“Yes. It seems there is a laird here to see me. He is the lord in charge of the Scottish clan and lands that surround us, I believe.”
Vivien had nodded, knowing that Reginald had not called her to his chambers simply to impart the news that he was to meet with the local laird.
Reginald had stood up slowly, a contemplative expression on his face.
“These people are nothing more than heathens, Vivien. And they should be treated a such,” Reginald all but spat the words out, his face turning slightly red with his irritation. Vivien had flinched, recalling her meeting with Kieran and how much she had enjoyed his company. The last thing she would ever have described him as was a heathen. He was anything but that. He was rough around the edges, but then, Reginald was a cold and calculating man. It was not a better disposition to have, in Vivien’s opinion.
“Yes, Lord,” she had replied, still unsure of where he was going with this.
“I have no desire to meet with him.” Reginald had walked over to the window, staring out of it with a blank expression on his face. “I want to send a message to these heathens – a strong message. I will have no dealings with them. They are beneath me, and they had best learn to behave accordingly.”
Reginald had started pacing, lazily walking up and down the length of his parlor.
Vivien had held herself perfectly still and patiently waited for the point of his discussion with her.
“The best way to do that is to send you in my place instead.” Reginald had stopped his pacing, shooting her a disparaging look. “He will take it for what it is – an insult. You have no dealings with my own business; you are a woman of no great importance. You are meant to sit around sewing handkerchiefs and gossiping about your friends all day.”
“You are correct, Lord.”
“Well, of course, I am. What a ridiculous comment to make.”
Vivien had known full-well that Reginald was rolling his eyes, even though he had his back turned to her.
“You will meet with him and make it very clear that I will have no dealings with him.”
“Is that wise, Lord?” she had questioned him. It had been a mistake to do so. Reginald had spent the next thirty minutes berating her, using every horrible name he had ever called her, over and over again. She had finally acquiesced, knowing that she should have accepted his request from the beginning. It had been pointless to say anything against doing what he asked of her.
And with that, Vivien had found herself face-to-face with the one man she had thought she would never see again. The only man who had ever stirred the fires of yearning within her.
Chapter Nine
“Of course, it is my pleasure. How can I help you, Laird Kieran?” Vivien asked, trying to keep her hands from trembling.
The look of icy fury on Kieran’s face was traumatic to see. She had never dreamed that he could look so angry, and she was the cause of his rage.
Pain lanced through Vivien’s entire core; if Reginald had only been a decent person, this would have been avoided – she would have continued her life as normal without ever again seeing the man who had set her flesh on fire. And Kieran would never have known she was a liar. Reginald was right, she thought fleetingly – she was useless.
“I had been hoping tae see Lord Stone,” he replied, ice dripping from every word, “I have things tae discuss with him abou’ incidents involving English soldiers on my land. I am hoping he can clear up a few things for me.”
Vivien trembled, both at the eyes of stone that looked at her through a perfectly calm exterior, as well as at the knowledge that her husband would not meet with Kieran. His directions had been quite clear – he would not give the Highlander the time of day.
Nothing Kieran could say would change Reginald’s mind; she knew that better than anyone. Reginald was as obstinate as a bull when it came to something he had decided, regardless of whether or not it was the better decision to take. Vivien had her suspicions that that had been the real reason behind his posting in Scotland; something he had said or done had put him at a great disadvantage with not only Lord Hastings but potentially the entire cabinet. It was no surprise that his disposition towards Scotland, and everything that had anything to do with it, was as soured as it was.
“I am afraid my husband is not here to meet with you, Laird Kieran,” Vivien said calmly, refusing to let the man get under her skin. If he wanted to treat her like she was the only one who had made mistakes that day in the forest, then she had no reason to give him the satisfaction of unnerving her. At the very least, she would not let him see that he was doing just that.
“Is that so?” Kieran cocked an eyebrow, settling his arms across his chest. Vivien had always felt shut out by Reginald, but she found that it hurt her so much more to be shut out by Kieran, when all she wanted to do was run into his arms and feel his strength around her. His embrace was the only thing she craved at that moment.
“I am afraid so. He left this morning and will only return in a few days,” Vivien winced on the inside; she hated having to lie to Kieran any more than she already had. He didn’t deserve it, and she didn’t want to do it. Vivien had no choice. There were worse things than the heartbreak she felt at her deception – things that only Reginald would ever think of doing to her – and even Kieran – if his anger were great enough. She had to say exactly what he had told her to, if not for herself, then at least for Kieran’s sake.
Even if he would never know about it.
“I, however, am at your disposal. If there is something you would like to discuss, I may be able to help you. If I cannot, I will pass the message along to my husband, who will most assuredly respond at his earliest chance.” Vivien hated the way the lies dripped off her tongue so easily.
“These are sensitive issues. If I requested it o’ ye, I would appreciate it if we were tae speak in private, Lady Stone.”
The request had Vivien speechless. Kieran wanted to speak to her, alone? Why? What could he possibly have to say to her – did he simply want to let her know what his message was, or was it something to do with her and the lies she had to tell him? There was only one way to find out.
Vivien could not deny that she wanted to be alone with Kieran, more than anything else, at that moment. Even though his eyes were still as hard as flint, she could not help but hope that a private audience with him would bring back that gentle look she had found so comforting when they had first met.
