Page 48 of Highlander’s Lesser Evil

Patrick snorted. “Ye would not dare. I am still yer family.”

“That is what I thought when I first brought ye here, but I have a brother who would lay down his life for me and a wife who is fighting for strangers because she has a good heart. They are my family now. And ye, Patrick? Ye are becoming nothing to me!” Some of the children that he’d seen today were little more than skin and bones. It was sickening.

“There are those who would slit yer throat in yer sleep if I asked,” Patrick hissed. “Those who believe that I am their true leader.”

“Then make the order, so I will know the traitors as I skewer them on my sword,” Theo said calmly. “Ye have one day to give me the list of the traitors.”

“Ye may be cavalier about yer life, but what of yer wife or that of the unborn child in her womb?”

Gemma was with child?

It was like a punch to the stomach, but Theo did not show the pain on his face. Chances were, his father was bluffing, trying to distract him before he made his move.

“If my wife were pregnant, I would know.”

“Would ye? So she would be excited by the thought of a child?” Patrick started to laugh wildly. “Or perhaps she fears the little babe will be too much like his father. She saw the healer only yesterday, my boy. Perhaps she would end the child’s life before ye were any the wiser.”

Ignoring the fear curled up in his belly, Theo turned and left his father to his wild cracklings.

He and Gemma were in a good place. She would have told him if she were pregnant.

He had nothing to worry about.

21

Preparing a community dinner for Loch Moran was one thing, but for an entire village? Gemma worried that she was in over her head, but a hunting party had returned with plenty of game, and the kitchen seemed delighted to have a large meal to prepare again. For four days, they would take grievances over dinner so they could feel at ease when approaching Theo.

It had been a long month. Theo had Gemma’s looms delivered. Her current project had been destroyed in the move, and she’d been forced to start over. Letters came frequently. Jillian reported that Graeme had yet to leave the loch, but that didn’t seem to bother Theo. Gemma hoped that meant Theo was finally learning to trust the highlander. David and Cameron, people reported, were doing well, and everyone seemed to enjoy their cousin, Oliver. While there had been no other attacks, everyone was on edge. They didn’t come out and say it, but Gemma could read between the lines. The more time that passed, the more people worried that there would be an attack.

Her own work in the village was exhausting, and she worried that she was getting sick. Although she was used to staying busy, she was getting tired far too often, and her stomach was often unsettled. She’d gone to visit with the healer to see if there was a tonic she could take, but the old woman had all but shut the door in her face, claiming that she didn’t want to hear Gemma’s speech about how wonderful her husband was.

There were quite a few instances like that, and those that did listen to her often came back with tales of horrible things that Theo had done. While she feared in her heart they were true, she knew that Theo had taken no joy in whatever his father had forced him to do and was working on making reparations.

Dressed in one of her nicer frocks, Gemma did a final sweep of the Great Hall. The tables and chairs had been dusted, and flowers adorned the center to make the place feel warm and welcoming. All of the lanterns were lit, and she’d ordered more candelabras to be brought in for more light.

“Ye must stop pacing,” Theo said in annoyance as he swept into the hall. “Surely as the daughter of a duke, ye realize that ye are not supposed to be waiting on yer guests.”

As she suspected, his mood had darkened considerably after visiting with his father, but she hadn’t asked him about it. Tonight was too important, but afterward, when they went to bed, she would ask him to unburden himself.

“These are not guests. These are your people. Our people,” she amended, although she still struggled with that. Sometimes, she missed the quiet existence of Loch Moran. Here, it felt as though someone was always watching her. “I just want them to remember that the keep isn’t just a home for their laird. It’s a meeting place where all should feel safe and welcome.”

With a strange look in his eye, he kissed the top of her head. “Just doonae wear yerself out, Wife. Ye are looking more tired than usual.”

“I have been doing more. I promise to rest after this week.” She didn’t even realize that he was leading her out of the Great Hall until they were climbing the staircase.

“Theo!”

“I need a bath, lass, and I wish for yer assistance.”

Her eyes widened. “No, absolutely not. I am already dressed, and I know what your baths lead to.”

“A clean body?” he asked innocently.

“Nakedness, and we are hardly clean afterward,” she whispered while looking around furtively to see if anyone had heard that. Ever since she had confessed that she loved him, he’d been taking her every night, sometimes twice a night. On the days that put darkness and guilt in his eyes, he would take her hard and urgently, and she would do her best to give him everything he needed. On the days that he came home with a smile on his face, he would play with her, and on the nights he woke her up just before dawn, he would be soft and sweet to the point where it would bring her to tears.

She longed to hear the truth in his heart, to know that he loved her, but she knew he still had yet to believe that he had the capacity for love.

That, more than anything, broke her heart.