Chapter Seven

F lora escaped to her bedchamber after the scorching kiss Lennox stole from her lips. Nay. The kiss she shared with him. It was so powerful it weakened her knees. If she hadn’t been sitting, she would have swooned into his arms. Her lips still tingled from the connection.

Lennox’s abrupt departure confused her. The man she had married never would’ve relented. He would’ve continued with his onslaught of charm until she succumbed to his passion. The fiery exchanges they had shared before they wed would’ve made any maiden blush. Not just the maidens but any lady familiar with intimate encounters.

Flora pressed her hands to her cheeks as she remembered the liberties she had allowed Lennox before their wedding night. She had been powerless to resist him then—and possibly even now. The memories of their time together rushed back from being near him. She had grown weary of denying her feelings. Could she endure the heartache of loving him again, with him not loving her in return?

The door to her bedchamber flew open, and Lennox rushed inside. When he noticed her sitting on the chaise, he paused with what appeared like relief. “You are still here.”

“Aye.”

Lennox glanced around and noticed her empty valise lying on the floor next to the wardrobe. “You will stay?”

Flora nodded. “For now.”

Lennox folded his arms behind his back. “Will you join me for dinner?”

Flora hesitated. “I would prefer to dine in my room.”

“I promise not to make any untoward advances on you. My greatest wish is to make peace and offer you an explanation,” Lennox pleaded.

“An explanation of what sorts?”

Lennox smiled. “Lord Hepburn.”

His mischievous grin would be Flora’s downfall. That and her curiosity. Also, she needed to learn the reason behind his arrival before she decided the course of her future.

Flora nodded her acceptance.

Lennox’s grin widened. “Excellent. May I escort you belowstairs?”

“If you would be so kind to allow me a moment. I shall be along soon.”

“I will wait with anticipation.”

Flora took a deep breath at Lennox’s departure. The man stole her very breath away. He left her flustered, and she needed to settle her ricocheting emotions. Once she calmed down, Flora rose to stand in front of the mirror. She should change her attire, but she didn’t want Lennox to assume she tried to impress him. However, she fixed her hair by redoing it back into a proper bun with the pins she collected from the library floor.

