“I will nae hae ye in danger,” he responded.
“I hae a plan,” she countered calmly.
“Annabella!”
“Angus!”
He laughed. Matthew was right: She was bold, but he couldn’t resist asking her, “What plan, madam? And if I refuse ye, will ye run off as ye did when I went to France?”
“Probably,” she admitted, “but hear my plan first, husband. We must incarcerate the Hamiltons’ messenger for our safety’s sake, after learning from where he came. Then we will ride together to the Hamilton lair, but while ye remain hidden outside of their walls, I will ride in to tell them that their messenger was injured by the time he reached Matthew’s house. I will say he was set upon by bandits, and destroyed the contents of the packet rather than allow it to fall into the wrong hands. I will bring the empty packet wi’ me to prove my veracity. I will say that if they want me to, I will take another message to Dumbarton. That Matthew sent me to them. Riding boldly into their stronghold and having the leather case wi’ me will prove the truth of my tale.”
“If they send the same message we will still nae learn the time and place or the first of their victims,” Angus said. “That is what we must discover.”
“I dinna believe they would be informing Dumbarton unless the time was near to begin implementing their wicked scheme,” Annabella noted. “Take the courier now, and then let us wait a few days before questioning him.Orbetter, I could simply bring the message that ye hold to Dumbarton myself. Perhaps I could learn something there.”
“It’s too dangerous,” Angus Ferguson told his wife. “What if ye were caught?”
“Someone is going to die, my lord. And Scotland is going to be thrown into chaos again. We hae the ability to prevent that, and we must.”
“We could send Matthew to Dumbarton,” the earl suggested. “He needs to repent of his disobedience.”
“Forgie me, my dear lord, but yer brother can no longer be trusted,” Annabella said bluntly. “His heart is good, I am sure, and he would go wi’ the best of intentions, but then he would be swept up in the patriotic fever of those who wish to restore the queen. He would betray ye, betray us, and then he would repent, but it would be too late.”
“I could go,” the earl said.
“Nay,” Annabella replied, shaking her head. “The Hamiltons may have informed those at Dumbarton of yer refusal to help. They would nae believe yer change of heart. There is nothing for it but that the lad I can be must go.”
“Nay! I canna allow it, sweetheart,” he told her.
“Dumbarton is easier than having to find the Hamiltons’ hidey-hole,” Annabella said, as if he had not spoken at all. “Come, my lord; the hour grows late. It is past time we were abed, Angus.” She stood up, and the cat on her lap hissed at being displaced once more. It stalked off, its ears turned back.
“Jesu, woman, are ye attempting to seduce me?” he demanded of her.
“Oh, may I?” she teased him, and, laughing, took his hand to lead him upstairs.
“I will not be ensorcelled by yer charms, Annabella, many as they may be,” he said sternly, but he did not pull away. Indeed, he was smiling. How he loved his lass!
“Nay, nay, my lord, of course not.” She whirled about, standing upon her tiptoes, and kissed his mouth a quick kiss.
“I will take a hazel switch and beat ye,” he threatened.
“And if I am deserving, ye should, my lord, ye should,” Annabella agreed.
They were on the stairs now. He stopped and pushed her against the wall, his hand sliding beneath her velvet skirts along her silken thigh. He pressed his big body against hers as his fingers tangled in the dark curls covering her mons. “Oh, ye are deserving, my love, of a great deal,” he told her. “And I intend on seeing ye get all ye deserve.” A finger slipped through her nether lips to touch her love button, to rub it teasingly.
Annabella drew a sharp breath. She loved it when he touched her there. She wiggled against the ball of his finger. She was already moist, and growing wetter with the teasing pressure and friction of that finger. “Angus,” she moaned against his lips.
The finger was withdrawn from the sensitive nub, leaving it tingling but not at all satisfied.
“Oh, nay, madam,” he said softly into her ear. “Ye will nae hae yer way wi’ me so easily before I hae had a full measure of my own back.” He took his hand from beneath her skirts and continued up the stairs, this time leading her through her apartments and into her bedchamber. Turning her back to him, he unlaced her gown, pushing it down to her waist. His hands reached around to undo the ribbons of her chemise, which he peeled away over her shoulders and down to meet the fabric of the gown. Then, holding her by her shoulders, he bent to slowly trace a line of kisses down her backbone.
Annabella sighed, feeling his warm lips moving across her flesh.
His hands dropped from her shoulders to cup her breasts, which he fondled at his leisure. Now his hands were moving to clasp her waist so he might lift her from her slippers and the pile of fabric that had covered her glorious body. She was naked but for her stockings with their silk ribbon garters.
Free of entanglement, Annabella turned about and began to undo the sleeveless leather jerkin that he wore. She unlaced his shirt, pulling it from him, and then, bending to press kisses all over his chest and torso, she slipped to her knees before him. She could feel his various pulse points jumping beneath her lips as she moved lower and lower. Her hands worked to undo his breeks, beneath which he wore naught. Her breath caught briefly in her throat at the sight of his wonderful manhood. She gave his taut buttocks a quick fondle as, now fully kneeling, she reached for him.
His cock was yet a wonder to her. Annabella could not know for certain, but she assumed its size was of a larger variety. Whether it was or not made little difference to her, as it gave the greatest of pleasures, for he wielded it skillfully. Taking a gentle hold on it, she licked its length several times while her other hand played with his sac. Angus made a small murmur as the message of her tongue was conveyed to him. Annabella next licked the tip of his cock with several seductive sweeps of her tongue before taking that tip between her lips, pressing down on it, rolling it between those lips.
