Highland Lover (20 page)

Gregor sat up straighter in his seat. “Liam? Was my cousin badly hurt?”

“Och, aye.” Brother Matthew shook his head. “Beaten sorely and either fell or was pushed off a

hillside onto some rocks. Broke his leg. A woman had him beaten. She was jealous for she thought

he had, er, wooed her sister when he refused to woo her. They are both married ladies, ye see.”

“Nay, it didnae happen. Liam ne’er beds down with wedded lasses.” Gregor smiled faintly when

Brother Matthew blushed at the word beds.

“I ken it. He healed weel. Keira saw to that. She has the touch, ye ken. Then that woman came here

seeking Liam, and her jealous husband was close behind her, demanding Liam’s blood. Liam and

Keira fled here and traveled on to Scarglas.” He looked at Alana. “Ere he was so cruelly murdered,

Keira had promised her husband that she would help the people of Ardgleann get free of Rauf

Mowbray, and she decided it was past time to fulfill that promise. Liam swore himself to help her in

that quest and he felt his kinsmen would be eager to help as weel.” He pulled a letter from inside of his robes and handed it to Alana. “I have but just received a full accounting of all that happened

after they left here. I think Keira’s own words say it all much better than I can.”

Alana read the letter twice before handing it to Gregor so that he could have a look. She knew Keira

had been precise but no more and would not care if her letter was shared around. Very few of

Keira’s feelings about her new husband Liam Cameron or the evils done to the people of Ardgleann

could be read there. Some matters were still unsettled, and Alana could sense her sister’s worries

and doubts behind the unemotional words she had written. The threat of Rauf Mowbray was gone

and Ardgleann would heal, but Keira was still sadly troubled and uncertain.

Gregor inwardly frowned as he read the letter. Alana’s sister wrote cleanly, in script as well as in

word, but there was very little emotion revealed in the letter. It read like some cold report from a

bailiff, a simple recitation of facts and not the letter of a young woman who had seen her worst

enemy defeated and who had married a man like Liam. He suspected Keira Murray MacKail, now

Cameron, was hiding something.

A quick glance at Alana revealed that she was frowning in concern. Liam was undoubtedly the

beautiful man she had seen in her dreams. Most women would sell their own grandmothers to be

married to a man like Liam, but there was no real sense of that triumph or joy in Keira’s letter, and Gregor suspected feelings were involved. What concerned him the most was what Alana thought of

it all. Liam was his kinsman and had benefited greatly from the marriage to Keira, yet if he sensed

something wrong, he was certain that Alana could sense a great deal more. The very last thing he

wanted was trouble between him and Alana because one of his kinsmen was not making her sister

happy.

“Liam Cameron is a good mon, lass,” Brother Matthew said quietly. “He trained right here, thinking

to become a monk, but he didnae have the true calling.” He accepted the letter back from Gregor

with a faint, absent smile, most of his attention remaining fixed upon Alana. “He will be a good

husband to Keira, kind and faithful, and a good laird to the people of Ardgleann. Aye, and Liam has

the wit to ken what must be done to keep them all safe and prosperous. Ye shouldnae worry so.” He

glanced at the letter before tucking it back inside his robe. “I ken she doesnae say so, and that there may be a few things still worrying her, but Liam will soon end whatever doubts she clings to.”

Alana sighed and hastily finished a bite of apple. “Mayhap. But I am close now and can go to her

side if need be.”

“True, and I am certain she will be most pleased to see ye as weel, for word of your disappearance

has spread.”

“Oh. That is why Artan and Lucas came here twice, isnae it. Once because of Keira and once

because of me. Were they so verra much trouble, then?”

Brother Matthew chuckled. “The brethren here arenae the bravest group of men, and your brothers

were in an ill mood. As Artan said, they had just finished hunting down one sister, and ere they

could rest, they had to go out and hunt down another.” He smiled when Alana groaned. “Word had

reached them that ye had followed them, but since ye hadnae appeared, they were concerned. They

were following their own trail back to the start in hopes of finding ye. That is why they stopped

here. ’Tis a wonder ye didnae meet with them somewhere along your route.”

