Mine Is the Night A Novel - By Liz Curtis Higgs Page 0,145
Marjory’s late husband. Which means you are a kinsman of ours.”
Jack nodded, the picture growing clearer with each waking moment. “No doubt the minister thinks I should provide for the two of you. And I should. Nae, I will. Gladly.”
Bess took his hands in hers. The warmth of her skin surprised him.
“I am grateful for anything you might do for Marjory,” she admitted. “But provision is not what I seek from you, milord.”
He drew her closer, longing for an honest answer. “My dear Bess, what do you seek?”
“A future.” She looked up at him, her blue eyes hiding nothing. “Lord Buchanan, if your feelings for me compare in any measure to the fond affection I have for you, then I believe the Almighty intends for us to be together.”
Jack couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. “You wish … to marry me?”
She lifted his hands and gently kissed them. “I do.”
“Lord bless you,” he whispered, swiftly pulling her into his embrace. “You might have chosen a younger man, Bess. A richer man—”
“Nae, there is only one man for me.” Elisabeth nestled her head in the hollow of his neck as if she belonged there. And she did belong there. By the grace of God and no other.
He mustered his courage, knowing there was no turning back now. “You say you have a fond affection for me, Bess? Then I’ll be bolder still and confess I adore you. And everything about you.” He kissed her hair, like silk beneath his lips. Then the soft plane of her brow. Then the tender curve of her cheek.
“Lord Jack—”
“Jack,” he murmured. “In this room titles mean nothing.”
She smiled in the darkness. “Jack, then.”
He eased her from his embrace, then lowered her into his chair and drew up the footstool for himself. “No one must find you here,” he said firmly, keeping his voice low. “And no one must see you depart.”
She eyed the door.
He understood. Even now someone might be listening between the cracks.
“You’ve nothing to fear,” he assured her. “I’ll protect you and your good name as well. You are much respected in Selkirkshire, Bess.” He claimed her hands, then kissed each one. “At Bell Hill most of all.”
They sat in companionable silence for a moment, barely touching, simply breathing. He had a thousand things he wanted to tell her, but one issue prodded his conscience at the moment. “Bess, we must speak of a subject that will not be pleasant for you.” He inched closer, praying for wisdom. “Every wedding begins with the question, ‘Is there any impediment to this marriage?’ Alas, there is one for us.”
Her eyes widened. “What is it, milord? Have you been married before? Is there some other woman who—”
“Nae, there is no other woman,” he said firmly. “But there is someone who could destroy the very future you seek. A powerful man, who rules us all.”
Seventy-One
Daughter of hope, night o’er thee flings
The shadow of her raven wings,
And in the morning thou art flown!
ANNE HOME HUNTER
lisabeth’s hands turned to ice. “King George.”
“Aye,” Jack said grimly. “Because you and your mother-in-law supported the Jacobite rebellion, you can never be truly safe without the king’s pardon.”
She stared at him, hearing the words, yet not understanding. “You’ve known this all along.”
His skin took on a ruddy tint, visible even in the dimly lit study. “I have, Bess. But I could not say anything until …” He looked down, clearly distraught. “Until now. Until the possibility of marriage was raised.”
“The … possibility?” Elisabeth felt herself sinking into the chair. Her shoulders, her body, her heart. “Might the king withhold his mercy?”
“He might,” Jack confessed, then looked up to meet her gaze. “But I’ve been preparing your case for months. Since the Common Riding, when Reverend Brown informed me of your treason.”
“I see.” Elisabeth did not know what to say, how to respond.
“As a retired admiral and peer of the realm, I am in … shall we say, a unique position to seek the king’s mercy on behalf of my bride.”
His bride. Elisabeth closed her eyes, overwhelmed. With her bold proposal, she’d now forced him to defend her. “Jack, I should not have—”
“Aye, you should have.” He bent forward and kissed her, his mouth warm against hers.
When he slowly pulled back, she saw in his eyes the answer to every question that mattered. He loved her. And he meant to save her.
Jack was still holding her hands, more firmly than ever. “I need only travel as far as Edinburgh,” he explained, “where I