Cooper frowned, placing his hands on both hips as he turned to address Gregor. He had just as hard a time as I did understanding why women in the seventeenth century were treated like children in need of supervision their entire lives. He didn’t hesitate to speak up on my behalf.
“I don’t understand why Aunt Jane would have kissed Orick either, Gregor, but Orick is right. You just leave them alone. I don’t think she’s going to jump from her horse over to his just to kiss him. They’re just as grown as you. Quit bossing them around.” He hesitated, and I could tell the words had slipped out of his mouth rather unwillingly as they always did when he got really worked up—it was a trait we shared. As his cheeks turned rosy and his eyes a bit sheepish, he offered Gregor one last word as he bowed his head in a last-ditch effort to show some respect. “Sir.”
I had to bite down on my lower lip to keep from bursting into laughter at Gregor’s face, and I stood wound tight as a string as I waited for Gregor’s reaction. Cooper might have overspoken, but I knew my own temperament well enough to know that if he jumped down Coop’s throat, I would go ape-shit crazy on my normally-kind employer.
Instead, Isobel started laughing hysterically, whopping Gregor on the arm as she did so. “Ach, ’tis just what I’ve tried to tell ye since the eve it happened, but I can see it has taken a child to show ye that ’tis none of yer concern what Jane or Orick do with one another. If the lass wants to kiss every lad from here to McMillan Castle, ’tis her right to do so.” She nodded in Cooper’s direction, breaking the tension and restoring the color to Cooper’s cheeks. “Well said, lad. Now what do ye say, we continue on our way?”
Gregor said nothing as we mounted. I moved my horse to ride next to Cooper and Orick.
*
The closer we got to Cagair Castle, the more nervous I became. Isobel could tell from the way I fidgeted on my horse.
“Ye’ll make his back tender, Jane. Sit still and doona worry. Ye’ve no reason to do so. Adwen wants ye there.”
I shook my head, thinking on how surprised he would be to see me. I was quite certain he wouldn’t be pleased to have the reminder of his bruised ego show up on his doorstep.
“No, Isobel, he doesn’t. If he wanted me to be there, he would have invited me. The invitation was for you and Gregor. Cooper and I are tag-alongs.”
We now rode together in a close row, Gregor and Isobel on one horse to the left, me on my own in the middle, and Orick and Cooper on another to the right. Isobel reached her arm out, leaning so that she could squeeze my hand as I met her halfway.
“Jane, I dinna tell ye before, but ’twas Adwen that wanted me to invite ye. He knows he behaved poorly the last time he saw ye. He wishes to show ye that he’s a better man than ye think him to be.”
I turned toward Orick, needing confirmation from someone other than the woman who had used a child to gain my company.
“Is it true, Orick? Or is he going to turn me away at his doorstep?”
Orick smiled the kind, trustworthy grin that had warmed me to him the first moment I met him. “I wouldna allow him to turn ye away, lass, but aye, he wishes to see ye again.”
The knowledge excited me and for some unknown reason, my excitement over Adwen’s desire pissed me off.
“Even if he does, I know it’s only for one reason, and that is never going to happen. I’m un-tupped business to him.”
Orick’s eyes widened at my use of the phrase, and he quickly covered Cooper’s ears.
Gregor spoke from beside me. “There is something I’ve missed. I doona understand what any of ye are saying.”
Isobel silenced him. “Best ye doona know, love. ’Twould only cause ye distress.”
Orick released Cooper’s ears before speaking. “I know I speak poorly of him, but ’tis only because I know it bothers him so. Doona be so hard on him, lass. He’s a foolish arse to be sure, but there is a better man deep inside him. ’Tis only that he’s no ever been lucky enough to come across a lass who could show him the man he can be.”
I didn’t know what to say. It was a nice thought, and I knew there was a small part of me, as with many women, that wanted to be the woman who could change a man. But I’d never been one to take the bait on such a challenge. If I thought a man needed changing, I just stayed away. It was a rule that had served me well and had helped steer me away from many doomed relationships.
Adwen was no different. I did think he needed changing or, at the very least, a great maturation needed to occur within him. I didn’t need to try—I needed to stay the hell away from him.