“Curiosity, I fear.” When all she heard was a slight huff, she continued. “I wanted to see yer face, uncovered, before we wed. To see the man ye truly are.” She shrugged a bit. “‘Tis the truth.”
“Ye wouldna like what ye see, my lady. And that is my truth.” He slid his leather-covered hand to hers and traced a path with a finger down her glove. “I suspect yer gloves hide much the same from view.”
She blinked but didn’t look away first. He did, stepping back and waiting for her to move to his side. Instead, Ailis grabbed hold of his sleeve and pulled him back.
“Ye walked in a stranger and accepted this offer. Why? Do ye not fear entangling yerself in matters that could offer ye more danger than benefit?”
She tried to ask the question without making it an accusation. She’d done that already and insulted him. But Ailis wanted, needed, to know the truth. Most men would be highly guarded of such an offer and not trust it to be in good faith. A man without memory was at a greater disadvantage than most. His eyes met hers as he slid his hands to her shoulders.
Did he mean to kiss her? Again? Here, where they’d be witnessed? Her body remembered the last one and readied for another.
“I had to, my lady. When I saw it was ye in the middle of it, I had to accept.”
“But why?” Though his hood covered the top of his face in shadows, she could feel his hot stare on her mouth as she waited for his reply.
“So I could do this.”
He followed those few words with that dreaded, feared, anticipated and desired kiss after all. His mouth momentarily touched hers gently and then he took possession of it completely. Strong and powerful, the kiss claimed and confused her in the same moment. Then he tilted his head, dipping his tongue into her mouth. Her body understood and she pressed closer, her hips and breasts against his hard body.
Hot, masculine and possessive it was. She opened wider to give him purchase and was swept into the heat and desire that swirled as his tongue did. Heat pooled in her body, in that place deep within, touched only by Lach. …
Ailis pulled free and stared at this man.
Why did this kiss remind her of Lachlan? Would she forever be owned by a man now dead? Would her body not react as he’d taught it to? How long would it take before the pain of every memory eased into something softer, something she could bear? She brushed her hand over her mouth, feeling the way her lips swelled even through the layer of leather. His breathing showed he was affected as well. She wanted to lean back in to taste him as he’d done her.
“I had to accept … ye.” His words came out on a breathy sigh.
Anger, her companion for so long, flared quickly at his assumption that she was his for the taking. No matter who she eventually had to marry, her heart and soul would never be part of that bargain.
“Ye willna find what ye think, sir, if ye pursue this to the end,” she warned. “This is a devil’s bargain and there will be no virgin bride in your marriage bed.” Though she’d admitted that to none but Davina, she spoke it now to this man. Meant only as a warning, mayhap a challenge, she knew she’d failed when his chin set, making the lines of his jaw more prominent. His shadowed eyes took on a glassy look for a second and then cleared.
“Though I can say little of my past, I can say ye will not find a virgin husband there either, my lady.”
He’d turned her blatant admission into a reminder of the unknowns that stood between them. She turned away, but he held her there with his fingers encircling one wrist. His grasp did not hurt, yet she comprehended that she was being held there.
“Is that why yer father bargains ye away in such a manner? Is this a punishment for yer shame?”
“Nay! My father kens not about this.” Pulling against his hold, she whispered, “I didna tell him such a thing.”
“And is there proof wrapped in swaddling out there as a result of yer … experience?”
She wanted to slap him for such words. But the image of holding Lachlan’s child filled her thoughts and took her breath and words away.
Oh, that she had been blessed to bear such aresultof their love. At least she would have had a part of him with her now. Ailis could do naught but answer his question with a shake of her head before ducking around him and entering the hall.
Those waiting watched in silence as she walked to the table where her father and Davina sat. Could they see the grief that threatened to overwhelm her? Had the stranger? Or had he been insulted to learn the truth which, if she admitted the truth, had been her aim?
Ailis continued on, pulling the tattered edges of her control back into place, as she made her way to her seat. Acknowledging her father and Davina, she sat. This meal was less formal, so the tables were all on the lower floor. No one sat up on the dais. Iain had caught up with her and he took the seat offered to him by the steward at her side.
Wallowing in pain and loss, Ailis couldn’t bring herself to chatter about the weather or the condition of the sheep or any other inane topics Davina brought up as she tried to engender polite discourse at the meal. Finally, her stepmother gave up her attempts to bring Ailis into the discussion and spoke across her to Iain.
The servants brought trays of breads, cheeses and other plain foods and held them out to each one there. Before Ailis could make the pretense of wanting to eat, Iain selected several pieces off each tray and placed them on her plate.
If it had been Lord Duncan, a man raised as a noble, ‘twould have felt right. But this man, who remembered not his own life or past, acted with the manners expected of one. Ailis tried not to stare as he continued the polite manners expected at a laird’s table.
Who was he?
