising his brows.

“I’m serious.”

“My clan has my protection. They doona’ have rights to my bedchamber, too.”

“Colin!”

“Admit that you feel naught for me. Tell me that you doona’ feel it. I dinna’ choose to want you, but I can na’ deny I do. I can na’ deny the passion, the heat, or the desire. I’d like to hear you try. Go ahead.”

She didn’t have any voice with which to answer. He was naming every emotion she felt.

“I can na’ keep my hands from you even standing here, and we’ve got an audience right in front of us to parade for. Tell me you’ve nae regard for me whatsoever, and I’ll try to honor it. Tell me you feel naught. Tell me. Go ahead, Elise. Tell me.”

They’d been spotted, for she could hear the announcement of their names and titles. She heard clapping, and then there was silence. She and Colin were causing a stir and Elise didn’t even give it a thought.

“Tell me.” Colin mouthed the words, for no sound came with them.

The majordomo was opening the door wider, probably to see what was keeping them.

“If I did so...it would be a lie,” she answered softly.

Chapter 16

“It will probably be cold.”

“Well, I think it’s dreadfully romantic.”

“It has potential. It’s obvious you’re a newlywed.”

“We’re all quite envious of you, my dear.”

“Well, I—” Elise started to mumble something, only to be interrupted.

“Come now, don’t be shy. We saw the way you two act. So in love, you look. I wonder if Herbert and I were ever that way.”

“Not that we ever saw.”

The Duchess of Argyle dissolved into giggles and the others about her did the same. Elise frowned instead. She wasn’t listening to their chatter. She was watching the clock. Midnight was but a half hour away, and her palms were getting clammier the closer it got.

“I’ve not seen Colin since he joined the regiment. I tell you, I’ve never seen him so happy, either. You’re to be congratulated, Your Grace.”

“What?” Elise asked, turning from the mantel clock.

The ladies had left the men to their port, as usual. Elise hadn’t been able to meet Colin’s eyes as she’d followed the others. She’d been grateful that he’d been placed beside the Marquis in a place of honor.

It seemed like every one of her heartbeats was repeating over and over what he’d said.

Far our marriage . . . for our marriage . . .

“I quite like how you’ve done your hair tonight, Your Grace. Are you attempting another fashion coup?”

“I’ve left those days behind me, Lady Beckon.”

Anyone within hearing distance could tell a snide tone colored everything Lady Beckon said to Elise. Elise let each and every one of her comments pass without one sly, biting, or querulous answer. It was unlike her, but everything felt like it was anymore. She hadn’t known that Sophie’s viscount’s parents would attend. Anyone who read the papers would have known that it would cause a problem. Perhaps that was what the Marquise had in mind when she’d created her guest list. Had she hoped to discomfit Elise for her reported dalliances with her husband, the Marquis, last year?

If she had, it wasn’t working. Elise glanced at the clock again. She’d lost another minute!

“Your husband told me at dinner about his plans. It is so very romantic,” Lady Norwich said.

He did? Elise bit her tongue to still the question. She’d barely found out what Colin intended, and he’d told others as well?

“Why, my husband hasn’t taken me on a moonlit drive in ... well, never.”

Again, the women giggled, and Elise closed her eyes.

So she was going on a moonlit drive. A drive that would include a preacher, a pulpit, and a real wedding ceremony! Her palms were wet with worry, and she didn’t have anything to wipe them on. She wondered what Colin would say if she feigned an illness and returned to her chamber.

The choice was taken from her as the men arrived. Colin wasn’t the first through the door, so she scanned for him. The Quorns had filled their banquet hall with guests. There must have been forty, but there could have been four times that number and Elise wouldn’t have noticed.

Colin’s eyes went directly to hers the moment he entered. He didn’t move at first; he simply stood there with his eyebrows raised and one hand on the back of a settee. Elise felt her heart jumping and was powerless to stop it. She couldn’t tear her gaze away.

He smiled slightly and started walking toward her. Elise froze.

“It’s truly romantic, my dear. You’re to be congratulated, you really are. Oh . . . for the good old days when my Herbert...”

Lady Norwich was whispering right beside her, but Elise couldn’t hear it over the humming sound.

