Chapter 23

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

T he young woman stepped between the trees, with her cloaked body completely masked from anyone that might have tread the path beyond. She glimpsed the edge of the cliff, the rocky outcrop that overlooked the churning ocean below. Even from so high up, she could hear the ocean hissing and whistling, as if it were a great beast, calling out for its next feast.

"Callie? Callie, are ye up here?" the familiar voice called.

The young woman pressed herself closer to the trunk of a nearby pine tree, watching Eloise as she walked toward the top of the cliffs. Her auburn hair was wild about her ears, coming down out of her updo in the wind. She breathed heavily, but didn't once let up her pace, clearly eager to see the sister-in-law who was not coming.

This time, I shall dae it. I willnae fail again.

The woman peered beyond the tree trunk, pulling the edge of her hood back a little to have a clearer view of Eloise. She'd come so close on one occasion. Creeping through Eloise's chamber, she'd hidden behind the screen, watching as Eloise bathed in the bath. If they'd had a minute or so more alone, the woman could have pushed Eloise under that water and drowned her in those soapy depths.

She wouldnave have been a problem anymore then.

The woman may have failed that time, but now, she could not miss. Eloise was completely alone as she stood at the top of the cliff.

"Callie?" Eloise called one more. She turned on the spot, whipping her head back and forth, then she moved toward the cliff edge. She was dangerously close to that precipice, the toes of her boots on the grey rocks that overlooked the ocean beneath.

The wind traveled off the ocean and up the cliff face, buffeting Eloise where she stood and making the skirt of her gown ripple.

It is just the same as when Lillie stood there. Aye, just the same.

Now was her chance. She could be free of Eloise just as she had been free of Lillie beforehand. After that, no one would stand in her way again.

I have tae make it happen. I have tae!

The woman stepped out from between the trees, trying not to make a sound as she walked on the toes of her boots.

So close…

Moving toward where Eloise stood on the edge, she breathed deeply, holding her breath. She had killed once before, and she now recognized that same sensation washing over her that had greeted her the first time. She felt a tingle of nerves, the determination, and the hatred for the woman she was to kill.

Goodbye, Eloise.

She stepped further up the path, clambering up the rocks. Soon, it would all be over.

Eloise stared down at the rocks where they met the ocean far below. It was an unusual place for Callie to wish to meet, strange indeed. She understood Callie wanting to meet somewhere away from Avery so they could talk freely, but Avery was currently bedbound. They could have met anywhere in the castle rather than at these cliffs.

She searched the cliff face and peered over the edge once more, down at the shingle far beneath her. It was a tall drop. She could picture any creature that fell from such a height would be dead in an instant. The mere thought made her mouth dry, and she stepped back, determined to put distance between her and the edge.

As she backed up, she met a wall, and hands reached for her waist.

"Ah!" Eloise screamed, certain for one awful moment that she was being lurched toward the cliff edge.

"It's me!" a voice cried, turning her around. "Eloise, it's me." Murdoch's voice broke through the sudden fear.

Eloise still slipped on the clifftop, her boots struggling to find purchase on the grit.

"In the name of the wee man, what a place tae stand!" He dragged her away, his breath so labored it suggested he had been running. His face was bright red, and his hands didn't stop moving over Eloise as he dragged her away. He took her arms, then her waist again, steering her as far back from the cliff edge as they could get. "Dae ye nae realize where ye were standing? If anyone had come along… God's blood! Eloise, dae ye nae see that?"

"Murdoch –" She tried to calm him down. Placing her hands in the middle of his chest, she sought out some comfort, but he wouldn't have it. He shook his head and brushed her off, releasing her completely as he stepped back. His head jerked twice in the direction of the trees, as if he had seen something, then he backed up again and returned his focus to her.

"Eloise, ye dinnae realize what this place is. Why come here? Why come here of all places?"

"Callie asked me tae come. What is wrong with ye, Murdoch? Why are ye so mad?"

"Callie never wrote that letter." He stepped toward her, his voice firm and low. "I have just come from her side. She hasnae left Avery in the healer's cottage."

"I beg yer pardon?" Eloise frowned. Surely it was not possible!

"Someone lured ye here. Tae think that they may have…" He looked away from her and to the cliff edge. "Oh God."

"God, what? Murdoch, ye arenae making any sense! Other than ye giving me a heart attack by grabbing me so close tae the cliff edge, nothing is wrong."

"Everything is wrong." His voice boomed, competing with the whistling wind and the crack of the waves on the shore far below. "Ye were standing in the very spot that she must have stood in when she died."

Eloise stood stock still, feeling the wind buffet her as she took in what Murdoch had said.

She… when she died?

