The Bad Luck Wedding Night, Bad Luck Wedding series #5 (Bad Luck Abroad trilogy) by Geralyn Dawson Page A
Authors: Geralyn Dawson
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scent, and fought back tears she didn't understand. When horns later she finally got to sleep, she dreamed of a fairy-tale castle filled with the happy laughter of bonny, blue-eyed children.
It's bad luck for a bride to laugh on her wedding day.
Chapter 7
"Well? Who is she?" Lady Charlotte Ross asked when Nick strolled into the family sitting room the following morning in search of a strong cup of coffee. He'd asked his family to assemble here in private to hear his explanation about Sarah, a tangle of truth and lies he'd put together during the long, mostly sleepless night.
He felt like one of the ancient suits of armor his youngest Scots sister Robyn used in her mock battles—old and battered and beaten. The few minutes he'd slept had been filled with dreams of Sarah, hot, erotic dreams that left him needy and aching. Twice the urges had propelled him from his bed and sent him toward Sarah's, determined to turn fantasy into reality. Thank God for cold stone floors and bare feet. The combination cleared his thinking enough for him to realize the folly of his intent.
"You look awful, Nicholas." Lady Melanie Ross set down her cup of chocolate with a clatter and a spill. "Is it her fault? Aurora thinks she's your mistress and that you invited her to Glencoltran, only she was supposed to meet you in the hunting lodge, not the castle."
"Melanie!" Lady Aurora Ross protested. "You weren't supposed to tell him. I'm not supposed to know about mistresses."
"None of you are supposed to know about mistresses," Nick groused, scowling as he poured coffee into an oversized teacup. "Be quiet. One thing you girls must learn if you're to make successful marriages is that you don't bring up forbidden subjects and pepper a man with questions before he's had his morning coffee. Now, sit and be still."
They didn't obey him, but then, his sisters seldom obeyed him. What they did was ask one another questions, leaving him out of it, yet letting him know exactly what information they wanted. In addition to being the most loving, caring creatures on earth, his sisters were ultimately female—bright, scheming, and manipulative. In some ways he pitied the men who would finally win them.
Nick downed his first cup of coffee quickly, then sipped at the second more slowly. At that point, Melanie decided it was safe to speak to him. "We don't know much except that mistresses are wicked, Nick. Is this woman wicked? If so, why did you bring her to your home?"
"You are completely mistaken," Nick declared. "Sarah is not a wicked woman."
Aurora pinned him with a look. "Sarah? That's her name? And who is she?"
"As soon as the rest of your sisters arrive, I'll tell you all of it. This is an explanation I want to go through only once."
The trio nodded, then Charlotte asked. "We'll be done by noon, won't we, Nicholas? I'm to meet Rodney and Lady Pratt in the drawing room then. She has yet to give her blessing to the match, and I'm hopeful she'll do it before they leave this afternoon."
"The Dragon Lady." Aurora shuddered dramatically. "You know, Charlotte, it occurs to me that Rodney is lucky she spent last Season in Paris. If you'd met her early on, I'll bet you'd have thought twice about falling in love with her son."
"She's the reason Flora and Alasdair cut their visit to Glencoltran short," Melanie said, referring to Nick's other Scottish sister, Gillian's twin Flora, and her husband, "Every time Dragon Lady Pratt looked at Flora's babies, she made them cry."
"That's not true," Nick countered. "Flora and Alasdair never intended to stay longer at Glencoltran. They had other commitments at home at Laichmoray."
Charlotte sipped at her chocolate and said, "I cannot get over how much alike Flora and Gillian look. How did you ever tell them apart when they were young?"
"I was the nice one," Gillian said, sweeping into the room along with Nick's youngest Scottish sister, fourteen-year-old Robyn.
Nick choked on his coffee.
It's bad luck for a bride to laugh on her wedding day.
Chapter 7
"Well? Who is she?" Lady Charlotte Ross asked when Nick strolled into the family sitting room the following morning in search of a strong cup of coffee. He'd asked his family to assemble here in private to hear his explanation about Sarah, a tangle of truth and lies he'd put together during the long, mostly sleepless night.
He felt like one of the ancient suits of armor his youngest Scots sister Robyn used in her mock battles—old and battered and beaten. The few minutes he'd slept had been filled with dreams of Sarah, hot, erotic dreams that left him needy and aching. Twice the urges had propelled him from his bed and sent him toward Sarah's, determined to turn fantasy into reality. Thank God for cold stone floors and bare feet. The combination cleared his thinking enough for him to realize the folly of his intent.
"You look awful, Nicholas." Lady Melanie Ross set down her cup of chocolate with a clatter and a spill. "Is it her fault? Aurora thinks she's your mistress and that you invited her to Glencoltran, only she was supposed to meet you in the hunting lodge, not the castle."
"Melanie!" Lady Aurora Ross protested. "You weren't supposed to tell him. I'm not supposed to know about mistresses."
"None of you are supposed to know about mistresses," Nick groused, scowling as he poured coffee into an oversized teacup. "Be quiet. One thing you girls must learn if you're to make successful marriages is that you don't bring up forbidden subjects and pepper a man with questions before he's had his morning coffee. Now, sit and be still."
They didn't obey him, but then, his sisters seldom obeyed him. What they did was ask one another questions, leaving him out of it, yet letting him know exactly what information they wanted. In addition to being the most loving, caring creatures on earth, his sisters were ultimately female—bright, scheming, and manipulative. In some ways he pitied the men who would finally win them.
Nick downed his first cup of coffee quickly, then sipped at the second more slowly. At that point, Melanie decided it was safe to speak to him. "We don't know much except that mistresses are wicked, Nick. Is this woman wicked? If so, why did you bring her to your home?"
"You are completely mistaken," Nick declared. "Sarah is not a wicked woman."
Aurora pinned him with a look. "Sarah? That's her name? And who is she?"
"As soon as the rest of your sisters arrive, I'll tell you all of it. This is an explanation I want to go through only once."
The trio nodded, then Charlotte asked. "We'll be done by noon, won't we, Nicholas? I'm to meet Rodney and Lady Pratt in the drawing room then. She has yet to give her blessing to the match, and I'm hopeful she'll do it before they leave this afternoon."
"The Dragon Lady." Aurora shuddered dramatically. "You know, Charlotte, it occurs to me that Rodney is lucky she spent last Season in Paris. If you'd met her early on, I'll bet you'd have thought twice about falling in love with her son."
"She's the reason Flora and Alasdair cut their visit to Glencoltran short," Melanie said, referring to Nick's other Scottish sister, Gillian's twin Flora, and her husband, "Every time Dragon Lady Pratt looked at Flora's babies, she made them cry."
"That's not true," Nick countered. "Flora and Alasdair never intended to stay longer at Glencoltran. They had other commitments at home at Laichmoray."
Charlotte sipped at her chocolate and said, "I cannot get over how much alike Flora and Gillian look. How did you ever tell them apart when they were young?"
"I was the nice one," Gillian said, sweeping into the room along with Nick's youngest Scottish sister, fourteen-year-old Robyn.
Nick choked on his coffee.
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