“Ye need to spy on Lady Murdina and her brother,” Frances said. “Never trust them.” He turned to Hesther. “Aye, Hesther?”
The timid maid agreed with a hesitant dip of her chin. “Aye.”
Lorna found it strange that Frances addressed his mother as though he worked for her. The only time she had ever heard him call the womanmotherwas in the carriage, and that was at Lady Murdina’s insistence.
Before she could ask why, Bella thumped her knuckles on the table. “Ye best take care, Jasper. Da is giving ye one of his fearsome looks.”
Lorna looked across the way at Gunn and almost laughed. “Oh my. I hope ye dinna burst into flames from that glare. Ye best see what he wants.”
“I ken well enough what he wants.” Jasper offered a respectful nod in the chieftain’s direction.
Poor Gunn. He looked so miserable there at the head table with Lady Murdina. Lorna felt sorry for his predicament. Well. Somewhat so. After all, he had brought it on himself.
A wee bit of jealousy nipped at her too. If she sat up there with him, she felt sure their conversations would be grand. He was so…
Leave it, she warned herself, tensing against the thought. Surviving in this time was the priority—not wanting something out of reach. The man had clearly said he wanted nothing to do with anyone he might ever care about. Besides, after the mess with Patrick, it wouldn’t hurt to be alone for a while.
Bloody hell, she wished she could find a way back to her friends and the shop. She did not belong here, and burned with the intense feeling that she had fallen from the proverbial frying pan into the fire.
“What does the chieftain want?” Frances asked, pulling her from her thoughts.
Jasper leaned closer and gave the lad a conspiratorial wink. “Someday, I will explain it to ye. But for now, I best be taking my seat at the head table.” He scooped up Lorna’s hand and bowed over it. “I look forward to speaking more with ye, mistress.”
“Thank ye, sir.” Lorna gave his calloused hand a squeeze, unsure what else to do. “Maybe ye are not such an arse after all.”
He rumbled out a laugh that made his cheeks even ruddier than his reddish-blond beard. “Aye, I am. But I have a good side too. Reserved for those I choose to share it with.” He glanced back at the head table again, then shook his head. “But now I must go. I shall seek ye out later, aye? After the meal. Once the music starts.”
“That will be nice,” she said, for lack of a better answer. As he walked away, she turned to Bella. “How long do these things usually last?” She had hoped to see the bairns settled as soon as the meal ended, so she could sneak back to her room and collapse—emotionally as well as physically. She deserved a proper breakdown after everything that had happened.
Bella shrugged. “Depends on Da. From that scowl he is wearing, I am surprised he hasna sent everyone out of the hall already. He isna happy at all.” Then she brightened. “Course, if he stays all growly, that will make our plan to get rid ofhereasier.”
Lorna wasn’t so sure about that. The way Gunn had spoken earlier in the library clearly conveyed he was determined to marry a woman he couldn’t stand. And he obviously did not like Lady Murdina.
She studied the pair while picking at a crusty roll Bella handed her. Lady Murdina wanted Gunn. Badly. Several times, she rubbed on his arm and leaned close, fawning like a cat in heat.
A bit of guilt flittered through Lorna at the pleasure she got from Gunn, subtly yet firmly, setting the woman’s hands aside. Once he actually leaned away, dodging her when she tried to rest her head on his shoulder.
Lorna set the bread on the edge of her plate, picked up a slippery bit of boiled carrot, and popped it into her mouth. Savory and sweet. Quite nice, actually. She nodded at the head table, then gave Bella a dubious look. “We may have our work cut out for us,” she said. “He seems pretty dead set on marrying someone he canna tolerate. He’s miserable, yet he sits there.”
“Aye, but he gave himself a month to get out of it, remember?” Frances said while pushing his carrots away as though they were poison.
“Yes, but there’s his manly pride and all that.” Lorna ate another carrot, then reached across and edged Frances’s vegetables back in front of him. “I dinna think Gunn will oust her no matter how miserable she makes him. It is almost as if he thinks he deserves her hellishness. Like punishment or something.”
“Gunn?” Bella repeated in a teasing singsong.
“He told me I could call him that.” Lorna wrinkled her nose. “But I should not have done it in front of so many.” She leaned over and bumped shoulders with the child. “Help me remember not to do that anymore, aye?”
“Lady Murdina would burst her seams were she to hear it,” Hesther said.
Lorna winked at the lass. “Then we should reserve that weapon for the perfect time.”
“Ye ken that Jasper fancies ye?” Bella said while slipping a morsel of meat to a hound under the table. “But we canna let him know our plans. ’Twas him and the new solicitor that found her.” She leaned to one side, stretching to feed another dog that had joined the first. “Do ye fancy him?”
“I dinna fancy anyone.” Lorna tried not to be obvious in her staring at Gunn. Bella was a sharp lass. She would surely notice. “I am a nursemaid. Not a husband hunter.”
“A husband hunter,” Frances repeated with a snorting giggle. “That’s what Lady Murdina is, and she’s been on the hunt for a while.”
“See how red she is?” Bella said. “Wonder what could be ailing her?”
