Viscount Breckenridge to the Rescue-Chapter Twenty-One and Epilogue: The Wait is Over!

This chapter opens with Heather waking up and seeing that Tim is awake as well. Whoo! So, after she ascertains that his fever is broken and he's doing much better, Heather takes a moment to assure Tim that she loves him truly, madly, deeply. Oh, and also that she's totes okay with marrying him. Then he falls back asleep. When Tim wakes up again, he sees Algaria knitting, and they talk a bit about his recovery. Algaria sent Heather to bed until at least dinner time, you see. Tim is confused that he was out for six days, but when he hears that Caro and Michael are there, he supposes that would be about right.

Later, Caro comes up to talk with Tim. Apparently, since Caro came to Tim's sickbed his sisters didn't have to and they're overwhelming, so it's good they're not there. Kinda sounds like Heather's brothers and male relations. Huh. Anyway, they also talk about how much Tim needs Heather, and he reflects on how it's hard to be so vulnerable in talking about her, but decides that he'll have to get used to it. Oh, also, apparently he was nearly-mortally injured shortly before Caro and Michael's wedding. So, weddings are dangerous for him. I'm glad that Ms. Laurens pointed this out, because it's funny.

Oh, also the menfolk meet to talk about this guy who kidnapped Heather. They talk about how little they know and decide they need to look after the other sinister, I mean, Cynster sisters. They name some names about people who would be good to ask and move on with their lives. Or, I move on with mine, anyway.

Two nights later, Tim is lying in bed, thinking about how it's so sad that he can't leave his bed and go wandering, even though his bandages are gone. Perhaps he'd go visit a certain fiancee of his. Oh, also, he's super glad that he didn't have to say the L-word (no, not lesbians) to Heather. Really super glad. This woman with whom he's really excited to start his life with. Oh, hey, there she is. In all her silk robe sexiness. So, obviously, they bang. Although Tim has to stay lying flat on his back the whole time because of his stitches. Oh, and it's super wonderful lovey-ness. Also, Ms. Laurens mentions a few times how it's because of Tim's injury that they were able to be together. That's....kind of unsettling. It's only because he nearly died that they're getting married? Goodness.

So, the next day, Tim and Heather are taking a turn around the garden. The cover story for Heather's absence is measles, and those would have passed by now, so they're able to go back to London and get hitched whenever they want to. As they're talking Tim starts getting all sentimental. He thinks about how Heather has grown so much over the course of this book, erm adventure, and then starts telling her how much she means to him. And he even says the L-word to her! (Still not lesbians.)

Once they're done with their moment, the twins come ripping out of the garden and circle around them. Heather promises they can be a flower girl and page boy, and they run off to tell their parents. Tim wonders aloud at the day when Heather fell backwards off the fence which resulted in him getting gored. They both decide they're happier not asking the twins about that. I wouldn't want to ask children if they deliberately got someone hurt either. Although, it's the kind of thing you really should ask....

So, Tim and Heather decide to leave the Vale the next day, right after breakfast because it's too late to start that day. Also, Heather has plans for that night. I'll give you a hint. It's sex.

Epilogue

Oh, hello, Highlander! I wasn't expecting to see you again! He's just chilling, reading the Edinburgh Gazette when he hears his mother's shriek of displeasure. He's not worried about it, because he knows she's going to come tell him why. And so she does. She just read that Heather and Tim were engaged and she's really mad because this means Heather wasn't ruined. The Highlander is happy for the couple, and the way it reads, it seems like he was going to marry Heather. Huh. Creepy.

Anyway, Momma Highlander continues to be mad, and tells the Highlander that his time is running out. The Highlander reflects on how he's been searching for that jeweled cup but hasn't been able to find it, so he still has to give into her blackmail. Also, he mentions that there are other sinister sisters available for ruining. Then two children come running in and they climb right into the Highlander's lap. Apparently their parents, his cousin and the cousin's wife, are dead and the Highlander is raising the boys now. So, the Highlander says he'll keep his end of the deal if Momma Highlander keeps hers, and she stomps off. Also, the Highlander needs that jeweled cup to keep these boys happy and safe. Or to keep his land. Or both. Anyway, he goes to look at horses with the kids, while thinking about how he's going to try to kidnap Eliza Cynster next.

Whew! That is the longest romance novel I've ever read, and I think I'm going to keep it that way. This was a marathon instead of a sprint and, obviously, I'm not a very good distance runner. So, to stop with the metaphors, I'm going on a hiatus again. If you miss me too much, just go back and re-read some of the better chapters I've done before. Remember, I'll always be with you in the snark that lives in everyone's mind. Or something.

Viscount Breckenridge to the Rescue-Chapter Twenty: Sleepy Time

So, this entire chapter is about Heather. Just so you know. When the men bring Tim into the house on a stretcher, they take him to a sitting room with a bed in it, because Tim's room is up in a turret and it has too many stairs. So, they manage to get Tim onto the bed in this room, and most of the men leave. Richard stays long enough to ascertain whether or not he should summon Caro and Michael. That's seriously all the description we're given of who these people are. Oh, also that Caro will know how to get in touch with Tim's two sisters.

