She made no offer of hospitality or a place to rest. Celeste stood frozen while the woman took the horse away.
Melisandre dismounted from her own animal, wariness written all over her face. “I thought we would be living here.”
“I suppose I was wrong.” Celeste could find no words to ease her sister’s fear, for her own worries were drowning her. They had a little food, but not much. It would be dark within hours, and they needed a place to sleep. It was half a day’s journey to Locharr, too far to reach the fortress by tonight.
“I don’t know what you said or did,” her younger sister remarked, “but let me try.” Melisandre walked forward with her own horse, adding, “I’ll bring my horse to the stable and find out what I can. If you think it’s safe?”
Celeste nodded. “No one will harm you. And in the meantime, I’ll see if I can find Dougal.” They split off, and she walked back toward his home. She could only pray that he was there and would agree to talk to her.
She made it halfway before she saw Dougal walking forward. His hair was slightly longer, his face unshaven and rough. He wore trews and a saffron shirt, and two dirks were strapped to him—one within a leather belt and another at his shoulder. His dark brown eyes stared past her, as if she wasn’t even there. Celeste held her ground, refusing to back down.
“I brought you the stallion.”
Dougal said nothing but continued walking forward. His fury was palpable, and she hurried forward to catch up to him.
“Well, at the very least you should thank me. He’s an expensive horse.”
Her words had the intended effect. He spun, his eyes blazing. “Thank you? For demanding that I be your escort and trying to steal a child from me, to pass off as your husband’s?”
He moved in so fast, she lost her breath when he seized her shoulders. “I let no one use me, Lady Celeste. And if you think I want anything at all from you, you’re wrong.”
“I left Eiloch and gave up everything to my husband’s brother,” she said quietly. “To come to you.”
“There is no place for you here,” he countered. “Not after what you did.”
Her own temper erupted at that. “And what did I do that was so wrong? I went to seek help for my sister in any way that I could. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t lay down your life for one of your brothers.”
“It’s not the same.”
“No, because you aren’t a woman. I came to you for help, and I offered you the payment you wanted. I kept my word.”
“You used me.”
She drew herself up to her full height, glaring at him. “I didn’t hear you saying no to me that night. You enjoyed every moment of it, and that’s what angers you most. Because you still want me, even after all that.”
She rested her hand upon his throat and could feel his rapid pulse beneath her fingers. “It was my choice to lie with you that night. And I never stole anything from you. I returned and kept my promise, just as I said I would.”
“I don’t want you, Celeste. I’ll accept the horse, but that’s all I want from you. You’re nothing to me.”
He walked away, leaving her to stand there alone. Tears welled up inside her, and she turned away to let them fall. Better to release them now, where no one would see, than to be weak before her sister. Melisandre needed her to be strong. They had to gain shelter and somehow survive this.
But she simply didn’t know how to break down the stony pride of a man who hated her.
“Do you want me to send her away?” Laren asked while Dougal examined the stallion Celeste had brought. “She traveled a long way to see you.” His brother’s wife kept her voice even, but he sensed her frustration. She was dying to ask him what had happened, but he would say nothing.
Just remembering that night made him feel like a fool. Celeste had invited him into her bath, using her body and words to seduce him. He’d been such a fool, only too eager to touch her, to sheathe himself in her body and watch her crumble.
Had she ever wanted him? Or had she merely schemed to conceive a child to protect herself from her husband’s brother? He didn’t know.
After he’d left her, she’d gone back to Eiloch without a second thought. She’d returned with her enemy, leaving him to wonder if she was even alive.
And now that he’d seen her again, he craved her even more. Seeing her here, with her golden-brown hair pinned beneath a veil, her blue gown accentuating a slender waist, made him want to drag her back home again.
He loathed himself for the weakness.
“Dougal?” Laren questioned again. “She brought her sister and wants to stay.” The woman moved forward to stand at his side. “But Nairna thinks she should go back.”
She was leaving the decision up to him, but he knew what her wishes would be. “You don’t want to send them away.”
