And that still hurt, she realized as she nodded.
“Ye should have been supported by your mon, all who didnae treat ye right being severely punished. Instead, he stabbed at ye with cruel words day after day, and there was no one there to help ye shed the poison he fed ye all the time. The bastard hasnae been dead long. Ye just need more time to push out of your heart and mind all the venom he put in there. There are a few things ye need to remember at all times that will help ye do that.”
When he did not immediately tell her what those things were, she lifted her head to look at him. “What are they?”
“That he was a coward and he wasnae your husband. He kenned he was a coward, too, but couldnae accept that truth so he blamed ye for all that was wrong in his life. His every dealing with ye was a lie. I think he quickly kenned that ye were a clever lass with spirit enough to cause him some trouble so he did all he could to kill that spirit. He also kenned ye had wit and he needed to keep ye under his boot so that ye wouldnae turn that sharp wit to looking for why your marriage wasnae as it should have been.”
“Weel, I have finally cast off his name,” she murmured.
“’Tis a start. Now ye just have to cast off the rest of his lies.”
Arianna opened her mouth to speak and abruptly forgot what she was about to say. She looked around the strange bedchamber they were in. It was another moment before she recalled where they were.
“Brian,” she gasped, “ye had best slip back into your own room. The Camerons will rise soon and ye dinnae wish to be caught creeping about the place.”
“I am in my room,” he said, and had to bite back a smile when she looked at him with her eyes wide with shock.
“I walked here last night?”
“Nay, lass. We have the same bedchamber. I was offered my own but told them nay, that I stay with ye.”
A flush of embarrassment warmed her cheeks despite her pleasure over his statement. “The Camerons will think I am naught but some faithless creature, one with few morals. I mean, I am but newly widowed and even widows past their mourning time are more discreet than this.”
Brian kissed her and then rested his forehead against hers. “Love, they dinnae care.”
“How can ye ken that? I met Lady Jolene. I recall her now and she was verra much the lady born and bred.”
“That she is, and yet she is wed to Sigimor, who is nay a gentlemon of the court. And I can promise ye, she was nay even a widow and I doubt she remained chaste in his company for long. She wed him thinking it but a ploy to protect her.”
Distracted, she asked, “Was it?”
“Nay. Sigimor wanted her. He let her think what she wanted but had no intention of letting her ever leave Scotland or him again. He wanted her to stay and did all he could to make sure she did.”
Arianna had the sudden urge to ask Brian if he wanted her to stay with him, but hastily bit back the words. Not only would that leave her open to hearing him try to explain why he did not want to keep her, but he deserved better than her. He deserved a woman who was whole, who could give him children, and did not carry all the wounds she did from a marriage that was little more than five years in hell.
“A sneaky mon. My family would appreciate that,” she murmured, and then recalled what he had been doing when she had crawled into bed to sleep. “Oh! How could I forget what happened? I cannae believe I could be so thoughtless. Were ye hurt? Was any Cameron hurt?” She frowned when he laughed.
“I kenned that ye wouldnae recall it but we talked briefly on this when I got into this bed last night. None of us were injured. We trimmed the number of men Amiel had with him but we didnae catch him. The dark stopped the chase ere we could. So, there will be fewer men hunting us when we leave, if there are any at all. Sigimor and I think they may go to join with the others now.”
She sighed at the thought that she had to get back on a horse so soon but knew it was necessary. “Then we had best rise and eat so that we might leave and get to Scarglas ere we have a whole army to try and slip around.”
“We can wait one more night, lass.”
Brian could see the faint shadows beneath her eyes and knew she still needed to rest. If Amiel was headed to join the others at Scarglas, he was well ahead of them now. There would be no catching the man and no overtaking him so there was no real need to rush off to Scarglas. Arianna probably needed a few more days of rest before she fully recovered from all she had endured, but he could afford to give her the one more night. And, selfishly, he wanted one more night with her with no worries about who might slip up on them or how quickly they could get to their horses and flee. He pulled her close and began to kiss her neck.
“Um, should we not get up and break our fast?” she asked even as she tilted her head to the side to allow him better access.
“We will. After.”