Heather wakes up
the next morning and Tim's already gone. Hmph. She remembers how
awesome last night was, then worries that she bled all over the bed
losing her virginity. Turns out it was just a “few drops” of
blood and her chemise caught them. It kind of bothers me that this
book feeds into the assumption that every woman bleeds after her
first time, but at least the actual sex seemed pretty legit.
Anyway, Heather
is super happy because she had no idea that sex was so great and
she's planning on some further exploration that night. I'm assuming
that Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright, or at least Mrs. Cartwright, can tell
that this “married” couple banged last night and are just too
polite to tease them about it. Tim was out chopping wood, by the
way. In case you were wondering where he had gone.
Tim and Heather
take their leave of the Cartwrights and hit the road at about 9. Tim
thinks they may reach the Vale by nightfall, but if it gets
mountainous, then they probably won't. Heather is kind of hoping
that they won't so she and Tim can have more sex. As they walk
along, we get a look into both of their minds.
Heather is, as
previously stated, very content with losing her virginity and is
looking forward to having more sex with Tim. She in no way finds
her, disturbingly vague, plans for the future altered. She just
wants a relationship with no ties and assumes it will end at some
point. But for now, she feels much more comfortable with him. Tim
is hers and she's going to enjoy him to the hilt. ...if you know
what I mean.
Tim, meanwhile,
really really wants to know what Heather is thinking. He had
resigned himself to marrying her earlier, but now he finds that he
still wants to wed her, even if she doesn't think it's necessary. He
notices that he feels more possessive of her now, but he doesn't want
to let her know because if she knows how much he wants her, not just
sexually but forever-ly, then she might stop cooperating with his
plan to get her to safety. And keeping her safe is everything to him
now. Kind of sweet, but I can't help thinking that Heather only
objected to a wedding that society pressured her into. She's said
nothing against a wedding where she actually wanted to spend the rest
of her life with the guy. Not that she thinks there's a chance of
that, but Tim doesn't know that part.
In short, for
once it's the guy who is desperate to get some commitment, and the
girl just wants the sex. Nice role reversal, Ms. Laurens.
While the couple
is musing about sex and commitment, the Highlander is out looking for
them. He's decided to observe Heather and the man with her for a bit
before he decides on what to do. We get an interesting tidbit here,
he wants to be sure that Heather's future is happy with whatever man
she chooses and would be just as awesome as if he had “not been
forced to kidnap her.” Wait. What? Forced to kidnap her? I'm
assuming that it's part of some scheme to keep her away from his
conniving momma, or something, but we're not given a lot of answers
here. Apparently, this wasn't his intent at the beginning but now he
feels like he has to do well by Heather. Which is good, I suppose.
He's still got that notion that Heather has to marry someone,
but I suppose that's not a big deal, since she'll end up marrying
Tim.
We jump back to
Heather and Tim as they stop to eat in the wilderness near Kirkland.
We get some more about how, although he'll leave her when they get
back to London, Heather has Tim as he is now and no other woman will
see him with his beard all scraggly and his clothes all not
fashionable. She's laying claim to him, huh? It's gonna be hard to
let go once you consider him yours....
Tim looks at
Heather's face while she's imagining further reaches of great sex.
He's a bit more troubled. He feels like he has to trick Heather into
wanting to marry him, or something. It seems like his plan is to
make her want him. A lot. Like, a metric ton. So she'll agree to
be bound to him. Kind of a dumb plan, honestly. You think you'll be
able to use lust to get her to marry you when you're already banging?
Tim also reflects on how as he's trying to tie Heather closer to
him, he's also tying himself closer to her. Weird how that works
both ways.
Now back to the
Highlander. He's getting pissed. Heather and her mysterious man
didn't make it to Thornhill, which means they probably turned off of
the main road. Somewhere. Also, apparently it's for the safety of
himself and everyone on his estate that he have Heather with him. He
also has a huge sense of responsibility for putting Heather in this
situation. As well he should. So the chapter closes with him riding
onward, looking for Heather. Because apparently he's gotten in way
over his head.
For the next
chapter, I predict....more sex! That's kind of a gimme, though. I
also think the Highlander will encounter Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright and
learn that Heather seems to be a married woman. With a ring, even!
He'll assume Heather got married at the anvil and his very
complicated plan will have to get more intricate to deal with this
change.
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