Page 34 of A Highlander's Vow

Chapter Fifteen

Megan did enjoythe party and she was happy during the wedding feast. The food was delicious and she always enjoyed dancing. Robert never cared for it, and usually sat with his friends and drank while she danced with whoever asked her.

On the other hand, despite his size, Gregory was a wonderful dancer and was on the dance floor longer than he was off. She tried to ignore all the lasses who came up to him to dance, with their hands extended.

Some of the men took her to the dance floor, but she would have preferred dancing with her new husband. Not that Gregory ignored her as Robert had, it just was that she was uncomfortable with the look on the lasses faces.

Was she jealous?

Definitely not. One had to be in love to feel jealous and she would not allow that. The last thing she needed was to be in love with a man who married her to fulfill a promise made years ago.

Isn’t it about time to put that aside?

She would wait to make a decision on that until after the bedding. Then the disappointment on his face would convince her.

Megan sat at the table on the dais, recovering from her last dance. She looked up and Gregory was swaggering toward her, a soft smile on his face and a glint in his eyes. She swallowed several times,knowing exactly what he was planning.

He held his hand out. “Time for us to retire. We best do it before that bunch of drunken men at the table behind me decide to do a bedding ceremony.”

She jumped up, remembering that with her first wedding. It was humiliating and Robert had thought it funny when the bedcover was whipped off her for him to get into the bed and dozens of men had whistled and commented on her naked body.

“We will make our way through the crowd separately, and then meet upstairs in my bedchamber. I doona think anyone will guess what we’re doing until it’s too late.”

She nodded and Gregory turned and sat at the table with his friends. Megan slowly moved through the crowd, accepting wishes, and turning down dances.

Once she reached the stairs, she didn’t look around, but just rushed upstairs. It took her a minute to remember which bedchamber was Gregory’s. She sneaked open one door and knew she had found the right place.

Candles burned, and a jug of wine and two mugs sat on one table. The night shift she had wanted to wear was lying on the bed. Would Gregory be kind enough to let her wear it?

Since there were no women to give her a bath, she moved over to the table where she’d put her things when Beth and several others helped her move into Gregory’s bedchamber.

She added one of her scented oils to the water in a bowl left for her and picked up one of the cloths to wash the sweat off her body from all the dancing.

Feeling refreshed, she slid into the night shift and moved over to the bed. She sat on the edge and within minutes the door opened and Gregory stood there.

Her heart began to pound and the sweat she’d so diligently wiped off came back again.

*

His bride lookedscared to death. He found that surprising since she’d been married before. Certainly she knew what was going to happen?

He pulled on a pair of breeches under his kilt, then unwrapped the garment, leaving him in only the breeches and a léine. He looked over at her, sitting on the edge of the bed looking like she was about to bolt. He put his hand out. “Come join me for a cup of wine.”

She took his hand with her ice-cold one. He led her to a chair in front of the brazier and took the chair alongside her. He poured them both a mug of wine, handed it to her and said, “So did ye enjoy yer wedding celebration?”

“Aye.” She took a gulp of wine. “I enjoy dancing.”

“So I noticed. I always enjoyed it myself.”

Another gulp of wine. “It seems a lot of lasses enjoyed dancing with ye.”

He grinned, even though she looked as though she was very sorry she’d said that. Taking pity on the lass he said, “Aye, just about the entire clan likes to dance.”

She nodded. Another gulp. She held the mug out. “Can I have some more?”

He was starting to get nervous. Was she trying to get herself drunk? The last thing he wanted to do was bed a drunk wife. He poured about half a mug. “I think that is enough, lass.”

She sighed. “Verra well.” She did take her time sipping on that one.