“Let us pray that my brothers dinnae meet with the Gowans.”

“They were looking verra rough, lass. I dinnae think the Gowans would see them as a good choice

for ransoming.”

“Actually, cousin, I was worrying about the Gowans,” drawled Alana and shared a laugh with

Matthew. “At least now I ken why we were so unwelcome.”

“That was wrong and so I told them. It wasnae Keira and Liam who caused us trouble, but others

such as that woman and her enraged husband and Brother Peter, who still claims Keira bewitched

him. And nay, he didnae hurt her. Liam threw him into a wall. Just punishment, I say, but men of

the church do tend to cling to the idea that such sinful thoughts and deeds are all the fault of the

woman. As for your brothers, ’tis the brethren’s own cowardice that makes them reluctant to see

those two again.” Brother Matthew shook his head in disgust over the behavior of his fellow monks.

“Your brothers didnae hurt anyone or break anything.”

“Ah, so they were on their best behavior.”

He laughed again and nodded. “Weel, except for threatening Brother Peter when they returned here

for the second time. A lad who had been sent here by his family decided to follow Keira and stay at

Ardgleann. I fear he told your brothers what Brother Peter had tried to do to Keira. They didnae hurt the mon, although I feel they had every right to. The mon’s robes shouldnae protect him from such

as that. But as Artan said, there isnae much satisfaction in hurting a mon who soils himself at the

mere sight of a clenched fist.”

“Artan is quite the font of wisdom,” muttered Alana.

For a while they ate and talked quietly, sharing what news they had each gathered over time. Even

old news was welcome, for it could always warn of some future trouble or explain why something

had happened. It was not until Brother Matthew stood up, ready to return to the monastery, that

Alana realized the full awkwardness of her situation. She breathed a hearty sigh of relief when

Gregor grasped her cousin by the arm and led him out of the cottage, talking all the while about

Matthew’s kind hospitality, the good food, and the rigors of travel. Cowardly though it was, Alana

was more than happy to allow Gregor to deal with whatever lectures, demands, or protests Matthew

intended to offer.

Gregor stopped several feet away from the cottage and looked at Brother Matthew. The man

scowled at him. “Naught ye can say will change my mind. Or hers. We stay together.”

“She is a weelborn lass,” began Matthew.

“I ken it. I also ken she is the sort one marries. That is for us to decide, however. She is two-and-

twenty, nay some young, sweet bairn of a lass just cut loose of her nurse’s apron strings.”

“She is an innocent nonetheless.”

Gregor decided it would not be wise to correct the man about that. He suspected Brother Matthew

was not really referring to the innocence of Alana’s body anyway. The man was right, too. Alana

was not the sort of woman a man used for his pleasure and then walked away from. As her kinsman,

the good monk also had every right to be angry and concerned. It was, perhaps, only fair to speak

the truth. For the last few miles, calm, cold reason had been telling Gregor that he would be a

complete fool if he did not hold fast to Alana and he told Brother Matthew as much. He also told

the man all about the complication called Mavis.

“Oh, I see.” Brother Matthew frowned. “Are ye verra certain ye arenae legally betrothed to the

woman?”

“Verra certain. No vows have been exchanged, no papers have been signed, and I havenae e’en

asked her. Aye, it was made plain that I was there with an eye to making her my wife, and for that I

feel I owe her an explanation for why that isnae going to happen.”

“Aye, ye do.” He sighed and shook his head. “I just pray that Alana doesnae find out what ye are

hiding ere ye can speak all I think ye are keeping hidden in your heart, for your sake as weel as for hers.”

Brother Matthew’s words kept tumbling through his mind as Gregor watched the man leave. He

then went to the well and pulled up a bucket full of water. Standing there by the well, he washed up

before returning to Alana. There was certainly a risk in not speaking plainly to Alana about what he

wanted and what he had to do, and he knew it, but he would take it. He knew Alana would step

away from him if he told her about Mavis, if only because she would feel he was not truly free. He

could not allow that.

