Later she’d find a place where they could be alone, for she wanted to savor the thrill of his embrace again.
So she settled for slipping a few smoldering glances into her conversation, an extra morsel of breakfast for him to chew on.
Meanwhile, she went about her schedule.She slipped scraps to Troye behind the stable.Left several cherries atop the castle wall for the resident crows.Checked in on her pair of hibernating hedgepigs, huddled in their nest in the garden.Let the squirrel tug a stale oatcake from her fingers.And gave Hamish a good, long scratch behind the ears.
By the time she was done, her father was preparing to leave.Yesterday’s lightning had struck one of the byres on the Boyle clan’s land, so the laird and several Dunlop men were going to offer neighborly help.At least that was his story.She secretly suspected the men were only curious to see the storm damage.But the physician was going with them, so Carenza would be in charge of Hew’s care.Which gave her an idea.A way she might forward her plan to get him alone.
It wasn’t a moment too soon when she found him.He was seated by the hearth, frowning and picking at his bandage.
“Sir Hew o’ Rivenloch,” she mock-scolded him.“Just what do ye think ye’re doin’?”
“Nothing,” he said, abandoning his pursuit.“I’m just…restless.”
She sat down beside him.It was probably torture for a warrior to be so inactive.Why he thought he could ever endure the tedium of being a monk, she couldn’t imagine.
“What would ye be doin’ if ye weren’t injured?”
“I would have gone with your father,” he sulked.“Been of some use.”
“I doubt any o’ them are goin’ to be of use.They’ve only gone to gloat o’er the charred remains of Boyle’s barn.Still…” She lifted his bandaged hand and studied it.“Ye might be healin’ faster than ye think.Let’s see how this looks.Come with me to the solar where the light is better.I’ll change the bandage and—”
“Where’s Peris?”he asked in surprise.
“He went with my father.”
Hew let out a vexed sigh, which crushed her momentarily until he followed up with, “I was hopin’ to question him.”
“Ah.Well, ’twill have to wait.”
Now she was doubly glad her father had taken Peris with him.
An axe-wielding Viking warrior might be accustomed to using intimidation to get what he wanted.But putting pressure on Peris would have been a mistake.Especially now, when they were so close to an answer.
Peris was as dangerous and impulsive as an anxious hound.Shivering in a corner one moment.Snarling and biting the next.Why else had he tried to solve his nervousness with something as drastic as murdering Hew?
If Hew started squeezing him for information, Peris would become even more wary and thus more threatening.
This part of the investigation was far better left in her hands.She would go to the monastery later today to deliver her tithing.And she’d employ a woman’s touch to coax useful information from Peris’s allies.
Meanwhile, she intended to use her woman’s touch for something far more enjoyable.
“Come,” she beckoned.“Ye can question him when he returns.”Hopefully by then she’d have confirmed the identity of the second culprit.
She’d already placed the honey-butter mixture, linen strips, and a basin of clean water in the solar.She’d also told the servants she wanted privacy.So it took a great deal of willpower not to slam the door closed behind her, thrust herself into his arms, and immediately resume kissing where they had left off last eve.
She desired him.There was no doubt about that.But she found shecaredmore about him than shelustedafter him.And right now he needed healing.
“Sit there,” she said, indicating a chair near the window.
She opened the shutters to let in the light, filtered through a solid bank of white clouds.
Then she placed the basin on a nearby table and knelt before him.
She took his hand and carefully lowered it into the cool water, soaking the linen to loosen it from the blisters.With gentle fingers, she unwound the wrapping.
“I hope this doesn’t hurt ye.”
“’Tis fine.”He was probably lying, she decided, for she could hear the strain in his voice.
