Everlastin' Book 1 (26 page)

“No, darlin'—”

The aproned young woman
entered the room, carrying a tray. Barely glancing at the couple,
she placed the tray on the coffee table then gave a curtsey.
“Anythin' else?”

“No,” Robert said, with a
curt, dismissing gesture.

Merra spared Tessa a long
glance then hurried away. Before the maid disappeared into the room
beyond the door, Tessa tipped the snifter to her lips and downed
the peach brandy.

“Take it easy,” Robert
scowled as Tessa tossed the emptied glass upon the sofa.

“Dinna tell me wha' to do.”
With a haughty toss of her head, she eyed the young man with
unmistakable superiority. “Tis thanks to ma cunnin' we're in this
fine house, laddie. Dinna ever forget tha'.”

Robert's eyes flashed a
warning before he turned and walked to the fireplace. Staring up at
a portrait of the laird, he said, “He is no' a mon to be trifled
wi', love.”

A smug smile hardened the
blonde's delicate features. “I can handle him.”

Disgust brought on a
weightiness in Beth's chest. Hallucination or not, she couldn't
suppress a deep-rooted desire to protect Lachlan from his bride.
Her mind scrambling to recall all that he'd told her about Tessa,
she walked to the front of the woman and ran a measuring look over
her.

The mistress of Baird House
was undeniably beautiful, but for the life of her, Beth could not
understand how Lachlan could not see the emptiness in the woman's
blue eyes. They were devoid of compassion. Certainly devoid of
love, even for Robert. Her outer perfection was but a thin cloak.
And yet Lachlan had fallen in love with her.

“We could have it all,”
Tessa purred, daintily tugging on each finger of her gloves until
she held the lace set in one hand. “His grand house. His lovely
wealth.”

Robert slowly turned until
he was facing Tessa, his features cast in gloom. “I think you
underestimate him, and overestimate yerself, darlin'.”

“Ye o' little faith,” she
laughed, then gasped when Beth's phantom hand passed through her
breast. The feeling of ice hardening around her heart, elicited a
cry from her.

“Darlin'?”

The door opened. Lachlan
walked in.

“Yer bath's—”

Tessa dashed to him and
flung herself into his arms. Beth's furies loosed. The snifter shot
through the air. Robert ducked aside in time to avoid being struck
by it, but the snifter shattered upon impact with the mantel, and
slivers of glass rained on him.

“Wha' the bloody hell!” he
wailed, jumping to Lachlan's side and staring at the mantel in
stark terror.

Baffled, Lachlan demanded,
“Wha's goin' on?”

Beth clenched her fists. The
sofa Tessa had been sitting on abruptly moved several feet
away.

Releasing Tessa, Lachlan
hesitantly moved to the center of the room, his dark gaze probing
his surroundings.

Beth's fists trembled and
she closed her eyes against the fury coursing through her. The two
doors in the room began to repeatedly open and slam shut. Amid the
blonde's shrieks, Lachlan boomed, “Stop!”

All became very quiet and
still in the room. Beth glared at the blonde, her mind groping for
a means by which to warn Lachlan of the woman's
treachery.

“Tis evil spirits,” Tessa
accused.

“No' in ma home,” Lachlan
said assuredly. Placing his hands on his hips, he made a complete
turn. “There has to be a reasonable explanation.”

“Such as?” Robert flung
sarcastically, his pallor the color of chalk. “Ta wha' kind o'
place have you brought ma sister?”

Lachlan scowled at the
younger man. “Are you suggestin' ma home be haunted, Robert?” He
gave a low laugh. “Might be, the long journey's playin' tricks on
our minds. A good night's rest—”

“I sense an
evil
presence,” Tessa
huffed, her posture rigid, her eyes flashing with
defiance.

Evil?
Beth fumed.
You treacherous murdering
bitch!

Again Lachlan laughed low,
and crossed the room to his bride. Placing his hands on her
shoulders, he kissed her on the brow. “Some gentle lovin' and ma
chest beneath yer fair head, darlin', will ease yer
fears.”

