The Clan MacDougall Series (124 page)

“Aye,” he said, nodding his head and resting his hands on his hips. “I’ve lots I be wantin’ to say to ye.”

Nora cleared her throat and tried to appear more in charge of her feelings than she actually was. “Such as?”

He took a deep breath in through his nostrils and let it out very slowly. He was trying to remember the words he wanted to say to her, but he was lost again, in those pale blue eyes of hers.

“William, is there something you wish to say to me?” She hadn’t moved, was unable to relax her shoulders, unable to take a step toward him. What she really wanted to ask him was if he had shaved his beard for her, or was there, by some cruel injustice, another woman.

“Aye, lass. There is much I want to say.”

“Has it something to do with whom you have shaved your beard for?”

He chuckled slightly and ran his hand across his bare face. “Aye, it does.”

Nora felt weak in the knees. Her hands trembled. She decided then to throw all caution aside. “Who is it that has led you to do such a thing?”
If he says a name other than mine, I shall die on this very spot. But not before I scratch her eyes out!
She had no idea where such a thought came from! She had never in her life raised her hand to another human being.

For a brief moment, he thought of toying with her, letting her think it was another woman who had captivated his heart and soul. But she had suffered enough the past fortnight, what with his stubbornness and pigheaded ways. Besides, he was not certain yet how she would respond to the question he was finding more and more difficult to ask.

“Nora,” he began. His voice was soft and low, nearly a whisper. “I’ve no’ much to offer a woman. I’ve no skills or trade with which to buy a woman all those things that they often want, such as silk dresses, and fancy headdresses, and sparkly baubles. I am a warrior. I be gone away more often than I be home. I am by no stretch of the imagination a saint of a man. I am often stubborn and slow to change,” he took a step toward her and stopped when he saw that she was trembling.

She was a very bright girl and by now, he assumed, she had figured out it was she for whom he shaved his beard. Mayhap she trembled with dread at the thought of him asking for her hand.

He was about to quit the room when he heard Aishlinn’s voice in the back of his mind.
Regrets
. Earlier, he had convinced himself that he would die if Nora turned him away. Now, as he stood here in the tiny room, just inches away from her, he knew deep in his heart, that he would die if he didn’t at the very least, tell her how he felt about her.

He took a steadying breath and went on. “Nora, I’ve no’ much to offer a woman.”

“You said that,” she murmured quietly.

He resisted the urge to growl. “Nora, from the first moment I laid me eyes on ye, I’ve been a lost man. Ye are in me every wakin’ thought and ye invade me dreams. Ye are by far, the most beautiful woman I’ve ever kent, and no’ just on the outside! Ye’ve a grace, a beauty that comes from within. Ye make me want to be a better man, but I’m having a hard time doin’ that because ye have me innards all jumbled up and knotted and I dunnae whether I’m comin’ or goin’. I have never felt this way about a woman, ever in me life.” He took another breath and fought back the urge to wrap his arms around her and kiss her soundly. “I could no’ live another day in this life without tellin’ ye that.”

Her legs were going to give out she just knew it. He had just spoken the words she had not, until that moment, realized she wanted to hear and now, she could not move, could not speak. She felt like a complete and utter idiot. No man had ever said such sweet, beautiful things to her before and she had no clear idea how she should respond. So she stood there, with her back against the door, clinging to the handle for dear life.

He took a step toward her and reached out his hand as if he wanted to quit the room.

Panic welled up inside her and she refused to let him pass. “That’s it?”

He blinked as if to say “what more do ye want”. “Aye,” he swallowed hard, and he was now very unsure what he should do next.

Nora’s eyes widened and he caught a flicker of anger in them. “You drag me in here, say the most beautiful words that no man has ever uttered to me before, and you want to leave?”

He looked positively dumbfounded and lost.

“William, you cannot say such things to a woman and then just walk away!”

He crooked an eyebrow upward. “What would ye have me do now?”

Nora rolled her eyes, ready to give him a good chastisement. “What would
I
have ye do?” she stuttered and fought to find the appropriate words.

Aishlinn was right. Men were stupid beasts. Aye, they were wonderful, kind, sweet, funny, but stupid nonetheless. They could come up with the most amazing plans for buildings, weapons, battle, and inventions. But when it came to the ways of the heart and women? They were as intelligent as a battering ram and just as graceful.

For the first time in her life, Nora growled. It started deep in her belly, bubbled up and escaped her lips and she made no attempt to stop it. She would have to take the lead at this moment, or he’d walk out that door and she’d never see him again. She took a small step away from the door, letting go of the handle. She straightened her shoulders and looked him in the eye. Of course, she had to lean her head back a ways to do so and could only hope the effect was the same.

“William, if you do not kiss me this very instant, I will go back out into that gathering room and ask Rowan Graham for
his
hand in marriage!” Of course she didn’t think she actually had the courage to do such a thing, but Wee William did not need to have that bit of information at the moment.

His eyes widened and he scowled down at her. “Ye would no’ dare!”

“I do not make idle threats, sir!” She made idle threats with her brother and sister all the time. Such as when she threatened to rip their legs off and beat them about the head when they misbehaved. That was another piece of information William did not need to be privy to at the moment. As angry as she was she felt she could have done that to him and would enjoy it.

They glowered and growled at one another. William’s reserve was the first to falter. She looked breathtakingly beautiful with that murderous gleam in her eye and he could no longer resist his urges.

He rushed forward, wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her into his chest. He claimed her mouth with his. It wasn’t the sweet and tender first kiss he had imagined giving her. Nay, he plundered her mouth, took possession of it, kissed her as if it would be his last act on God’s earth.