Once he leaves, Catriona and Algaria start bustling around and Heather wants to help. Algaria tells Heather to go wash herself, change into something warm and comfortable, and to eat a meal. They've got this for the next hour or so and Heather will need her strength. So, about an hour later Heather comes back in and sees the women bustling out except Catriona. Tim is still alive and the horn didn't puncture anything vital, but now they've got to worry about infection. Tim, by the way, looks awful and it's really scary seeing someone you love look like that. Poor Heather. Oh, Algaria is there too. She tells Heather that the key to Tim living is that he has to want to live, and that they all have to believe. Heather realizes the double meaning of belief in life and love and the two witchy women scoot out while Heather starts her first night's watch for the man who is her everything.

So, the days and nights blur together as Tim still doesn't wake up. Heather realizes that she will love Tim until the day she dies, whether he lives that long or not, and she prays to whoever is listening that he'll survive. Then we jump to Tim. He's in a half-dream state between life and death and he has the choice to die. Sure he's got his family as a reason to live, but there's also Heather, which he puzzles over for awhile before remembering that she'd told him she changed her mind and that she did want to marry him. He can see her, sleeping next to him and he can see where her tears have marked her face, and he knows the tears are for him. Well, life is going to be super painful and sucky for several days, but he can't just die and leave Heather alone and unprotected because he loves her. So, Tim decides to live.

Sometime later, Tim has a super high fever. They try putting ice and cold sheets on him, but none of them work. So they call up the guys and dip Tim in an ice bath for a short bit. They do this several times that day. Awhile later, Catriona explains her theory to Heather, that Tim isn't unconscious but in a kind of healing sleep while he fights this infection and that he'll probably pull through this. Probably. That night, Catriona and Heather take turns watching Tim to see if he starts getting too hot or cold. They dunk him in the ice bath again.

So, yeah. Tim is kinda comatose, although he is restless and moves and then hurts himself by moving. And Heather's voice soothes him. Also, when no one else is there, Heather talks about her dreams of life with Tim and she doesn't hold anything back. At one point, Catriona starts grilling Heather about where she and Tim are in their relationship. Catriona advises that Heather make sure that Tim knows, absolutely, where she stands when he wakes up. It's super important that the two of them be together and Heather will have to lead the way to make this work. Because the Lady told Catriona this, you see.

Conveniently, a few days later, Heather lets herself be talked into taking a bath, changing her clothes, and all of those pesky things she didn't have time for, just before Caro and Michael show up. Caro is Richard's brother's sister-in-law and related to Heather. So, anyway, they show up and Heather tells them her whole story of the journey to this house. She leaves out the incredibly aggravating hot potato of her and Tim's relationship once they reached the house because they haven't settled it yet. But she does tell them about how he got hurt. Once Heather is done with her stories, Caro offers to sit with Heather and pass on the messages from Heather's mom and sisters. So, Michael leaves to go find the men.

As time further passes, Heather sees the kind of relationships built on love and mutual trust that she's always wanted in the couples around her and she notices that in their give and take relationships, it always starts with giving. Because they're good couples, it's a reciprocal kind of thing. Anyway, Heather further realizes that this is exactly what she wants and needs and she tells an unconscious Tim that she promises to marry him and love him forever. Apparently, this cemented her position on this. I mean, I thought she came to this decision several pages ago, but I guess this time she means it.

So, we've just got one chapter and an epilogue left. Tim's got to recover in this last chapter. Otherwise there's no way they can talk about the wedding in the epilogue. So, I think he will wake up and he and Heather can finally have their yes-I-know-you-love-me-too smoochies. I'm doubting we'll see more of the Highlander. I guess his much more interesting story wasn't central to this plot, so we probably won't see it resolved. Le sigh. Also, in the next chapter, there will be turnips. Probably.

Viscount Breckenridge to the Rescue-Chapter Nineteen: Finally!!

Catriona and Algaria watch Heather dejectedly walk away from the manor and sit on a fence. They know that something's gone wrong between her and Tim, but they don't know what and aren't sure how to fix it. Fortunately for them, the deus ex machina, I mean Lady gives Lucilla instructions. Lucilla is one of Catriona's herd of children and will become the next Lady of the Vale. Her twin is Marcus and he's supposed to be the next guardian of said Lady. So, superpowers.

Meanwhile, Heather is still feeling beaten down. She looks at the manor and thinks about how much love is there and how she wants a house just like that and she could have built one with Tim but now he's leaving forever and oh the sadness! But she hears the women in her family in her head telling her to stop being dumb and to go fight for what she wants. What she needs. So, she decides to marry Tim after all and take the chance that she can lead him to love her, and to admit it. Catriona said that Heather would have to risk her heart to win Tim's and this must be what she meant. But how to do this?

