“So it was deliberately set. At least now the clan can quit whispering that it was the fault of my wife. It was no accident, and she is no man.”
Mungo immediately looked down, and Connor growled. In his current temper, he didn’t like the man holding his tongue. “What?” he demanded. “What is it?”
“Yer wife has a fair face and a distracting body, not to mention a purse separate from yers, thanks to her uncle. She could have seduced or paid someone to do her bidding.”
It was all Connor could do not to deck his friend, and Mungo held up his hand. “I doonae believe that it is true, but I am merely preparing ye for what ye might hear. Moira has yet to win over clan-wide trust, and these incidents arenae helping.”
Connor gritted his teeth. He wanted to make it clear that false rumors about his wife would not be tolerated, but he knew that Moira would be furious. She didn’t want him to fight her battles for her.
“Continue to follow up,” he said shortly. “The faster we can put this to bed, the better. Plus, I would like to know why someone would want to set fire to the kitchen. My keep is always open to anyone who needs a meal. By destroying it, they are keeping me from taking care of my people.”
Mungo nodded. “I will keep ye informed.” He hesitated for a moment. “I caught a new lass sneaking around near yer chambers. She claimed that she was Moira’s new maid.”
“Dark hair? Fair face?” Connor asked. Mungo nodded. “Aye, she is Brittania. I thought she might be good for Moira when she moves to the cottage. Help with her clothes and the cleaning and whatnot.” Give her more time to spend at the keep. It wasn’t his first thought but when he looked at the cottage and thought of Moira all alone in there, he’d grown frantic with this need to make certain there was someone else who could keep an eye on her.
“She will live in the cottage with Moira?” Mungo grunted with a frown. “’Tis a small place.”
“Nay, of course not. She’ll have a chamber in the keep for as long as she wants it. Her parents died recently, and she’s been selling flowers in one of the outlying villages to make her living, and residing with her aunt. Here she has more freedom. I thought she and Moira might be a good fit. She’s a bit shy right now.”
“Shy?” Mungo repeated with a frown. “Perhaps we arenae talking about the same woman. There seemed nothing shy about her at all.”
“Maybe ’tis just ye,” Connor said absently. “Gather some men and meet me back at the kitchens. They should be cleaned out by now and can assess the damage. I want to get to work as soon as possible.”
“Aye.”
It was late when they stopped work for the day. Moira was noticeably absent from her chambers when he washed up for dinner, and when we went to join his men, Grace and Ainsley were already there and mentioned that Moira was dining with Lorna.
He wasn’t happy, especially hearing the news secondhand, but he let it go. If she thought avoiding him would mean that they wouldn’t continue their earlier conversation, then she was very much mistaken.
Thankfully, she couldn’t avoid him forever. After dinner, he went back up to find her in her chambers. “Wife,” Connor greeted as he leaned against the doorframe and watched her undo the laces of her dress. Her hands froze at the dark tone of his voice, but she didn’t turn and instead continued her task as if nothing was amiss. A fire crackled in the fireplace and gave her skin a pleasant glow.
“Husband,” she replied. “’Tis awfully early for ye to be retiring for bed.”
“I could say the same for ye, but I have a feeling that ye are avoiding me. I wonder why that could be. Perhaps it is because of the words we exchanged earlier?”
Again, she didn’t turn around, and the dress loosened around her shoulders. “I have no idea what ye are talking about. We exchanged many words today, and none would cause me to ignore ye.”
Realizing that she was about to let the dress pool to the floor, Connor growled and shut the door behind him. “Then I was the only one upset by yer declaration that ye intend to take a lover when ye are done with me and expect me to do the same?”
Calmly, she bent down and scooped up her dress. “I never said that I intended to take a lover. Only that I understood if ye chose to. After all, ’twill become inconvenient for ye to have to spend yer nights in the cottage with me.”
“Oh, does that mean that I am not allowed in yer bed once ye are no longer here?”
His words had a bite to them, and she turned and frowned. The light from the fire glowed on the other side of her thin and nearly transparent shift.
“I had not given it much thought when we made our arrangements, but I enjoy being with ye,” she admitted. “However, I realize that with yer status, ye cannae be spending yer nights with me…”
“Damnation, Moira! Do ye really think I care about my status or where I spend my nights? I made a vow of fidelity to ye, and I will not break it simply because ’tis inconvenient for me to come see ye. I did agree to leave ye alone once my heir is born, and I willnae fight ye on that if ye wish to turn me away, but I willnae take a lover, and neither will ye!”
She was quiet for a moment as she stared at him. “My father had a lover. Actually, he had many, so I would not go as far as to suggest that any of them meant enough for him to call them mistresses. When I returned home from yer lands, he didnae take such pains to hide them from me. It wasnae until my mother was dying that I learned that she was taking lovers as well. I thought they were in love with each other, and she told me that sometimes, seeking happiness outside the marriage was what made a marriage work. Perhaps she was on to something because after she died, my father went a little mad.”
It was the first time that she’d even mentioned her family, and he cautiously probed her for more. “Because he missed her?”