Nora melted. She could not breathe, could not resist, and her muscles felt as strong as bread dough. When he thrust his tongue into her mouth, she felt as though a bolt of lightning had just pierced her stomach. Her toes and fingers tingled.

And praise be to God, the roof of her mouth tickled!

W
hen Wee William and Nora finally returned to the grand gathering room, Nora’s lips were swollen from his kisses. Her eyes were red from crying a bucketful of happy tears, and there was a smile on both their faces that would have taken a hammer and chisel to remove.

“Where be Father Michael?” Wee William shouted. Nora giggled.

“And why do we be needin’ Father Michael?” Rowan asked from across the room.

Wee William gave him a victorious smile. “Because Nora and I will be gettin’ married.”

Aishlinn was the first to rush to Nora and hugged her tightly. “Nora, I am so happy for you!” In a matter of moments, women offering congratulations and hearty hugs surrounded Nora.

Elise wiggled her way in between them, squealing with delight. “Nora! Nora!” she called out as she tried to make her way through a sea of full skirts and arisaids.

Nora searched for her sister and smiled as she scooped her up and gave her a tight hug.

“Nora, is it true? Are you really going to marry Sir William?” Elise asked.

“Aye, sister, ’tis true!”

“Is he going to let us live with you?” her little face was filled with worry and concern.

“Aye, Elise, he is. William has built a grand home, and you and John will each have your own room!”

Elise squealed with delight over that bit of news and gave Nora another hug around her neck.

John soon appeared by Nora’s side, his face unreadable. His strawberry blonde hair had not been cut in some time, and Nora thought he was beginning to look like a Highlander. She kept that thought to herself as her happiness began to wane slightly. This was the happiest day of her life, yet she worried over John and his reaction to the news.

He stood beside her, his hands thrust deep in his pockets. He shifted from one foot to the other as he stared at the floor.

“John, is there something you wish to say?” Nora asked.

He finally looked up at her. “Are you truly happy Nora?”

“Aye, I am, John. Truly happy.”

He shifted on his feet again, looking very uncertain. “Do you love him?”

“Aye, I do.”

John nodded his head. “Then I am happy for you.”

Nora wrapped her free arm around his shoulders and pulled him in to her bosom. “Thank you John! You’ll be glad to know that William has built a grand home for us.”

“And we get our own bedchambers, John!” Elise said excitedly.

John remained quiet and wriggled out from Nora’s hug. “That will be nice.” He offered his first smile in a very long time to his sister before quietly walking away.

The women enclosed around her again, giggling, chattering away, and offering more hugs. Wee William was swept away by a sea of men, all slapping his back and taunting him about his freshly shaved face. He let the good-natured needling go unpunished. He was too damned happy to care what the rest of the world thought about his face. The woman of his dreams had not turned down his proposal.

“So when is the big day?” a woman called out from the crowd.

“As soon as we find Father Michael,” Wee William called back to her.

The group of women surrounding Nora all stopped their happy chattering, turned and gave him a murderous glare.

“Ye mean
now?
” Isobel asked, aghast at the notion.

Wee William looked confused. “Aye, now.”

“Ye will do no such thing!” Isobel stormed over to him. “We have to get her a proper gown! There is a feast to prepare, cakes to be made! Ye canna just pretend this isn’t a momentous day Wee William!”

Mary’s cackling laughter could be heard throughout the room. “Isobel!” she called out as she made her way through the crowd. “Isobel, dunna worry it!”

Isobel looked confused. “Of course I will worry it! This is a very special day, Mary. I’ll no’ have Wee William just rush Nora to the alter without so much as a flower in her hair.”

Mary cackled again. “Isobel, when word went out that Angus was going to choose a husband for Nora this day, we all knew Wee William would no’ be able to stand the thought. I baked cakes this morn and have three sucklin’ pigs a roastin’ and two venison on the fire. I’ve been cookin fer this fer days!”

Isobel looked much relieved. “So all we need is a gown?”

Mary nodded her head. “Aye. There be some dried flowers in the herb room, the lass can carry those. Ye go get her dressed and let us get the room ready for the feast!”

Wee William stood dumbfounded. How had the rest of the world known his heart better than he had? And where was his bride to be?

It took only a moment to find her. Aishlinn, Bree and a handful of other women, who had apparently decided to let him live another day, now that they knew a proper wedding could be held, surrounded her.

Nora.
His
Nora. Very soon, he’d be referring to her as his wife.

She was beaming at him from across the room. Her smile warmed him clear to his toes. He wanted to give her the world, or at least as much of it as he was able. If a proper wedding meant the other women wouldn’t hang him by his short hairs, it was worth waiting a few extra minutes.

Someone thrust a cup of whiskey into his hand and wished him luck. A moment later, his soon to be wife was whisked away in a sea of chattering women. His eyes followed her all the way up the stairs, happier than he could ever remember being. It would not be long now, and Nora would be his for all the rest of his days.

A moment later, John was standing in front of Wee William. The boy looked quite serious with his furrowed brow and tightly set jaw.

“Wee William,” John said with his shoulders thrown back and his hands fisted at his sides. “Can I have a word with you?”

Wee William nodded his head and led John away from the crowd and into the war room. John stood with his arms across his chest, legs spread apart just as he’d seen the Highlanders do a hundred times in the past months. His deep blue eyes had turned to slits as he studied the giant before him.

“John,” Wee William said as he mirrored John’s stance.

“Wee William, I know that I am only two and ten and I am nowhere near as big or as strong as you.” He was scowling at Wee William as he spoke in the sternest of voices. “But as God is my witness, if you ever do anything to hurt my sister, I will kill you with my bare hands.”