She secretly hoped she didn’t disappoint him.

~~~~~

L ENNOX PACED THE LENGTH of the table as he waited for Flora to join him. “Move the settings next to each other.”

“Yes, my lord.” Murray pointed to the footman to make the change.

“Did Mrs. Gow prepare the dishes I requested?”

Murray straightened the utensils next to the plates. “Yes.”

Lennox glanced along the corridor, only to find it empty. He hoped he didn’t frighten her away. He could kick himself for giving in to his temptation, but Flora had been too damn enticing to resist. Lennox walked a fine line in keeping her close so he could protect her. One false move and she would flee to parts unknown.

He wasn’t a fool to notice how any of her friends would help her escape if she ran to them. Their influential husbands would aid Flora’s cause because they held no loyalty to him. He might’ve convinced them today of his honorable intentions, but he had also withheld information from them. When he deemed them trustworthy, he would share his knowledge. However, for now, he would stay silent and wait for the culprit to make his next move.

“Lord Hepburn, perhaps if you take a seat to wait, it will ease the lady’s apprehension,” Murray suggested.

Lennox spun around. “But I wish to help seat her.”

Murray pinched his lips. “That is the footman’s role.”

“She is my wife, and I will see to her needs.”

The butler signaled for the footmen to leave the dining area before pouring Lennox a glass of wine. However, before he could urge Lennox to sit, soft footsteps echoed against the walls.

Lennox returned to the door to await Flora. She was a vision walking toward him in her plain gown. He hid his smile at how she thought she had defied him by not changing for dinner. What she didn’t understand was how he couldn’t care less about how she dressed, only that she agreed to share the meal with him. However, it didn’t keep him from longing to see her hair flowing across her shoulders, instead of seeing it pulled back like a demure governess.

He tried to rein in his eagerness but failed miserably when he closed the distance between them and offered Flora his arm. It had disappointed him when she declined his offer to escort her to dinner. Even though it was a short distance, it was enough to pacify him to act the gentleman to her lady.

“My lady.” Lennox held out his arm.

Flora rested her hand in the crook of Lennox’s arm. “My lord.”

She couldn’t deny him without drawing the servants’ attention. It had horrified her to learn they held knowledge of her status without acknowledging it. She refused to allow them any gossip because she wished to defy Lennox at every turn. She must refrain from unleashing her stormy emotions unless they were alone.

He led Flora to her chair and helped her to sit before taking his own seat. He nodded at Murray to serve them their meal. Lennox requested the dishes be served at once, so they could enjoy their meal in private. He didn’t want witnesses privy to his confessions. While the servants were aware of his marital discord, he wanted to offer Flora comfort while listening to the ordeal.

Flora’s gaze darted to the servants leaving the dining area, followed by Murray, who closed the door behind him. When she agreed to join Lennox for dinner, she had assumed they would be in the company of others. Not alone.

“Before you complain, I only wish to air out my faults in private. I do not wish for anyone to overhear what should only be spoken between us,” Lennox explained.

Flora peered at the door before looking back at Lennox. “I agree.”

Lennox sighed his relief. “Thank you.”

Lennox poured them a glass of wine, and they ate in silence until he began his explanation. An uncomfortable stillness had settled between them, and neither of them made polite conversation to put each other at ease.

“My mother was Lord Hepburn’s daughter.”

“Was?”

“He passed away a few years ago. I inherited his title and all the prestige he gained through the years with it,” Lennox replied with sarcasm.

Flora took a sip of wine. “Did you not experience a pleasant relationship with your grandfather?”

Lennox scoffed. “I never met the man.”

Flora’s brows drew together. “I do not understand.”

“He disowned my mother when she ran off to marry a Scottish barbarian.”

Flora blushed. She had referred to Lennox in that regard on more than one occasion. “That is tragic.”

“What? How my grandfather disowned my mother? Or because she married a Scottish barbarian?” Lennox winked.

Her cheeks flamed hotter from Lennox’s teasing. “Obviously because of the treatment she received from her father. The other matter I hold no sympathy since she dealt me the same fate by forcing our marriage.”

Lennox threw his head back to laugh. “Ah, lass, ye is a vicious one.”

Flora ignored his comment. “Why claim the title now?”

“Ah, that is where my actions become questionable.”

“How so?”

Lennox leaned back in the chair, abandoning his dinner. “Because I only claimed the title to trick you to return to my side.”

Flora bunched the napkin in her lap in a tight grip. “Why resort to trickery?”

“Because you would never return to Scotland without an offer of employment. I feared you would have preferred to suffer in England than come home.”

“You played on my vulnerabilities to suit your purpose.”

“Aye,” Lennox admitted.

“I may have returned to Scotland, but I refuse to return home,” Flora declared.

“Ah, lass, everyone has suffered enough. Concern for your welfare plagues our parents with guilt. Will ye not accept their apologies?”

Flora turned her head to the side, tilting her chin higher. “Nay.”

The lass was a stubborn minx who would not forgive easily. If she wouldn’t forgive her family, then his chances of earning her forgiveness were slim at best. However, she was within his clutches, and he aimed to win her heart again. His first show of support would be to agree with her stance. In time, he hoped to wear down her defenses.

“’Tis fair.”

Flora frowned. “What, no grand declarations seeking a reconciliation?”

“Our deceit toward you was a colossal misstep that deserves retribution on your part. You should hold out on your forgiveness until you find satisfaction all parties are deserving.”

His reply caught her off guard. She hadn’t expected him to support her decision without further argument. Since he had agreed to their parents' plan without a fight, she had expected him to pressure her into forgiving them.

She glanced at him with wariness. “And does your agreement extend toward you?”

Lennox smiled. “Take all the time you need.”

Flora didn’t trust Lennox’s disarming smile any more than she trusted his smooth words. He held the ability to spin a line until you doubted your own senses. However, during their time apart, she had scrutinized every encounter they shared to learn the idiosyncrasies of her husband. For their future interactions, she felt prepared to guard herself against his duplicity. He wouldn’t fool her a second time.