“Elise?”

Colin had reached her; he bent a bit to assist her up. The entire room seemed to be watching. Elise put every effort into controlling her trembling as she put her hand in his.

Colin closed his fingers about hers and lifted her hand to his lips. She shut her eyes, but that made it worse. The sensation of warmth was radiating the exact same way from him. Elise’s trembling increased.

“Would you be caring to drive with me? I understand the moon will be full over Crewe tonight. The view is considered by many to be extraordinary.”

He was giving the entire decision over to her. Elise understood it the moment she opened her eyes. He hadn’t moved at all. He was still holding her hand beside his lips and looking at her down the length of her arm.

Elise wasn’t one for smelling salts. She didn’t even know what they smelled like. But the longer she looked at him, the closer she came to knowing, she was sure. She hadn’t known that a ring of green encircled the brown of his eyes, or that he could look so intense and yet so unsure at the same time.

All she had to do was say that she was tired, or that the night air would chill her, or any number of things. He wouldn’t force it, of that she was certain. It was all her decision.

“Aye,” she answered, then stood.

The night was cold, just as had been predicted. Elise pulled the fur-trimmed blankets closer to her neck and wondered at her sanity. In one moment of impulse, she’d agreed to be his wife and to everything that stood for.

She glanced up at him. Colin was wearing a greatcoat and hat; his breath fogged about his head each time he exhaled. He had great hands when it came to handling horses, but she would have guessed that already. She wondered if that was the only thing he had great hands for, gasped, and looked away.

Beside her, Colin chuckled, as if he’d known what she’d been thinking.

With her nose outside the fur, the cold instantly frosted each indrawn breath. She wondered how Colin could sit and embrace it as if it was nothing. He didn’t look a bit cold.

“Having second thoughts?” he asked.

Elise glanced up at him again. “If I am?”

“We’re na’ there yet. You’ve still time. The reverend is expecting us, but he said he’d wait all night, if need be. The Abbey at Crewe is very well-known about these parts. It has a thirteenth century vestry. It even survived the Cromwellian uprising. It’s very old and has a verra sanctified air about it.”

“You’re a font of information. How do you know all this?”

“I was na’ grouse hunting all day.”

“Oh.” On the last word she pushed her nose back under the edge of the fur blanket.

“We do this, and there’s nae chance I’ll retire to my own chamber tonight. You do ken that, doona’ you?”

She groaned and twisted her hands together. He was putting into words what she didn’t dare imagine.

“You’ll be my duchess in every sense of the word, and unlike that Easton fellow, I’m na’ one to be trifled with. You do understand what I’m saying?”

She was choking too much to answer.

“I’ll most likely survive the night, too, unlike your first husband. I’m a trifle younger, and you already ken I’m in better shape. I also doona’ care how much you scream. I intend to make certain of it. You do ken what I’m talking about? Or were all your lovers inept?”

“Colin!” The first syllable of his name was an octave higher than the last. Elise was a lot warmer all of a sudden, too.

“You want me to stop? Will na’ happen. I’m making certain you ken exactly what you’re doing. I doona’ want the recriminations later over too much wine, lack of sleep, you felt beholden to me, or some other nonsense excuse. I want you as I’ve never wanted anyone. Ever. I’ve had too many sleepless nights for wanting you. I’ll na’ be put off by screams, or tears, or pleas, or any other feminine wile.”

“Are you trying to make me rethink this, Colin?”

“Nae.”

“Then shut up.”

His grin answered her. The star-filled sky was beautiful above them, and Elise watched it. She was no longer the slightest bit cold.

“We’ve arrived. Do I hitch the horses, or drive around some more to convince you?”

“You’ll need a lighter manner, if that’s the case.”

“I dinna’ frighten you?”

“I didn’t say that. You frighten me just fine. I may find that I like it. I may even tell you of it.”

“You are a minx.” He tossed the reins to one of his men and jumped from the curricle. He didn’t allow her time to get down. He didn’t wait while she stood, so he could escort her down, either. Instead, he folded her into the blankets and carried her into the church.

