“She likes Jester.”
He laughed and pressed her head against his shoulder. “Sleep, lass. I ken ye need it and ’tis too soon for me to celebrate this moment.” He caught her puzzled look. “Men need a bit of a rest between bouts.”
Mora felt herself blush and just nodded. “I didnae ken that.”
“And glad I am to hear that,” said a deep voice.
Mora squealed and ducked under the covers. Gybbon sighed and turned to look at Niall and David. He had not even heard them come in. They looked angry, yet he did not have the feeling they were prepared to beat him close to death. He hoped his judgment was right on that.
Chapter Twenty
Mora stayed hidden under the covers even though she knew it was cowardly of her. If nothing else, she was leaving poor Gybbon to face her brothers alone. Realizing she could not leap out while naked to defend him if her brothers decided to beat him, she wriggled over to the edge of the bed to grab her night shift from the floor where Gybbon had dropped it. She wriggled around as she tugged it on.
“What the devil is she doing under there?” asked David.
Lifting the covers a little to peek, Gybbon grinned. “Trying to put her night shift back on.”
“I didnae think I wanted to be naked if I had to leap up to defend ye,” she snapped as she slipped her arm into the sleeve.
“Ye were going to try and defend me? That is sweet, but I dinnae think ye will need to bother.”
She was about to call him arrogant when he was suddenly yanked out of the bed. Even as she pulled on the other sleeve, she popped out from beneath the covers. Her brothers stood by the bed, David with a good hard grip on Gybbon’s arm as Niall started to toss his clothes at him.
“What are ye doing here?” she demanded.
“Good question, love. Better one, just how did ye get in here?” asked Gybbon.
“We ken about Sigimor’s escape passage and came up that way after we found the doors locked.”
Gybbon looked around as he tried to put his clothes on while still being held firm by David and found a door partly open near the hearth. “Sigimor isnae keeping that secret verra weel.”
“We are his kin so he told my mither about it. Ye will wed my sister.”
“He doesnae have to,” Mora snapped, then wondered why she said that when she wanted nothing more than that.
“Oh, aye, he does,” said Niall.
“That is a verra interesting place,” said a young voice, and Andrew stepped out of the door to the passageway.
Mora groaned and covered her face. “Did ye nay see that he followed ye?” she asked her brothers.
Niall and David shook their heads. “He must have seen us leave our bedchamber,” said Niall.
“Why are ye holding Gybbon?” Andrew asked as he paused to pat the cat, then started walking over to them.
“Because I am thinking of beating on him,” said David.
“I would rather ye didnae,” said Sigimor as he walked in behind Andrew. “I have no wish to have the far too numerous Murrays descend upon me.”
“Oh, sweet Mary,” muttered Mora, and buried her head in the pillow. “Is the whole cursed house going to wander in?”
“Nay, lass,” Sigimor said, and patted her on the head. “I just got curious about who was wandering through my walls.” He looked at Gybbon. “Guess locking the doors wasnae enough.”
“Nay. Nice locks ye have, though.”
“Thank ye. Started putting them on certain doors once I could afford them as I was weary of my whole family walking into my room whene’er they pleased.”
“Oh, I can understand that.”