Oh, hello Lucilla and Marcus. They're towing Tim between them and he, apparently, doesn't know how to get away. So Heather watches them grow closer. She wants to talk to Tim, yes, but not in front of the twins. They get closer and the twins let go of Tim's hands to run over to Heather. She sees his uncertainty at whether or not he'll be welcome and that makes her realize that he's hurting as well. Anyway, the twins run up and grab Heather's hands. She expects them to pull her forward, so she shifts her weight back to compensate. Except they don't pull her forward. So she falls back onto the ground on the other side of the fence. She's a little startled and embarrassed, but no worse for wear. It's all good. Until she notices the bull in the enclosure that looks ready to charge.

Tim leaps over the fence and hoists Heather up over it to the safe side. Then he starts climbing as the bull charges, but Tim isn't quick enough. The bull's horn went clean through him. Really, reader. I'm not making this up for once. The bull circles, getting ready to charge again, as Heather and Marcus try to pull Tim over the fence. Lucilla goes a ways down the fence to distract the bull with a song. She's the future lady, so I just assume she has magic whenever she needs it. Or something.

Finally, they get Tim over the fence. Heather presses down on the wound in his side and sends the twins back into the manor to get help. It's a really nasty looking wound. Heather uses Tim's jacket, and her lawn petticoat to try to staunch the bleeding. ...whatever makes a lawn petticoat different from another one. Anyway. Heather yells at Tim for risking his life and getting himself hurt, and he replies that if he dies, she'll be free from having to marry anyone. Yeesh. So, Heather forbids him to die, again, and says that she wants to marry him and also that she can't live without him. Then she starts talking about how she'll be such a terror of a wife, and she notices that her rambling is distracting him from the giant gash in her side, so she spills a lot of word vomit about how she'll redecorate his houses and basically how she wanted their life together to be. Then Heather yells at Tim again about risking his life to save hers and he replies that he can't not do that, especially after how he's kept her safe this far. And then it finally clicks in Heather's brain.

His protectiveness, which she overlooked because her brothers and such were all the same way, is how he was showing her that he cared. You know, like her brothers and such do as well. So, since Tim's defenses are low, Heather pushes to get him to say what she wants to hear. Kind of brutal, but I'm not surprised. Tim says that after all those years spent protecting her from everyone, even him, there's no way he'll let some bull kill her. Then he takes her dreams, and modifies them to fit what he wants. He also talks children. So, yes, because he is possibly bleeding out, Heather finally really listens to what his words mean and realizes that he really, truly loves her. Finally, as Tim is slipping out of consciousness, the rest of the household shows up to help him not die. Heather backs away to let Catriona and Algaria work, but then realizes that she needs to help save Tim's life the way that he saved hers.

...and scene! So...remember how I said Tim and Heather would be bull-headed in this chapter? I guess I was only half right. Anyway, the next chapter will be Tim getting better and we'll finally get to see him and Heather when they both realize that they're in love and accept the other person's love. I don't think we'll see too much of the missing cup in the highlands, but we might see a little. Perhaps a glimpse of one gem stone.

Viscount Breckenridge to the Rescue-Chapter Eighteen: More Stubbornness

So, after their love-making the night before (see what I did there?), Tim approaches Heather to start finally planning their wedding. This is the first moment they've had to talk since they made love and Heather is waiting for a word or gesture or something that conveys Tim's deep and abiding devotion to her. She tries to push him into saying something, so she brings up how she has somewhere to be. Tim takes this as a snub, and says that he won't keep her from her plans. Then he starts talking about when they'll leave to get back to London and have their wedding. Heather gets mad because she didn't get the sign she wanted and begins to doubt that what she saw in him last night was actually love. Maybe he faked the whole thing. So, she gets pissy and says she won't marry him, which then makes him hurt and defensive because he really doesn't want to say that he loves her and had hoped that the physical act was enough to convey it. They're like this the entire chapter.

Oh, we get the name of the woman who broke Tim's heart the first time: Helen Maitland. Apparently, he became a slut so she would know just what she was missing out on by telling him she didn't love him. We also find out that the word “love” has no good meaning to Tim and that he places no faith in it. So, he loves Heather, but he firstly is too afraid to tell her that he loves her and secondly doesn't want to use that word to describe it because it doesn't have the right meaning for the depth and strength of his emotions. Heather loves Tim but she is also afraid to tell him that because she thinks that if he knows that, he'll force her to the altar and, that if they don't exchange “I love yous” before marriage, he'll cheat on her later and shatter her heart. Richard and Catriona are sadly lacking in this chapter. Both of them need to give Heather and Tim a good thawck.

