“Or else you did not wish me tae share in what must be regained, aye, wife?”
Isabeau didn’t answer, only stared deep into his eyes and nodded, wondering if in the next moment he would strike her.To her astonishment, he loosened his grip upon her hair and leaned closer, his breath fanning her face.
“I demand truth from you, Isabeau, in all things.How else am I tae trust you as we make our way together?Now what did Conall Campbell take that belongs taeus?”
His emphasis on the last word made her want to cringe that she had lost any semblance of independence from him—at least for the time being.
“Jewels…sewed into the hem of a cloak that he wrapped her in.My mother sold land and bought them for me as a gift—”
“Ah, I understand now.As shrewd a woman as you, then?How much land?”
“A third of my inheritance.”
Isabeau felt Euan stiffen, a scowl deepening the lines between his thick brows.
“No wonder you sent me right after her—and if I’d known, woman, I would have pressed on until I found them.Once I discovered they were wed, there didna seem tae be any point tae continuing the hunt.She was only a bastard, after all.Now they’ve surely arrived in Dumbarton where Campbell will crow of my humiliation and parade around his bride—until he learns the truth about her.Aye, I wish I could be there tae see it!”
Now Euan threw back his head and laughed so hard that tears squeezed from his eyes and rolled down his face, though he still held fast to Isabeau.She could but stare at him in confusion, until at last he coughed and cleared his throat to regain his composure.
“As I rode back into Dumfries, some of the men I left behind met me with word that a nest of traitorous spies had been discovered in town—though one escaped tae the north.Riding straight tae Robert the Bruce, I’d wager, with news of your foiled abduction and our hasty wedding at the convent chapel.Och, God, tae see that false king’s face, too, when he discovers his plot failed!”
Laughter shook Euan again while Isabeau frowned and tried to rise from his knee.He caught her and thrust her back down, planting a noisy kiss upon her cheek.
“Dinna fret, wife, I know what you’re thinking.What of the cloak and its hidden treasure?We’ll have it back, I vow tae you, but a subtler method will be needed than an out-and-out attack.Robert is not the only one with spies and other sundry sorts paid tae do his bidding.Now pull up your gown, I’ve a great hunger for you.”
Isabeau did as he bade her and straddled him, taking some comfort as Euan shoved his hand between them to wrench up his own tunic, that she would one day see the jewels again.
Herjewels.
No matter what he might think, she would not be sharing them with him.
She knew now even more fully than when he’d taken her against the wall in the chapel that her new husband was a brute and a tyrant and would make her life a misery for lying to him, she was certain of it.She would have to find some way to rid herself of him once the cloak was retrieved—
“By God, woman, does Lisette know the jewels were sewn into the cloak?”Euan demanded thickly as he clutched Isabeau’s bottom, the thought clearly just occurring to him.He let out a deep groan of relief when she shook her head and leaned down to kiss him.
“It was a secret between only myself and my mother,” she murmured against his lips, moistening them with her tongue.“Nowoursecret, husband.Take me…”
He did, entering her with such force that Isabeau gasped, clutching at him as the chair pitched beneath them.The wooden legs scraping upon the floor with his every thrust, his every ragged groan, while she felt hatred glowing hot within her.
For Lisette—oui, for Euan, too.Let him think her pliant and eager to please him while in her heart now, their marriage was doomed before it had scarcely begun.
“Wait here for me while I let King Robert know we’ve arrived.”
Lisette nodded at Conall, who left her in the antechamber and went out an opposite door into the great hall of Dumbarton Castle.She could hear the rumble of people enjoying their supper, and imagined the king was present among them and would soon return with Conall to meet her.
Ah, God, to meet her.Nervousness overwhelmed her, her hands trembling at the thought of encountering so renowned and royal a personage.Guilt riddled her, too, that she had deceived Conall and wed him, but what else could she have done?
Her remorse had only mounted since they had left Douglas Castle early that morning, Conall holding her closely against him the entire way to Dumbarton.
His every touch thrilling her.
His every glance calling forth heated memories of the night before when he had claimed her as his bride.
Even now, her heart fluttered to think of it…his attentiveness and caring while giving her pleasure unlike anything she had known.
Their bodies melded into one, their ragged breathing merged into one, and his kiss…oh, Conall’s kiss.
Lisette pressed her fingers to her lips as a deep yearning overwhelmed her, for he hadn’t kissed her since.
