“I walked here last night?”
“Nay, lass. We have the same bedchamber. I was offered my own but told them nay, that I stay with ye.”
A flush of embarrassment warmed her cheeks despite her pleasure over his statement. “The Camerons will think I am naught but some faithless creature, one with few morals. I mean, I am but newly widowed and even widows past their mourning time are more discreet than this.”
Brian kissed her and then rested his forehead against hers. “Love, they dinnae care.”
“How can ye ken that? I met Lady Jolene. I recall her now and she was verra much the lady born and bred.”
“That she is, and yet she is wed to Sigimor, who is nay a gentlemon of the court. And I can promise ye, she was nay even a widow and I doubt she remained chaste in his company for long. She wed him thinking it but a ploy to protect her.”
Distracted, she asked, “Was it?”
“Nay. Sigimor wanted her. He let her think what she wanted but had no intention of letting her ever leave Scotland or him again. He wanted her to stay and did all he could to make sure she did.”
Arianna had the sudden urge to ask Brian if he wanted her to stay with him, but hastily bit back the words. Not only would that leave her open to hearing him try to explain why he did not want to keep her, but he deserved better than her. He deserved a woman who was whole, who could give him children, and did not carry all the wounds she did from a marriage that was little more than five years in hell.
“A sneaky mon. My family would appreciate that,” she murmured, and then recalled what he had been doing when she had crawled into bed to sleep. “Oh! How could I forget what happened? I cannae believe I could be so thoughtless. Were ye hurt? Was any Cameron hurt?” She frowned when he laughed.
“I kenned that ye wouldnae recall it but we talked briefly on this when I got into this bed last night. None of us were injured. We trimmed the number of men Amiel had with him but we didnae catch him. The dark stopped the chase ere we could. So, there will be fewer men hunting us when we leave, if there are any at all. Sigimor and I think they may go to join with the others now.”
She sighed at the thought that she had to get back on a horse so soon but knew it was necessary. “Then we had best rise and eat so that we might leave and get to Scarglas ere we have a whole army to try and slip around.”
“We can wait one more night, lass.”
Brian could see the faint shadows beneath her eyes and knew she still needed to rest. If Amiel was headed to join the others at Scarglas, he was well ahead of them now. There would be no catching the man and no overtaking him so there was no real need to rush off to Scarglas. Arianna probably needed a few more days of rest before she fully recovered from all she had endured, but he could afford to give her the one more night. And, selfishly, he wanted one more night with her with no worries about who might slip up on them or how quickly they could get to their horses and flee. He pulled her close and began to kiss her neck.
“Um, should we not get up and break our fast?” she asked even as she tilted her head to the side to allow him better access.
“We will. After.”
“But we just did that.”
“Och, lass, ye must ken that a mon is ever hungry for a woman as sweet and hot as ye are. Morning, noon, and night.” He paused just before kissing her mouth. “Are ye sore from all the riding?”
Arianna briefly considered saying she was for it was scandalous to roll about beneath the covers with a man she was not wed to when she was a guest at someone’s home. Then she cast her unease and fear of censure aside. Time was short for her and Brian and she was not going to allow anything to steal away the first truly peaceful moment they had shared. There would be no one riding hard on their heels, no one forcing them to run out the back of the keep, and no one forcing them to do more riding than she ever wanted to do again. There was also the fact that, if the falsity of her marriage to Claud ever became common knowledge, she would be marked a whore anyway, unfair though that was, so why not at least commit some sin she could have fond memories of?
“Nay,” she said, and pulled his face down to hers so that she could kiss him with all the renewed desire she could feel growing inside her.
“I think ye should marry that lass,” said Sigimor as he handed Brian a big tankard of ale.
Brian scowled at his cousin. He had suspected something different when the man had pulled him into his small ledger room. A discussion about what he should or should not be doing with Arianna was an odd choice for Sigimor. It was not any of the man’s business, either, but he knew telling Sigimor that would not deter him.
“Sigimor, I have naught to offer such a lass,” he said.
“Ye have yourself.”
“Weel, that willnae keep her properly housed, fed, clothed, or in jewels.”
“Dinnae think she cares much for those things. Of course, she will want to keep those lads. Is that it?”
“Of course not. Sigimor, she would sit higher at any table than I do and has spent the last five years as a countess. We both ken the Murrays are powerful, admired, and nay too poor. Some are cursed rich. ’Tis true that her marriage turned out to be a lie and the mon she thought was her husband was a cold, callous bastard, but she still had all the luxury such a position can give a woman. I cannae e’en afford to leave the keep where I have a small room and little privacy. Mayhap I could build a wee cottage in the village but nay more than that. Nay, she needs to go back to her family.”
“Ye are an idiot. Jolene was the daughter of an English Marcher lord. Didnae see that stopping me, did ye?”
“Weel, ye are a laird and rule Dubheidland. I am a younger son to a mon some think may be utterly mad and have more brothers than any mon should, most of them bastards.”
“Mayhap ye ought to try and see what she wants.”
