“Why, Uncle?” she asked boldly. “Pleasetell me why I was brought back… why now? What am I supposed to do that’s so important?”
He frowned at her in mild disapproval, but his tone gentled significantly. At least he had stopped shouting. “Hush lass, we were always going to bring ye back. It was a verra bad time, when we sent ye away. Things are better now, and ye are safe here. Home.”
His eyes shifted away from her as he spoke. He wasn’t telling the truth, or at least not the whole truth. That much was obvious. “But I need to know…”
“Ye dinna need to ken anything beyond what ye are told. Now go and dress for dinner. We have important guests this evening.”
She frowned at that. “Dinner isn’t for at least five more hours.”
He waved her away with his hand as he turned to go. “Aye, well entertain yerself in yer chamber. I have work to do.” After a few steps, he paused to look back at her. “And lass, dinna leave the castle. No’ without my permission. It’s no’ safe.”
Pressing her lips together, Allia forced a small and impudent curtsy and turned to go to her room, a new strategy already forming in her mind.Play along. Wait for your chance.Pretend nothing is wrong, and that you don’t mind being oppressed and kept in the dark about your own life.She rolled her eyes at that.Butany show of rebellion might just make him hold tighter.
By the time she reached the door to her chamber, Edith and Bridget had appeared from somewhere and the two maids had fallen into step behind her. She sighed. Could sheneverbe alone here? She had an escape to plan. After she had calmed down, though, she began to enjoy their company, even though she suspected Leon had sent them to keep an eye on her. The girls sat with her and patiently showed her how to embroider, a skill she had never learned, but which she didn’t mind because it was kind of like art. A picture made in thread. She began work on a rose for practice, the tiny stitches and idle chatter absorbing her attention and occupying her mind until the sunlight at the window began to dim. Then Edith and Bridget set about dressing her for dinner, insisting she change her gown and style her hair. She let them do what they would.
She emerged from the chamber in a beautiful new gold colored gown, cut so low across her breasts that she had the urge to keep tugging it up, and her hair had been fixed so that some of it was piled on her head while a few wavy strands tumbled down to frame her face. The girls had even added a little rouge and some kohl for her eyes. Despite everything, shedidfeel pretty. She found her mind wandering to Eian, wondering if he would think she looked nice… Would he be at dinner tonight, one of the ‘important guests’? Last night he had been sitting at a lower table halfway to the door, so perhaps not. She had managed to find out more about him from the maids, who were only too eager to gush about Eian Mac Coinnach, one of the most eligible yet unobtainable bachelors in all of Scotia, apparently. Yes, he certainly had that aire about him.
She had learned that he was the youngest of three brothers, the oldest of whom was Bren Mac Coinnach, clan chief and Laird of Creagmor. The whole Mac Coinnach family had some sort of mystique surrounding them, and there was even a rumor that they practiced magic, like her own extended family. Maybe they did, maybe they didn’t, but it didn’t change the fact that Eian Mac Coinnach had reportedly slept with more women than even he could count. A different one every night, the maids had said. Sometimes even several at once, or so said the rumors, they had tittered in hushed tones. Well, his libido certainly wasn’t in question, and his dark good looks alone could seduce almost any womanshehad ever met. If Eian Mac Coinnach had been born in the 21st century, Allia mused as she made her way down the stairs, he would ride a motorcycle, for certain, and wear faded jeans and a leather jacket. Quite likely, he'd be a rock star or a sexy Hollywood actor. He would be the life of every party and live hard and fast, surrounded by throngs of wanna-bes attracted by his remarkable charisma and magnetic aura of devil-may-care danger. That was just the kind of man he was, no matter what the century. And then he had a little bit of that whole dark and dangerous warrior thing going on to perfectly complement his hard earned bad-boy reputation. Top it all off with that body of a Greek God, and he was lethal to any woman’s virtue. Even she herself was not immune, not by a long shot. And that kind of man wasn't going to be changed by anything short of a miracle. Good thing she wasn’t just any woman; she was one that knew better.Butis it terribly wrong to be flattered he’s made me a target? And would that make it even more wrong to fantasize about what it would be like to have a man like that naked in my bed?Not as long as it stayed a fantasy, she decided, after all, she was only human.
Womanly fantasies aside, Allia had to admit that her enlightening conversation with the maids left her feeling… well, vaguely disappointed. Had she actually been hoping deep down that Eian was different than that? That he actually likedher? Now she was more certain than ever that she was no more to him than another conquest. Must be her status as the Laird’s niece. Or maybe she was the only single woman around he hadn’t slept with yet and he wanted to mark her off his list. At any rate, he was definitelynotdating material, and apparently she needed to keep telling herself that. Not that women and men really dated in this time, especially not in the ruling families. Women, and often even men, had little choice in potential marriage partners; the right alliances were much more important. Good thing she was dead set on staying out of any and all romantic entanglements anyway. Nothing could be allowed to stand in her way if she needed to run.