“Perhaps, or because he learned that she had strayed from their marriage vows, and he didnae take it well. Mostly, I think ’twas because he realized that he had not treated her as well as he should. Ye see, my supposed treachery broke him inside. He never trusted me, never forgave me for the sins that werenae my own, even after I was cleared, and he never treated me like a daughter after that. My mother tried to protect me, tried to make up for it, and it caused a strain in their marriage.”
His heart broke for her. It had never occurred to him the kind of damage that she’d suffered because of what he’d done to her that day. “Moira,” he said hoarsely, “I am so sorry.”
“Ye know the rumors, right? That my brothers had devised a clever way to kill him to keep his anger and insanity from poisoning the rest of the clan, but they miscalculated and couldnae get out the way fast enough? Some even say that it was my father to blame, that he knew they were trying to usurp him and sought to kill them.”
Her eyes were dry, but her voice trembled. “And of course, there are some who thought I did it.”
“Bloody hell, Moira…”
“I believe my brothers were to blame. I doonae want to think that they are killers, but they protected me when no one else did, and my father was planning to all but sell me to the highest bidder to get me off the lands. They wouldnae kill him for power, but for me? Aye. So there ye have it. Ye want to be faithful to me, but ye married a woman with murderous blood flowing through her veins.”
“Stop,” Connor said instantly before he took her up in his arms. “Doonae talk like that. Family protects each other. If what ye say is true, then yer brothers were doing right by ye. I would not hesitate to do the same for Grace or for Alec if needed. I am sorry that my mistakes touched every part of yer life. I am sorry for yer father, but I amnae him, and I willnae betray our vows, no matter what the future brings. I promised ye freedom, and if ye want to take another lover…” An unexpected fury rose inside of him, but he kept it inside. “I willnae stop ye.”
“Nay, Connor,” she whispered. “I doonae think I could stand to be with anyone but ye.”
Lowering his head to hers, he kissed her, pouring everything that he was afraid to te
ll her into that kiss. Everything that he feared would make her turn and run. That he needed her in his arms and by his side. That the thought of them living separately left him cold.
That the thought of her being with anyone else left him terrified.
She opened her mouth to him eagerly, always giving him everything in those moments. If only she could be so open to him all the time.
For now, she was all his, and he would take full advantage.
Sweeping her up in his arms, he carried her to the bed and gently laid her down. “Ye are so beautiful,” he said hoarsely. “Sometimes it feels as though ye are not even real.”
“Touch me, Connor. I am real, and I am yers.”
“Aye. Ye are mine.” Shoving the hem of her shift up her body, he revealed the smooth skin of her thighs and the soft curls of her sex. Despite all the time they’d spent together, she still squirmed and blushed.
He loved that about her.
Slowly, he widened her legs, his own body growing harder by the second as he leaned down and stroked her soft skin. Desire unfurled inside of him. He wanted her desperately, all the time, and he feared that not even time itself would temper it.
“Connor, do not tease. I am ready for ye!” she protested.
Aye, she was wet and warm and more than ready for him, but tonight, he wanted to hear her pant and beg. Lowering his head, he grinned wickedly at her while she looked on in confusion before he darted his tongue out and tasted her.
“Connor!”
There it was. That sultry moan that drove him to the end of sanity. There was nothing that he would not do to hear it from her lips again and again. The addiction was too much to fight. He bent down to taste her again, to flick his tongue over her until her thighs were clamped around his head, and she was begging for her release.
“No one can make ye feel like that but me,” he told her as he moved up her body and slid into her. Immediately, she quaked in her release, screaming his name as her legs locked around his waist. Groaning, he held himself back, kept himself from finding his own release too soon. “And no one except ye will ever make me feel like this.”
With that promise, he moved, stroking her higher and higher until she peaked again, and this time, he fell into the abyss with her, holding her tightly, terrified that at any minute, she would slip away from him and this would be all they would have of each other.
18
The weeks passed with no more incidents, and slowly, the clan started to warm up to her just a little. Helena was giving her more and more duties and stepping back with less grousing than before. The kitchen repairs were coming along, and the dust was settling. Moira began to spend less time with Grace and Ainsley and more time traveling by herself to the villages to get to know people.
Some were not as receptive, but no one was outwardly rude, although Moira had a feeling that had more to do with Connor than with herself.
That morning, there was a soft knock on the door. Moira opened it, knowing who was on the other side. Brittania, the woman Connor had hired to act as her lady’s maid, was the most punctual woman she’d ever met. There was real fear lurking in the woman’s eyes, and Moira knew the woman was concerned that with one misstep, she would lose her job. Moira tried to let her know that there was no reason to worry. After all, she enjoyed the woman’s company, but she understood fear. Something had happened in the woman’s past to make her feel as though the ground she walked on wasn’t solid, to make her anxiously wonder if there would be a roof over her head the next day, and all Moira could do was to try and help her acclimate day by day.
“I’m going out again,” she said a little breathlessly as she closed the door behind her. “I was thinking of wearing the Sinclair colors today with the sash.”
Brittania’s eyes widened, and Moira grimaced. “Not a good idea,” she said dejectedly. “All right.”
