It was a grand opportunity, one if which played properly, he knew he could use to destroy
both Conall brothers. Edana already hated them, but once he shared what he’d seen last night, he knew she’d be willing to do even what he was about to ask of her.
He waited inside the home he shared with his sister, watching for any sign of his pale haired and plain faced pawn to make her way through the village. She met him there each morning while Arran went on his daily ride. Their moments together were short, but each moment he was forced to spend in her company, talking, kissing, tupping, made him hate her all the more.
What a pathetic creature, so willingly giving him her trust at the first sign of his forced affection. She was ignorant, stupid, and Tormod found nothing less attractive in a woman.
“I see her coming. I shall be away now.”
“Wait.” Tormod called out for his sister to stop before she made her way out of the door. “Do ye think ’tis wise to ask her to do what ye suggested? If she isna pregnant, Arran will surely know before too long.”
Tormod flinched at the look Fia threw in his direction. “Aye, Arran will feel guilt over his betrayal of Edana, but ’tis no her place to forbid him from doing so. If she tells him she’s carrying his child, his remorse will multiply on its own, making him weak, just as we need him to be. She is coming. Make love to yer fool.”
Once his sister left, Tormod moved to the doorway looking each direction to ensure that none would see her enter his home. It was unlikely he knew. People kept away from them. His sister’s company was a pleasure most did not seek, for she was a woman of strength, not a woman of pity like the wretch that now made her way inside.
“Tormod.”
He stiffened as Edana threw her arms around him. He pulled away from her as he motioned for her to sit next to him. “I have something to tell ye, Edana, something we can finally use against Arran.”
“Aye, are ye going to tell me that Arran has been with someone else? I know he dinna stay in his room.”
Tormod’s brows lifted in surprise, perhaps the lass was visiting her husband’s bed more often than he’d realized. It was all the better. It would make their tale all the more believable. “Aye, he has, but no just with anyone. He spent the night with his brother’s wife.”
Edana shook her head, and Tormod lifted his brows even further. He’d been certain it was Eoin’s wife he’d seen with Arran.
“Nay, ’twas no Bri, ’twas was the other one, the one he couldna keep his eyes off of when they arrived. It seems that Donal MacChristy is more interesting than most people believed. I always believed that Bri was just how people close to them referred to Blaire, but ye see, Blaire is a different daughter entirely. Donal had two daughters, twins, and he sent one of them to grow up with his brother.”
“Ye canna mean it? How could no one know of this?” His brows were about to lift off his head, and Tormod did his best to straighten his face into some semblance of normalcy. This was the most interested he’d ever been in Edana’s words.
“They said that Donal was afraid he couldna care for both girls after their mother died. He sent Bri away, and she spent most of her life traveling in the care of her uncle, which goes a far way toward explaining the odd way which she speaks. Blaire stayed here, and it was she that was supposed to marry Eoin. But before the wedding, Bri returned home, and it was she that Eoin fell in love with, no Blaire. But it seems that Arran has stepped in where his brother has failed.”
“I’ve never seen two lasses so similar in appearance.” Tormod leaned back and shook his head in surprise.
“Aye, ’tis quite remarkable. But it was most certainly she that ye saw with Arran, no Bri. I saw Bri after I noticed that Arran was no in his room.”
“Aye, I suppose it must have been. Regardless, I know what we must do to weaken Arran.” He leaned forward and grabbed Edana’s hands, knowing the effect his touch had on her. She yearned for him, and any touch he was willing to give her would only make her more amenable to his plan.
“What is it?” She stood from her chair and moved to his lap. Tormod had to keep himself from grimacing as their bodies touched.
“Ye have been sharing his bed, aye?” He shifted trying to scoot her away from him, but she only leaned in closer, squirming her bottom in his lap such that his manhood nearly betrayed his disgust with her.
“Aye, but each time ’tis only ye that I see in my mind. Arran is only the vessel I use to reach ye when we are apart.” She kissed him then, and part of him lifted, causing him to swiftly stand so that Edana would not take notice. If she did, it would mean he would have to tup her now, and he’d be forced to hold her in his arms until she left. ’Twas best to wait until a few short moments before their time together ended so that he could give her just enough to keep her believing in the fallacy of his love and painless enough for himself that it was bearable.
“Aye, well good. He should believe ye then when ye tell him that ye are with child. I shall find a nurse to confirm yer story.”
“Why? I am no with child, and it wouldna take too long before Arran would notice that I was not.” The pitch of her voice was high and painful to Tormod’s ears. He turned away from her to grimace at the wall.
“By the time Arran would notice, ye may very well actually be with chid, whether it be mine or his. And any remorse that Arran feels for having slept with another will only cause him more pain if he believes ye are carrying his child. His love for his unborn child and his guilt over betraying ye will make him weak.” He could sense that she was about to contest. Rather than listen to the sound of her voice once again, he crushed himself to her and sat about his daily task of making his fool love him.
* * *
Conall Castle
“Slow down, Adelle. I canna understand ye when ye speak so quickly.”
Adelle threw her hands up in exasperation as she stood before Eoin, who was decidedly too calm over their present situation. It was clear he hadn’t heard her, or she was certain he would be much more panicked than he was.
