Mary stood, warmed by Cameron’s pet name for her, one she now suspected he’d meant, all along. She put her free hand on his arm, slowing him as they approached the solar. “I must warn ye, Da hasna been well.” The door was open, so she peeked in. Her father sat at his desk, staring off into space, piles of documents on the surface before him. “Da, we have a visitor.” When he didn’t move, Mary feared something was wrong. “Da?”
Finally, he turned his face toward her. “Mary. Come in.”
He hadn’t heard her. She took a breath in relief and did as he bade, Cameron following on her heels. “Cameron Sutherland has returned, Da.”
“I can see that.”
“And wishes to speak with ye.”
“I’ve just arrived, Laird Rose, but what I have to say willna wait.” He pulled a parchment from within his shirt, stepped forward and proffered it. “I’ve come a long way to give this to ye. ’Tis an offer of marriage from Earl Sutherland to Rose, between Lady Mary and myself. Since ye have corresponded so frequently in the past,” Cameron said, fighting to keep from frowning at Rose’s efforts to get him away from Mary, “Laird Sutherland sends his greetings and his hope that ye willfind the offer of a formal alliance with him to yer liking.”
Rose reached for the document. “He does, does he?” Dropping it on the desk, he used the same hand to wave toward the door. “Leave me to read it in peace, if ye would.” He glanced at Mary. “Both of ye.”
“Of course,” Cameron replied and turned to Mary, his expression puzzled.
She clasped her hands in front of her waist, frozen with indecision. Should she be glad her da had taken the news so calmly, or angry that he appeared once again to be paying little attention to something so important to one of his daughters? Frowning, she nodded to Cameron and tilted her head toward the door.
Cameron put his hand over hers, worked his fingers inside her fists and lifted hers to his mouth. He kissed her knuckles, then led her from the solar without another word.
Mary pulled one hand free long enough to close the solar’s door behind them. “Ach, Cameron, what will he do? I canna bear the thought of hearing him deny us. I’ve seen what his stubbornness did to my sisters. Now? To go through it myself?”
“Let’s forget him for now. Take me somewhere private, lass. I’ve yet to greet ye properly—or as thoroughly as I need to.” He caressed her cheek.
Mary’s sense of doom eased at Cameron’s teasing. Of course he’d find a way to make her feel better. And suddenly, with the prospect of time alone with him ahead of her, she did. No matter where it led. Cameron was back, asking for her hand. He was hers, and she would be his. “My chamber, then.”
Chapter 12
Walking across the great hall with Mary, Cameron clenched his jaw, frustrated and angry with himself for letting Mary’s father delay yet again. He should have known how a meeting with James Rose would go. True to form, Rose wouldn’t commit, wouldn’t accept his offer outright.
Cameron had another concern, as well. He’d been angry to learn Dougal MacBean was here trying to win Mary back. She had accepted him, not MacBean, so the man must leave before he got a chance to see her unpredictable father. He could have no part in Mary’s life, yet Rose might agree to give her to him—eventually.
Cameron knew what else to expect. Rose wouldn’t let Mary leave until his new bride was competent to take over Mary’s duties. Until then, the betrothal agreement would sit on Rose’s desk, gathering dust.
For now, he couldn’t let Mary see how her father upset him. He stayed a pace behind her across the great hall and up the stairs. He hoped any who saw them would thinkshe led him to a guest chamber. But he doubted anyone would be so obtuse. Both of their faces would reveal too much of Mary’s nervousness and his eagerness to get her alone. The smiles they got from the people in the great hall confirmed his suspicion. A few even had the gall to wink at Mary. Two older lads elbowed each other and grinned, but the serving lasses were more circumspect, smiling and curtseying as they passed. At least no one seemed upset about his return to Rose, or to see him in Mary’s company, despite MacBean’s presence. How long had the man been here? Mary hadn’t said. which gave him a moment’s pause. Then he thought about how he’d been welcomed. The members of clan Rose approved of him with Mary, even though her father dragged his feet, or disapproved. Cameron had returned for her, and he had no intention of leaving Rose without her.
When they reached her chamber, Mary turned and met his gaze, then opened the door and stayed a pace ahead of him, backing up all the way inside. Her gaze never left his. He hoped she could see his desire for her in his eyes. She slid her hand along the heavy oaken barrier as if she thought she could duck behind it. He followed her to the stone wall at its end, into the shadows. A shaft of light leaked in from the high windows on the opposite wall and painted the outermost edge of her hem and the floor in front of her feet. Cameron stepped through the brightness and framed her face with his hands.
“Cameron, I’ve never…”
“I never thought ye have, lass. But ye will. With me. When I was sick, ye cared for me and ye learnt every inch of my body. I want the same. I want to learn every inch of yers. I burn to love ye, lass, as ye deserve to be loved. Asyer da has kept ye from being loved for far too long.” He grinned. “Though I suppose I’ll have to thank the man for saving ye for me.”
Mary blushed prettily, a temptation Cameron saw no reason to resist. He leaned in and brushed his lips across her cheek, the bridge of her nose, then took her lips. He did it gently. She was clearly unsure whether to permit such liberties, so he took his time, easing her into the idea of loving him. Her lips were as plump and delectable to touch as they’d been to imagine these past weeks. He nibbled and sucked, urging her to explore his in return. When she moaned and her arms slipped around him, he delved deeper. Her mouth was a hot, sweet well his tongue reveled in exploring. He was certain his groan of satisfaction reverberated through the entire keep. He didn’t care. He could kiss her forever.
She arched against him with a little cry, and Cameron’s thoughts turned to much more than kissing.
“I want ye, Mary, my love. I have returned for ye. I mean to have ye. I mean to marry ye, no matter what yer da says, and to make ye mine forever.”
She pulled back and studied his face, then met his gaze. “Right now?”
“What do ye think I’ve been talking about these last minutes?”
“I thought ye wanted to bed me.”
He grinned, his gaze going hot and feral. “Oh, I do, Mary, my love, I do.” He glanced away and took a breath, fighting for control, for composure. “But I’ll do it right, too. I’ll handfast with ye if it’s the only way we can get ye away from yer father. Handfasting seems to be a tradition among ye Rose daughters.”
Mary smiled, but didn’t nod her agreement.
Cameron persisted. “There’s a kirk in our future, lass. Ye will be my bride. Never doubt it.”