“I wouldnae want to tell ye what to do, but if ye are asking for my opinion…”
“I am,” Moira said firmly. “Please.”
“The other night, when I was walking to a friend’s, I overheard a group of women talking about ye. Several feel that ye are making real strides with these daily visits, but others feel as though ye are putting on airs and flaunting yer place.”
“Flaunting my place?” Moira leaned against the bed and rubbed her temples. “Sometimes I fear I will never win over the Sinclairs. All right, then the blue dress will be fine. Certainly, no one can say that I’m putting on airs in that.”
Brittania pulled the dress from the wardrobe and frowned. “It has holes in it.”
“Aye, it does.”
After Brittania helped her dress and braid her hair, she looked hesitantly at Moira and clasped her hands tightly together. “Is there something that ye want to ask?” Moira prompted.
“Aye. Yesterday, when I was carrying yer laundry, one of the guards insisted on accompanying me. I tried to put him off, but he wouldnae listen. I didnae want word to get back to ye that I was fraternizing when I should have been working.”
Moira frowned. “What time were ye taking the laundry?”
“’Twas late, ma’am. Helena had me taking on some extra tasks because one of the maids was sick. I couldnae get to yer laundry ’til after dinner.”
“First of all, Brittania, my laundry could have waited until the next day. Please doonae think that ye need to work so late! And if it was dark, then the guard was right to escort ye. I would not think any less of ye if ye had flirted with him.” She paused when Brittania reddened. “Just who was it?”
“Mungo, ma’am.”
“Mungo!” Moira could not hold her disbelief. The large man was always so quiet around her, and his general disposition was to glower, but she knew that this was not the first run-in that he’d had with Brittania.
Could it be that the giant was sweet on her?
“Aye. Is that a problem?”
“No problem at all. Brittania, since ye worked late last night, I insist that ye leave early today. I will not have an overworked maid. I rely on ye too much.” She wanted Brittania to feel as though she was important, and in truth, she was. When Moira moved to the cottage, it would be nice to have someone to help her out.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Now then if ye will excuse me, I have some more wooing to do.”
Traveling further than she probably should have, she stopped at one of the outlying villages and came to the small market. Dismounting from Maevis, she stroked her muzzle and tethered her to a trough before she wandered over. “Hello,” she said pleasantly as she looked over the vendors. There appeared to be no exchange of coin, only goods as children and adults alike wandered from stall to stall. She’d seen setups like these along the main roads and close to large keeps but never in small villages.
“Hello,” a young lass answered. She couldn’t have been more than seven or eight. Her sweet cherubic face glowed with pleasure as she clutched a small wooden doll in her hands. “I’m to get some cabbage for my mum, but I cannae see over the counters.”
“Ah, well I believe I can help with that. What is yer name?”
“Brynne.”
“All right, Brynne. I’m Moira. Let’s see if we can’t find you some cabbage for yer mum.” She took the girl’s hand and carefully led her through the small crowd until she found a stand with cabbage. The young lass was hardly shy, so Moira pulled around an abandoned wood crate that was leaning against the stand and helped Brynne step onto it. The woman with the cabbage had been staring at Moira suspiciously, but she practically beamed with she saw the child.
“There ye are, Brynne. Yer mum said that she was sending ye our way, but I feared ye might have gotten sidetracked.”
“I am too small,” Brynne grumbled. “But my papa says I am still growing so soon I will not need help. Two heads please,” she said as she held out the bag.
“Forgive me, but I am not certain what’s going on here,” Moira said politely. “Ye are not selling the cabbage?”
“Oh, no. There is no need to sell it when we are all in need of items. Miriam came to tell us that water would be scarce this year, so we divided the planting, and this is how we are sharing. ’Tis a shame that she is dead, so we have no way of knowing if we must continue this tradition or not.”
Miriam? “As in the old woman who spoke to ghosts?” Moira asked skeptically.
“Aye.” The woman narrowed her eyes. “Ye be the new Sinclair mistress. What are ye doing so far from the keep?”
“There is some animosity where I am concerned,” Moira explained ruefully. “But I am trying to get to know the Sinclair people and see what needs doing. When is the last time Connor came to visit?”
“Last week. We were in need of some wheat, and he and his men brought a whole wagon full for us. The laird takes care of us.”
Warmth spread inside of Moira, and she smiled. “Aye, he is a good laird, is he not? Is there anything that I should pass along to him? Anything that ye might need in the next coming days?”
“Aye, we could use three new shoes for the horses. Two of them keep throwing them.”
Pleased to be helpful, Moira nodded. “I will let him know.”
By the time she was done, she’d felt as though she’d made real progress. Two weeks ago, when she’d started visiting door-to-door, many people were curt and rude. Most came up with excuses to leave or not let her in. Today, most of them were pleasant and all too happy to accept her help around their homes if they needed it.
The sun was already setting when she walked back to Maevis, and she knew that it would be dark before she got home. Connor would be furious, but today had felt like a breakthrough. Maybe, just maybe, she would win over the Sinclairs after all.
Highlands’ Forbidden Deeds Page 30