Anyway, in the herb garden Heather and Tim run into the same issue of him not telling her what she considers the important part of a pre-wedding conversation. Then he makes the mistake of saying, “What the devil is it you want me to say?...For God's sake! Tell me and I'll say it.” Oh boy. Because she wants him to confess his love, it can't be prompted, it has to come from him naturally. Gee, if only someone had told Tim that this was exactly what Heather needed to hear. Oh wait. Richard did. Pretty bluntly. If Tim is sure about what Heather revealed when they banged the night before, and he was before this conversation, then why can't he feel safe enough to tell her that he loves her? I know his heart was shattered, but that was years ago and he's setting himself up to have it shattered again. I mean, Heather isn't really helping, but I guess at least she's also setting herself up to have her heart shattered. She also begins to doubt that he really meant “I love you” with his sex last night and that it might have just been more of his awesomeness at sex. So, she tries to protect herself by telling him that the previous night wasn't anything special. In short, in trying to protect their hearts, they push each other away and just hurt themselves more.

Oh, also, they both realize that they truly love the other because they each think they're losing the other. Only in a romance novel, huh? Anyway, Tim and Heather don't talk at lunch. After lunch, Heather is processing the herbs she picked earlier when Tim comes down to talk to her. It's pretty much a repeat of the conversation they've been having since they got here, except this one has actual consequences. Tim tries to give Heather an ultimatum on when they need to leave to go to London and get married and Heather says he needs to head back alone. As he walks away, they both think about how much they love the other one and how much they hurt because of it.

Then, we finally get something new in the story. We get to see the Highlander again. Hooray! Something not super frustrating! He comes back to his manor, which has the motto “Honor above all” carved into it. Again, I feel that for folks who read this series, the motto settles firmly who this man is. To me, it's just more words. Anyway, he heads inside and his momma is super anxious to see Heather with the Highlander. And is crushed when she isn't. The Highlander gives his momma a summary of the events as he knows them, with the point being that Heather's reputation is ruined forever, which is what the Highlander's momma wanted. She's not satisfied, though, because she can't see Heather squirm about this. Then we learn something interesting. Momma tries to get the Highlander to capture another Cynster lady. Once the Cynster lady is in that castle, the Highlander will get back his goblet. ...so he's doing all of this for a cup? It had better be a damn important cup. The Highlander refuses to try to kidnap another lady until after they're sure Heather isn't ruined and stalks off. Apparently, this jewel-encrusted ceremonial goblet is somehow the key to holding his lands and titles and whatnot and without it, the people who live here now will have to find somewhere else to eke out a poor existence and the Highlander will be unable to help them. All for a goblet? I really hope we get more details about this, but I don't think I'm going to agree with the situation even then.

For the next chapter, I predict that Tim and Heather will continue to be frustrating and bull-headed, the Highlander will search for his cup, and that Catriona will have a vision. Of cabbages. Because why not.

Viscount Breckenridge to the Rescue-Chapters Sixteen and Seventeen: They Continue to Not Say It

The chapter opens with Heather lying in bed, debating about finding Tim's bed again. She's not sure if he didn't say he loved her because he did and couldn't make himself say it, or if it's because he didn't and wouldn't lie to her about it. So, she doesn't want to have sex with him again because then he might think he has a chance of wearing her down, but also because she might get pregnant. If there were a baby on the way, he might be able to marry her without any declarations of love and then she'd never know for sure why he wanted to marry her. So, she falls asleep alone and is unhappy about it.

Tim, meanwhile, eventually realizes that Heather isn't coming to see him and debates about going to see her. Fortunately, he realizes that this would be a bad idea, and stays put. I'm glad he didn't because that could get bad quickly if she says no and he says yes, but Tim doesn't go because then she might know how much he needs her. Le sigh. Oh, also, Tim never thinks about the possibility of getting Heather pregnant.

The next day, Heather is mad because she didn't sleep well and it's all Tim's fault. Or something. Fortunately, Catriona gives her an errand to run. Heather goes with Lucilla and Marcus to take a basket of stuff to a mother with a two-month old baby. If the baby seems sick, they're to report back to Catriona. So, the trio go to collect the basket and as soon as they leave the room, Tim asks Richard how far away their destination is. It's about a mile and a half, all within the Vale which is safe, but Tim feels the need to go anyway. So, he goes to stand in the shadows and watch Heather and the twins leave the manor. The basket is too light for him to offer to carry it and Heather is kind of pissed at him, so Tim decides to stalk them instead. Great.

Heather makes it to the farmhouse without incident and leaves the twins playing on the lawn while she goes inside. She holds the baby while the mom, Megan, gets some things done that she hasn't been able to. To Heather's credit, she gets along really well with the baby and knows by taste what a medication for colic is. So, while Megan finishes the washing and gets dinner ready, Heather holds the baby and thinks about how she would like to hold hers and Tim's baby someday, and how it can't be any other man's baby, she only wants to have his. But this takes us back into the issue. If he doesn't love her, then he'll cheat on her and that will shatter her heart. Heather admits to herself that she doesn't necessarily need the words, an action will do, as long as she knows that he will love her forever.