"Who?" she whispered, with her voice barely audible at all. "When who died, Murdoch?"

His breath appeared to catch in his throat, and he turned his back on her, placing his hands over his head in despair.

"I cannae dae this. Ye dinnae ken what it did tae me, tae see ye standing there."

"Then tell me." She hurried around him, desperate to catch his eye again. "Murdoch, please, speak tae me." She reached for his hands and pulled them down from his head, encouraging him to look her in the eye.

She saw pain in those dark eyes. There were tears in them that he was fighting back, blinking hard and refusing to let fall.

"Murdoch." Her heart felt as if it cracked in two, just looking at those unshed tears. "Please, tell me what is going on."

"She must have stood there before she fell, before she was… pushed." He sighed deeply and bent forward, hanging his head.

Determined to have his gaze now, Eloise reached for his chin and used a single finger to urge him to look up. It mirrored an action he had done to her on more than one occasion, to have her gaze.

"I told ye I was betrothed once." His voice was full of angst as this time he did not look away from her. "Lillie. She was Harper's sister. The betrothal was arranged by our fathers tae unite the clans."

"And she…" Eloise trailed off, turning to look at the cliffs as she realized what he was saying. "She died."

"She was murdered. In this exact spot!" He waved a hand madly at the cliff edge then took her hand. "We are getting away from here. Now."

"Wait, Murdoch." She tried to pull on his hand, desperate to talk some more, but he was clearly having none of it. He led her all the way down the hill, refusing to say another word as they raced toward his horse. "Murdoch, ye have tae tell me something more than this. Who killed her? Why was she killed?"

A muscle ticked in his jaw, but he still said nothing.

"Murdoch!" Eloise pushed against him, though it yielded no results. When they reached the horse, he took hold of her waist and as good as threw her into the saddle. She yelped in surprise, scrambling to sit straight as he pulled himself up behind her. Without hesitation, he wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her close before flicking the reins and taking them away.

They rode so fast, with such a bitter wind nipping at their faces, Eloise could not speak again. She glanced repeatedly back in the direction of the cliffs though as they ran away, wanting one last view. She gulped, feeling a lump in her throat when she thought of the woman he was supposed to marry and how she was pushed from those cliffs.

"This is awful," she muttered as the horse began to slow.

They reached a loch isolated between mounds of rocks. Here, the trees grew so far on one side that the cliff face was entirely masked from view. On the other side, the rocks formed a waterfall, with water billowing off slates of rock into the large pool beneath them.

"Murdoch, please, ye and I must talk about this." Her begging worked and they came to a stop beside the loch.

He bent his head down, resting his forehead on her shoulder. That touch urged her to reach back to him, placing one hand on his thigh so they had some connection.

"I am so sorry," she whispered. "I didnae ken ye had loved a woman who was taken from ye so cruelly."

"I didnae love Lillie."

"What?" Eloise wasn't expecting the relief that washed over her. It was as if the heaviness that weighed on her sternum had been lifted. "Ye didnae love her?"

"It was a marriage of arrangement." He lifted his head and dropped his hands away from her, leaving her cold without his touch. He slid down off the saddle and stepped away from her, leaving her to scramble after him. "I was fond of Lillie. Aye, I liked her. I didnae love her. Yet the way she died…" He faltered and stood by the edge of the loch, staring at the waterfall on the other side. "She was murdered, undeniably pushed from the cliff, fer there had been nae rockfall. It was nae accident. We have never kenned who killed her, nor why."

Eloise moved to stand beside him, watching the side of his face and the way all the muscles had tightened. The sinews in his neck stood out, for he was holding himself taut.

"It has haunted ye," Eloise whispered. He nodded, still not looking at her.

"I am so sorry, Murdoch."

"When I saw ye standing in that spot," he turned sharply to her, a redness coloring his cheeks, "it all came back. The fear, the anger, and the thought that ye could have been lost tae –" he moved toward her, taking hold of her waist with both of his hands, "– that is more than I can possibly bear."

"Murdoch, I am alive." She placed her hands on his chest, her fingers splayed outward. "I'm still here, beside ye, and I am breathing."

"I cannae lose ye as she was lost. I cannae dae it."

"But –"

"Nay, Eloise. Ye dinnae understand. I cannae dae it." He moved his head close to hers, and hurriedly kissed her. His lips moved against her sensually, fiercely, as if he needed that kiss as a drowning man needed air. Eloise's hands rose up his chest, needing to stay close to him as she continued that kiss. "That is why I cannae lose ye." He pulled back an inch from her lips to say the words.

"Because ye enjoy my kisses?" she asked him in a soft voice, trying to lighten the atmosphere between them. He slowly shook his head, his lips spreading into the smallest of smiles.