“I'm too upset,” she
mewled.

Standing at Lachlan's side,
Beth carefully watched his pained expression as he searched his
bride's face.

“Tis our weddin'
night.”

“Ma sister is weary,” Robert
put in, his defensive tone causing one of Lachlan's eyebrows to
arch. “Have a heart, mon. You have the rest o' yer
lives.”

“Tis true, darlin',” Tessa
said gently, placing a hand to Lachlan's cheek. “Would it hurt you
terribly to allow me to gather ma wits for a time?”

Lachlan's gaze moved from
Tessa, to Robert, then back to Tessa. “As you wish.” He dropped his
hands to his sides and forced an understanding smile. “I'll stay in
one o' the guest rooms tonight.”

“I refuse to deny you yer
bed, love,” Tessa said, her soft tone convincing, her eyes as
innocently winning as those of a doe. “Let me bathe.”

“May I at least scrub yer
back?”

Rising on tiptoe, Tessa
briefly kissed Lachlan on the mouth. “Anither time. I'm exhausted.
I pray you understand, love.”

Beth locked her teeth as
Lachlan gave a nod.

“I'll see her to yer room,”
Robert said, placing a palm at Tessa's elbow and turning her toward
the door. “Which room is it?”

“Third floor. Fourth room on
the left.”

The dullness of Lachlan's
tone wrenched on Beth's heartstrings. Helplessly, she watched
Robert escort Tessa from the room and close the door after them.
Lachlan stood very still for a time, staring absently at the door.
Then he went to one of the Wing chairs and lowered himself onto
it.

Beth stood in front of him,
her eyes soft with compassion. This Lachlan possessed different
qualities than the man she knew. He appeared younger. Vulnerable.
Lost, at the moment.

“Can I get you somethin',
sir?”

Both Beth and Lachlan looked
up at the maid, who stood poised by the dining room
door.

“Come here a moment, Merra,”
he said wearily.

Without hesitation, she came
to stand in front of him, unaware that Beth had moved aside, so as
not to touch her.

“Aye, sir?”

Lachlan's mouth twisted in a
halfhearted grin. “How long have you been here, Merra?”

“Near eight months,
sir.”

“Have you ever....” He
frowned and looked off to one side. “Have you ever sensed
somethin'...unnatural in this house?”

A flicker of surprise move
across her face.

“Unnatural, sir?” Her small
hands kneaded the front of her apron. “I don’t
understand.”

With a fortifying intake of
breath, Lachlan said seriously, “A ghost, lass.”

“Ghost, sir?” She giggled.
“Are you pullin' ma leg, sir?”

Lachlan chuckled. “Aye,
Merra, I am. Tis good to be home.”

“Tis good to have you back,
sir. The house felt quite empty withou' you.”

“Tis kind o' you to say so,”
he said distractedly, gazing off to one side.

“Can I get you somethin',
sir? Somethin' to eat, or a scotch, maybe?”

Lachlan smiled tiredly up at
her. “No thank you. Wha' I need is a good, long sleep. Merra, I'm
countin' on you to make yer mistress feel welcome here.”

“Aye, I'll do ma best, sir.
But....”

Lachlan arched a questioning
brow. “But?”

“She's no' wha' I expected,
sir.”

“In wha' way?”

Merra smiled shyly. “I'm no'
sure. But she is verra lovely, sir.”

“Aye, she is. Tha’ is all
for tonight. And Merra? The mistress prefers coffee to tea in the
morn.”

With a nod, the young woman
left the room.

For what seemed a long time,
Beth stared down at Lachlan, who was lost in thought. She went down
on her knees in front of him, studying the striking contours of his
features, the expressive movements of his eyebrows. She couldn't
begin to guess his thoughts, but he was troubled. He was a groom
without his bride on their wedding night. If only he knew what was
to come.