Once the chores are done, Megan takes back her baby and Heather goes on her way with the twins. That's when she notices that Tim was following them and confronts him. She's mad. He mentions that there's the possibility of her kidnappers being around, then hates himself for scaring her and tells her that he and Richard have sent out riders and that any strangers who come in will be looked at. Oh, also Heather makes the point that if Tim hadn't been “protecting her” way back at the beginning of the book and taken her out of that party, then none of this would have happened. He asks if she wishes none of it had happened and she doesn't answer the question. Bad move, girl.

As they walk on, Heather realizes that as happy as she was on the walk out, she's happier about the walk back just because Tim is there. Even though she's mad at him. She likes the feeling of being protected with him there and reminds herself that she'll lose that when he goes back to London. So, then she asks him when he's leaving since there's nothing keeping him in the Vale. Ugh. He doesn't really answer her question.

Later that day, Tim and Richard do manly stuff together. In this instance, they make lures for fly fishing. So, of course, they take the opportunity to talk about Heather some more. Richard tells Tim, again, that the way to get Heather is to share his feelings, but he does it kind of subtly so Tim doesn't get mad. Richard and Catriona seem to be well-matched in being matchmakers for the stubborn. Tim thinks about how he can't tell Heather that he loves her, but that even if he did, he wouldn't expect her to return his feelings. He might really want her to, but he doesn't expect it. Also, he's worried that if he tries to tell her and messes it up, that he'll ruin his chances forever. No pressure. Then, just as the chapter closes, Tim gets an idea of how to tell her.

Chapter Seventeen

Again, this chapter starts at night. Tim waits until everyone has quieted down for the night. Then he goes looking for Heather. He had asked his borrowed manservant where Heather's room was earlier, and the servant had answered directly. Yes, actually everyone wants them to be together. Anyway, Tim is skulking along the passages when he runs into someone, who he quickly recognizes as Heather. They're almost at her room, but they go to his because he has a bigger bed. Also, she's wearing her robe with nothing underneath. I guess they have the same idea, then. Also, to answer your question, yes this chapter is almost entirely sex.

Once they get to Tim's room, she starts by kissing him. Deeply. In a way that exposes everything she wants and needs from him. Then he takes control again and we learn that his plan for showing her how much he cares is to make love to her. ...again. Heather, meanwhile, has a plan of her own. When she used words to encourage him, it didn't work, and when she tried not banging him, he still didn't show her what she needed to see, so now she's going to bang him. Huh. Maybe Tim's plan will work better than I thought it would.

So, as they keep kissing, Heather thinks about how she'll put her own emotions on display and hold back nothing. Hopefully, this will encourage Tim to do the same. So, he gets her to sit on the bed, when she breaks their kiss and says that she's going to take control first. They chat about this a little as she takes his clothes off sexily. He asks what she's planning to do and she replies that she's not going to tell him, but that she's going to show him. Well then. So, there's lots of smexiness, leading up to her giving him a blowjob, which lasts for about a page. He just barely stops it from ending in an orgasm.

Then he takes control and he wants to do so blindly, without holding back, but somehow he stops himself. Apparently they're both on the same wavelength about sex showing love for each other, but he's still resisting. Anyway, then he gives her oral as well. She orgasms for awhile and then they finally get on the bed that just had to be the larger one. Yes, they're still banging, but now they're switching who has control. Tim gives himself up to this closeness and intimacy, even though it's scary. How this translates into the physical world, apparently, is that he lets her get on top. Then, as she's orgasming, he flips and gets on top of her and somehow this communicates a deep need that they're reaching for together and... I guess they each managed to get their message across.

Tim wakes up awhile later because he's cold, so he pulls the covers out from under Heather, and then up and over both of them. He realizes what they've communicated and is content that now there's totally not a reason for Heather to deny his proposal.

So, in the next chapter, I think there will totally be a reason Heather will deny his proposal. I mean, come on, we've still got four chapters left. Also, I really hope we at least find out the Highlander's name because otherwise that's going to bother me forever. Well, at least a little bit.

Viscount Breckenridge to the Rescue-Chapter Fifteen: Where We Learn Something Important

Of course, the important thing comes at the end of the chapter, so meanwhile, let's enjoy the ride. So, later that same morning, Tim finds Heather alone at the breakfast table and continues his same line of persuasion: we should get married because Society says so. We see into Heather's mind that she really really wants to marry Tim, but she can't because unless he loves her too, he'll only break her heart. So, he tries to persuade her and she refuses and takes shots at him. Also, she tries to get him to leave. Then we jump into Tim's mind and get this terrifying emotion: “As he met her widening eyes, he continued to battle, as he had throughout their exchange, to subdue his inner self, the primitive male who knew she was his, irrevocably his, and had no reservations about making that plain.” Now, because she loves him back, this will all work out well, but think about if she truly didn't love him. Kind of chilling.