"Because I cannae imagine my life without ye in it now." He closed his eyes, as if embarrassed that he had said those words at all.

Oh! He cares for me!

A rush of warmth enveloped Eloise at his declaration. With his eyes closed, she felt emboldened, determined to do something to show him just how much she cared for him too. She raised herself on her toes and kissed him again. His reaction was instant, one of his arms wrapping around her waist as his other hand went for her hair. He pulled at her tendrils in the updo and angled her head to the side, so he could kiss her deeper.

Pushed back by the fierceness of his kiss, she ended up paddling in the shallows of the loch, though she hardly cared about getting wet. She would have happily swum in that loch if it meant just continuing this kiss for a little longer.

"Murdoch," she whispered as they pulled back from one another, both standing in the loch with the water growing up her gown. "There's something I want ye tae ken." She breathed deeply, trying to find the courage to speak of what she felt for him now. "I ken how we started all of this, that it was all a deception tae begin with." She stared in the middle of his chest, feeling his arm wrap around her even more, pulling her toward him so their hips brushed together. "Yet my heart is yers, if ye wish tae claim it." Her words were scarcely audible at all, though he seemed to hear them, for he tilted her head back again and connected their lips once more.

This time, there was no pulling back. He continued that kiss, pushing her deeper as he explored her mouth, and Eloise clung to him, wanting more and more of his touches. With his arms around her waist, he lifted her from the bed of the loch and carried her toward the riverbank, away from the water.

When they reached the grassy bank, he laid her down on the ground and moved over her, their bodies pressed together in heat. He lifted himself up enough to look her in the eye, his body weight resting on his forearm beside her head.

"Ye need out of this gown. In this weather, ye'll be freezing," he whispered, yet he showed no sign of returning to the horse and moving away.

Eloise knew what she wanted. Maybe it was a wild and foolish thought when they were out here in the middle of the countryside, but they were isolated, completely alone, and the desire was consuming her, her body already on fire.

Feeling bold, she raised her hands over her head, showing she was happy to shed the gown now.

Murdoch reached for the laces across her breasts, a great smile spreading across his lips. He hurried to untie them, then lifted her body up enough to remove the gown, tossing it to the side somewhere. It landed amongst the dirt and rocks, though Eloise didn't care to look where exactly it was. When he stood and left her body, she whimpered, wanting him back with her again. He returned just a second later from the horse with a blanket in his hands. He laid the blanket across the ground and pulled her onto it, so she was at least lifted from the dewy cold grass.

He pressed their bodies together once more, his hands framing her waist, his long fingers trying to cover as much of her body as they seemingly could. Aroused by such a touch, Eloise ran her hands over his back and his strong shoulders, longing to have him closer, as close as she could possibly get him. Reaching for his clothes, she tugged at the loose jerkin over his shoulders, urging him to be rid of it. He didn't stop kissing her as he helped her throw it to the side. Next came the shirt, and he had to part from her long enough to allow her to pull it free over his head. It joined the pile of clothes in the grass, before he moved back above her, kissing her intensely.

One thing led to another. His hands took hold of her corset, freeing her from it, and soon her chemise was gone too, along with her woolen stockings and her boots. Completely bare, she was astonished she wasn't colder, but the heat of Murdoch's touches kept her warm, as did this raging need inside of her body. It came as a wetness between her legs, an ache that longed to be satisfied.

He knelt up in front of her, reaching for the flap of his trews, though he didn't quite release himself. He was waiting, looking straight at her, with full patience.

She nodded, showing she was ready for this, that she couldn't bear for him to stop now. His lips flickered into the smallest of smiles before he untied the flap and pushed the trews down his hips. Eloise raised herself, moving to help him get rid of the trews.

When he was bare too, she looked down, intrigued to see all of him so completely. An involuntary gasp escaped her lips at the sight of him, for he was bigger than she had expected.

"Trust me?" he whispered, moving over to her once more. Unable to find words, she simply nodded and leaned back on the blanket, reaching for him. He pressed his body to hers, kissing her again, though there was no chasteness in this kiss at all. It was instantly passionate and fierce, demanding in a way that she loved. He pushed her back down flat to the tartan blanket he had laid out, his tongue dancing with her own.

The feeling of his bare chest across her own had her trembling. So much skin was pressed together, that it initiated a trembling deep within her gut, making the ache for him in her core grow even deeper.

Reaching down, he took hold of one of her knees and hitched it around his hip. She was completely open to him now, her body ready for him. They only parted from their kiss when his length nudged her entrance. She looked Murdoch in the eye, watching him, quite entranced that he wanted to do this with her at all.

"Ah, Eloise." Her name left him in a sigh as his length slid into her.