Earlier today…
Was it really only hours since the two of them had first met? Since she had viewed this man’s arrival with such suspicion?
It now felt to Cat as if she had always known Andrew. His honor. His valor. His truth. His deep sensuality.
But she only knew any of those things because Andrew had allowed her to do so. If he hadn’t wished Cat to see this sensual and more vulnerable side of him, then she had no doubt he would still be as much the cold and enigmatic stranger he had been when he first arrived.
His expression turned rueful. “I cannot believe I spoke to you with such pomposity earlier.”
Cat’s smile widened before she looked down to where his eyeglass had fallen out of his pocket, held there still by the ribbon it was attached to. “Do you really have need of this?” She held up the eyeglass, which appeared to be clear glass. “Or do you wield it as another barrier to place between yourself and others?”
Andrew looked at her with appreciation. “You are very astute.”
She placed the eyeglass in his palm. “I hope you have now realized that you will have no further need of this when the two of us are alone together.”
He continued to gaze at her admiringly. “I have no doubt if I should forget, you will remind me of that being the case.”
Her smile widened. “I see you have noticed I am not someone who chooses to hide behind a façade of politeness for the sake of it.”
Andrew chuckled. “And I thank God for it, because neither am I.” They continued to smile at each other for several long seconds before Andrew spoke again. “I will see you at breakfast in the morning.”
“I trust you are looking forward to your parridge,” she taunted.
“I am sure I shall manage,” he drawled. “Unless that remark was made with the intention of goading me into bringing forward your second spanking?”
Her expression turned to one of alarm. “I believe I shall need at least twenty-four hours to recover from this one.”
He gazed at her warmly. “I shall look forward to it.”
Cat waited until Andrew had left her bedchamber and closed the door behind him before softly murmuring, “As will I.”
She would not have thought from their first meeting that just hours later, she would be warm and satiated from Andrew’s lovemaking.
Or that she would very much want to feel that way again soon.
Chapter Ten
If not for Malcolm’s innocent chatter, breakfast the following morning would have been a stiff and uncomfortable affair. Not because of any awkwardness between Cat and Andrew, but because he and Alec Munro had begun glaring at each other with ill-concealed animosity from the moment they entered the room within seconds of each other.
Deliberately so?
And at whose instigation?
Cat was inclined to believe it was Alec Munro’s, after the warmth of Andrew’s gaze, as he lifted her hand to his lips in greeting, told her that he did not regret a moment of their time together last night and it was his intention to touch her again now no matter if there were a hundred Alec Munros in the room.
In contrast to Andrew’s warmth, Alec gave her a curt nod and a disapproving scowl. Although she had to admit, the latter was a little hard to discern from his normally dour expression.
Cat was grateful for Malcolm’s excited chatter regarding their journey to Inverness tomorrow, after she had been rendered speechless by Andrew’s arrival in the family dining room.
He was wearing Hugh’s best kilt and the short formal black jacket worn over a black waistcoat and white shirt with a white neckcloth. There was a length of the McGregor dull red-and-green plaid thrown over one of Andrew’s broad shoulders and attached to his jacket with the McGregor pin. The knee length of the kilt allowed several inches of Andrew’s bare legs to be seen above the thick knee-high socks and formal brogue shoes.
He looked magnificent. Better even than Hugh had in the same clothes, Cat acknowledged somewhat disloyally.
Far from appearing uncomfortable or self-conscious in the attire, Andrew wore the Scottish clothing with the same haughty bearing as he did his own perfectly tailored London clothing.
He had also stolen Cat’s breath away.
She had collected the outfit together in Hugh’s bedchamber earlier this morning before asking a tight-lipped Mrs. Munro to deliver the clothing to Andrew’s bedchamber. The housekeeper’s disapproval had been tangible, leading Cat to wonder if Andrew was correct that she had sent word to Alec Munro of Andrew’s arrival here.
She sincerely hoped not, because there had been enough upheaval in Malcolm’s young life already without Cat having to replace the housekeeper who had been here since shortly after he was born.
Far from Andrew having only a choice of porridge for his breakfast, as she had teased he would, there were venison sausages, haggis, potato scones, and eggs. There were also thick wedges of freshly baked bread and the creamy butter made with the milk from their dairy cows to spread upon it.
They were all going to need a hearty breakfast to get through the long day of people arriving and celebrating their new laird.
“Are you sure it’s safe for you all to travel to Inverness when your uncle was so recently attacked there?”
Cat had been so lost in thoughts of Andrew; it took her several seconds to gather herself enough to answer Alec’s harshly voiced question. “I am sure that as Uncle Simon is the Sheriff Principal of the Highlands, he will have dealt with the culprits by now.”
Andrew’s eyes narrowed. “Your great-uncle is the law in the Highlands?”
“He is, yes,” Cat confirmed proudly.
Alec gave a snort. “No doubt his attackers were people bearing a grudge, having previously been sent to prison by him, or they are relatives of men he has sentenced to hang.”
Cat shot him a reproving frown. “I do not believe this to be suitable