Flora ate a few bites before questioning Lennox’s return. “Why now?”

Flora could’ve added a few more words to clarify her question. However, Lennox understood what she asked of him. She wanted to understand why he had waited so long to chase her. Did he not hold value in her to come after her sooner? Not only had he broken her heart for the reason they wed but he had caused her more heartache by never chasing after her. She thought he didn’t care. When in truth, he had taken the advice of their parents. He should’ve learned from the disaster of their wedding what a colossal mistake that was.

“Because of the danger you had become involved in.” She wasn’t ready to hear the truth of his return. Also, he doubted she would believe him.

“How noble of you,” Flora replied with sarcasm.

Lennox ignored her tone. She was welcome to her hostility for a few days. After that, they would resolve their differences. “Will you stay?”

Flora placed her napkin next to her plate. “Your arrival has left me with no other choice. My friends are now aware of the nature of our relationship, as well as their husbands and the duke. If I am correct, you informed them of our marriage this morning during your meeting.”

“Aye. The detail was necessary to divulge in our discussion.”

Flora scoffed. “I am a detail now.”

Lennox rose once Flora slid her chair back. “You misunderstand.”

“No, Lord Hepburn. I do not believe I do.”

“Dammit, Flora, stop with the Lord Hepburn. I am Lennox, your husband.”

“A title I no longer consider.”

“You shall,” Lennox snarled, losing his temper at Flora’s indifference.

Flora’s brittle laugh as she stomped away only fueled Lennox’s ire. He followed right behind her as she climbed the stairs to her bedchamber. He didn’t continue the argument because his servants would love the titillating bit of gossip to share amongst themselves and to send home to their loved ones, who in return would share the gossip with his family.

When Flora attempted to slam the door behind her, he stuck his boot out to stop the force. Then he kicked it open to storm through after her.

Flora swung around at Lennox’s footsteps. “Lord Hepburn, you have overstepped your bounds. ‘Tis most inappropriate to be in my bedchamber.”

“’Tis not when the servants know I am your husband,” Lennox taunted.

Flora pinched her lips in an attempt to control her temper. She wanted to rage her fury at him by pummeling his chest to help satisfy her frustration. That was how much he got under her skin. However, the brute would only laugh at her attempt. Also, her body would betray her if she so much as touched him.

Lennox drove her insane with his nonchalant attitude to his display of respect for how she felt. He left her wondering what his true intentions toward her were. Was he staking his claim because he was her husband? Or did he hold genuine feelings for her?

Her husband was a maddening barbarian.

Lennox should step back from Flora’s wrath. However, he welcomed her scattered emotions because it showed she cared. Somewhere deep inside her heart, she loved him as he loved her. He had bruised her heart when she learned the truth about their marriage. His greatest regret was how he hadn’t been the one to confess the part he played. Also, to declare how his intentions toward her had changed. His feelings for Flora had transformed after their first kiss. A kiss that left a profound impact on him.

It probably wasn’t the wisest course of action to take, but Lennox closed the gap between them and embraced Flora. He wanted to ease the tension she wrapped around herself like a cloak. To shoulder the blame and express how he felt about her. In truth, he wanted to hold her, to experience the spark between them. It gave him hope that she might forgive him enough so they could start anew.

“Lennox.” Flora’s voice wavered.

“Flora,” Lennox whispered before brushing his lips softly against hers.

He didn’t give her a chance to resist him when his whisper-soft kiss took a life of its own. The fire brimming from her temper stroked his need into a flame of desire and ignited the passion simmering underneath the surface. He ravished her mouth, tangling their tongues in a dance of dominance. Each lash fueled his need to show Flora he welcomed her fury.

At Flora’s whimper, he soothed the kiss into a balm that hopefully reached her soul. The tender caress of his lips spoke of his wish to comfort her frustrations. He would shoulder her burdens if only she would allow him to. When she softened against him, Lennox loosened his hold to stroke her back. Her fists had loosened until her palms laid flat against his chest.

His kisses held a calming effect. Flora wanted to give in to them to relieve the fears that had kept her awake at night. To ease her troubles away with his tender touch. Already she relaxed into him with a need only Lennox could satisfy. With each nip of his kiss against her lips, she melted against him. When he swept his palm along her back in a gentle caress, she wanted to purr from the exquisite pleasure. Her need only intensified to shed their clothes so she could savor the intimacy of their bodies pressed closer together.

However, to succumb to the passion Lennox swept her along with, she must set aside her pride. But most of all, she must set free the hurt and anger, a pain she clutched onto to never let him close again. She meant what she had said at dinner. She wasn’t ready to forgive anyone. Especially Lennox.

With a reluctance her soul wistfully clung to, Flora pulled away. The palm she laid against his chest pressed firmly to push him away. If she didn’t halt his sweet attention, it would make an epic switch to the passion Flora had denied them when she left Lennox. She couldn’t allow him to muddle the plans she had set forth when she decided to stay with him. Nor could she allow him to be a temporary distraction.

“Please leave,” Flora whispered.

Her soft plea gutted Lennox. Her request implied more than him leaving her bedchamber. Flora’s request also held the need for him to give her the space she required to come to terms with his arrival. They were at an impasse, and if he didn’t show her patience, she would flee to somewhere he would never find her. Before, she didn’t have the resources to escape his notice. However, with the influence of her highly affluent friends, Flora would make it impossible for him to locate her.

Lennox dropped his hands and bowed. “Sleep well, Lady Hepburn.”

He left before his control slipped. While he attempted to express his patience, his emotions begged for him to confess his undying love to Flora. He wanted to express his regrets. However, he needed to show her a different side of him to keep her protected. Only once he kept her safe would he show his vulnerability.

For now, he would remain her protector.