“I know, it looks scary — it was so scary. It’s making me feel shaky.”
I leaned against the car taking a deep breath, while Lochie crouched down and looked all around the floorboards and felt under the seats.
“There is nothin’ here.”
We went around the house to the front door.
I let myself in and listened for a moment, but then climbed the stairs, giving Lochie a funny look, pressing my finger to my lips. He grinned as he crept soundlessly behind me.
I opened the door with my key and Lochie went in first to look around. Then I followed. It was just how I had left it yesterday when I went to work. The weirdest thing to say, ever, because it seemed like a whole lifetime ago.
“Okay, what do I need...?” I pulled my suitcase from the closet under the eaves, opened it on the bed, and started pushing underwear and bras in. “What do I pack for a medieval castle?”
“I daena hae any idea, I simply put on what Madame Emma or Queen Kaitlyn tells me tae wear.”
I held up some socks. “Wool?”
“Aye, bring wool socks. And yer comfortable boots. I hae seen some of the women wear layers under their skirts.”
I rolled up some workout pants, placed them in the suitcase and all my wool socks. Then I held up my fanciest, tiniest, laciest pair of underwear and bra, in a bright pink color. “These?”
His eyes went wide. “They are yers?” He sounded breathless when he said it.
“I’ll wear it for our honeymoon.” I placed them in the case.
“Och aye, twould be... verra good.”
I grinned.
He looked over at the bed. “Och, we had a verra fine time, ye ken, we were verra good at it, twould be a shame tae wait,I think. We ought tae be less concerned with what m’family thinks.”
“You, m’laird, are changing your mind back and forth, agreeing with me, then disagreeing?—”
“If ye kent how much I want tae bed ye, ye might disagree with yerself as well. We did it once, we could do it once more without harmin’ our reputations, especially if we keep it verra quiet.”
I sighed. “While a secret tryst does sound fun, I think we ought to keep to the plan. Think how hot you’ll be for me by the time we’re married. It’ll be amazing.”
“Unless I die first.”
I playfully stamped my foot. “Lochie, you are not going to die, not from lack of?—”
He looked crestfallen.
“Oh you mean because of danger...”
“Aye, ye hae given me somethin’ tae live for.”
“That is very sweet.” I was holding a pair of boots and shoved them in the suitcase. “I’m sorry I was teasing you. It’s just that sometimes we’re talking about ordinary things, then next minute we’re talking about life and death. It’s jarring. And not funny.”
He half-smiled. “Tis kind of funny, that I lay with ye right here, just a week ago, then risked m’life tae rescue ye, and now I must stare at the bed longingly, dreamin’ of beddin’ ye, and daena get tae because I must marry ye first. Tis like moving backwards, but I suppose time is a wheel, ye ken?”
“Is it? I always thought it was a line. And you’re right, we are going backwards, but we can’t stop now, we’ve come this far. We must carry on.”
He nodded.
I went to the bathroom to get my perfume, makeup, toothbrush... I brushed the hell out of my teeth, and then didit again. I grabbed a mirror and my floss. My shampoo and conditioner, some hair products for making myself pretty. I put my best jewelry into a small bag. Then put all of that in a larger bag and shoved it into my suitcase. I had a favorite pillow: I rolled it up and put it in too.
When I looked up, Lochinvar was standing in front of the bookcase, holding a book.
