Page 42 of This Laird of Mine

Jane. Jules watched as she talked, her features animated, with the husband at her side. She laughed and Nicholas brought his arm up to curl around her shoulders, drawing her closer to him. For once, the act of affection did not bother him. Instead, Jules smiled and turned back to Claire.

He was entranced by her expressive golden eyes, the smoothness of her skin, her scent, the way she held her chin just slightly to the left when she was uneasy or uncertain. Was she uncertain about him? His change of heart? Every aspect of his life had changed in the past few days.

Because of Claire.

Music and laughter filled the chamber—both things Jules had never expected to feel in this house again, much less in this very room.

When they had eaten, Jules pushed away from the table and held out his hand to Claire this time. “Dance with me, Claire.”

She stood then hesitated. “I’m not certain that is wise.”

He frowned. “Why not? Everyone here is expecting us to celebrate our nuptials.”

Her face grew pensive. “Have you ever wanted something so badly—something that was within your grasp—and yet you were afraid to reach out and take it?”

He knew the feeling well. “What is it you want, Claire?” He reached up to brush a wisp of hair away from her cheek. Her hair was softer tonight, less severe than it had been when she’d first arrived. And he liked it.

“You.”

His heart stilled even as the noise of the room rushed around him. His fingers pressed reflexively against her back, pulling her closer. “What did you say?” he asked in a strained voice. He’d heard her, but he needed to hear those words again.

She smiled, and the unrestrained pleasure in her face lit her eyes. “I want you, Jules. Only you.”

Claire stared into Jules’s eyes, watching them darken with desire. The music swirled around the two of them, filling her with triumphant exhilaration. A light breeze came in through the open windows and touched her cheeks as though the very wind was celebrating this moment. That wind brought with it the scents of earth and mist that were part of Kildare Manor, part of the man holding her in his arms.

“They have accepted you, you know,” Jules whispered next to her ear. A shiver raced across her flesh as the warmth of his breath ignited her sensitive skin.

The crowd moved aside for them as they danced, watching them with approving eyes. As Lady Kildare, she had won their hearts tonight. She would be a part of their lives, Jules’s life. And she wanted that reality to go on forever.

Before the thought had fully formed, the crowd parted yet again as the refrain of the song came to an end. Jules placed his hand at the center of her back to guide her not back to the table, but toward the door. “I thank you for your efforts tonight, but I would rather be alone with you right now than anywhere else in the world.”

She turned to look at him when she saw something familiar out of the corner of her eye. A familiar face. A dark head of hair. Penelope.

Claire gasped. Her ward.

Penelope stood at the edge of the crowd wearing a dusty-pink gown that was far more mature than her sixteen years should have allowed.

Jules stopped his progress forward. He gazed at her curiously. “What is it, Claire?”

Claire darted forward. She had to get to Penelope. But the crowd shifted as a new melody began, and Penelope disappeared from view. A heartbeat later, the bodies before her shifted, revealing her young charge once more. Her gaze connected with Claire’s. In her frightened blue eyes Claire saw a plea for help before the young woman stepped back into the crowd and was lost.

With an anguished cry, Claire hurried through the dancers to the spot where Penelope had stood moments before.

She was gone.

Claire searched the crowd frantically and found no sight of the girl. She breathed a desperate sigh. Had it been her own imagination that tortured her now? Had she wanted this whole nightmare of kidnapping, blackmail, and lies to end so badly that she had conjured the sight of Penelope in this very room?

Jules joined Claire at her side. His hand went to her waist, pulling her against him. “What is it?”

“I thought I saw someone I knew,” she said, her words raw. Come back, Penelope. Come back. Oh sweet heavens, I’m so sorry you are caught in all of this . . .

Claire staggered, suddenly feeling hollow and lifeless and sad. Then she felt herself being swept up into Jules’s arms. He pulled her against his chest, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, indulging herself in the scent of him, the feel of him. He was a safe harbor in a storm that suddenly didn’t make sense.

Penelope.

Curious eyes watched them, and a few suggestive comments were tossed their way as they left the chamber. Instead of heading toward the tower bedroom, they went the other way. “My chamber?” she asked.

“You no longer sleep there, Claire. From this night on, you will sleep in my bed, next to me.”