“If I know him at all, he will insist on paying ye something, but ’twill comfort him to know that ye doona really need it, and he will keep our secret. ’Twill be easy to do since ye willna be seen by patrons.”
As we approached the village, I saw the inn sign hanging in the distance. I’d not often been housekeeper for myself, but I was sure it was something I could learn.
“Because I’ll be cleaning the rooms while they’re away, you mean? Once they’ve left in the morning?”
Eoghanan laughed and slowed his horse’s pace so that he rode next to me. “Ye willna be cleaning rooms, Jane. ’Tis Gregor’s job. ’Tis his wife, Isobel, who prepares the food. Ye shall work as cook.”
Panic is the only thing I felt at Eoghanan’s words–no longer nerves or excitement, just pure panic at the thought of being responsible for such a task. Truthfully, I knew I was unprepared for just about any job, but this I feared, would be impossible.
“Hang on. Have you ever had anything I’ve ever cooked, Eoghanan?”
“No, I havena, but ye canna be that bad.”
He had no idea. Every time Cooper stayed with me as a toddler, I worried he would starve to death by the end of the weekend. I couldn’t even get him to eat a PB&J prepared by my very, very ill-equipped hands.
“Oh, I am. He’s never going to want me, Eoghanan. You need to find something else for me to do.”
He shook his head. We’d arrived at the location of my soon-to-be humiliation and Eoghanan dismounted, looking completely unworried as he came to help me with my horse. “There is no other work that I am willing to help ye acquire, Jane. ’Tis this or ye can return to the castle and find madness. I trust Gregor and Isobel to watch over ye and to no spread it about that the laird’s kin is working like a common villager. Ye may no be able to cook now, but ye can learn. Now come.”
He stepped inside before I had a chance to protest further. I knew I should be grateful for his help, but I also knew that this could only end one way…in disaster.
CHAPTER 4
Cagair Castle
1648
“Adwen, unless ye wish Da to come up and see ye tupping the two of them, I suggest ye dress yerself at once. Ye know he needs to speak to ye.”
The lass beneath him moved to squirm away, her expression turning from one of ecstasy to disgust in an instant at his brother’s suggestion.
He shook his head in denial, placing his palm gently on the side of the nameless woman’s cheek as he raised his voice to answer his brother.
“There is no two of them for Da to see. Only one.”
“Oh, a change for ye then. Are ye saying that ye wish for him to see? Fine. I’ll send him up.”
Adwen MacChristy groaned in a mixture of frustration and unreleased wanting, leaning in to kiss the lass briefly before whispering in her ear. “Callum is a liar. Ye are more than enough for me in bed, I doona need two lassies. Just give me a moment.”
He rolled off of her and made his way to the door, not bothering to cover himself. He wished for the lass to see all that awaited her.
Hardening his face, Adwen threw open the door, reaching his fist out to grab his brother’s shoulder. “What is the matter with ye, man? Doona ye know better than to stop a man in the middle of…’tis no good for a man to go unfinished.”
Callum jerked out of his grip, smiling with disapproval in his eyes. “I doona give a damn whether or no ye finish and neither does Da. I know that ye doona wish to hear what he has to tell ye, but ye must respect his wishes for ye either way.”
Adwen knew the truth in his brother’s words. While he didn’t know with certainty what his father wished of him, he knew their conversation would end with great responsibility being passed to him. It was the great beast he’d been fleeing from for all of his life.
“Aye, fine. Now leave me and the lass be.” He closed the door in Callum’s face and turned to face the woman lying in his bed. “Lassie, the ache of no being able to be inside ye shall haunt me for ages, but ye heard my brother. Best ye take yer leave before the old man comes up here himself. I wouldna want ye to be shamed in such a way.”
Little truth lay in his words. He would ache to be sure, but the lass that now stood before him had little to do with that. He would have been pained in such a way with any other woman had he been interrupted similarly. Still, he knew how to send them away so that no hurt or ill feelings lay in the minds of the women he bedded. It was a skill he’d perfected over the course of his life and something he took great pride in. A heartsick woman could take all of the joy out of a good tup–best to let them believe they held a special place in his heart.
The lass stepped into her dress, bending so that the shape of her thighs and rear formed a delicious heart shape that sent waves of need shooting through him once again. He gritted his teeth as he moved toward her, reaching to raise her dress and help her with the laces.