“Of course not, you have hands,” Jolene pointed out.
“Aye, clever things.” He wiggled his fingers in her face, then slipped his hand under the table and Jolene squealed. She then blushed bright red and slapped him on the arm. “Rude, rude man!”
Ignoring her, Sigimor went back to eating and Mora shook her head. They were a wonderful couple but as mismatched as any could be. Jolene was a very proper lady and Sigimor was a rough, somewhat uncivilized man, but they suited. She realized she really wanted to meet the daughters they had made together.
“We will be leaving tomorrow if it doesnae rain,” said Sigimor as he helped himself to more bread. “Need to get my lassies back from Ilsa before they drive her mad.”
“She has been raising Odo, so I think she can manage our girls. And we sent her plenty of help.”
“Aye, mayhap, but there is only one of Odo.”
“Who is Odo? Her child?”
“Nay. He is hers now, but he was a foundling,” replied Jolene.
Mora listened in fascination about Ilsa’s husband, who had taken in bairns left at his gates, claiming them as his or accepting the blame the women claimed was his, and raising them. Her life suddenly seemed very boring, ordinary, despite the tragedy that had struck it. She had certainly not seen much of the world and could now see that she had not experienced a large part of what life offered. The truth had to be faced, she decided. She simply was not a person who sought out adventure. Mora loved the stories, however, and Jolene was in the mood to tell a lot.
When she finally made her way to her bedchamber, Mora had had enough of men. Sigimor was taunting Gybbon in some strange, mostly silent way she did not understand, and her brothers had kept poking at Gybbon trying to discover what his interest in their sister might be. She thought it very arrogant of Niall and David to think that, after three years away, they could walk back in and control her life. She had never much liked their bonding together on such a matter before they had left to go trotting all over France.
She stepped into the room she had been given and saw her bag with an angry-looking Freya sitting next to it, her tail flicking wildly. Running over to the bed, she picked up her cat, ignoring the growls of displeasure, and stroked her. Silly as it was to get so attached to an animal, she had missed her cat while stuck in her uncle’s cell. Just petting the cat calmed her.
“Now, Freya, calm down. I hadnae expected to be gone so long. Thought I could talk sense to my uncle, but I should have kenned better. He is a mon. Men dinnae heed what a woman says. If ye feel like scratching someone to show your displeasure just give me a moment to fetch Niall and David.”
She got up and got ready for bed. Donning her night shift, she washed up, then cleaned her teeth. She took a moment to rub some of Jolene’s cream on her scar and firmly reminded herself to get the instructions for making it before she left. Hurrying back to bed, she got beneath the covers, welcoming the warmth, and smiled when Freya curled up beside her.
Mora wished she was curling up with Gybbon. It was odd that she would pine for something she had only known twice. Yet, she did. She closed her eyes and reached out for sleep. Keeping her breathing deep and even, she soon felt the tug of sleep. Soon she would have to go home with her brothers and might never see Gybbon again. Mora fought to push that thought away for it interrupted her slide into sleep.
Gybbon was walking to his bedchamber wondering how he could get in to be with Mora when he was surprised to find Sigimor there waiting for him. “Why are ye lurking around my door? Shouldnae ye be with Jolene?”
“She will wait for me. Mora’s brothers are watching ye verra closely.”
“I ken it.”
“So mayhap ye should make up your mind about what ye want to do with the lass.” He held up his hand to stop Gybbon’s reply. “Aside from that. They catch ye at that and ye will be beaten and toted to a priest. So be certain ye are ready to run that risk.”
“Weel, nay sure what I want in the end, but I at least have some land to build a good, solid, fortified manor on. To be honest, I dinnae ken if I am looking to stay in one place, settle with one woman, maybe have a bairn or twa, or if ’tis just an urge to stop for a wee while. Yet I find myself nay concerned if those two lads drag me and Mora before a priest.”
“At least ye have thought on it. Get in your room and, if ye are a daring fool, walk up to the hearth and push on the wall to the right of it. See ye in the morning. Oh, and lock the doors.”
Gybbon shook his head and went into the room. He shut the door and stared at it for a moment, then took the key off the hook on the door frame and locked the door. He was surprised Sigimor had some of the more expensive types of locks on his inside doors, but the man did like some things that displayed “I have money” to anyone who came round. Gybbon bet the man had the most elaborate and costly lock on his own bedchamber.
Next, he walked over to the hearth and stared at the wall but could see nothing. He pushed on the wall and it slowly opened. He grinned and stepped into Mora’s bedchamber. Gybbon had the feeling that little door was from the time of Sigimor’s father, and hoped the mon had not used it to be false to his wife.
He thought about that for a moment and doubted it. There was such a horde of Cameron brothers he did not think the man would have the time or the energy to bed any other woman. Then he recalled that there was a passage that led down to the dungeons in one of the bedrooms and he bet it was in Mora’s room. The clever door in the wall had been a way to escape if needed. It could be even older than he thought it was, and he also decided he would have one in his manor when he had it built.
Gybbon noticed Mora had not banked the fire or even shut the heavy drapes over the window, so both firelight and moonlight gave him more than enough light to see by. Softly, he walked over to her bed and saw that she was sound asleep, her strange cat curled up in one arm and staring at him. He thought about just letting her sleep as she was most likely worn out from being imprisoned and facing a certain hanging for crimes she had not committed. It took but a moment for him to decide he simply was not that generous and walked over to her door to lock it, frowning when he found it was simply a latch and bolt, not as strong a lock as he had. Her brothers could easily break through.
After a moment of thinking what would happen if they did, he found he did not care. Gybbon was not sure what he felt for Mora, but the thought of being pressed into a marriage with her did not make him shy away. In truth, he faced the possibility very calmly, his only worry being that he would prove a poor husband because the urge to wander might return and he would leave her alone too often.
At some point, and soon, he was going to have to think hard on what he felt for this woman. He started to walk back to the bed, shedding his clothes as he went. Finally, he stood right next to the bed, naked and frowning as his mind started puzzling over the problem now, not ready to wait.
He had known her for only a short while, but he had wanted her from the start, even though he had only seen her in the firelight. She was not a buxom woman but, for once, he did not care about that but still craved her. The passion he found in her arms was the fiercest and most satisfying he could recall enjoying. He found her company welcome even when there was no immediate need or opportunity for lovemaking. And, he realized with a curse, he thought of it as lovemaking, not rutting or sex.
Gybbon nearly groaned aloud as he lifted the covers and slid into bed beside her. It was clear that he had inherited what some males in his family called the Murray curse. They were also sure it had been passed down from the women in their family. When he tugged Mora into his arms and it felt as if his whole body sighed in pleasure, he doubted the “curse” was all the fault of the woman. Then he heard himself whisper an apology to her cat as it stalked away to a bed someone had left to the right of the fireplace for it, and he knew he was lost.
* * *
Mora woke up slowly as she became aware of the hard warmth she was pressed against, the sound of a heartbeat she already recognized thumping in her ears. She took a deep breath, savoring the scent of him, and realized she now truly felt as if she was safe and had come home. It was going to shatter her heart when he finally left her, but she pushed the thought aside. He was here now and she would not taint the moment with a sadness for what would come.
