“That smells verra fine, lass,” he said as he moved to sit down next to her.
She tensed and he fought the urge to shift farther away from her. It might have been better if he had sat across the fire from her but he had not wished to stare into those captivating eyes of hers as he tried to eat his meal. Brian told himself it was best if he did not coddle her unease, either, for she had to depend upon him until she was safe with her family. He was not surprised when a little voice in his head scoffed at that excuse. It was a paltry one.
“I mixed some leeks ye had with the stale bread and a piece of rather old cheese. ’Tis naught,” she said, trying not to be too pleased by his compliment. “Thought we ought to have more than just the meat.” She cast a glance at his pack of supplies. “Ye carry a goodly store of food.”
“Aye. I dinnae like to go hungry.”
“Few do.”
The fleeting, shy smile she gave him tightened his insides with the desire he was doing such a poor job of banishing. It was a puzzle that he felt any desire at all. Although she looked a lot better than she had when they had entered the cave, she was still all bruised and scratched. Her full lips were dried and cracked by the harsh salty water of the ocean and did not look all that kissable. Her injuries did not dim the beauty of her lithe, shapely form, however, or the glory of her long hair. There was no hiding the beauty of her eyes, either.
“Tell me all ye ken about the ones hunting ye and the lads,” he said in an abrupt attempt to turn his wandering thoughts to something other than all the reasons he wanted her.
Arianna served him some food as she said, “I have told ye most of it. I truly believe that Amiel killed his brother and his true wife or ordered the killing done. He may have kenned the truth about Claud and Marie Anne even though the rest of the family didnae learn of it until shortly after the bodies were found, may have e’en hoped killing them both would keep that secret hidden forever. But Claud left a letter explaining how the boys were nay the bastards everyone thought them but his true heirs.”
She shook her head and helped herself to some food. “I learned shortly after wedding Claud that his branch of the Lucette tree was, weel, verra blood proud. They were nay too certain I was their equal but they badly wished to have my dowry and the tie to my clan for it would ensure that the land they held in Scotland would be weel protected. The news that their eldest son, the heir to all titles and lands, had actually married a common wench, as they called her, appalled them. What little toleration they had shown toward Michel and Adelar faded away in a winking. They immediately set about the expensive and tedious chore of getting Claud’s marriage annulled.”
“But what of you? Did they nay care that they exposed ye to unwarranted shame and embarrassment?”
“Nay. They had already marked me as an utter failure as a wife for I lost the only child I conceived ere we barely kenned I was carrying one and I couldnae keep my husband away from his mistress.” She shrugged. “They didnae ken that I had already learned the truth and was planning a way to get free of the mire I found myself trapped in. All that kept me from leaving the moment I discovered the truth about the boys, about Claud’s lies, was that I wanted to find a way that saved us all, especially the boys, from gossip and the hurt it can bring.”
“The boys all thought were your husband’s bastards.”
“Aye. I was given the care and training of them from the verra beginning. Michel was little more than a bairn. Marie Anne didnae appear to care much for them for she rarely visited them or took them to the bonnie wee cottage Claud bought for her.
“But none of that matters. Amiel is all that concerns me now. He doesnae want to wait until his family gets Claud’s marriage to Marie Anne annulled, or, mayhaps, he doesnae want to lose the money it will cost to see it done. From the moment Claud’s confession was read, Amiel began to plot to kill his own nephews. I truly dinnae think he kenned that Claud had left a confession but it meant he then needed to be rid of the boys, too, before he could grab what he coveted. He e’en joined hands with the DeVeaux to get it.”
The way she nearly spat out that name told Brian all he needed to know. “An old enemy.”
“Verra old and with a lot of Lucette blood on their hands. Matters between the Lucettes and DeVeaux had grown so deadly and dire that the king himself stepped in and forced them into a truce, promising some verra hard, and costly, punishments if the truce was broken.”