A Breath of Scandal (28 page)

“Very well,” he said grudgingly, and though it cost him a great deal, he offered his hand to Rudy.

“You won’t be sorry, Julian,” Rudy said, grasping Julian’s hand and beaming.

“You’ve always been my best friend,” Sinjun admitted, “now you’re my brother-in-law. I promise not to kill you for stealing my sister as long as you toe the line.”

He held out his hand and Rudy grasped it. A frown still lingered on Julian’s brow when the door opened and Gavin entered, accompanied by another man.

“He’s arrived, Julian,” Gavin said breathlessly. “Reverend Gordon is here to perform the ceremony.”

A tall Scotsman wearing the black robe of a clergyman followed in Gavin’s wake.

Lara sent Julian a suspicious look. “Ceremony?” she repeated. “What is he talking about, Julian?”

Julian cleared his throat. “It’s most fortuitous that Emma and Rudy arrived when they did. Now the whole family can be present for our wedding.”

“You and Lara are getting married!” Emma exclaimed, clapping her hands gleefully. “How wonderful! I was beginning to worry about you, Julian. I hoped you’d find a woman to love one day.”

Lara bristled. “Julian doesn’t love me and we’re not getting married. I’m sorry, Reverend, you made the trip to Glenmoor for nothing.”

Julian muttered a curse beneath his breath. Never had he met a more stubborn woman. “My bride-to-be is nervous, Reverend. Please commence with the ceremony.”

Lara glared at him. “I’m warning you, Julian …”

“May I have a word with Lara in private?” Christy said, pulling Lara aside.

“You won’t change my mind,” Lara hissed as Christy all but dragged her away from the knot of people gathered before the hearth.

“Do you love Julian, Lara?”

“Aye,” Lara admitted grudgingly.

“Do you trust him?”

Her answer was more hesitant this time. “I shouldn’t. He left me because he thought I was a Gypsy and unworthy of him. But, aye, I suppose I do.”

“Then take my advice and marry him. Sinjun told me all about Julian and Diana. From what I gather, Julian cared deeply for her but it wasn’t a grand passion. They were compatible, and they had been promised to one another as children. It would have been dishonorable of him not to love his betrothed.”

“He loved Diana enough to get her with child,” Lara charged. “Diana was carrying Julian’s child when she died. The children I bear him would come second behind the child he lost.”

“Julian is an honorable man. Far more honorable than Sinjun,” Christy allowed. “Like Sinjun, he’s a passionate man. Unlike Sinjun, Julian would not cheat on his betrothed. Diana and Julian were all but married. A legal betrothal had taken place. They probably saw no reason to wait until after the nuptials to consummate their relationship.

“Diana is dead. What you and Julian have together is rare. I saw the way he looks at you, the way he follows you with his eyes. If that’s not love I don’t know what is.”

“My heart tells me that Julian loves me, but he’s too stubborn to admit it.”

“Then take a chance on him, Lara. Marry him. I guarantee those words you covet won’t be long in coming.”

“What do you suppose they’re talking about?” Julian asked Sinjun as they watched the two women speak earnestly to one another.

Reverend Gordon had moved close to the hearth, sipping mulled wine Margot had brought him, and Emma and Rudy were engrossed in each other, looking deeply into each other’s eyes and exchanging sweet words.

“Christy is probably trying to talk some sense into Lara,” Sinjun speculated.

“I hope Lara listens to her.”

“You must love Lara a great deal,” Sinjun mused. “I can’t ever recall hearing you express particularly strong emotions for Diana. Oh, I know, you said you loved Diana, and I believe you, but there are different degrees of love.”

“Humph. What makes you such an expert?”

Sinjun sent him a wicked grin. “You forget, you’re talking to Lord Sin, the notorious rake. I know everything there is to know about love.”

“You know everything there is to know about sex,” Julian scoffed. “You’re the last person I’d come to for advice on love.”

“No matter, I’m giving it. I’m not stupid. A simpleton can see that you love Lara. If you can’t see it, then you’re a bigger fool than I suspected. You’ve lectured me many times in the past, now it’s my turn.”

“I know you mean well, Sinjun, but there is something you don’t know. Before I can offer my heart to Lara, I have to lose the guilt I feel over loving Diana less than I should have. She died because of me, for godsake! I got her with child. I didn’t know Lara then and had no idea stronger feelings existed.”

