He reached out his hand to her.
She rested her hand in his.
“I take it you were about to agree to come away with me anyway?”
Chloris laughed, and it let loose the tension she had held for so long. “Of course I was. I would have been back with you within the hour if Tamhas had not appeared and set panic loose in Edinburgh.”
Lennox leaned over and drew her fingers to his lips. Kissing her tenderly on the back of her hand, he smiled. There was mischief in his eyes. “I just wanted to be sure I hadn
’t rescued you against your will.”
She chuckled. “To be fair, you’ve done nothing to me against my will.”
Lennox arched an eyebrow at her.
Memories flashed through her mind, intimate memories of all the times they had shared together. Now there would be more memories, and anticipation filled her as she thought about the days ahead. She would have to familiarize herself with his strange ways, his powers and beliefs, but she would work hard at that, to find their middle ground. “What you did there, your magic, it was astonishing.”
His eyes twinkled. “My powers have been greatly fortified recently.”
Jessie lifted her head and laughed softly. “It is because he loves you.”
Chloris smiled. “And I love him.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Lennox stared across the carriage at Chloris and felt a deep sense of contentment. She was finally his. It had taken some doing, but he had no regrets. He would have done whatever was needed to protect and win her.
Her tender beauty lit up his day. It had done, he now realized, since the moment he’d first seen her. He still recalled how dour his mood had been, as it often was back then, when she’d walked in to Somerled with the hawthorn blossom in her hair. The breath of spring she had carried was hers and hers alone. Thankfully he’d been there to welcome her, and thankfully he’d soon come to realize how ill-fated his plan to upset Tamhas Keavey had been. It was a mercy that they had finally left all of that behind.
Lennox would have been happier still if he had her beside him in the carriage, where he could hold her in his arms. However, because Jessie did not travel well Chloris had taken it upon herself to comfort Jessie and keep her from looking outside the carriage at the fast moving ground beneath the wheels. Chloris currently had Jessie tucked in against her, with Jessie’s head upon her shoulder, soothing her with one arm around Jessie’s back. Jessie dozed in reasonable contentment there.
At least the carriage was comfortable and well made, on a par with one built by his own craftsmen. Ramsay had insisted on spending a small fortune on it, as soon as they had the chance to offer for one at a staging post between Cupar and Edinburgh. It meant they could travel quicker without hiring a coachman and carriage at each town. He’d purchased a team of three horses, and Shadow led them. Shadow, who was used to his master’s magic, kept the other horses in line when Lennox put wings beneath their hooves.
Gregor Ramsay had turned out to be a solid ally, and Lennox had now warmed to the man. Besides, he might not practice witchcraft, but he drove the carriage like a demon, and that had been most beneficial. No matter how rough the terrain, he sped them away from the Lowlands where the witch finders and their cohorts threatened their lives. Although Lennox knew he would miss the Lowlands, he would not miss the witch hunters who had stalked the people there for decades.
Lennox took his turn driving the horses and now, on day three of their journey, they were well on their way to Inverness. They would soon find his coven and then the Highlands were next. It would be good to see the place again, for it was that wild and powerful landscape that called to him most of all. It was so much more fitting to go there now, now that he’d gathered together his sister and his lover. Maisie still called to him. Once he had the women settled in the village where the Taskills had been born, he would have to return and continue his hunt for Maisie. But there was hope. If Jessie recalled the coat of arms upon the carriage that had taken her, he was sure that he would be able to pick up her trail. Once he’d found her as well, he would be thoroughly content.
Jessie grumbled in her doze. Chloris soothed her, then smiled across at him.
That simple action made him unerringly happy. Her eyes, so honest and open to him, had made him fall in love with her. Perhaps even from the moment she walked into his parlor asking for a magic favor, wearing that wide-eyed look that exposed her inner beauty. He vowed to cherish and protect her forever.
He glanced outside. The sun was getting low in the sky. “We will need to stop at the next inn.”
Within the hour the carriage drew to a halt.
Jessie sat upright and yawned.
Lennox peered at the inn with caution. It was busy, far too well frequented for his liking. The women were tired and hungry, though, and it was too dark to head on. They had little choice in the matter. “Wait here and I will see if they have rooms.”
Chloris grasped his hand and made him pause before he left the carriage. Her eyes were filled with affection as she looked at him, and it made him feel proud. “You worry so, and yet we are far away from Edinburgh and Saint Andrews now, my love.”
“I will not be happy until we reach Inverness and reunite with the coven, then you will both be safe.” Resting a hurried kiss upon her hand, he climbed out.
Ramsay leaped down from his perch and looked about. “What do you think of the place?”
Lennox frowned. “Perhaps it is better that it is busy, we will merge with the crowd. I will go and secure rooms if you want to deal with the stable hands.”
Ramsay agreed.