How odd, she thought. It felt as if she had not truly smiled in years. She marveled that the simplest things could bring such quiet joy, such serenity.
She strolled on. The stark eastern slopes of Beinn Bhuidhe towered above her in stunning contrast to the lush greenery surrounding the loch. The Fraser brothers were up there somewhere, in their remote mountain cave. That thought brought with it a rush of sadness for their plight, though she knew they were luckier than many. At least they still lived.
She breathed in the perfumed scent of her bouquet once more, willing such melancholy thoughts from her mind. She wanted to forget and enjoy herself, even if it were only for a short time. She wanted no painful memories, no responsibilities, no decisions to be made. Just sparkling water, sunlight playing upon her skin, and fresh mountain air.
At last she stopped beneath a spreading sycamore tree, the low branches providing some mottled shade. She dropped her shoes and stockings and set her wildflowers almost reverently atop a boulder that had tumbled from the mountain in an ancient landslide. Then she turned her back to the loch and hastily began to slip out of her gown.
She was standing in her chemise and linen drawers, her fingers furiously working at the laces of her stays, when a loud splash sounded from the north end of the small loch near the waterfall. She gasped and whirled around but saw nothing, only a ripple growing in ever widening circles and gentle waves marring the mirror-like surface.
What could it have been? she wondered. There were fish in the loch, but hardly big enough to create such a splash. Perhaps a rock had rolled down the steep hill and into the water…
Suddenly a bronzed man shot up from the depths in a glittering spray of sunlit droplets only twenty feet away from her. Madeleine jumped back in surprise and darted behind the large boulder. She cautiously peeked out at the unwelcome intruder who was now standing in waist-deep water.
The man’s back was to her, powerful bands of muscle knotting across his broad shoulders as he raised his arms and ran his hands through his wet blond hair. Then he turned, and she glimpsed his face just before he arched his body and dove cleanly beneath the surface. It was Garrett!
Madeleine sank to her knees, pounding her curled fist on the craggy rock. So much for a quiet afternoon of peaceful solitude. She should have guessed it wouldn’t take long for him to find her favorite place! But why now, when she so wanted to be alone? At least she could be thankful he hadn’t seen her.
She rose to her feet once again and peered over the top of the boulder. Garrett was swimming with forceful strokes toward the surging waterfall, his long legs kicking vigorously. She watched as he disappeared beneath the thundering white cascade, and she felt a moment’s fear.
Those rocks beneath the falls were sharp and jagged, the currents unpredictable, the waters churning and deep—a treacherous snare for even an accomplished swimmer. Stories abounded of those who had lost their lives in such waterfalls. Children were warned away from them by the tale of a phantom water beast, the uruisg, who was said to live in waterfalls and waited hungrily for unwary swimmers.
So she had been warned as a child. Glenis had told her the strange tale and she had never forgotten it, though she no longer believed it. She had been thirteen when she had finally dared to swim beneath this very waterfall, and she remembered the swirling currents trying to drag her down into the depths like cold, grasping fingers.
Madeleine held her breath, her heart pounding.
Seconds passed, and still there was no sign of Garrett. What should she do? What could she do? Perhaps it was already too late…
Relief poured through her when she saw him hoist himself up onto a flat, overhanging rock near the base of the waterfall. She was stunned by her emotion.
He was an Englishman. A soldier. Why should she care if he lived or died? Was it because he was a quarter Scots? Or was it simply compassion for another human being…?
He stood up tall and straight on the rock, and she drew her breath in sharply. Her confused thoughts fled her mind. He was naked…dripping wet and naked. His lean, tanned body was so beautiful, glistening and golden in the sun, that she could not tear her eyes away.
She watched in reluctant fascination, knowing she should not be staring, feeling like a naughty child caught at some prank. Her skin was tingling, a strangeness she had never felt before. She was breathless, her breasts heaving beneath her tightly laced stays.
She had seen near naked men before at many a Highland game when the contestants threw off their kilts in the heat of exertion and wrestled or tossed the caber in a meager loincloth. She had seen Dougald Fraser at such a game, his massive body muscled and strong, his powerful thighs the size of her waist. She had felt embarrassed, aye, and thrilled…but never like this.
Why had she not felt this before, during the raid? she wondered. She had seen Garrett and his men unclothed, tied up and lying defenseless on the ground. But it had been different then. They had been forced to strip. Was it because she had sensed their deep humiliation, their vulnerability before their enemies? Was that why she had walked into the dark woods, unable to watch?
Madeleine shivered. It was the whiskey, she thought dazedly. The whiskey and the hot sun had addled her brain. It seemed she had no sense of anything but the physical beauty of the man standing almost beneath the tumbling waterfall.
Her eyes roamed at will over his body, across his sculpted chest and the rugged span of his shoulders, down his flat stomach, tightly corded with muscle, to his slim hips and the dark triangle of curls below…God’s wounds! Had she no shame?
He turned suddenly, poised to dive off the side of the rock. His long, sinewed legs braced, and his thighs and calves flexed creating a muscled indentation where his hips met his buttocks. Then he was gone, scarcely a ripple cutting the water where he disappeared.
Madeleine felt herself slowly sinking to the ground, and she rested her forehead on her hands. Why did she feel so faint all of a sudden? It had to be the whiskey, the heat, and her stays. Glenis had laced them far too tightly. She fumbled at her back trying to loosen the laces, but it seemed her fingers were so many thumbs. Her hands fell to her sides, and she slumped against the boulder.
Madeleine had no sense of how long she had lain there when she felt a sharp tug and heard a jagged tearing sound. All she knew was that one moment she could scarcely breathe, then the next she was free.
She gulped in great gasps of air, crying out as she was lifted by strong arms. She tilted her head back, her stunned gaze meeting a pair of smiling gray-green eyes.
“It has always been my belief that those garments should be considered instruments of torture and banned from public use,” Garrett said easily, though his tone belied his concern.
He could not have been more surprised to find Madeleine crumpled behind the boulder. How long had she been there? He had thought he was alone at this jeweled loch. He had just finished dressing and was walking along the shore when he saw her lying there unconscious. He was relieved to see her color return swiftly, her skin blushing a becoming rose shade.
“I’m sorry about your stays, but I think you’re better off without them. Especially on such a blistering hot day as this.” He held her close against his chest as he carried her to the shoreline. “Would you like a sip of water?”
At Madeleine’s quick nod he bent down on one knee and set her beside him on the grass, supporting her with his arm. He cupped his hands and dipped them into the water, then brought them to her lips. She drank thirstily, unaware that most of the water was running down her chin and throat, soaking her filmy white chemise.
