Christina bowed her head and followed the maidservant and guardsman out of the room, feeling her throat thicken with hot tears.
She didn’t know which was worse: that she was no longer a maid—ruined in the eyes of many—or that he didn’t care he was the one who made her so.
Tor watched her leave, refusing to allow himself to be swayed by her pitiful pleas. The treacherous chit had gotten exactly what she deserved.
He would not be forced into a marriage he didn’t want by trickery. If he did marry again, it would be for the good of the clan. It wouldn’t be to a woman who’d tricked him into taking her virginity.
Unbidden, the memories returned. Of holding her lush breasts in his hands, of her bottom pressed against his cock. Of dragging his mouth along the honey velvet of her skin as the veil of her silky hair fell over him, of her soft little breaths of pleasure, of the way she’d trembled when he’d touched her slick core, of the explosive passion that had gripped him as he’d plunged inside her.
Cursing his body’s reaction, he grabbed hisleineand tossed it over his head.
He’d never been like that before. Wild with desire. Damned near out of control with it. The drink must have addled his mind.
He forced the memories back. His unnaturally fierce reaction to her would not change his original decision. Allying himself with the great patriot family of Fraser would immediately call into question his neutrality, putting him at odds with both Edward and MacDougall.
Lust was about as ridiculous a reason to wed as love.
Fraser waited until his daughter and the others had gone before rounding on him. “Do not think you can avoid this. The story of what has happened here will be all over the castle by morning.”
“I see you’ve made sure of that,” Tor said, referring to the maid and guardsman Fraser had brought along to witness this farce. “But you erred if you think it makes a damned bit of difference to me.”
“You’ve ruined her,” Fraser said incredulously. “Of course, you are honor bound to marry her.”No matter what the circumstances, he left unsaid.
“Am I?” Tor smiled. “You assume I play by the same rules. You came to me with an offer that I refused—for good reason. I’ll not be forced into marriage by trickery. It’s not my honor in jeopardy, but yours and your daughter’s.”
Only the knowledge that Tor could kill him with his bare hands held Fraser’s anger in check. “No one forced you to do anything,” he said. “Are you claiming that my daughter seduced you? Myinnocentdaughter?”
“She seemed eager enough to me.” Tor’s face betrayed no emotion, but Fraser’s words pricked him. He replayed the scene over in his mind, and as much as he wanted to, he knew he could make no such claim. The odd reactions he’d attributed to game-playing made horrible sense for an innocent maid—and he’d been too out of his mind with lust to notice. But she’d responded. He put up the wall in his mind before he could think about that. She’d made no effort to stop—not until it was too late. “I suspect you knew exactly what would happen when you sent her to my bed. That it did is your problem.”
It seemed to finally be dawning on Fraser that he’d overplayed his hand. “No one will have her when it is discovered what has happened here.”
The lass had known what she risked.
And if she hadn’t?
Tor pushed aside the question. He would not feel guilty for having been tricked. He’d made his decision for the good of his clan and nothing had changed. “Then I suggest you stop your people from spreading word before any more damage is done.” He took a threatening step toward Fraser. “Now, it’s time for you to leave before I decide to ignore the truce and give you exactly what you deserve for what you attempted this night.”
Fraser took one look at him and knew it was not an idle threat. His black gaze landed on Tor. “This isn’t over,” he said, his voice teeming with resentment and anger.
But they both knew it was. Fraser had gambled with his daughter’s virtue and lost.
The moment Christina saw her sister, the tears she’d been holding back exploded into a big rush of choking sobs that wracked her entire body. Beatrix didn’t say a word but simply enfolded her in her arms, offering the comfort Christina so longed for after the emotional tumult of the night. She’d traveled from heaven to hell in the space of a few horrible minutes.
Slowly, through halting breaths, the story emerged. Perhaps not the most intimate details, but enough for even an innocent like Beatrix to understand. What had happened had been earth-shattering in a way that Christina could never explain to her sister. But it had left her irrevocably changed, for now she knew a man’s touch. Knew how she could become weak with passion and desire. Knew exactly how intimately a man and woman could be joined.
Beatrix didn’t say a word, just murmured soothing sounds, stroked her head, and allowed Christina to cry until she’d drenched the front of her chemise with tears.
When the tears at last subsided, Christina took a deep breath and looked up at her older sister through swollen, watery eyes. “What am I going to do?”
Beatrix untangled a piece of hair that was stuck in Christina’s lashes with a gentle sweep of her finger. “What happened tonight doesn’t need to change anything,” she said softly. “It won’t be the first time a girl trying to escape a marriage has sought out the sanctuary of a nunnery. Chastity is not required before you enter, only after.” She smiled. “If that is what you truly want.”
“Of course it’s what I want.”
Beatrix gave her a thoughtful look. “Maybe what happened was for the best.”
Christina pulled back in shock. “How can you say that?”
“Because I don’t think a lifetime devoted to God is what you would choose were other options available. Escape, peace, a lifetime of solitude—I understand your reasons for going—but how long before the walls of sanctuary would start to feel like a prison? You want to marry, Chrissi. Escape with him; he’ll protect you.”