“Guilt is not an easy thing to live with. Perhaps you should—Beware,” Sinjun hissed. “Christy and Lara have finished their conversation. Here they come.”

Julian held his breath as Christy and Lara joined them. He tried to read her expression but it was carefully masked behind a bland smile. Would she reject him again? No matter, he decided, stiffening his resolve. Willing or not, she would marry him this very night.

The minister saw the women approaching and left his place by the hearth. He smiled benignly at them. “Is everything settled? Shall I begin the ceremony?”

“What do you say, Lara?” Julian asked, giving her the choice before forcing her to it.

When Lara looked up at him, Julian nearly lost the ability to speak. Her dark eyes were filled with so much love he felt unworthy. He wondered if he was capable of returning that same devotion. He had fallen short with Diana, could he trust himself to give Lara the kind of love she deserved?

His introspection ended abruptly when Lara said, “I’ll marry you, Julian, though this Anglo ceremony will be no less binding than our Rom one. I’m marrying you because I believe in you, and because I believe in love.”

Her acceptance brought Julian a measure of comfort. He was doing the
right thing
. Lara would never be disparaged by the
ton
. She would be his countess.

Julian reached for Lara’s hand and brought it to his lips. “You may begin the ceremony, Reverend.”

The family gathered round as Reverend Gordon opened his book and began reading the marriage rites. Both Sinjun and Christy were misty-eyed, and Emma sobbed openly. Macdonalds seemed to creep out of the woodwork, filling the huge room.

Julian forgot to breathe when it came time for Lara to repeat her vows, but he needn’t have worried. She pledged her troth loud and clear. The only time she appeared surprised was when Julian fished an emerald-encrusted band from his pocket and slid it on her finger. It fit perfectly, just as he had known it would.

“It belonged to my mother,” he whispered. “I’ve carried it with me since our engagement appeared in the newspapers.”

Then he drew her into his arms and kissed her amid a burst of applause and laughter. He was married! Finally. Bloody hell! Why did he have to feel so good about it?

Lara stared at the ring Julian had just placed on her finger and happiness burst inside her. She’d held out for a long time, but now that the deed was done she felt as if a great burden had been lifted from her. She believed that Julian loved her, and she prayed she wouldn’t have to wait a lifetime to hear those words from him.

An enormous celebration followed the ceremony. So many Macdonald clansmen crowded into the hall to partake of the feast that Lara realized Julian had planned this day carefully, and that everyone had known but her. So much food, she thought as dish after dish was placed on the groaning tables.

There were sea trout, oysters, turtle, racks of lamb, roasted venison, a variety of vegetables, the last of summer’s bounty, and a half-dozen different tarts and puddings. Lara sampled only a few of the tasty dishes before giving up. Her stomach could hold only so much.

After the meal, musicians came from the village, accompanied by a troop of Gypsy dancers, acrobats, and jugglers. Wine, ale and fine Scottish whiskey flowed like water. Scotsmen were a rowdy lot, and when Julian asked if she was ready to retire, she was only too happy to comply.

Hoots, jeers and ribald suggestions followed them up the stairs to the solar.

“I had my things moved to your room while we were eating,” Julian said as he opened the door to her room and ushered her inside. “It has the better view, not that we’ll need it tonight.”

Lara stood in the center of the room and looked around. Her heart skipped a beat. The bedcovers had been turned down and the draperies pulled across the window. The sweet smell of violets drifted to her from the bed, and Lara realized that someone had sprinkled scent on the sheets. Christy’s handiwork, she supposed.

She looked at Julian, her gaze wandering over him in appreciation. He must have borrowed something from Sinjun for he was fashionably garbed in midnight blue satin breeches, light blue coat, and silver vest. A froth of ruffles adorned his white linen shirt at both neck and wrists, and his shoes sported silver buckles.

“You haven’t said much tonight,” Julian said as he peeled off his coat. “Do you regret marrying me?”

“Not yet, Julian.”

“You don’t sound convinced. What can I do to change that?”

His gaze held hers with almost hypnotic intensity. After a weighted silence she whispered, “You know, Julian, you’ve always known.”