Chapter 6
The hall was loud and a little too warm, with what seemed like hundreds of people eating and talking or milling around. Serving maids wove their way through the crowd, pitchers of ale or platters of food precariously balanced in their hands as they were jostled from all sides. Some of the men reached out and squeezed the maids’ breasts or bottoms as they went by, causing Allia to roll her eyes. It was probably difficult enough to serve so many people under these conditions without being pawed at in the process. But women’s lib was a few years off yet.
She glanced up as her uncle appeared at her side and, after a stern look that told her she had better behave, regally led her to her place at the high table. She gave him the most genuine phony smile she could muster as she sat down, reaching immediately for the cup of wine in front of her. Taking a long swallow, she once again let her gaze scan the room, telling herself she was only taking in the crowd. But that, of course, was a lie. After making it only halfway across the huge hall, her eyes locked on one figure that stood out starkly from the rest. Taller, broader, and somehow just moretherethan anyone else, he could have easily been on the cover of GQ in her time, well herothertime, or at the very least, a seriously successful cover model for romance novels.
Eian Mac Coinnach. He was laughing as a group of several women flirted outrageously with him, in a scene that was growing increasingly familiar to her. He tossed his head back and his silky brown hair fell in waves around his shoulders. One of the women, a curvy brunette who stood with her hip leaning towards him in a blatant come-on, reached up to brush a lock from his face and tuck it behind his ear. Allia’s fingers clenched around her cup. She wanted to be the one to do that. Eian smiled at the woman and said something that made them both laugh. Well, he certainly seemed to be enjoying himself, she thought sullenly. But then, she shouldn’t care. And anyway, the laird had just signaled the staff and dinner would be served in a few minutes.
As if sensing her gaze, Eian suddenly looked directly at her and the smile slowly left his face, replaced with… was it determination? She froze for a long moment before quickly looking away, her heart suddenly beating much faster than before. Then he was coming toward her, heading straight for the high table. Oh god! Watching him, Allia was vaguely aware of her uncle beside her gesturing to an empty chair across from where she sat.
“Eian, please join us.”
“T’would be my honor, Laird”, Eian said, the more serious expression on his face looking slightly out of place, compared with the easy grin she had seen thus far.
Leon glanced to his right. “My niece and ward, Allia.”
“My lady.” He bowed his head to her, his lips curling up at the corners just a little in amusement and his eyes sparkling with what looked like mischief.
“Welcome to Lochain”, she replied politely, averting her attention again to her cup of wine. Eian picked up his own cup, his eyes meeting hers over the rim as he took a long sip. There was no mistaking the heat that burned within them. Then he held his cup up and smiled at her.
“To the lady’s most uncommon beauty”, he said, and took another drink. Allia glanced nervously to her uncle, and found him watching intently, his gaze flicking between the two of them.Oh, great! He knows… will he say something? Have Eian beaten for looking at her? Lock her in her room?
But Leon abruptly looked away and engaged his guests in talk of politics and what was happening with the clans to the east, and slowly Allia began to relax. The wine helped too, and a maid had come around and refilled her cup at least twice already.
Though she couldn’t follow most of the unfamiliar conversation and didn’t know any of the various men they mentioned, she soon realized that Eian Mac Coinnach was far more than a pretty face. He spoke with confidence and authority on every subject Leon brought up, and it was soon obvious to anyone listening that he was both very intelligent and well educated. Which only made him more attractive in her eyes.Damn, why couldn’t he be some sort of all brawn and no brains jerk that she could never really fall for? Why did he have to be gorgeous and interesting too? Allia sighed and turned to the roast venison that had been sliced and placed on her trencher. She cut off a small piece with her eating knife and chewed it slowly. It was good, but she felt too on edge to really taste it. Instead, she drank some more wine, hoping it would calm her enough to make it through the rest of the evening.
It wasn’t long before Eian spoke to her again. “My lady, have ye been at Lochain long?”
“No.” She set her wine down on the table. “Just for a few days.”
“And where were ye staying before, then?”
He was doing that thing again, holding her captive with those eyes, making her feel as if she were the only person in the room. “I… um… I was with other relatives. In London.”
She caught her uncle’s sudden frown out of the corner of her eye. Well, what was she supposed to say?
She deftly turned the tables on him. “What brings you all the way to Lochain, Eian?”
