‘Aye. It is against his nature not to have seduced her fully.’
‘I cannot account for it, an innocent lass like that, brought up well, throwing away her virtue on Butcher.’
‘Can you not?’
His face hardened. ‘Are his charms so hard to resist then, lass?’
Lowri sighed, realising she had sparked his jealousy. ‘No, what I meant is, they must have found common ground in their mutual vanity. She is fey and weak, and he is persuasive and an excellent liar. He had me convinced that you planned that wreck.’ She softened her words with a smile. ‘I never really believed it.’
‘Glad to hear it, lass. But what are we to do now?’
‘Perhaps Briony can be worked upon. But I fear it is too late. Cullen, she is infatuated, and if she mentioned her inheritance then…’
‘Butcher will gobble her up like a tasty morsel. Do you think he intends marriage?’
‘Why would he do that? You said, he will be rich, once his father succumbs.’
‘Aye, rich, but as greedy and grasping as ever. He is the son of a laird. Perhaps he wants a wife of good breeding who brings with her a fortune, a grand name, prestige.’
‘You didn’t.’
He smiled and gave her a peck. ‘Aye, lass, but remember, I am the bastard son of a laird, so I did not have such lofty hopes. And I love that you have a bit of the peasant in you.’ Cullen’s smile faded, and he rubbed his chin. ‘I believe that Butcher amuses himself with his whores and tavern wenches for now, but he never forgets who he is and where he is from. He will want heirs, with a good name, and the right blood in their veins. Briony is comely, biddable, and not canny enough to ask many questionsabout his activities. He will wed her, and then carry on using every woman who crosses his path.’
‘So what are we to do – leave her to her fate?’ said Lowri.
‘I can have it out with Butcher.’
‘He cannot be reasoned with. And Briony went of her own free will. We cannot force her away from Butcher. It would only end in violence.’
‘Aye, the lass has made her choice, and she must live with it.’
‘Aye, a choice between a villain like Butcher, and Donald, a man she has never met. Cullen, she might be infuriating and a complete fool, but I pity the lass that choice.’
***
Briony did not return to the cottage. In the dead of night, back in their bed, Cullen woke Lowri with a kiss, hands roaming. She was tired, but he had a way of stirring her passion with the lightest of touches.
‘I was just thinking,’ he said between kisses. ‘What you said about Briony not having a choice. Your words stung me because you got even less choice than she did. You were forced to take me.’
‘And I am happier for it. Cullen. I would choose you every time,’ she murmured, pulling his mouth back down.
He smiled into her kiss and slid his lips from hers. ‘I should make amends for your forced marriage, lass,’ he breathed, pushing up her shift so that her naked flesh was exposed to his mouth as it made its way down her body. Lowri sank into the exquisite sensations Cullen aroused between her legs, arching her hips up to meet him and clutching her nails into his hair. The pleasure was so great, she could almost die of it.
She cried out into the night and thanked God that she had been forced to marry wicked Cullen Macaulay.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The next day brought dreary rain pit-pattering against the little leaded windows of the cottage, along with urgent banging on the door at an ungodly hour. Instead of an indulgent morning, pressing her eager flesh against Cullen’s, Lowri was forced to open the door to a red-faced Connie. She barged in, saw Cullen abed, shirtless, and smirked.
‘You’d best rouse yourself. A ship just rounded the headland. She’s fighting an offshore wind and a huge swell, but she’ll dock at Larne by noon, I reckon. Could be from Cork, and you did ask me to keep a lookout.’
Cullen cursed and reached for his clothes.
‘Are you going to Larne?’ said Lowri. ‘What do you hope to achieve? Briony has chosen Butcher.’
‘Butcher?’ said Connie with raised eyebrows.
‘Aye. Briony has been seeing him behind our backs these last weeks, and she ran off with him yesterday.’