So, we find out Heather's true plan for her life: taking care of orphans, which is kind of awesome. Tim tries to use this plan to further his plan by telling Heather that with his money, she could do a lot more good. Oi vey. Heather refuses this reason as well and says that if he can't figure out why she won't marry him, then it's just further proof they shouldn't. Then she storms away and we get this thought from Tim: “The test, it seemed-the challenge before him-was to weave a net of social compulsions and seduction, then use it to capture her, tie her up, and drag her to the altar...his primitive self liked the thought.” OK, but really. This is so not okay. The heart of this need is love, but he's trying to use the creepiest and most underhanded methods to get there, so it's no good. Good on Heather for not agreeing to his demands.

Then Heather goes to see Catriona and I finally have a favorite character in this book. Heather starts the conversation by declaring that Tim is pressuring her to marry him. Catriona touches on the Society aspect of it, and after Heather says she doesn't care, Catriona talks about how she could see how it might be too much for Heather to handle a man like that. Maybe it would be better for Heather to find a more spineless man who would be willing to marry her despite her adventures and that this would save her reputation. This speech alone makes me like Catriona. She's challenging Heather as well as making Heather compare Tim to other men and, hopefully, making Heather see who she prefers.

After Heather explains that no, there is no one else, she elaborates that she doesn't want to get married. Here we come to a theme that I do find troubling in this book: everyone assumes that Heather has to get married. Reputation-ruining kidnapping or no, everyone thinks she needs to find a man. Obviously, I have a problem with this world-view. To be fair, Heather's reason is because she hasn't found the right man and not a problem with marriage entirely. Also there is a man she totes wants to marry if they can sort out their lives, so I suppose the “solution” of her marrying Tim isn't that bad, I just don't like the assumptions at work here.

Right. Anyway, Heather says that because she can't find this mystery man, she wants to devote her life to running an orphanage. Catriona challenges Heather by saying that this is a great goal to have, but it's not a mainstay of life. It's a secondary job that Catriona has and somehow it's right that it be a secondary job of Heather's. Hm. Yes and no. Then again, we all know how Ms. Hannigan treated that red-headed orphan with the curly hair and an orphanage was the only thing Ms. Hannigan did with her life... Oh, also, Catriona uses some of her magic to give Heather advice, which really threw me off guard. Apparently, Heather's destiny is tied to that of a man much like Tim. Heather wants to go with her original plan first and then find her hero, but Catriona's magic says that Heather has that backwards. Then we get to why I like Catriona.

Heather argues that Tim doesn't love her and Catriona asks, “Are you sure?” Apparently, the kind of man that Tim is will not admit anything about his emotions easily, especially nothing that makes him so dependent as love. So, Catriona realizes that Tim is trying to use the situation to marry Heather without ever having to say those three little words that carry so much weight. Heather agrees to take another look at Tim. She wants some assurance that her love will be returned, but Catriona says that's a lot to ask for and that Heather will have to declare herself, scary as it is, before there's even a chance of Tim declaring himself. It's like Catriona has read a romance novel before and understands how people work. Also, she points out that because Tim is a hedonist, he will only pursue things that he really wants. You know, like how he's trying really hard to get engaged to Heather.

Heather thinks for awhile and gets up to go, but Catriona gives her a necklace first. There are two stones in it, a rose quartz pendant which resonates with love, and little amethyst beads which work with intelligence. Why hello, deus ex machina. Then Catriona gives a whole line of succession for this necklace, Heather's two sisters, Henrietta and Mary (whoever they are), and then to Lucilla. Heather is slightly uncomfortable taking something so valuable both financially and because it belonged to Catriona's grandma, but Catriona insists, so Heather does. Before Heather really leaves the scene, Catriona gives us one more saw, “a man who declares his heart too easily will leave you wondering whether he truly meant it-and the converse is even more true.”

So, at about the same time, Tim and Richard are out riding horses to see what they can learn about the man who tried to stare down Tim. They stop by the only tavern the guy was near and find out pretty much the same description that Heather and Tim already had: highlander, tall, broad, dark hair, and scary eyes. Oh, and also that tavern has amazing ale, apparently.

On the way back to the manor, the two men talk about Heather. Tim admits that he's gotten physical with Heather and Richard doesn't care at all. Interesting. Maybe he doesn't mind because he believes that the two are going to marry. Tim asks what Richard did to get Catriona to agree to marry him, “The same thing we've all had to do-prostrate ourselves at their dainty feet, swear undying love, and mean it.” Looks like he gives good advice too. Then we find out that Richard is a bastard, like Tim, but they were both raised like they weren't. Still, Tim has this sense of questioning whether he really belongs and he thinks Richard probably does too. Or did until he married Catriona. Tim has a place set for himself: being the Earl of Brunswick after his father dies, but he's intimidated by the role and wonders if he can fill it. ...unless he's got Heather by his side. Then he knows he can. Anyway, Tim leaves the conversation still determined not to admit his feelings, but thinking he can kind of show a little bit and make Heather curious enough about them to marry him. Idiot.

At lunch, everybody is waiting for an engagement announcement from Tim and Heather, but there isn't one forthcoming, so they just have to keep waiting. After lunch, Tim and Heather go somewhere private to talk. No, really. Just downhill from the house, there's an alcove near the stream that's got some warm, rock benches in it and this is where they go. And they really just talk.