He’d been right about everything. Elise looked about her in awe once Colin set her on her feet. The wrapping about her fell to her ankles, but she ignored it. In some long-ago, almost-forgotten time, she’d imagined just such a setting for her wedding.

Candles glowed from the first-floor joists, the end of each pew, and all about the altar. The worn wood of the aisle looked thirteenth century, easily. Colin tossed his greatcoat to another of his men before turning to her. He held out his hand, and Elise gave him hers.

“As God is my witness, you’ll na’ regret this.”

He pulled her toward him and leaned down to touch his lips to her temple. Elise’s eyes filled with tears. She had to wait for them to subside. She didn’t dare blink.

She hadn’t known love felt like this.

Colin’s man Mick stood beside the altar stone. The reverend behind it looked official and very kind. Beyond that instant glance, Elise couldn’t tell. She didn’t even think she was walking, yet they were there. Two pillows were at the base of the altar, and she knelt beside Colin on one.

Elise ran her free hand across her lashes but stopped short of wiping it on her dress. Such silk was the stuff memories were made of. Every time she looked at it, she wanted to recall every moment.

When it came time to answer, she spoke in a voice that trembled. Colin didn’t seem to have that problem. His vows were even, deep, and in a humbling tone. Despite her every effort, as he spoke, the tears filled her eyes again.

Colin didn’t let go of her hand until he had to. She watched him take the signet ring from his little finger and place it on hers. He didn’t let go when he’d finished, although now his thumb and middle finger twirled the ring where it sagged on hers.

I’ve just married the Duke of MacGowan!
Elise had to close her eyes at the thought. There would be no chance for an annulment after tonight, either. Of that, she was certain.

When it came time for the kiss, Elise felt so lightheaded that she leaned into him for that reason. Colin caught her against him easily, although he had to let go of her hand to do so. Elise tipped her face up to his. He narrowed his eyes. She watched the shadows lengthen on his cheeks as he did so. Then she shut her eyes as well.

Colin’s kiss barely grazed her lips, and then it was done. He was standing and taking her with him.

“Congratulations to you both.”

The reverend was all smiles, and so were Colin’s men. Elise didn’t have the choice as her new husband picked her up and walked back down the aisle with her. He set her on a high stool beside the registry book and handed her the quill.

“I’ll na’ be long.”

He whispered it in her ear, then he left her. She felt the loss immediately. The church wasn’t as warm as she’d thought.

Elise looked across at the entry and saw that Colin had already signed his name.
When did he do that?
she wondered. His penmanship was still atrocious. Elise’s lips twisted as she lifted the pen. The signet ring was heavy and kept sliding about. She moved it to her middle finger, where it fit better. The clerk smiled.

She signed beneath Colin’s name with a flourish and more elaborate loops at the end than were necessary. That made the clerk’s smile broaden. Elise returned it.

She watched him sand the ink and moved her feet to the upper rung. That way, she could wrap her arms about her knees. Now, she really was the bride of The MacGowan, and by her own words, too. Nothing was ever going to change that.

“Oh, Elise, darling, you look such a child. Here.”

Colin had crept up behind her and started wrapping the blankets about her again. Elise couldn’t meet his eyes.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Nothing.”

“You expect me to believe that? Come on, you can tell me.” Colin was hoisting her as he spoke, and Elise fought the urge to burrow into him. Then she simply did it. “Well?”

“You left me.” Elise kept her nose against his neck while she spoke; it made her feel braver.

“I was gone only a moment or two.”

“You didn’t kiss me, either.”

His laugh was so low, she barely heard it. “I doona’ dare. We are in a church and on consecrated ground, Elise. I’m just hoping I can get you back to Storth Hall without ravishing you. It’s a mite cold out yet.”

He climbed aboard the carriage and kept her in his lap. Elise pulled her nose from the comfort of his neck to see why. Colin’s man Mick was holding the reins; he tipped his hat to her. Elise hid back against Colin.

“Mick’s driving. Better that way. Oh, Lord, doona’ sit there. Na’ there, either.” His words were getting more blunt and spoken at a higher pitch as she settled against him. It wasn’t her fault that it was a precarious seat atop his lap; but she did wriggle a bit more than she had to. The way he was sucking in breath was gratifying, too. “Elise?”