She moved in his arms, rolling to face him. Her leg slid up his body, making his senses wake again even as she kissed him. The kiss was as sweet and seductive as any he’d ever experienced. Her hand cupped his cheek, and the tenderness with which she touched him made his heart constrict. He knew what was coming next. Knew what she would say, and he wanted to hear it. He needed to hear those words from her.
“Duncan.” She kissed his cheek, his temple, his nose. “That was...how do I say...amazing?”
“Ye are amazing,” he murmured, turning his face to kiss the palm of her hand.
She laughed and kissed his eyelid then his brow and finally his lips. “Eu te amo.”
Duncan held her closer. “Did ye just say what I think ye did, lass?”
“Do you think I said...what is the English word?”
She was teasing him. He loved that she was teasing him, and he was also incredibly annoyed. He didn’t realize how much he wanted to hear that she loved him, wanted her to say it now, when they were close and naked and both still reeling from the pleasure of their lovemaking.
“Say it, lass,” he urged, nuzzling her neck.
She giggled. “How can I think when you do that?”
“Then I should stop?” He pulled back, and she squealed.
“Do not stop.” She pulled him back.
He nuzzled her again, this time behind the ear. “Say it, lass,” he whispered into her ear. She shivered.
“I love you, Duncan.”
Christ but his heart hurt. He thought it might burst from happiness and fulfillment and desire. She moved her head so that their eyes locked. “I love you,” she said again.
“Lass, I—” Duncan’s throat was tight. He swallowed.
A loud rap sounded on the door. “Christ and all the saints,” Duncan muttered. Then louder, “Go away!”
“I will not go away.” That was the unmistakable sound of his mother. “I know that trollop is in there with you, and I want her out of my house. Now!”
Twenty
EMMELINE
Emmeline departed, leaving Stratford to help James Murray up off the floor. Even if she’d wanted to assist—which she did not—the men probably would not have desired her involvement. Men and their pride. James Murray seemed to have a healthy dose of it, and God knew that Stratford had more than his share.
She’d gone to her room, put on the nightclothes Lady Charlotte had supplied for her, and climbed into bed. She’d been longing for a bed for days, but now that she lay down, she could not sleep. She tossed and turned and finally lay on her back and stared up at the ceiling, her fists clenched at her sides.
So Stratford was a bastard. The idea had crossed her mind in the past. She was not one for gossip, but her sisters loved to gossip and share any tidbits they heard. And they had heard the rumors about Stratford, though no one believed it. Emmeline hadn’t believed or disbelieved. She hadn’t really cared, but she realized that if the rumors were true, it would explain some of what she had seen in the Fortescue family. The baron was a reserved and demanding man. He was not the kind of father she had known. Baron Fortescue was strict with his children and had almost impossibly high expectations. He was not a father a child went to for comfort. Once Stratford had fallen from a tree and his parents had only found out because his siblings had informed them. Stratford had kept a straight, unemotional expression while his arm was poked and prodded. Eventually the doctor was called and determined the arm had a slight fracture.
As much as Emmeline hated her mother’s criticism, she had always known her mother loved her. Stratford had not grown up with that assurance. He had been a constant reminder of his mother’s mistake. He was the proof of her infidelity and the baron’s cuckolding.
Should it be any surprise, then, that Stratford could not believe Emmeline loved him? At times it was hard for her to believe he thought her beautiful and desirable. She’d grown up being told her body and her face were not good enough. But she’d been loved, and perhaps that was enough for her to find some worth in herself.
She turned over again, trying to convince her mind to quiet, when she heard a loud bang and then what sounded like Lady Charlotte yelling. Emmeline thought it was probably best if she pretended not to have heard, but then the sound of Duncan Murray’s voice rose and was followed by the quieter tones of Ines.
Emmeline had wondered where they’d disappeared to after dinner. It had not been difficult to speculate, and Lady Charlotte had obviously had little trouble finding them.
Well, Emmeline couldn’t leave Ines to battle the dragon on her own. She rose, pulled a blanket over her nightgown, and went to her door. She peeked out and almost went back inside again, but she caught sight of Stratford looking out of his door, further down the corridor. If he had seen her, she wouldn’t want him to believe she was afraid.
“Ye cannae put her oot in the middle of the night,” Murray was telling his mother, as Emmeline started down the corridor.
“This is my house, and I do what I like. If you do not like it, you should leave.” Lady Charlotte, still dressed, hair perfectly coiffed, stood outside Murray’s room. As Emmeline neared, she noted Ines was wrapped in a sheet and nothing else. Not much question as to what she and Murray had been up to then. But far from looking embarrassed or humiliated, Ines faced Lady Charlotte defiantly. She might have been wearing the Crown jewels instead of an old sheet.
“We will leave, if that is what you wish. Duncan and I will dress and be gone.”
Emmeline passed Stratford’s door, and he peeked out of a crack. “You’re taking your life in your hands if you go down there.”
“Coward,” she threw at him.
“Hell, yes.”
Emmeline moved forward as Lady Charlotte turned to her son, her gaze piercing him. Clearly, she wanted to see what he would do. Would he take Ines’s side or let her be thrown out into the cold and dark? “You will not accompany that trollop,” Lady Charlotte ordered, her gaze on her son.
Emmeline too looked at Murray for his reaction, but Ines did not falter. “He will accompany me.”
How lovely to be so confident. But Emmeline was not certain her confidence was warranted. Murray, a blanket wrapped around his midsection, looked like a hare caught between two snarling foxes.
“Silly girl. Do you think he loves you? Do you think he will marry you?” She looked at Murray. “Do you love her, Duncan? If you wish to marry her, say so now.”
Duncan hesitated, and Emmeline almost wanted to hit him to make him speak. Emmeline did not think Lady Charlotte, terrifying as she was, would shun the woman her son loved. Couldn’t Murray see that she wanted to hear him say he loved Ines? She wanted to know what he really felt.
Emmeline had moved close enough to catch Lady Charlotte’s attention now. The woman blew out a breath. “Wonderful. We have awakened the entire household. Go back to your room, Miss Wellesley.”
Emmeline shook her head. “Not without Ines.”
But Ines was looking at Murray. And Duncan Murray was not looking at Ines.
“Duncan?” Ines said. One word. One name, but there were a thousand questions in that word. Do you love me? Will you stand with me? Will you fight for me?