Aran’s breathing growing shallower.
His mewling cries breaking her heart.
She had never felt such relief as when Roger had burst into the room with the flush-faced wet nurse in tow, though he had left quickly as if he couldn’t bear to see the wretched condition of his son.
Julianna hadn’t blamed him…nor for staying only a few moments whenever he had visited since, and she had told him so, urging him instead to occupy himself with matters of his lairdship. What else was there for him to do? Watch and wait to see if his son survived the next hour?
That first day with the wet nurse doing her best to coax Aran to eat, the poor babe so weakened by hunger had been heartrending to see and Julianna was glad she had spared Roger from witnessing his little son’s distress.
Yet thank God that was all in the past, Julianna’s instincts telling her that Aran would not only survive, but thrive and grow into a healthy child.
“A happy one, too,” she murmured to herself, thinking sleepily of Roger’s two daughters that he had brought with him when he had visited for a brief time earlier that day.
His late wife, Sylvia, must have been beautiful, indeed, for Elspeth and Breda were lovely little girls, but shy at first when Roger had quietly introduced Julianna as their new mother.
“Our mama?” Elspeth had queried, her blue eyes round as Julianna had knelt down to give her a hug. A warm squeeze had seemed to reassure the child, and Breda had toddled over for a hug, too, both girls hopping up and down with excitement when Julianna had asked them if they wanted to take a peek at their brother.
“Why is he sucking on his hand?” Elspeth had wondered as Roger lifted up Breda since she was too small to look over the edge of the cradle.
“That’s what babies do,” Julianna had tried to explain, though both girls broke into giggles as if it was the funniest thing they had ever seen.
Giggles so boisterous that Roger had grabbed up Elspeth, too, and carried them with a laugh from the room, Julianna undeniably heartened by their short visit.
Aran, Breda, and Elspeth were her children now, too, Roger staring at her so intently when they had all gathered around the cradle like a family. His dark eyes holding emotion she hadn’t seen there before, making her blush even more than when he had first entered the room.
Her new family. Warmed again by the thought, Julianna sat up to take one last peek at Aran before she lay back down and closed her eyes to get some sleep.
She had sent the two maidservants and wet nurse away to fetch supper for themselves and to bring her a tray, another long night ahead of them—
“The bairn looks well enough tae me, aye, Lady Douglas?”
Julianna gasped and glanced up at Roger’s brother William, who stood over the cradle and gave it a little push to set it to rocking—which made her jump up, alarmed, from the cot.
“No, no, he’s sleeping!”
“Was sleeping…” came William’s wry response, the timbre of his voice so like Roger’s—but with a harsh edge that sent a strange chill down her spine.
He looked so much like Roger, too, in his height and muscular frame. His dark brown eyes moved over her in a manner that made Julianna feel even more uncomfortable as Aran crumpled up his face and began to cry.
“Now look what you’ve done.” She hadn’t minced words and she just wanted him to leave, though William had spread his feet and clearly had no intention of going anywhere.
Julianna did her best to ignore him and swept up Aran from the opposite side of the cradle, blanket and all, to hold him close while still, William stared at her.
“An Englishwoman. Who would have thought Roger would bring an enemy tae our door?”
“I-I’m no enemy,” she murmured, stepping away from him to rock Aran gently in her arms, trying in vain to soothe him. “You must leave now, the child needs to sleep—”
“Just in time, too, tae save my dear brother’s heir,” William cut her off, paying no heed to her request. “He says you’re a healer, though I’ve been unable tae drag much else from him about who you are and where you came from—other than that you saved his life. Now why in God’s name would you have done a thing like that?”
Julianna only stared back at him, her eyes widening as he gave such a hard push to the cradle that it swung back and forth crazily—eliciting a streak of fear inside her.
She had disliked few people in her life, hardly any, in truth, but this forbidding Scotsman would be no friend to her, she was certain of it…which mayhap made them enemies after all, God help her.
She took another step backward and came up against the wall, her gasp making William give a sarcastic laugh.
“I’ll never fathom why Roger felt compelled tae marry you. You dinna need a blessing from the Church tae take a woman tae bed—especially an English wench. Yet I suppose I should welcome you,sister, for that’s what you are tae me now, aye?”
Her heart thumping hard, Julianna remained silent as William gave a mocking bow and left the room—just before the wet nurse and two serving maids hastened in with startled looks to see her standing against the wall and Aran wailing piteously.