Without thought, she placed
her hands atop his knees. He gave a violent start, his horrified
gaze riveted where Beth had quasi-touched him.

Anguish swelled in her
throat as she rose to her feet. “Lachlan, can you hear
me?”

He continued to stare at his
knees, his hands gripping the arms of the chair so fiercely, his
knuckles were white.

“She's going to murder you!”
Beth cried, frustrated that he couldn't seem to hear her. “Your
beautiful young bride is going to drive a knife into your
heart!”

Lachlan rose from the chair.
Casually walking about the room, he ran a hand through his
shoulder-length, thick hair.

“Lachlan,
dammit!”

He stopped and appeared to
keen an ear.

Walking up to him, Beth went
on, “She's going to murder you. Lachlan, Robert is not her brother.
He's her lover!”

He gave himself a visible
shake, as if to dispel his weariness.

“Damn you, Lachlan, you must
hear me! She's—”

Beth stiffened.
What am I doing?

She'd been reacting to an
hallucination as though it was real!

How convenient for
Lachlan,
she fumed, taking two paces back.
How bloody convenient for him that this occurred, filling her with
sympathy, and reinforcing her love for him!

“You bastard!” she hissed,
trembling with anger. “What is this, s-some kind of hypnosis you're
using on me? It won't work. Do you hear me? It won't convince me to
remain with you!”

Lachlan sighed as he again
raked his fingers through his hair. “Wha' are you sulkin' abou',
mon? You've waited thirty-four years to have a womon. Wha's one
mair night?”

Sitting on the sofa which
had inexplicably moved minutes before, he ran his hands up and down
his face then slapped his palms to the upholstery to each side of
his slim hips. “Ye're jaggey, mon. Desire's cloudin' yer mind;
playin' the devil wi' you.”

Beth headed for the door to
the hall. So Lachlan had been a virgin — at least in this most
bizarre daymare. She found it disturbing, especially in light of
the fact he'd told her he'd been murdered before his marriage was
ever consummated.

Going up the first flight
of stairs, she reminded herself,
Or another
ploy to win your sympathy.

By the time she reached the
third landing of Baird House, she was numbed by her warring
thoughts. It had been her intention to return to the attic, but she
unexpectedly found herself in the master bedroom.

Her eyes widened in
disbelief. Naked, Robert and Tessa were in each other's arms,
within a metal tub set before a roaring fire in the hearth. Steam
rose from the scented bath water sloshing over the rim of the tub
as Tessa pumped her groin atop Robert's lap. Her head tipped back,
her features betraying her mounting ecstasy.

Beth wanted to look away,
but couldn't.

How daring of the couple to
make love in Lachlan's room. How daring and utterly vulgar to
betray him in such a manner.

Had the woman no
shame?

Beth stepped back, ignoring
the fact she passed through the closed door as if it were mere
air.

“I won't be tricked like
this,” she vowed, storming in the direction of the attic door. When
she arrived back at the topmost room of the house, she stood fuming
for several seconds.

“Lachlan, I'm not even sure
if my love for you is real anymore. Is this what you've been hoping
for, a state of mind you could easily sway to your will?

“I'm not that weak. I hate
to disappoint you, but I'm going to survive this brainwashing. I'm
going to go home and put this all behind me. I'm going to forget
you, Lachlan.”

She released a jagged
breath. “Whatever it takes, I will get over you.”

“Beth.”

The zephyrous voice gave
Beth a start. Her darting gaze searched every corner of the
attic.

“Beth, it's
time.”

Coldness invaded every part
of Beth's body. At the same moment she mutely admitted to
recognizing her adoptive mother's voice, she glanced down to find
the lace gown had materialized on her slim form. A sob caught in
her throat as denials reared.

“Leave me alone!”

“Daddy's here, Beth. We're
waiting.”

“No more!”

Beth covered her ears with
her hands.

A bright light appeared in
front of her, an infinite light so bright that she had looked
away.

“We're all waiting,” crooned
Rita. “Waiting for you to join us.”