Tim still does it the wrong way, by the way. He uses Heather's impending parental visit (yes, they're still going to make sure you're all right even though you told them not to come, Heather) to put a time limit on when they need to make a decision. It's only because of Catriona's advice that Heather decides to talk about this more with Tim. So, his arguments this time: they got along well these past eleven days when they had a common goal, so they'll probably get along well when they run the estate he'll inherit; and as his sisters have been telling him, he needs to produce an heir so the king doesn't get their estate (which, as Heather points out is a really convoluted way of saying he wants kids. She wants kids too.). Then he looks at why she's refusing. The first thing he asks about is whether she cares that he's a bastard. Oh. Poor thing. She doesn't give a rat's ass about that, but it's something that's been hanging over him his entire life and he actually had the balls to bring it up. Now if only he could find that courage to bring up other things.... So, Tim sums up that she's not intimidated by him in several different dimensions and asks what it will take for her to marry him. It's the same answer it's always been, but Heather spells it out a bit more this time. Oh, and she uses the word “affection” instead of “love” to avoid spooking Tim. Essentially, she wants to be valued as she is, be a true partner, and have love.

And here is where we finally learn something new: Tim told a woman that he loved her before and she broke his heart and he's not fully recovered. That's why he can't bring himself to tell Heather that he loves her, because he doesn't trust her enough not to shatter his heart under her heel. I kind of wish that had come up earlier. So, they stare each other down, and Tim fights not to say that he loves Heather. Eventually, she gives up and says that is what she needs to marry. Seeing no other way, Tim tries to turn “affection” into “lust” and puts a challenge before Heather saying that she can teach him what she wants and that it will be difficult to mold him to that, but not impossible. Of course, he blows this as well by saying that Heather will be able to claim some kind of achievement for getting him to the altar. So, that doesn't work either.

Then they both get entrenched in what they want and are willing to say and it turns into a fight. Tim calls her naïve and she is almost positive that he loves her and can't understand why he won't just say it instead of using every other thing he can think of instead. So, they both get mad and storm away, but neither of them is willing to let the other go, so I guess that's progress.

Oh, and then we get Catriona and Algria's commentary on what just happened. They come to the same, obvious, conclusions I did, and the chapter ends.

For the next chapter, I predict more of the same. This book started out with an adventure central to the plot, but the plot has become a lover's spat. Maybe the Highlander will come back and give us something else to focus on.

Viscount Breckenridge to the Rescue-Chapters Thirteen and Fourteen: Tim and Heather Avail Themselves

At the beginning of chapter thirteen, Heather and Tim leave Mrs. Croft's place early in the morning, after Tim has cut tons of wood for the widow and left quite a large tip. Then they do some walking. A lot of walking. During this time, we find out that Heather doesn't mind that Tim is holding her hand so much. She recognizes the possessiveness of the gesture, but doesn't mind it coming from him. Also, because most of their walking is uphill, at one point, Tim manages to see The Highlander behind them. He lets Heather know, and the two walk as quickly as they can, over landslides and more windy, hilly roads. Oh, also Heather is glad Tim told her what was really going on and had a discussion with her about it instead of just deciding something, so she stops and kisses him full on the mouth to thank him. He really likes this kind of thanking.

Eventually, they reach one of the villages right next to the Vale, and they keep going, but now with more purpose. Just before they make a final turn around a lane up to the manor, Tim looks back and sees the Highlander a ways behind them. The two have a stare-down, kind of difficult when you can't see the other's face, until Tim turns and follows Heather around the bend.

The Highlander apparently figured out that Heather is intelligent, stubborn, and brave just from the way she walks. Also, that Tim is a nobleman and a warrior and that Heather's future is safe with him. The only thing bothering the Highlander is where the duo was going. It looks like they're on an estate, but there's no handy sign to say whose it is, so the Highlander goes to the tavern in the nearby town of Knockgray to inquire, discretely. He learns that the manor belongs to some of the Cynsters. Now satisfied that Heather will be safe, once he's done with his drink, the Highlander leaves the tavern and lets Hercules run down the road. The Highlander doesn't want to deal with all of the drama that's home, but he's still glad to be going back there. Still, I don't think we've seen the last of him.

Heather and Tim get a very enthusiastic welcome from Catriona's and Richard's five children, as well as the lord and lady of the manor and just about all of the servants. So, some names: Lucilla, Marcus, Annabelle, Calvin, and Carter are all Catriona's and Richard's kids. Algaria is looking after Calvin and Carter as a sort of nurse, but she is also teaching Lucilla magic. Apparently, the Lady of the Vale is essentially a witch. That's Catriona's title now and used to be Algaria's. Also, there's a protector of the Lady of the Vale, who is currently Richard, but the next one in training will be Marcus, Lucilla's twin. Got all of that? Good. I'm not sure how much of that will actually be important in this book.

