“Nae yer fault,” Laurel whispered. “I’m certain ye didna do it, and I’m certain ye wouldnae have let someone if ye’d kenned.”
“But ma lady, all that happens under this roof is ma responsibility.”
“It may have been the last few years, but that ended yesterday. This wasna yer doing, or lack of doing really. Aggie, I never blamed ye.” Laurel scowled and muttered, “I blame that tart Gara.”
“She’s dead,” Brodie stated. Both women looked at him in shock. “A guard found her behind a storage building while he helped search for ye. She’d been stabbed several times.”
“How long before ye found me did ye find her? Who kens?”
“Half an hour, mayhap. Monty, Donnan, Graham, and I went with James when he fetched me.”
“Graham and James wonder if it was me?”
Brodie’s mouth thinned. His wife’s perceptiveness wasn’t always convenient. He supposed that was part of what caused Laurel’s problems when she arrived at Stirling. She’d figured out people, and either didn’t care for them or didn’t care for their reaction to her. He nodded.
“Even if I hadnae been locked in the larder, I wouldnae have done it that way. One clean wound, and I wouldnae have lingered for more.”
“That’s what Monty and Donnan said,” Brodie frowned. He glanced at the door but pushed aside a hint of a thought.
“They’d ken. They taught me.” Laurel shifted as some pain eased, allowing her to sink lower in the water until it rippled on her chin.
“They said that too.” Brodie ran his hand over Laurel’s head, wanting to touch her, to show his concern and affection. But there was little more he could do while she was in the tub and with Aggie present. He also worried that he’d hurt her if he touched anything but her hair.
“Ma laird, ma lady. I think it’s best I take maself off to some other task or whatnot.” Aggie rose from the side of the tub and the stool she’d sat upon. She patted Laurel’s hand that still rested over hers. “Ye’re a good lass, ma lady. It’s been clear since ye rode in holding hands that ye love the laird, and if anyone doubted it before, they canna wonder now. He loves ye too. Ye’ll be good for our clan, ma lady. I’m glad ye’ve come.”
“Thank ye, Aggie. That means a great deal to me. I’m happy to be home.”
Aggie beamed at Laurel and glanced at Brodie before taking her leave. When the door clicked shut, the couple looked at one another. Brodie’s mouth descended to Laurel’s, as her neck strained to lift her chin to meet him. The kiss was hungry and frantic. It was as if none of the time lying in bed or while Laurel soaked had been enough to reassure one another that they were safe and together. Laurel’s dripping hands pulled at Brodie’s leine.
“Off,” she demanded, her voice growing stronger. As though their first kiss was the succor Laurel needed, she found strength she’d believed had been sapped. “I want to see you, touch you.”
Brodie obliged before his hands plunged beneath the surface. They skimmed along her legs, over her belly, up her ribs. He squeezed her shoulders and massaged her neck. Laurel’s hands prowled over her husband’s chest and back, covering every inch she could reach. But when she found his stitches, she gasped and jerked away.
“It’s naught but a wee scratch,” Brodie claimed, repeating what Nora said. She’d always downplayed his injuries except for the few that nearly killed him. She’d done it since he was a child, and he knew that while he didn’t need her to make him brave, he found it endearing.
“A wee scratch ma arse. Let me see,” Laurel demanded. She tried to sit up further to look, but she hadn’t the strength. She didn’t touch the wound, but she ran her fingers next to each side. “Did Nora do this?”
“Aye.”
“She’s vera good. She’s likely a better seamstress than me,” Laurel grinned. Seeing the clean sutures and recognizing the scent of the ointment relieved her initial fear. The wound was long, but she could tell it wasn’t deep. She didn’t forget that it could get infected, but she didn’t hold any immediate fears for Brodie’s life like she did when her fingers touched the stitches. With a nod, she motioned for Brodie to come closer. He leaned across her, bringing his mouth back to hers. When his kisses didn’t meet her demands, she cupped his jaw and deepened them. Brodie groaned as he gave in to her. He’d been cautious not to overwhelm her, fearing she was still too weak. When they were both breathless, they rested their foreheads together.
“I still feel weak as a day-old foal, but yer kisses certainly have restorative powers,” Laurel grinned.
“I can think of one thing yer kisses have brought back to life,” Brodie chuckled. When Laurel glanced down at his groin with interest, Brodie tsked. “Mayhap in the morn. I need to get ye back into bed and some food in ye.”
“That isnae what I want in me,” Laurel grumbled, but she knew he was right. She didn’t have the strength for anything. Her mind was willing, but her body wasn’t able. As she watched Brodie’s hardened length move as he stood to help her out of the bath, she considered what Aggie told her that morning. She remembered how flatly he’d told her Gara was dead. It didn’t strike her as though he harbored any sentiment for her. But she struggled to reconcile all of that with the lusty man she knew. “Brodie?”
“Aye, Laurel,” Brodie rarely used her full name when they were alone together, but her tone made him feel his response warranted it.
Laurel waited until they were both under the covers once more. She struggled but managed to roll onto her side to look at him. She observed him for a moment, trying to tell what he was thinking, how he might answer her questions. But she knew she could read nothing into his expression until she asked.
“Gara seemed far too jealous and possessive for a woman ye never bedded. I dinna ken if I believe ye anymore.” Laurel watched his reaction. There wasn’t a moment of guilt for past actions or for being caught.
“I told ye the truth, Laurel. But I also ken what I saw too. It didna make sense to me either. I dinna have a reason why Gara acted as she did. But I didna lie to ye.” Brodie didn’t like Laurel doubting him, even thinking for a moment that he would lie to her. But he’d left her alone with strangers while he went to fight a battle from which he might not have returned. He couldn’t blame his bride for being on edge and worrying.
“I admit I asked Aggie. I just couldnae understand why Gara was so hostile. She spent most of the day glaring at me. When she stepped in ma way one too many times, I didna change course. I walked right into her and knocked her on her arse. I thought she’d locked me in the larder as revenge.”
“I canna say she wasna who did that, but she isnae alive to do ye any more harm if she was. What did ye ask Aggie?”
