Timeless Mist (7 page)

"Are you just go
ing
to stand there gap
ing
at me
like
an idiot or are you go
ing
to show me you're someth
ing
of a chivalrous
gentleman and help me out of this thing?"

"Actually, I
was
quite
enjoy
ing
the view." He scarce
ly
stopped himself from grinn
ing
at her, someth
ing
else
he
hadn't
done in
quite
some time.

"You would." Kristianna
blushed from her toes to the roots of her hair. She knew it; she could feel the
heat of it st
ing
her
cheeks. "Do you suppose you could give me a hand out of this th
ing
, please, instead of ogl
ing
me?"

"I ne'er ogle. Stare, aye, look,
definite
ly
, but I
ne'er ogle."

Kris raised her brow at him and
held out her hand. Iain sighed, but reached for her and lifted her out of the
chest as if she weighed no more than a child. He held her close, enjoy
ing
the feel of her in his
arms, the sweet smell of her woman
ly
scent.

Her hair, a wild mass of curls,
framed her face and looked
very
soft. He looked down at her, his eyes rest
ing
on her face as she stared back up at him. He
had
examined her before, but there
was
not
h
ing
like
gett
ing
a closer look. Once again, he took in all the features of her face, com
ing
to rest on her slight
ly
parted lips as she
continued to gaze up at him.

Would her lips taste as sweet as
they looked? Would she resist if he kissed her, or would she accept his kiss? Would
her desire match
that
of his own, or would she turn away in disgust as a
not
her woman
had
?
His head began to descend without permission.

"You can put me down
anytime."

Kris interrupted his thoughts as
well as his descent into madness.

"Oh, aye." Iain set her
on her feet and backed up a step or two. What
had
he been about to do? He needed no female entanglements. Saints what a blunder
he'd
almost
made. He
cleared his throat and looked around the room, search
ing
for a safe topic. He spied the mess and
knew it would be his out.

"Might I inquire as to
this?" He indicated the stuff thrown haphazard
ly
all over the room with a sweep of his hand.

"I
was
, umm," Kris turned away before she ans
were
d, "look
ing
for someth
ing
."

"I can see
that
." He crossed his
arms over his chest and waited for her to turn around. When she did, her face
was
flushed and Iain could
n't
decide if it
was
from desire or
embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, what did you
say?"

"I said ye've made
quite
a mess. What is it ye
were
look
ing
for?"

"I need my clothes. I ca
n't
very
well run around
like
this all day." She spread her hands
wide to indicate her dirty shirt.

"Ye
have
no cloth
ing
here, lass. I will ask Elsbeth to find ye someth
ing
.
Ye most certain
ly
cannae wander about clothed as ye are." He gave her a seductive look, a
glimmer of invitation in his eyes. "Nay unless ye wish it to be an invitation
to the men."

"
Really
?" Kris glanced down self-conscious
ly
, then back up to glare at
him. "I never would
have
thought
that
for
myself." She shook her head at the look of confusion her sarcasm evoked. She
was
frustrated, confused,
and more than just a bit scared. She
had
no idea what
was
happen
ing
to her or
why, but
that
was
still no excuse for be
ing
rude. "Thank
you," she gestured to the chest, "for help
ing
me get out of
the chest
."

"'T
was
my pleasure," he gave her a
not
her beguil
ing
half-smile.

"I should apologize for
throw
ing
your stuff
around too. I'm just confused and still
not
sure what's go
ing
on. Still,
that
's no excuse for
mak
ing
such a mess. I
know better than to treat other's th
ing
s
that
way. Especial
ly
such
nice
th
ing
s. They look
like
heirlooms or someth
ing
, too. Are they?" Kris
knew she
was
babbl
ing
, but could
n't
seem to stop herself.

"Never mind. I'll just get
this mess cleaned up." If he gave her a
not
her
of those come-hither looks, she might just heed it. She
was
still a bit shaken from be
ing
in his arms. He'd evoked
sensations she
hadn't
experienced for some time and she
had
no desire for a repeat performance. She crossed to the bed and began to refold
a blanket. "I'll put it all back the way I found it."

Iain nodded and let his gaze
wander over her one more time before he turned and left the room. He
had
intended to question her
again, but there
was
no way he would be able to concentrate on anyth
ing
else until she
had
some proper clothes on. Clothes
that
did
not
show off so
much leg she may as well wear
not
h
ing
at all. He leaned
against the wall and ran his f
ing
ers
through his hair. He
had
to find out where this lass belonged and return her there as soon as it could
be arranged before he did someth
ing
stupid,
like
take her
to his bed.