“Is my cousin verra angry?” Alana asked the moment Gregor returned to the cottage.

“Nay. I think your sister and my cousin caused him the same concerns. Dinnae trouble yourself o’er

him. ’Tis but that, as your kinsman, he feels he must say something. There is a well just outside if

ye wish some water to wash with.”

Alana hurried away and Gregor turned his attention to building up the fire. Tonight he and Alana

would make love in a proper bed, and he was looking forward to it. A good fire would make certain

that the night’s chill air did not invade the cottage and it would give him light to see her by.

Brother Matthew’s words continued to make Gregor uneasy. However small, there certainly was a

chance that Alana could discover the truth he was keeping from her on her own. Gregor did not

need to know the depth of her feelings for him to know that would hurt her. It could also cost him

dearly, for she would surely see it as a huge betrayal, a lie great enough to put into question

everything he had said and done while they had been together. He had to bind her to him in every

way he could without breaking his vow to himself that he would offer her no promises until he had

ended all ties to Mavis, no matter how tenuous those ties were. And, he thought as he watched

Alana come into the cottage, he knew one way to do that.

When Alana looked at Gregor, she felt herself blush at the look in his eyes. She also felt her blood

warm. It was obvious what he had been thinking of while she had been outside washing off the dust

of their journey. For a brief moment, she felt the pinch of shame and embarrassment, but she shook

free of it. She knew it was because of her cousin knowing what was going on between her and

Gregor, but she would not pretend that there was nothing just to please him and ease his worries

about her. Alana also suspected that Brother Matthew was not so pious as to condemn her, and he

understood Murray women too well to press her too hard about this.

Gregor slowly rose from where he crouched by the fire and started to walk toward her. He moved

like some great cat stalking its prey. Alana trembled faintly beneath the power of the sensual

promise glittering in his eyes. He pulled her into his arms and smiled at her in a way that made her

feel a little breathless. Alana wondered if his ability to stir her in such a way would ever fade.

“We have a bed, my sweet treasure,” Gregor said as he began to unlace her gown. “A proper bed,

nay one of blankets spread o’er the hard ground.”

“Aye, so we do.”

She stood still as he removed her clothing piece by piece, brushing fleeting kisses over her skin as

he uncovered it. Her modesty tried to make her flinch away from such exposure, but she wrestled it

into submission. Now was the perfect time to begin her plan to reach his heart through the one thing

she felt sure of—his desire for her. He liked looking at her, so she would let him. She quickly

discovered that, with her modesty silenced, the way Gregor looked at her naked body was very

exciting. It was as if the heat of his gaze seeped right into her veins.

“My bonnie wee Alana,” he murmured as he began to kiss her throat, pleased by this sudden

boldness she was revealing, “ye are as soft as eiderdown and as sweet as clover honey.” He gently

nipped the hardened tip of each breast before picking her up and carrying her to the bed. “Aye, and

the sight of ye nearly made me forget we have a real bed to lie upon this night.”

He set her on the bed, rapidly shed his clothes, and joined her there. Alana murmured her delight as

she ran her hands over his lean body, savoring the feel of every ridge and hollow. She returned his

kiss with a hunger she made no attempt to hide or soften. The boldness that had allowed her to stand

naked before him without blushing freed her in many ways. Alana had not thought lovemaking

could get any better than it was with Gregor, but she had been wrong. What few tethers she had

unknowingly kept upon her passion were now cut, and she took brazen delight in his every kiss and

caress. Her own caresses of his long, strong body grew more daring as well.

A soft protest escaped her when he moved his kisses downward from the breast he had been

feasting upon. Alana tried to touch him in all the places she knew he liked, but he proved

surprisingly elusive all of a sudden. When he slid his hand between her legs, she opened herself to