“M’lady, your jewel case,” said Pansy, holding open a box filled with rings.
Velvet paused a moment, thinking that this time last year she had nothing in the way of jewels, and now she was the proud possessor of several cases of necklaces, earbobs, bracelets, rings, pins, and various other geegaws. Alex enjoyed showering her with beautiful jewels. Then, a tiny frown of concentration between her brows, she chose several rings: a yellow diamond, an emerald, a violet-blue spinel, and a large creamy pearl. She quickly slipped these on her elegant fingers.
“Madame, ye’re magnificent!”
She turned to find that her husband had entered the room. He was garbed in red velvet from his head to his toes, his doublet embroidered with gold beads in a geometric pattern.
“You, milord, are also magnificent!” She returned his compliment with feeling, thinking how damnably handsome he was and how very much she had grown to love him.
“ ’Tis a pity we must go, isn’t it?” he teased her, his amber eyes warm with love.
Velvet sighed. “Aye, ’tis a pity, but ’twould be a greater pity to disappoint my godmother, the queen, who has been so very loving and good to us both.” Her eyes were modestly downcast, and he chuckled at her demure demeanor.
“Very well, madame, then go we must, but ’twill be on yer head if I have a dull evening.”
“Then I need not fear, milord, for you never have dull evenings. We shall be at court but a few minutes before you’ll be totally surrounded by giggling, giddy women who barely tolerate my existence. I have watched you, sir, and you become like a pampered, fat tomcat under such attention. Nay, ’twill be no dull evening for you!”
“Nor ye either, madame,” he countered. “If I am surrounded by the ladies, ye’re as quickly surrounded by the men.”
She laughed merrily, knowing his jealousy. Pansy placed a full-length cloth-of-silver cape lined in sable about her mistress as Dugald came through the connecting door with his master’s cape and bonnet. Then together the Earl and Countess of BrocCairn departed for Greenwich in their comfortable barge, for although it was cold, the river was not yet frozen over and a channel was open. Fur robes were tucked about them, and hot bricks wrapped in flannel were placed at their feet.
Velvet loved traveling on the river, and she settled back comfortably as their barge glided along. The sun had just sunk, and slightly to their right they were treated to the magnificent orange-and-gold traces of the winter sunset above which, in the darkening evening sky, shone one clear, pristine star. The Thames flowed calmly about them, smooth and dark, for it was that short period between the ebb and flood tides, and the BrocCairn barge cleaved the waters neatly, leaving virtually no wake behind it. There was no wind at all, and wrapped snugly beneath the fur robes neither of the Gordons felt the February cold.
“Are ye still distressed about leaving for Scotland?” he asked her quietly.
“Nay, not really,” she answered. “It is true that I wanted to see my parents before we left England, but since they arranged our marriage in the first place, they can have no objections that we have wed in their absence. Besides”—and here a small smile played at the corners of Velvet’s mouth—“ ’tis past time we had a child, milord, don’t you think?”
His mouth fell open in surprise at this sudden change in her attitude. “Dammit, lass, isn’t that what I’ve been saying all along to ye?” he demanded.
“Aye, milord, but then it wouldn’t do for the heir of BrocCairn to be born in England, would it?”
“Once again, madame,” he grumbled at her, “ye drive me to the point of violence. Tell me, though, ye’re sure now about not waiting for yer parents?”
“I have thought long on it, Alex,” she said, “and I have decided that if they are still spry enough to travel thousands of miles to India, then Scotland will be but a tiny trip for them to make in order to see us and our children.” Her gloved hand slipped into his and she squeezed it. Then she turned her head and, gazing up at him, smiled happily. “I think I am beginning to grow up, Alex, and I want to go home.”
He felt a lump deep in the base of his throat, which he quickly swallowed back. At the same time he felt great relief surge through his entire being. He wanted her to love Scotland, and most of all he wanted her to loveDun Broc, which would be her home from now on. He loved her too much to have been able to bear the thought of her being unhappy. Now it seemed that his prayers had been answered.
He also had the strong urge to put her over his knee and spank her bottom until it was pink. She had driven him mad with her stubbornness these past months, ever since their very first meeting. All this emotion was very visible in his face, and Velvet, gazing adoringly at her husband, couldn’t restrain the tiny giggle that slipped forth.
“Lass, ye try me sorely,” he growled low at her, “but damn me if I don’t love ye to the point of distraction.”
“I seem to be afflicted with the same malaise, milord. Besides, London out of season is dreadfully dull, I am told.”
He laughed, unable to contain himself. “So, Velvet de Marisco Gordon, Countess of BrocCairn, ye go adventuring to Scotland to ease yer boredom, do ye?”
“And my curiosity,” she teased him back. “Ever since you arrived in England last spring, Alex, you’ve been anxious to return to your precious Scotland, even to the point of kidnapping me! I am curious to see what lies beyond Edinburgh that draws you so.”
“Dun Brocis what draws me, lass, and I hope ye’ll love it! Ah, Velvet, my love, the forested mountains surround us, and the castle perches like a gyrfalcon on the crest of a high hill. Even on days when there are mists in the glen below, the heights on which we stand are clear, forDun Brocsoars with the eagles!”
She felt a small thrill run through her at his words, for his deep love of his home was so obvious. “I am sure I will love it, Alex,” she said sincerely. “How can I not, for it was fromDun Brocthat you sprang and fromDun Brocthat you came into my life.”
She loved him!With a sudden burst of clarity it penetrated his bemused brain. She really loved him! She actually loved him! His head dipped to find her sweet, sweet lips, and they kissed passionately for a long, tender moment.
As their mouths parted he gazed deeply into her emerald eyes, and Velvet realized that now he finally knew and understood her heart, which came close to bursting with her gladness. For the life of her she couldn’t comprehend why she had been resisting him all these months.
“Greenwich, milord,” their bargeman called, and ahead of them they could see the gaily twinkling lights of the palace.
“Ye’ll miss it,” he said softly.
