She gave him a stern look, but she couldn’t hold it for more than a few seconds, not when he was looking so boyish, and mussed, and pleased with himself. And besides, what he’d said was rather thrilling if taken in a sensual context, which she was sure he’d meant, since things of a sexual nature seemed toalwaysbe on his mind.
So she ended up blushing instead, and when he saw it, he ended up kissing her. One thing led to another, and before she knew it, his hand was halfway up her skirt, his cold hand on her thigh contrasting with the heat of his lips, causing her to shiver in pleasure and with the chill.
And then he was gazing up at her with a thoroughly disgruntled look. “I have tae own, outdoors in the dead o’ winter is no place tae be playing—this game.”
“Not to mention, anyone could have come along,” she pointed out.
“Och, well, that wouldna bother me—”
“It would me—”
“No’ for long, darlin’. I promise you’ll get used tae that real quick once I have you home wi’ me.”
Of course, she blushed again. Hopefully she’d also get used to his sexual innuendoes real quick, so she could stop looking like she was sunburned every time she was around him for more than a few minutes.
“Now, ’afore I’m letting you up,” he said, quite serious of a sudden, “you’ll be telling me what happened wi’ your da, or did you forget what got you down here on the ground in the first place?”
She had forgotten. But then Lachlan had a way of making her forget anything and everything when he had his arms around her and…
“Well?”
“Well, I told him about Winnifred’s little problem,” she said.
“Littleproblem?”
She sighed. “Very well,bigproblem. And I suggested that if he still wanted to marry the woman, that he come up with a good portion of what she owes you. And then you might,might, mind you, be persuaded to drop the matter.”
He rolled to sit up, setting her on the ground next to him, and with a snort, asked, “How hard did he laugh?”
“He didn’t. My father is going to give you half of the money. I’ll make up the difference.”
“Oh, he is, is he? And that’s supposed to make up for all the worry and deprivation she—what d’you mean, you will make up the difference? You’ve money o’ your own?”
“Yes.”
He was suddenly smiling. “You do?”
He was so delightfully surprised, she couldn’t help it, she laughed. “Yes, I do.”
“Faith, and when were you going tae be telling me that?”
“Oh, sometime after we were married, I imagine. But as I was saying, he’ll give you half of the money. He still wants to marry her, you see. So as an added incentive,ifyou agree to drop the matter, he’s also agreed not to disown me—officially at least, if I still marry you. But he wouldn’t budge on the dowry. He still refuses to give that to a Scotsman.” And then she laughed.
“What?”
“I wasn’t going to mention this to him, but it works out about the same, you know. What he’s going to give you and my dower, it’s about equal. He’ll have another fit, I don’t doubt, once he realizes that. So what do you think? Does that sound acceptable to you?”
Lachlan rubbed his jaw, his look seriously thoughtful. “Och, I dinna know, darlin’. I’m thinking I’ll have tae be giving it a lot of thought.”
Her eyes narrowed. “There’s nothing to—you’re going to make him wait deliberately, aren’t you?”
His eyes widened with feigned innocence. “Now would I be doing that, just because the man hates my guts and doesna want me marrying his only daughter? Just because he’s mean-spirited and hot-tempered and deserves tae stew about it a wee bit?”
She’d heard Megan say it so often that the word came out automatically, “Absolutely.”
Lachlan grinned. “Och, well, I like it that you think you know me so well. But in this case…well, in this case you do.”
42
