Eliza clung to Duncan’s shoulders as something delicious began to happen inside her. At first, it was merely a pleasant tingle, but with every push of Duncan’s body it became stronger and stronger, more and more delicious—but it was not enough. She was reaching for something beautiful that seemed utterly inaccessible, but when Duncan gave one last hard thrust, a wave of sheer rapture poured over her.
Again Eliza cried out, shuddering in the throes of her climax, as the waves of pleasure slowly subsided and finally gave way to a delicious languor. She lay back in Duncan’s arms, hardly able to believe what had just happened.
Duncan watched her closely, delighted by the look of incredulity on her lovely face.
Eliza lay in a haze of delight and incredulity within the shelter of Duncan’s warm body, not quite sure where she was for a few moments. Everything seemed like a fantasy, as if she was floating in a cloud of bliss.
When she looked up, Duncan was smiling at her. “Was it what you expected?” he asked.
“It was more than that,” she replied, laughing for sheer joy. “Is it always like that?”
“Yes,” he replied.
Although he knew that was not quite true, he could not bear to take the joy out of Eliza’s eyes because he knew now that he was falling for her, hard.
13
Once again, Eliza woke up in Duncan’s embrace, but this time she knew she could not stay. She looked at Duncan’s sleeping face and sighed. She had to leave him, but it was so hard when all she wanted to do was snuggle further into his embrace and go back to sleep.
Eliza reluctantly rose from bed, donned her clothes, and slipped back to her room, carefully avoiding being seen by any of the servants. To keep up the pretence that she had been in her own chamber all night, she quickly slipped on her nightdress and got into bed, pretended to be asleep, then allowed Maisie to wake her up.
She donned a simple blue woollen dress with a high neck and long sleeves, since she wanted to keep her attire simple. They were visiting the village of Lennoxburn that morning, and Eliza had no wish to antagonise the villagers further by showing off.
Iona’s outfit was quite different. In contrast to her usual dresses, she was wearing a linen one in a shade of bright red, but it had a lower neckline than Eliza’s and was trimmed with cream lace. A pair of ruby earrings hung from her ears and a gold, heart-shaped pendant adorned her neck. In Eliza’s opinion, itwas far too showy an outfit, but she kept her opinions to herself, not wanting to cause an argument.
As they were about to board the carriage, Duncan came up to greet them and bowed to both of them, smiling.
“Good morning, Duncan!” Iona called. “Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, thank you,” Duncan replied, but his gaze rested on Eliza and a meaningful glance passed between them.
Iona glared at Eliza and said sweetly, “I hope my being here does not make you uncomfortable.”
Eliza laughed. “On the contrary, my lady, you have given me exactly what I needed.”
Iona looked puzzled, but Eliza was not inclined to explain. In a way, she was glad that Iona had come because now Duncan could see the differences between them and know that they were exact opposites.
As he watched them climbing into the carriage, accompanied by Maisie, Duncan was indeed comparing them to each other. Iona was tall, self-assured, selfish, and arrogant. Eliza was small, combative, humorous and fiercely intelligent. It had come as a shock to him, but while he was making love to her, his thoughts had been all about her pleasure and not his own, and such a thing had never happened to him before.
She had submitted to his needs and given him her virtue, and that meant that no other man could ever receive it. Eliza had chosen him as the one to whom she had given this enormous gift, and Duncan had never felt so proud or so privileged.
The carriage rolled onward into the village, which was around half a mile away from the castle, and Eliza did not even try to make conversation with Iona. She prattled on about the weather, the poor state of Duncan’s estate compared to her father’s, and how much she disliked the local people. She did not have a good word to say about anything or anyone, and Eliza was heartily glad when they arrived in Lennoxburn.
Eliza stepped out of the carriage and smiled as she smelled freshly baked bread, flowers, herbs and numerous other pleasant aromas. The square was filled with the sound of voices, mostly the haggling of stallholders and customers, and she loved it.
The stalls were selling all manner of products, and Eliza could hardly wait to look at every one of them. It had been years since she had been to a market, and even then, she had been unable to buy anything because of lack of funds due to her father’s gambling.
Eliza ventured into the crowd, smiling, with Iona beside her. Immediately, a little girl of about six rushed forward, holding out two red roses. She was a pretty little thing with deep red hair and bright blue eyes, and she was grinning from ear to ear as she presented a rose to each of them.
Iona gave a condescending smile as she took the flower from the little girl’s hand. However, as she grasped the rose, one of its thorns pricked her finger and she gave a shrill squeal and threw it away. The little girl’s eyes filled with tears instantly, and she turned to run away, but Eliza picked up the discarded flower and raised it to her nose, smelling its lovely fragrance and closing her eyes in appreciation.
“Thank you,” she said, smiling. “These are beautiful.”
The little girl’s face lit up at once. “Are ye English, m’lady?” she asked curiously.
Eliza’s heart sank. “Yes,” she replied, expecting a frown.
“I was told Sassenachs were a’ bad,” the girl said. “But you are good.”
