Page 29 of Forever My Lass

The one thing working with Iain’s daughters had done was to occupy her time, so she didn’t have to dwell on her predicament. Actually, that wasn’t quite true, it was always there in the back of her mind. It was worse when she was trying to fall asleep. All she had were questions, and there were no answers forthcoming from anywhere. Not even her nightmares gave her any hints as to how she’d arrived at Muchalls Hall.

Although she had vague memories of Iain’s hand gripping her wrist and pulling her toward him, she had only the vague memory of him saying something to her before she’d been roughly pulled upward and out of his embrace. It was the last thing she remembered of her rescue.

Madeline’s memories of the Destiny’s Dream were altogether different. Those were far too vivid and terrifying. Her nightmares were filled with images of the storm, the man on the cliff, and the captain’s gray features just before the wave tossed the sailboat upside down as if it had been a toy.

Equally vivid was the memory of hitting her head on something hard, and everything going dark a split-second later. Then, in the next instant, she was suddenly breathing air permeated with the dank odor of wood that had been in the water for a long time.

Perhaps most vivid and discernible had been the crisp sound of her grandmother’s voice. If anyone were to suggest Madeline had heard it in her head, she would vehemently argue they were wrong. Sharp and clear, her grandmother’s distinctive mid-west accent had filled that small space as if she’d been right next to Madeline. It had been an actual voice echoing clearly in that pocket of life-sustaining air. A confident voice Madeline hadn’t hesitated to question as she’d obeyed the command.

But of all the memories that filled her nightmares, it was the darkness that horrified her the most. It punctured her dreams with such a terrifying strength, she always awoke as her body jerked upright in bed with her heart pounding wildly in her chest. There had been such a finality to the darkness. The sensation was one she couldn’t shake, and in the back of her mind, a whisper of something she didn’t want to consider tried hard to push its way into her consciousness.

With a disgusted sigh, Madeline climbed the steep hill in front of her. As she reached the top of the knoll, she stared down at a rather large pond. The water shimmered in the sunlight and made her draw in her breath at the lovely sight. A thin rivulet of sweat rolled down her back, reminding her how hot she was from her exercise. She didn’t have a swimsuit, but she could at least go wading to cool herself off. Walking quickly down the incline, she reached the edge of the water within minutes.

Madeline took off her shoes and stockings, then lifted the skirt of her gown high on her thighs and strode into the water. The water was colder than she expected, but as her feet adjusted to the temperature, Madeline wished she could simply take off her clothes and go for a swim. She waded deeper into the pond, then closed her eyes and stood still enjoying the coolness of water swirling gently around her legs.

After a few moments, she realized she was still hot, and she frowned with irritation. At home she would actually be swimming. The thought made Madeline huff out a sharp breath of air as she made a decision. She quickly surveyed the surrounding landscape to ensure she was completely alone before she waded out of the water to remove everything, but her combination garment.

For a brief moment, she debated going nude, then opted not to. Her luck of late hadn’t exactly been worthy of investing in a lot of lottery tickets. She’d only draw more attention to herself if someone stumbled upon her naked in the pond. A moment later, she ran back into the water, then threw herself forward into a low dive and sank beneath the cold water.

Coming back up for air, she propelled herself back and forth across the length of the pond with smooth kicks and arm strokes. As she swam, her pace increased as she released all the pent-up emotions and energy she’d been internalizing. She’d not known until that moment, how badly she’d needed an outlet for everything that had been locked inside of her for almost a week.

Madeline didn’t know how long she’d been in the water, before her body began to tire. Slowly, she swam toward the edge of the pond where she’d left her clothes. When she reached shallow water, Madeline waded out of the pond and tried wringing the water out of her undergarments. It was an impossible task and hands braced against her hips, she rolled her eyes with a shake of her head.

“Well, Madeline, you should have gone naked after all,” she muttered sarcastically to herself.

Glaring down at the soggy underwear that clung to her body like a second skin, she uttered a small sound of disgust. Faced with the choice of putting her dress on over her soaked undergarments or going commando to stay dry, Madeline hesitated before her shoulders rolled up in a careless shrug. Commando it was then. Moving quickly, she undid the front of the wet garment and pushed it off her body.

The moment she’d stepped out of the dripping undergarment, she heard a sound behind her that made her heart sink. Frantically, she reached for her gown as the soft thunder of hoofbeats echoed through the air behind her. Clutching her dress to the front of her body, she whirled around to face the approaching rider.

The sight of Iain racing at breakneck speed in her direction made her eyes widen in surprise. With a hard tug on the reins, he brought the animal to a sliding halt and dismounted. As she watched him approach her with a long, quick stride, the grim expression on his rugged features made her stare at him with trepidation. She should have kept her underwear on, soaking wet or not.

“Are ye hurt, lass?”

The question was the last thing she expected to hear pass his lips. She’d been steeling herself for him to unleash the wrath of hell down onto her head for her lack of clothing, not him asking if she was hurt. Bewildered, she shook her head.

“Hurt? No… I’m fine. What makes you think I’m hurt?”

“Because ye fell into the pond,” he snarled as his fingers dug into her bare arms and something that resembled horror flashed in his dark blue gaze. Confused, Madeline tipped her head slightly to one side.

“I didn’t fall into the pond. I—”

“Sweet màthair of God, is Ainslie in—”

“No, the girls are at the house.” She rushed to reassure him and flinched at the look of horror on his face. “They’re fine. I just went for a swim. I was hot, and—”

“Ye did what?” Anger darkened Iain’s face, and he shook her roughly. Stunned by his reaction, Madeline stared at him in disbelief. “What in the name of God would make ye do such a thing. Dinnae ye ken ye could have drowned.”

“I swim all the time at home, and—”

“Ye are nae at home, ye wee Sassenach eejit.” Iain’s breathing had become ragged as a shudder rocked through his body. The tremor pulsed its way into her through the firm hands that tightened their grip on her arms. She winced as his fingers dug painfully into her arms, and he shook her again. “I dinnae pull ye out of that fucking sea tae see ye drown in a pond.”

There was something in his voice that made Madeline realize he was afraid. No, not afraid. Panicked terror vibrated off of him with a physical force that stunned her. From the fury in his voice to the gray, ashen color of his face, he possessed the air of a man caught up in a full-blown panic attack. His harsh breaths emphasized the tension holding him rigid, and she was certain she would have bruises tomorrow where his fingers pressed fiercely into her arms. She winced as he gave her another vicious shake.

“Dinnae ye ken how dangerous the water is?”

“Iain, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you,” she whispered as she pressed her hand into his chest.

The intensity of his emotions rolled over her in a tangible vibration, and his grip on her didn’t slacken. Eyes as dark and stormy as the North Sea he’d pulled her from, he showed no sign of having heard her. Beneath her palm, his heart pounded violently in his chest, and the way it was racing at such an alarming speed frightened her. Worried he might suffer another migraine or worse, faint from hyperventilating, she took a step into him, while keeping her hand against his chest.