*          *          *

Kris heard the door shut with a
quiet click and turned to look at the disaster she'd created in her frenzy to
find her cloth
ing
. With
a sigh, she began to clean up. It did
n't
matter what
had
happened to her, it
was
no excuse for mak
ing
a
mess and damag
ing
someone
else's belong
ing
s. She'd
been taught better than
that
.
She could
almost
hear
her grand
mother
's
voice in her ear, "No matter how much you dis
like
a person, or how angry you are at them,
you should always respect a
not
her's
belong
ing
s." This
was
said after Kris
had pulled the head off of one of Aleksa's Barbie dolls.

It took her a little over an hour
to refold e
very
th
ing
and return it to the
chest. She shook her head, amazed at how much she'd thrown around. Final
ly
finished, she planted
both hands on the chest and pushed, us
ing
it as leverage to stand, and blew a stray piece of hair away from her eyes.

She still needed to find her
clothes. She did
n't
want to believe
that
this entire th
ing
wasn't
some elaborate scheme
cooked up to entertain the guests. If she found her clothes,
that
would be the end of it.
She determined
ly
ignored the voice in her head again tell
ing
her she
wasn't
dream
ing
,
that
this
was
really
happen
ing
. What did the voices in
her head know anyway? And who cared if they
had
been right about most th
ing
s
throughout her life?
That
did
n't
mean they
were
right about this. Did
it?

She pushed those thoughts aside
for the moment and looked around the room, her gaze com
ing
to rest on what
had
to be ancient wardrobe closet
that
looked to be in remarkable
condition. It stood against the far wall where the door to the closet
had
been yesterday.

"Ah ha!" She snapped
her f
ing
ers, strode
resolute
ly
over and
swung the double doors wide. And stopped. Both hands on the doors, she could on
ly
stare, stunned by what
she saw.

The most beautiful gowns she
had
ever seen hung neat
ly
inside. E
very
color of the rainbow
was
represented, from
sunshine yellow to navy blue. She reached out a trembl
ing
hand to touch one of hunter green velvet
trimmed with a bit of cream-colored lace around the low neckline and edges of
the sleeves.

Her eyes and hands roamed over
the many silks, satins, and velvets. Never
had
she seen or imagined such an array of colors and materials. Hailey would
have
been in Heaven just
look
ing
at the selection.
Ever the fashion expert, never at a loss for words, even she would
have
been left speechless by
the assortment of such well-preserved gowns.

Kris herself, who
was
most contented in jeans
and a ratty sweatshirt or comfy t-shirt, could appreciate the delicate beauty
displayed before her. She chewed her bottom lip. Now what?

She opened the large drawer near
the bottom to discover undergarments. Chemises of soft lawn, corsets, and stock
ing
s made of the finest
silk. She shook her head in disbelief. Well, if this
was
seventeenth century Scotland, and she
really
was
in MacGregor castle,
Iain MacGregor
was
not
near
ly
as poor as the history
books made him out to be.

Kris straightened from her
inspection and closed the heavy doors. Where the heck
were
her clothes? She could
n't
wear the gowns in the
closet, the ones
that
hadn't
been there yesterday,
no matter how much she wished she could.

With a determined shove she moved
away from the wardrobe. Hands on her hips, she stood in the center of the room
and turned, lett
ing
her eyes take in e
very
detail. Com
ing
full
circle, her eyes fell on the wardrobe once again.

With sudden clarity of thought,
it struck her. Duh!
That
's
the wall where the closet door
had
been yesterday. Perhaps the wardrobe
had
been placed right in front of the door to hide the other closet from view. Made
perfect sense to her.

She hurried back across the room
and eager
ly
ran her
hands along the sides, inspect
ing
e
very
crevice
were
the wardrobe met the
wall. She placed her hands on either side and pushed with e
very
muscle she
had
, grunt
ing
a bit from the effort.

It would
n't
give an inch. Somehow, this th
ing
had
to move. When she uncovered the closet
behind it, she would
have
proof of a scheme. She could
n't
wait to see the look on Mr. MacGregor's face when she informed him his little
play
was
over. The jig
would definite
ly
be
up.

A small smile tugged at the
corner of her lips at the thought. She turned and planted her behind against
it, digg
ing
her toes
into the floor. Would
n't
move. She braced herself again, putt
ing
all her weight against the heavy piece, push
ing
and pull
ing
at the
enormous wardrobe to no avail. Dang th
ing
would
n't
budge.

"What are ye try
ing
to do now, lass?"

Kris jumped and let out a squeak
at the sound of Iain's voice right beside her.

"I thought you left." Her
heart pounded wild
ly
,
and her breath
ing
was
labored as if she'd just
run the Boston marathon. She raised her eyes to find him watch
ing
her intent
ly
. With a glance at her
hands and back to Iain, heat crept into her cheeks. She dropped her hands and
met his gaze. She could swear she detected a faint glimmer of humor in the
depths of his blue eyes.

"Aye, I did."

"But you're back. Why?"

"I came to inform ye
that
Elsbeth will be up soon
to help ye find more appropriate cloth
ing
."

"Oh, well, thank you."

"Now, I ask ye again, what
are ye do
ing
?"