Then the adults all escape to the library and send the children away with promises of food to make it less of a punishment. Once Heather, Catriona, Richard, and Tim are all settled in the library, Heather starts telling their story. She makes it very clear that nothing was Tim's fault and that he's been great about the whole thing. Tim only interjects what he needs to and lets Heather take the lead in telling the story. Good plan. It seems like they leave out the steamy scenes they had the last few days, but that's probably for the best. They go right up until Tim's stare-down with the Highlander, which he didn't tell Heather about. Then both Heather and Richard write letters to others in the clan to assure them that Heather is okay.

Once the letters are done, Catriona takes Heather upstairs to have a bath and a change of clothes, which gives Tim the opportunity to tell Richard that he's planning on marrying Heather. Unsurprisingly, Tim doesn't want to tell Richard that he's fallen in love with Heather and really really wants to marry her. Tim just says that he's willing to do so in order to save Heather's reputation and whatnot. Pansy. Also, the tale that they'll tell Society is that someone played matchmaker for Heather and Tim and the two wanted to meet somewhere private to see if they would want to marry each other. So far, Society just thinks Heather has a nasty, contagious cold so no one has gone to verify the story. I guess no one cares that Tim has been missing because men can't be ruined. Or something. Oh, also, in the public story, even though most Cynsters marry for love, Heather decided not to because she's about to reach the ancient age of twenty-five and she figured she may as well not be a spinster if she could have a title. Right, because that totally sounds like her.

Catriona comes in at the end of this and Richard explains it all to her. She turns to Tim and asks the important question: “Have you discussed this with Heather?” After hearing that he hasn't, Catriona suggests that he does, and then sends both men to their rooms to prepare for dinner. After they've left, Catriona smiles knowingly and then wanders away to take care of other things. She knows Timand Heather are in love before they do. It's always nice when someone in the story knows what's going on.

A bit later, Richard and Catriona talk about Heather and Tim. Catriona points out that Heather has a thing for Tim. Also that The Lady, her goddess, steered the two of them here to get their shit together and realize that they're in love. Because apparently that happens in the Vale a lot.

Chapter fourteen opens with Tim lying in his bed alone at night. We all know where this is going, but it takes the scenic route, so put your patient pants on for a bit. Tim thinks back over dinner that night and how lovely it was. Everyone was so warm and accepting, sharing life together and all of that awesome kind of stuff. Also, Tim noticed that Richard was looking at him with sympathy and this bothers Tim. All of the Cynster guys see the ladies as princesses and the chance for any man to marry them as an honor. So, Richard being sympathetic makes no sense to Tim. Also, Catriona welcomes Tim with open arms, apparently not caring that the Cynsters only marry for love and that Tim is planning to marry Heather for other reasons. Tim is so thick-headed, but I guess we need something to fill the next seven chapters.

Back in his room, Tim thinks of and dismisses the possibility of letting Heather go. That is unacceptable. They're going to have the white picket fence and the 2.75 children, or the stereotype of their time and location. Tim realizes that he wants to build a home, both the structure and the family to inhabit it, and he wants to do this with Heather. He tosses and turns for about an hour, unable to sleep. Tim thinks about how he knows of one activity that is guaranteed to make him sleep, but that it would be ungentlemanly to go to Heather's bed now. Good thing Heather isn't bound by such rules.

She sneaks into his room and gets naked pretty quickly. Then they bang. Heather takes control for a little bit. She gets Tim on his back, and I think she gets him close to climax before he flips her back onto her back and gets control back from her. So there's that. Once they both orgasm, they fall asleep in each other's arms. Tim wakes up just enough later to realize that the reason he couldn't sleep before was because he wasn't holding Heather. Aw.

The next morning, as soon as Heather is awake, they bang again. For real though, is Heather pregnant yet? In many books and movies it seems like it only takes once to make a baby. Anyway, since we're in Heather's POV, we get a reminder that, although she'll pretend not to care when Tim finally ends their time as lovers, Heather doesn't want their intimacy to end. So, they're all cuddled together afterward when Tim has to open his mouth and say the wrong thing. I mean, he proposes, but in a terrible way.

His exact words are, “We need to get married.” Way to be romantic and appeal to her emotional attachment to you, dude. So, essentially, Tim says that they need to marry in order to save her reputation, and Heather replies that she doesn't give a damn about her reputation and then leaves. Meanwhile, Tim is thinking that he totally does want to marry her, but he never says it to her. Coward. After Heather leaves, Tim spends a moment mourning the loss of the perfect future he built the night before. Then he puts on his big boy pants and decides that he's going to fight for Heather's heart. ...which is kind of romantic, but would be creepy if we didn't know that she loved him as well. They're both just too dumb and pig headed to admit it to themselves and each other. So, we've gotten to the standard part of the romance novel now.

For the next chapter, I predict that Catriona will try to beat some sense into Heather. Probably not literally. Also, we won't hear anything big from the Highlander, but we might in the chapter after the next one. Oh, also, Tim will discover lollipops for the first time and be entranced by their tastiness.