“Donal MacChristy is here. Jeepers, I’ve never seen a man so closely resemble my ex-husband. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw him. He came to see Blaire. He said he wants to see his daughter! I didn’t know what to tell him so I just had Kip take him to the stables so that they could get his horse situated.” Adelle watched as her words sunk in, and Eoin’s formerly calm face began to match her own.
“Christ, o’course he would show up whilst Bri is away. She canna even pretend to be Blaire if she isna here. How will I explain to him that his daughter went to visit me brother without me? He will hardly think it proper. And it isna! That’s why she left without me. She knew I wouldna have let her go.”
Adelle cleared her throat to interrupt him. “That isn’t our only problem. When they do get back, how are we going to explain to him that there are two Blaires?”
Chapter 22
The Castle Formerly Known as Kinnaird
Morning came much too quickly, and with it the sadness that had been momentarily lifted slowly seeped back into me heart. As light started to peek through the small cracks in the stable doors, I felt Arran shift beside me, and I turned me head so that I could kiss his brow.
The tilt of me head sent a tear that sat dormant in the corner of me eye running down me face, and I quickly reached up to brush it away.
I’d no slept a wink through the night, and after our lovemaking ended, Arran drifted away into the slumber of a man who’d no slept soundly in quite a long time. He’d held me tightly, squeezing his arms around me if I shifted only a little, as if he was afraid I would get up and leave him during the night.
Perhaps I should have, but me heart was torn into two very distinct pieces, and the confusion of feelings left me frozen and as trapped in the stables as Arran’s heavy arms. I had never felt such love, such joy, never known just how deeply two souls could connect through touch. I had also never been so heartbroken. The sadness I felt at knowi
ng this was the only time we would be together caused me to ache all the way down to me bones.
“I doona wish to move from this place, lass. Do ye think we could hide away here and live with the horses?”
I smiled and kissed him lightly before forcing meself to stand and dress. “Nay, as much as I wish it, we canna. If I doona return before Mary awakes, ye know she shall have all those in the castle looking for us.”
“That she will, lass.”
He stood, doing nothing to hide what morning had done to him, and me face reddened at the sight of him. “How will I get back into the castle unseen?”
“I doona expect that anyone will question ye. If they do, just tell them ye went out for a morning walk. I shall leave from here to go out on me daily ride. I shall see ye all before ye return home.” He gathered me up in his arms, pulling me in close so that I could scarcely breathe. “I love ye, lass, and I doona believe that I can say goodbye to ye. When I can, I shall come to ye. From now on, my marriage to Edana will be only for her protection, but my heart shall always belong to ye. In time, Edana will learn to accept it.”
I tensed and pulled away from him. I couldna have him make promises to me that I knew couldna be. Arran was a good man, and shortly he would feel remorse for our actions. Once he did, he would no come to me again. “’Tis best for ye to no leave me with hope when it isna there.”
He grabbed me quickly, silencing me with his mouth as he caused me head to spin and me knees to buckle. “I willna let ye go, Blaire. I canna do so again. Tell me that if I come for ye that ye will see me. I must live with the hope of holding ye in me arms once more.”
The tears fell freely now. Any resistance I had shattered. If he came to me, I would welcome him. I was no strong enough to deny him. All that I was had been his for quite some time already. “Aye, I will. Now, leave. Bri and Mary will be awake soon. I should make me way back inside.”
“I love ye, Blaire. When ye left this time, ye took me heart with ye, and it has belonged to no one else.”
He kissed me once more and moved to open the stable doors so that he could mount his horse and depart on his ride. He smiled as he left. Once he was gone, I scanned the horizon. Seeing it clear, I made me way back to the castle.
* * *
Bri was awake when I arrived back at the room. ’Twas apparent she’d been so for quite a while.
“Oh Blaire, I’m glad you’re back. I couldn’t sleep a wink after Arran came by here looking for you. Are you okay?”
She stood from where she was seated on the edge of the bed and pulled me into a quick embrace.
“Aye, I shall be, in time. We should make our leave today.”
She was kind enough not to question me further and left to wake Mary.
Once Bri had left the room, I cleaned meself using the small basin of water that sat at the back of the room. After changing, I did me best to pin me hair so that it dinna look like I spent the night in the stables.
I struggled with an unruly hair that was difficult to reach at the nape of me neck. It stuck out in a way that defied gravity, but unable to see it, I found meself useless when it came to securing it into place.
Thankfully, Bri re-entered the room and seeing me difficulty, came to offer her assistance. As she grabbed the long piece of hair, combing through it with her fingers, I asked her about Mary.
“Was she still sleeping when ye went to wake her?” While Bri worked on the back, I kept me hands busy trying to soothe the frizzing strands around me forehead.
“She was awake, but lounging in a steamy tub with three ladies sitting around her waiting on her hand and foot. Arran wasn’t joking when he said she wasn’t to lift a finger while she’s here.”
I laughed, picturing Mary ordering the poor lasses about. I was certain she would be no too pleased with having to leave Arran so soon. “What did she say to ye when ye told her we were leaving?”