“I know I want you, sweeting. These last few days without you in my arms, in my bed, have been hell. Another day or two and I would have battered your door down.”

Lara smiled at that. She didn’t doubt it a bit.

“Come here, love.” He opened his arms and she walked into them. They closed around her and Lara felt as if she had come home. She had held out as long as she could, but a determined Julian was like no other force on earth. He had worn down her resistance, and Christy’s advice had pushed her toward the ultimate decision.

“I want you naked,” Julian whispered against her ear. “I’m going to make love to you all night and beyond.”

“Aye, Julian, love me,” she crooned softly. She’d have his body if not his heart.

Julian’s dark blue eyes glittered with desire as he kissed her. What began as a gentle melding of lips became hotter, hungrier, more needy and demanding. She twined her fingers in his thick hair, pulling him closer as she opened her mouth beneath his. His tongue darted inside, deep and hot. Their bodies strained against each other, their breath coming in ragged gasps, their hands touching, arousing, possessing. But that wasn’t enough.

He tore his mouth away from hers. Candlelight revealed a face stark with hunger and intense yearning. His hands tightened around her waist to set her away from him. Then he began to undress her, ripping a sleeve in his haste to render her naked. Grasping her dress in his hands, he lifted it up and away. With shaking fingers he released the tape on her petticoat. It pooled around her feet and he lifted her up, pushing it away with his foot.

She stood before him in her chemise, expecting him to remove that too, but the gleam in his eyes warned her that he had other ideas.

“Can you manage the rest yourself?” he asked. His voice was low and mellow, his eyes smoky dark.

She nodded mutely. He sat on the edge of the bed and removed his shoes and stockings. She could sense his desire for her, saw it in his set features and the tense expectancy of his body. Her breasts felt swollen and she felt moisture gathering between her legs.

With provocative slowness she untied her garters one at a time, rolling her stocking down one leg, then the other, removing them along with her shoes. She heard him hiss in a quick breath.

“Your chemise,” he said on a ragged sigh. “Take it off.”

Smiling seductively, she pulled it over her head with tantalizing slowness. He stood to remove his breeches, then sat down again. His heated gaze slid over her like warm honey; delicious shivers coursed down her spine. The room was so quiet she heard nothing but the sound of candles sputtering in their holders over his strident, aroused breathing.

He drew her forward, until she stood between the vee of his spread thighs, her hands resting on his shoulders. She moaned softly and closed her eyes when she felt his fingers digging intimately into the cheeks of her buttocks. A heavy, dewy moisture collected between her legs, intensifying her rampant desire for this man.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered. “When the Gypsies were dancing tonight, it was you I pictured spinning before me. I’ve never seen anyone dance like you, my wild Gypsy beauty. Music unleashes something wanton and abandoned inside that incredible body of yours.”

“Julian, you don’t have to say those things,” Lara said, surprised by his sincerity. “We’re married now.” Did he truly mean them?

“Why do you doubt me? I meant every word.”

He began moving his hands, palming the fullness of her breasts, taunting her nipples with his tongue. She whimpered and arched against him as he sucked a nipple into the wet heat of his mouth. He released her nipple and pulled her into his lap.

“This is our wedding night,” he whispered against her lips.

“We had our wedding night weeks ago,” she reminded him.

He turned suddenly, bringing her beneath him, his hard body pressing her into the mattress.

“Julian!” She was trembling, consumed by heat, racked by torturous waves of desire. Her fingers twined in his hair, guiding his lips to hers. His kiss was everything she wanted, needed, but it wasn’t enough.

She seemed to know precisely what she needed. His hand slid down her belly, his weight shifting as he brought his knees between hers, shoving them wide. Her breath hitched when she felt his fingers part her. Then his mouth came down to taste her. She bucked her hips, wild now for what only Julian could give her, but he took his time, tasting her thoroughly, his tongue a wicked sword as it stabbed repeatedly into her dewy center, then laved her tender bud.

She cried out, arching her neck, her shoulders lifting off the bed as she flew into the turbulent eye of a storm, hurtling toward a wild, shattering release.

When she regained her wits she found him crouched over her, his face stark with his need and driving hunger. Her fingers wrapped around his wrists, pulling him against her. “Inside me, Julian, please.”