“Eve? Eve?” His voice sounded alarmed and breathless, as if he’d been running. “’Tis only I—Conall MacKerrick. Your husband.”
“As if I know a score other Conall MacKerricks,” she mumbled crossly. She lifted the bar and stepped away from the door as it swung open.
The highlander rushed inside on a frigid breeze, already discarding his pack, which looked none lightened by his errand. He took abrupt hold of Eve’s arms while she squawked indignantly and peered into her face, his eyes shadowed by the dim light of the hut.
He stared at her for several moments, as if waiting for her to speak.
“What?”Evelyn finally snapped and shrugged out of his hold. “Close the door, MacKerrick—you’re losing all our warmth.”
He turned and obeyed her command without rebuke for her sharp tone. Then he was fast on her heels once more, every inch of his large body seeming poised in anticipation.
“Eve.” His eyes flicked over her from head to toe and back again. “Ah…how fare thee? Was your day good?”
Her eyes narrowed. What was he about, the cad, the defiler of innocence? ’Twas as if he already knew. She sought to escape him by climbing once more into bed.
“Oh, my day was grand, MacKerrick,” she said, turning at once to face the wall. “Simply grand.”
She heard him approach. “Ah, well…good. Good. Hallow, Alinor.” He cleared his throat. “You’re feeling well, then?”
“As well as I can feel for being pregnant.”
Only silence followed her blunt proclamation and Evelyn lay still as a stone, staring at the rough wooden back of the box bed and waiting for a response. She heard a rustle of movement and the bed gave a small lurch as if something had run into it, but still the highlander said naught to breach the tense air.
She felt tears well in her eyes. She had yet to cry over her predicament, perhaps from the shock of it. But now that she had spoken the dreaded fact aloud and MacKerrick had not so much as gasped in sympathy, Evelyn felt her misery and fear seep up and threaten to drown her in a flood of tears. She swallowed.
He had naught to say, obviously. It didn’t affect him in the least.
Of course it doesn’t, a spiteful voice taunted her. Hedoesn’t have to carry the child.Hedoesn’t have to endure the horror of birth.Hecan simply stand aside and observe, hisbody, hislife, hissanity intact. Or he can leave, if he wishes.
Evelyn felt she at last understood the plights of the poor young maidens at the priory. They had been so alone…
Her tears became tears of resentment as the hateful voice goaded her anger and Evelyn lay stewing in her growing ire as the long, quiet seconds ticked by.
He is probably smirking, she thought furiously.Proud of himself.
Evelyn could at last stand the highlander’s silence no longer. She flung herself over to raise up on one arm, the motion spilling the tears over her cheeks, her mouth opening to curse him, to damn him for his unconcerned smugness at what he’d done to her.
But the vicious accusations never left her lips as she saw MacKerrick kneeling at the side of the bed. One forearm was braced upon the mattress and his other arm was wrapped around Alinor’s neck, where his face also pressed, turned away from Evelyn. His shoulders shook, and Alinor was trying awkwardly to reach his ear with her tongue.
“MacKerrick?” Evelyn whispered through her frown.
And then he did look at her and when Evelyn saw the streaks of wet on the highlander’s chiseled face, her breath caught somewhere around her heart. But his eyes were flashing their highest amber fire and crinkled at the corners. His teeth gleamed in a wide smile.
“Ah, Eve,” he said and released the wolf. He rose up only enough to join her on the bed. “Eve. Sweet Eve.” He took her into his arms and squeezed her tightly against his chest, pressed his lips to the crown of her head.
His actions were so gentle, so caring, so…perfect, that Evelyn was sobbing into his tunic before she realized it.
“’Tis all right, Eve,” he murmured into her hair. “Doona fear. I’m right here.”
“It’s n-not all…right!” she wailed and sniffed hard as her nose ran. “It’s a n-night…m-mare!”
“Nae, nae,” he soothed in a low, fierce voice and squeezed her tighter. “’Tis a wondrous thing, lass—a miracle. You doona know—oh, Eve, what you have given me!”
She struggled away from him, hiccoughing, and looked accusingly into his damnably hopeful, handsome face. She swung her arm and hit his chest with her fist. The blow was halfhearted at best.
“I gave you naught—you took it!”
MacKerrick grabbed her wrist and, just when Evelyn thought he would shake her, he brought the hand she’d struck him with to his mouth and kissed each knuckle.
