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.