Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

E loise entered the feasting room again, though she fidgeted with the skirt of her gown constantly, comparing it to the others in the room. She had not been expecting so many fine events and wondered how long her gowns would last her through the next couple of weeks if such events were to continue.

"Ye dinnae need tae fidget," Murdoch whispered in her ear. "Ye look well in the gown."

"Well?" Eloise scoffed. "Ye ken how tae make a woman feel nice, dae ye nae?"

He halted and looked at her, his gaze so intense that she fidgeted once more.

"Ye want me tae drop tae yer feet and lap at yer heels like a sick pup?"

"That was nae what I was asking fer," she muttered hurriedly. Neither one of them was touching each other, their hands on their hips as they stared into each other's eyes, the challenge plain. "Are ye and I incapable of having an easy conversation between us?"

"Unlikely indeed."

"Change yer face tae a smile."

"Why?"

"Because yer father is coming this way." She nodded her head at Fergus approaching through the crowds.

Behind him, the room was decorated just as well as the night before, though some of the tables bore far too many empty chairs and benchers. Even if the dancers all sat down now, it would not be enough to fill those chairs.

This evening, fiddle players had joined the pipers and such buoyant music filled the air that even those not dancing were clapping along.

"Murdoch, Eloise," Fergus declared, hurrying toward them. "I am glad ye are here, fer I have such a night planned." He rubbed his hands together, rather like a child.

"What is it ye have planned, Father?" Murdoch groaned. He took Eloise's hand and threaded it through his arm, as if it was second nature to him by now.

"Ye shall see." Fergus gave nothing away but smiled warmly. "Trust me, me boy. All is in hand. Now, perhaps we shall see ye two dance tonight?"

"Dance?" Eloise repeated, her free hand fiddling with the skirt of her red gown as she looked at the floor. It was crowded indeed with so many people smiling and laughing together, she found it rather hard to imagine Murdoch taking to that floor. "I dinnae imagine Murdoch is much in the mood tae dance."

"Nay, mo ghràdh . Ye think nae?" He offered another one of those challenging glares. His voice had deepened when he'd used that term again. Unable to answer him, for her mouth was suddenly dry, she just stared up at him. "Maybe a dance is a good idea, Father."

"Wonderful!" Fergus said warmly.

Eloise bit her lip to stop herself from laughing, for she had seen over the past two days just how much Fergus relied upon this word to express his happy emotions.

Wait, we are going tae dance?

"I have nae seen ye dance in years, me boy, nae since… well, never mind." Fergus broke off. Whatever it was that he had been about to say, it made Murdoch's expression darken and his arm tightened within Eloise's grasp.

He didn't wait for his father to say anymore but drew Eloise away, between the tables and toward the dancers.

"When did ye last dance?" Eloise whispered to Murdoch.

"Nay, Eloise. We are nae talking about that tonight."

"Ye have many secrets."

"Aye, as dae ye. We have agreed that our secrets shall stay secret though, have we nae?" he asked, lowering his lips to her ear. "I shall nae ask why ye dae this job, and ye shall nae ask why I need ye here so much."

His words sent a tremble through her body.

He needs me…

"Let us dance, Eloise." He stood straight and led her toward the floor again. They joined a volta barely after it had begun. Eloise curtsied, ready to dance with some caution, yet Murdoch was no delicate dancer.

When he took her waist and thrust her into the air for the traditional volta jump, it was so high she had to stop herself from yelping in surprise. He gathered her easily in his arms and swept her from side to side, before they backed up from one another, parting and joining the other dancers. Eloise completed a circle of skips with the other ladies, though she constantly looked back at Murdoch as she did so.

He looked at her too, those dark eyes never far away from her. She realized that he was not looking at her face, but at her gown. She glanced down at the deep red silk and how she was having to hitch it above her ankles, so that she could dance easily. It revealed a glimmer of her ankles and her legs. For some reason, she didn't feel the need to lower the gown. Murdoch's gaze did not frighten her as so many other men's looks had done in the past.

When they returned to one another, they circled each other, his hands on her back and hers on his shoulders.

"Why have ye nae danced in so long when ye can dance like this?" she asked in wonder.

"I never said I liked tae dance, Eloise." Despite his words, he moved with speed and alacrity. He urged her to spin under his arm then caught her with his other arm. It wrapped around her back with his hand nestled on the upper side of her waist, just under her bosom. Those fingers practically caressed the side of her, something she felt even through her corset.

He tilted her back, mirroring the other dancers' actions, though his face came down close to hers, perhaps bending the rules of the choreography a little. His eyes flitted down to her lips and Eloise looked down at his. Such heat traveled through her body that her hand gripped his shoulders tighter.

"Ye are getting better, Murdoch."

"At what?" he asked, his eyes still on her lips.

"Pretending nae tae find me so revolting."

