“Now go, and do not seek me again until this is well over,” Ysenda cautioned him.
Fingal nodded in agreement. He looked both ways before disappearing into the passageway.
Chapter Seven
Diarmuid was growingcold.
Ailsa felt terror grip her when he muttered Brigitta’s name.
The ghost was real.
Whether or not there was any logic in that thought didn’t matter. Ailsa was left with only the hard fact of how pale Diarmuid was getting. She searched his face, desperate to find some proof that he still lived.
His chest rose. Just a shallow breath but then it was still.
“No, you cannot have him!”
Ailsa jumped off the bed. Was she planning to do battle with an unseen force? She didn’t really know but she wasn’t going to give up.
He’d been so alive just moments before!
So warm. So hard. Responsive to her touch. She still felt the prickle of yearning he’d awakened inside of her. Although they were just beginning to know one another, she wanted to learn more about him.
She wanted to be worthy of his smile. She wanted to be the one he smiled at.
Alisa went back to the bed. “You must return to me, Diarmuid. I think…we might be very well suited to one another…”
Her mumbled words had no effect.
Of course not. What had Laird Keith said? Brigitta had been imprisoned inside of the Maiden’s Tower unjustly.
It made sense that the restless spirit was going to fight for what she wanted.
So you must fight as well!
A shudder shook Ailsa. She frowned, irritated by that shudder. This was her battlefield, and there was no time for shudders.
“Brigitta…sweet lass.”
Diarmuid muttered softly. The sound sent another vibration through her but this time, instead of becoming fearful, Ailsa felt his voice stroking the flames of yearning inside of her.
If she wanted him to be hers, she would have to get back into bed with him. She would have to lure Diarmuid away from the embrace of the ghost.
Ailsa started toward the bed and climbed back into it. “I am here, Diarmuid. It is our wedding night.”
She leaned down and pressed a kiss against his lips. This time she wasn’t so nervous but kissed him with all of the yearning flickering inside of her.
But he didn’t stir.
Ailsa teetered on the edge of falling back into despair. A soft sigh crossed his lips and she felt that part of him stiffening against her hip.
Was Brigitta trying to consummate her union with Diarmuid?
Well, she could not have him!
Ailsa did spare a moment of compassion for Brigitta. They did share being locked in the Maiden’s Tower. The difference was, Ailsa was still alive.
If there was going to be a consummation, Ailsa was going to be the one Diarmuid sealed a union with.
