‘Then we have something in common, for my father was going to sell me in marriage to the highest bidder. Did you know that?’
Lowri narrowed her eyes and said nothing. Her silence was unnerving.
‘Just because you love your brother doesn’t mean we have to be rivals, Lowri,’ said Cecily.
‘Peyton protects me as I protect him. We are blood. That is all that matters to us Strachans. And what of you? Do you love my brother?’
Lowri came close and loomed over Cecily. She was slightly built but tall for a woman and had an air of menace. Her question was too heavy for Cecily to carry. ‘I will not talk of this with you,’ she said.
‘So, it is as I thought,’ sneered Lowri. ‘Peyton is a safe haven from your sins. You do not crave his bed. You hide in it. Peyton is a good man. He is loyal and brave, and he cares for you. I hate to admit it, but he does. I will not let you crush his heart just because you can, with your golden hair, bonnie face and fancy dresses.’
‘I won’t hurt him,’ said Cecily.
‘You already have. Do you know how much danger he faces? He should have married for an alliance, not for lust or beauty. And you should have stuck to your Englishman or some other rich suitor, and then we would all be happier.’
‘I was a fool about Edmund. I believed I was in love.’
‘Where did love get you, eh? Beaten and almost dishonoured, that’s where. I’ll never be like you, making a fool of myself over a man. You can count on that.’
‘Sometimes you can’t help but make a fool of yourself once you let love inside your heart.’
Lowri’s lip curled.
‘I’ve learnt the error of my ways,’ said Cecily. ‘And if you think Peyton feels only lust for me, then you are wrong. It is deeper than that.’
‘I think I know my brother better than you.’
‘You don’t know his heart. You don’t know all his troubles and what he feels inside because he is always brave and strong in front of you.’
‘And he is weak with you,’ spat Lowri.
‘Sometimes.’
Aye, Peyton was weak with her. Cecily pictured him, limbs entwined with hers, crying his passion into her neck, gasping and shutting his eyes when she took his manhood in her hand, holding her close to his chest as he fell asleep. She recalled the softness of his hair as she ran her fingers through it, the tender slide of his mouth and the bittersweet surge in her breast when he looked at her, really looked at her. His weakness made her trust him, want him, and love him.
‘Why would a woman like you ever care for Peyton?’ snapped Lowri.
‘Why would I not? I care for him because he is everything I did not dream of. Because he is nothing like Edmund Harclaw, the man I thought I loved to distraction. He talks to me like an equal. He is interested in my hopes and opinions. And I want him above all others.’
Lowri tutted and shook her head, raising Cecily’s ire.
‘You may nurse our suspicions, but I swear it is true. And if you get between me and Peyton, you will have a fight on your hands because I truly care for him.’
‘A fight, is it?’ laughed Lowri.
‘Aye, and it is a fight you will lose, for I know how to get down in the dirt and dig my claws in. If you ever strike at my heart, Lowri, I will strike at yours twice as hard.’
Lowri’s eyes widened. ‘Do you know, that is the first admirable thing you have ever said? I hope you mean it because if you do not, and if you betray Peyton, I will cut out your heart and feed it to you.’
Chapter Twenty-Six
Every instinct screamed at Peyton to turn back as he sped along the path to Annancross. He did not trust Caolan Bannerman, yet if what he said was true, he had little time to intercept Jasper and Cecily’s sister, Rowenna, before they met their doom.
An eerie hush lay over the thick woodland path leading to the Carstairs’ stronghold. A drifting mist sent icy fingers inside Peyton’s cloak to tighten his skin. He knew little of Alec Carstairs, but the man did not have the best reputation. Jasper was marrying his sister to a wealthy but indolent oaf with more arrogance than sense. The man could not care much for his sister to give her to such a man just for an alliance. No matter how dire his circumstances, Peyton resolved never to be so unfeeling to Lowri.
Rain began to fall with a steady hiss. He strained his ears as voices sounded over the top of it. Peyton rode his horse up a steep embankment and down the other side and was confronted with the Glendenning wedding party consisting of several men on horseback and a collection of wagons. He galloped towards them and brought his horse to a skidding halt lest he get a sword in the bowels from Jasper’s henchmen.
When he pulled back his hood and announced himself, Peyton got the usual belligerence from Jasper. ‘What are you doing here?’ he growled.