The trace of a smile appeared on his lips as he raised her again and spun her away. Once more, they returned to the other dancers. They performed their circles then came back together, with him assisting her jumps in the air. The last time, he threw her in the air, actually releasing her. Only a couple other men on the dance floor dared to perform such an audacious move. He caught her easily, though she gasped in his ear as he did so.

"I wouldnae let ye fall," he said firmly, lowering her back down again, torturously slowly, in such a way that their hips brushed together.

"Murdoch –" Before she could say anymore, her hand was snatched by another of the dancers, and she was forced into another of those skipping circles. This time as she glanced back at Murdoch, she found him staring at her face. She could have tricked herself into believing there was a blush on his cheeks, but she supposed it was the heat from their dance, rather than any of those touches.

They returned to one another, where he repeatedly turned her under his arm and tilting her back, his face moving so close to hers that he was close enough to kiss. Her breath hitched as she waited for that feeling, remembering what it had been like the night before when they had been urged to kiss by the crowds.

She had not expected the intensity that had accompanied it, nor the grip he'd had on her hip at the time.

Is it so wrong tae want such a kiss again?

The music ended with the pipers performing their final notes and Eloise was hastily put back on her feet. She tottered for a second, uncertain of her balance, with her hands moving to Murdoch's stomach to steady herself. It was strong beneath her touch. His hands on her waist helped to steady her too.

"For a minute, I would have said ye thought I was going tae kiss ye again," he murmured in her ear then released her, stepping back to bow.

Eloise could not find her voice. She bowed her head as she curtsied and didn't raise her gaze as Murdoch took her arm and led her from the floor.

"Pray, dinnae go back tae demurely avoiding me gaze again, Eloise. I cannae bear it."

"I beg yer pardon?" She jerked her chin up, looking at him as they approached the platform and the top table, far down in the feasting room.

"I prefer it when ye look at me tae avoiding me," he muttered darkly. "I cannae stand the demure act."

"An act?" She asked sharply. "Ye think I am acting when I do such a thing?"

"Well, I have already seen ye are good at pretending." He nodded his head back at the dance floor. "I could have easily persuaded myself into thinking ye enjoyed my touches then." He released her and approached the table, leaving her woozy on her feet as she followed.

Despite her words, she hung her head, as it was her natural habit to do so. She kept her thoughts to herself, realizing with horror that she hadn't been acting at all.

It is time tae face the truth. Despite what we are doing here, I like Murdoch's touches.

The attraction, the heat, all of it was not something she could deny. She sat down hurriedly beside him at the table as Fergus stood. He tapped a knife against the goblet in his grasp, the metal ringing out loudly.

Many took their seats as others hunted for their goblets. It was time for another toast.

"I thank ye for coming tonight, me friends, for another feast tae celebrate our happy unions." Fergus turned great smiles on his two sons. "I have some announcements tae make. The first, is fer me youngest son, Clyde, and his betrothed, Harper." He laid a hand on Clyde's shoulder at his side. "It is my pleasure tae tell ye all that their wedding shall take place within the month."

A warm applause followed this as a guard approached Murdoch.

Distracted, Eloise looked toward him, seeing the guard whisper in Murdoch's ear. His face turned deathly pale, almost as white as the moon beyond the castle windows. He nodded, just once, his manner abruptly stiff, then the guard hastened back again. In the next second, Murdoch's leg began to bounce beneath the table and one of his hands tightened on the edge of the table.

"Murdoch?" Eloise whispered to him under the cover of the applause. "What is it? Has something happened?"

"Ye and I have a problem." Murdoch turned toward her.

"What is it?"

"Of course, there is my eldest son tae consider." Fergus shifted as the applause faded. He clapped Murdoch's shoulder this time, pinning him in his seat. "As he has returned betrothed, it is my greatest hope that we shall see them married whilst they are here."

Here? Married here?

Eloise tried to force a smile though her heart thudded against her ribcage loudly. This would no longer be an act if she and Murdoch had to be married in front of his father's eyes!

"On that subject, I have a surprise fer me son." Fergus lifted his hand from Murdoch's shoulder and gestured to the door at the far end of the hall. "Here, the other guests we have been waiting for."

Guests?

Eloise glanced at Murdoch, seeing the fear in his eyes and the bouncing of his leg had grown worse. The guard must have warned him of what was about to happen, for he looked ready to leap out of his chair.

The door was opened by the guards and four figures walked in.

Eloise's eyes darted across the two ladies, shocked to see Aila and Callie staring back at her. Ian stood beside Aila, ready to laugh at the display of grandeur and fine color in the room. The face Eloise stared at the most, the one that shocked her to her core, was her brother's, Avery.

He stared at her too across the breadth of the room, the surprise on his face so palpable it was a wonder he didn't faint.