Chapter Fifteen
"Sigimor, what is that Englishwoman doing here?” Barbara demanded. “She held a dagger on me!"
"Actually, she was just holding one. She hadnae taken aim with it yet.” Sigimor heard a faint choking sound at his side and realized Somerled and Liam had joined him, both men obviously trying hard not to laugh. “And that Englishwoman is my wife."
Barbara looked shocked, but Sigimor suddenly had doubts about the truth of that reaction. She pressed a hand to her fulsome breasts, but the gesture looked practiced, one used specifically to draw a man's gaze to her much-admired breasts. Although he was not sure how she could have discovered the fact, Sigimor felt certain that she already knew he was married. It was also curious that she was so close to Dubheidland when she had left Scarglas nearly a sennight ago.
"What possessed ye to marry a Sassenach?” she asked.
"That isnae really any concern of yours, is it?” The flash of anger she was quick to hide was more like the Barbara he knew, and Sigimor relaxed a little. “Now, see if ye can tell me what happened more clearly, without all the wailing.” He listened carefully to her tale, then looked at her cousin Donald. “Is that what ye recall?"
"Aye,” Donald replied but added no details.
Realizing the man was not inclined to say any more, Sigimor studied him closely. He shared the looks that made Barbara such a beauty, the fine features, the rich blue eyes, and even the golden blond hair, but he was tall and slender. He looked almost sulky and, even though it could be because he had not shown well in the battle with the thieves, Sigimor felt it was something else souring his mood. Was he an unwilling cohort in some scheme of Barbara's?
Since she had shown an interest in him when she had been a guest of the MacFingals, Sigimor wondered if she was here to try to ensnare him. It seemed vain to think she would go to such trouble for him, especially as it could gain her no more than an adulterous tumble. He was already married and he still felt she had known that before her arrival. It was possible that Barbara did not see his marriage as permanent since his wife was English. There was some justification for the woman to think that as he suspected, the English courts and the English church would be willing to give an Englishwoman an annulment of any marriage made with a Scot. He quickly shook aside that thought, unwilling to linger on it.
"From what I saw, your injuries are nay so dire,” he said. “Ye willnae need to rest here for long. I will fetch ye some drink. Twill be a wee while ere the rooms are readied for ye.” Ignoring her stuttered attempts to hold his attention, Sigimor strode back to the head table, Liam and Somerled close on his heels.
"Who is that woman?” asked Somerled.
"Someone I kenned ten years ago,” Sigimor replied as he grabbed three empty tankards and gave them each a fleeting wipe with a square of linen. “A foolish young mon's folly. She married a rich old mon who has recently died."
"And left her a rich widow?"
"I dinnae think so.” Sigimor told him about the conversation he had had with the aging Lord MacLean two years ago. “I think he left her a verra poor widow."
"Ah, and so she seeks a new husband and has set her sights on you. Thought this wee game up to get herself under your roof."
"Ye dinnae believe her tale, either?"
"Nay, we dinnae have much trouble with thieves. And, the ones who have dared trouble this area from time to time wouldnae be so gentle with their chosen victims."
"Aye,” agreed Liam. “They would have left those three with a lot worse than the wee love pats they are whining about, if they left them alive at all."
"Tis just what I was thinking,” Sigimor said as he filled the tankards with wine. “I am tempted to throw then out."
"Why dinnae ye?"
"The last I kenned, Lady Barbara had some verra powerful friends and kinsmen. Unless I find out otherwise, I dare not refuse her common hospitality. She would be quick to cry to them if I did. Aye, and she would make it sound far worse than simple rudeness. They arenae the sort ye wish to anger or offend."
"So we are stuck with the wench for a while,” Somerled murmured. “Mayhap now that she kens ye are already married, she will quickly end this game and leave."
"That would please me,” said Sigimor, “but I doubt that will happen. Truth is, I think she already kenned that I was married."
"Then why play this game at all? She can gain naught from it. Weel, nay unless ye break your own rules and decide adultery isnae such a great sin."
"That willnae happen. It certainly willnae happen with that bitch. She was weel used when I kenned her and, if all I have heard of her since then is true, ‘tis a wonder she isnae bowlegged. Since neither of ye have a wife to shield ye from her tricks, I would advise ye to be wary."
"We arenae poor, but we arenae lairds and we dinnae hold any lands. Too poor a choice for the likes of her."
"That depends upon how desperate she is.” He almost smiled at the identical looks of dismay the men wore. “Try to get close to her cousin Donald. Whate'er game is being played here doesnae sit weel with him. Although he has been her little pet for years, he isnae completely of her ilk. He may be the weak link. Something is afoot here and I cannae shake the feeling that more than getting some fool to marry her is behind all of this."
Once Liam and Somerled agreed, Sigimor took the wine to his unwanted guests. He responded curtly to all of Lady Barbara's attempts to engage him in conversation. It annoyed him when she made sly, flirtatious references to their past relationship. She seemed completely oblivious to the possibility that his memories of that time might not be fond ones. The way she tried so hard to ignore Liam, and so often failed, was almost amusing. Barbara might be eyeing him as her next husband, but she was clearly unable to resist any handsome man, and especially not one as handsome as Liam. She seemed to have enough sense to know bedding Liam could ruin her chance of becoming Lady of Dubheidland, but Sigimor suspected even she was not sure how long she could resist the temptation Liam offered. If he was not so worried about what trouble this woman could cause him, Sigimor knew he would find her battle with her own licentious greed extremely entertaining.
When Old Nancy arrived to say the rooms for their guests were ready, Sigimor breathed a sigh of relief. A heartbeat later, he found his arms full of the voluptuous Barbara. He was impressed by how quickly she had moved, even as he fought the urge to drop her on the floor. As he conceded the victory to her this time and started to carry her to her room, he noticed the scowls his kinsmen wore and felt somewhat comforted. His family might not have decided to fully accept Jolene, but this show of disapproval for Barbara indicated that the seed of acceptance had already been planted. Sigimor felt confident that Jolene herself would be enough to make it grow.
Once in the bedchamber assigned to Barbara, Sigimor discovered that the woman was stronger than she looked. As he set her down on the bed, her grip had tightened around his neck, and he had barely stopped himself from sprawling on top of her. Now he stood next to the bed, her arms around his neck like a noose, and wondered how to get loose without hurting her. Sigimor held himself as tautly as he could as he lifted his hands from the bed and grabbed her by the wrists.
