“I am going to kill that woman,” Lorna said through clenched teeth. “Slow and painfully.”
Gunn bowed his head, feeling the same. “Neither of ye will ever live through such hellishness again.” He stood and battled with the urge to charge up to Lady Murdina’s room and wring her sorry neck. It took a long moment to curb the rage pounding through him. After several deep breaths, he dipped a nod at Frances. “I suppose she had ye pose as her son to lend credence to my marriage requirements, aye?”
The child nodded. “And she took up Hesther to make extra money while looking like she was fancy enough to have a lady’s maid.” He wrinkled his small, upturned nose. “Appears to me that her and that man didna have much when it came to coin.”
“What man?” Gunn asked. “Her brother?”
“I am nay so certain he is her brother,” Hesther whispered. “Even if he is, she hates him. And he hates her.”
“How do ye know she hates him?” Lorna asked. “Did she say so?”
“She calls him names,” Frances said. “And he calls her worser names.” His small, round face wrinkled with a tighter scowl. “They might be family somehow. But I dinna think he is her real brother. One time, I heard him saying he was thankful they didna share any blood because she was such a…” He paused. “I canna remember what he called her that time. It was more than one word, and they was long ones.”
“A ‘devious, worthless bitch,’” Hesther said as though reciting a lesson.
“Well, that pretty much sums her up,” Lorna said. She turned to Gunn. “She lied about having a son, whored poor Hesther out, tortured Frances, then tried to kill ye. I say we turn her over for the courts to decide what to do with her.”
“Aye,” he agreed. “But ye said we should protect the bairn if she truly carries one. Is that still what ye wish, or should I send a message to Edinburgh’s constable to come fetch her and take her to the tolbooth?”
Lorna sagged into a nearby chair, appearing defeated. “No. If she is pregnant, whether the child is yers or not, we canna let her leave here with it.” She fixed the children with a compassionate look. “Especially not after all we just learned.”
“Is there anything else ye could tell us about her?” Gunn asked. He turned to Hesther. “Do ye ken if she was with child when she came here?” The prospect of that woman bearing his babe repulsed him more than he could ever say.
Hesther cringed and shook her head. “I am sorry, my chieftain. I dinna ken.”
“The both of ye may go,” he said, dismissing them with a weary nod. “And I thank ye for all that ye told us.”
The two looked at Lorna as though waiting for her permission.
“It’s all right.” Without rising from the chair, she gently shooed them toward the door. “Go on with ye, my brave warriors. Find Bella, aye? She is probably with the kittens.”
They each gave Gunn a polite bow, then ran from the room.
“How could she treat them that way?” Lorna stared at the door as it closed behind them.
“I dinna ken.” Gunn knelt beside her. “I am so verra sorry for all of this. More than ye will ever know.”
“I am too.” She gently touched his cheek and offered a sad smile. “For a man determined to keep himself isolated and uncaring, ye are not doing a verra good job of it. Just look how many are depending on ye to care about them.”
He covered her hand with his and turned a gentle kiss into her palm. “Ye made my loneliness too unbearable to continue. For the first time in a long while, I ached for it to end.” He glanced back at the door and huffed a soft laugh. “And aye, I do have many more depending on me to care about them, and I am glad of it.” He turned back and kissed her hand again. “I am especially thankful that ye are one of them.”
A slight frown creased her brow. “Ye know even less about me than ye know about that she-devil upstairs. Do ye not fear to trust me?”
“It is my hope that someday ye will find the strength to confide in me.” Still on one knee, he gently tugged her closer and held both her hands. “My heart knows I can trust ye,” he said softly. “That is all that matters. It is the connection between us.” He couldn’t resist indulging in the sweetness of her mouth with a kiss that left him longing for more. But he forced himself to stop. More was at hand to settle between them. “But there is a thing I must ask ye, dear one. Something we must decide.”
“And what might that be?” She leaned back, eyeing him as though dreading what he might say.
“Would ye be my wife, Lorna? We can marry before Hogmanay and begin the new year with more hope and light than my heart has known for years.”
“BeforeHogmanay?” Both her brows twitched higher, and she stared at him with her lips slightly parted. “This is December twenty-first.”
“Aye.” An uneasiness filled him. She had not said yes, but then again, she had not outright refused either. “I see no reason to wait.” But the hesitation in her eyes made his heart ache for her to say the words. “Ye dinna answer, my own. Does that mean ye willna have me?”
“No! Of course I will have ye!” Her declaration enabled him to breathe again. “It’s just…” She slid out of the chair and joined him on the floor.
“It is just what?” He dreaded to hear what came next.
She bit her lip, cringing as though about to confess some grave sin. “We have only known each other a short while. And then there is the Rat Queen left to deal with. Some here consider her yer wife already, since ye gave a feast in her honor and sat her at yer side. It doesna take much to become man and wife in Scotland, ye ken?”