Bri chuckled, and I caught her eyes roll in the small mirror before us. “Nothing that I wish to repeat. She said that we were welcome to leave if we wish, but she was making this her permanent home because Arran was the only one to show her any appreciation in ages. But don’t worry, she’ll come. In fact, I expect she will be ready for departure before us. Whether she will admit it or not, it’s driving her crazy not to be ruling over her roost. There. Does that feel better?”
I reached behind and smiled as the piece was no longer floating toward the ceiling and nodded in approval. “Aye, thank ye.”
A knock at the door and Mary’s boisterous voice from behind it signaled that Bri was right. Soon we would take our leave from the castle, from Arran, and from the place me heart would always remain.
* * *
Edana stood back after saying her own polite and expected farewells, watching closely as Arran made his own. He’d given her no explanation, made no excuse for his absence from his bedchamber the night before. Perhaps he thought she’d not come for him and believed his absence had gone unnoticed.
Even before Tormod’s words, Edana had taken notice of her husband’s empty bedchamber, and she’d suspected that he’d spent his night with another. She couldna say she was surprised. The wandering ways of Arran Conall had been legendary as she was growing up, and she didn’t know a single lass who didn’t dream of sharing her bed with him. But this knowledge did nothing to slow the torment of anger that spread its fiery touch over her each time she pictured them together. It didn’t matter that she was in love with another as well. Arran was a fool. ’Twas only right that she should fine a true man elsewhere, but she should have been enough for Arran.
At first, she’d been resistant to Tormod’s suggestion that she lie to Arran about a pregnancy, but as she watched him lean into Blaire as he pulled her close, unable to stop his lips from lingering near her cheek and the undeniable yearning that shown in his eyes, she realized the awful truth. Arran had not only shared his bed with the whore, but his heart as well. Whatever loyalty Arran had once felt for her, it had diminished overnight. In order to keep him close, malleable to her plans, she had to regain his loyalty.
She would do as Tormod bid, and by sundown she would win back Arran’s heart by becoming pregnant with her non-existent child.
Chapter 23
The first day of our journey back to Conall Castle was a pensive one. I remained wrapped in me own thoughts of loss and guilt. Although ’twas no I married to Edana, I couldna deny the guilt I felt over her. She was an innocent victim of our love for one another, albeit an unpleasant one. I’d only spent a few moments with her, but I was certain a friendship would never have been possible between us under any circumstance.
She was entirely miserable looking, and something about her made me uneasy, as if she knew what had occurred between Arran and me. I was sure that we’d gone unseen the night before out in the stables, but the glare Edana shot in me direction as we departed made me question whether or not we were as alone as we’d believed.
The second day of our journey, the day we were due to arrive back at the castle, proved to be more eventful.
Mary complained regularly about us ending her rare treat of luxury so soon, but it was easy to see the jest in her words. With each hoof step that brought us closer to Conall Castle, Mary’s smile grew. I could tell she was itching to resume her duties as the true leader of the castle.
After what was at least her dozenth time complaining, she suddenly changed the subject and addressed me so bluntly that I nearly fell off me horse in surprise. “Ye slept with him, dinna ye?”
“Mary!” Bri’s shocked and elevated voice echoed through the countryside.
“What? Ye have been thinking the same thing, have ye no? I saw the way Arran looked at her and she at him when we left. ’Twas no a look that people share unless they are intimately acquainted.” Mary gave Bri an expression that dared her to disagree.
“I may have been thinking it, but I have the tact not to say it or ask her. Goodness, Mary, I swear you get more nosy with each passin
g day.”
“I’m no nearly nosy enough!”
“Aye, we did. But I doona wish to discuss it further.” I interrupted, knowing that it was best to give Mary the information she desired rather than have it forced from me by the persistence of her words.
“I knew it, but doona ye worry, lass. I’ll no be judging ye for it. Arran’s marriage is no one built on love, and it never should have happened.”
Sympathy was evident in her eyes, and it only increased the longing for him deep within me chest.
We were nearing the castle when a rider off in the distance caused Bri to groan aloud as she slowed the pace of her horse.
“Crap, it’s Eoin. He’s not going to be excited to see me. I bet he’s so angry, he’s ready to lock me away.”
She laughed, but it was an uncomfortable one. I could tell she was nervous for his reaction.
“Doona worry. He may be angry, but I’ve known the lad all his life. He knows by now that ye canna control women. He will just be glad that ye’ve returned. Besides, it looks as if he is riding for us. He must have news he hoped would reach us before we arrive back home.”
Mary’s revelation caused us all to slow the pace of our horses as we waited in anticipation for Eoin.
He rode quickly and reined to a halt beside us. “Ach! There ye are ye three naughty lassies. Why, I should throw the three of ye in the dungeon where ye canna cause any more trouble.” He smiled, showing his jest. “But first, I want to kiss me wife. Come here, ye awful scoundrel.” Eoin maneuvered his horse so that it was next to Bri’s and deftly lifted her off her own horse so that she straddled him on his. He smacked her behind softly and proceeded to kiss her as Mary and I watched awkwardly.
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