“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 knowing 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.”