Page 18 of In Bed with her Highland Foe

“It isnae beginning at all.” Gilchrist barked and shook his head. “Forget this foolish plan. She has made it plain what I am tae her, and that amounts tae nothing more than a friend.”

“I see.” For a minute, Aaden stayed quiet, then he tipped the glass back to his lips and drained the whisky, clearly deep in thought. “Then I suggest we change the way she looks at ye.”

“What dae ye mean?”

“Well, it’s hard nae tae think of someone in a different light if ye’re in close quarters with them, say, in a bedchamber, close tae a bed.” Aaden waggled his eyebrows in mischief.

“Dinnae speak of such a thing.” Gilchrist shook his head sharply. “She is the lady of the clan. I willnae be encroaching on her bedchamber. There would be scandal.”

“I dinnae remember saying anything about her bedchamber.” Aaden continued with that mischievous look. “Leave it tae me, Captain. I’ll change the way Lady Kyven thinks about ye.”

“I’m now regretting telling ye any of this. Aaden, listen tae me,” Gilchrist leaned forward. “I’ll have nay part in any deception. Pushing Kyven and I together would dae nay good regardless. Leave it be and forget the idea of Kyven and I ever marrying. Such things make up dreams and tales, nae reality.”

“I dinnae ken.” Aaden smiled and leaned back in his chair, flicking his feet until they were crossed in front of him. “I hear sometimes dreams can come true.”

Gilchrist looked at him scathingly and poured out another whisky. He’d drank rather heavily today, and in retrospect, that might have been one of the reasons he had been so freely scornful with his words at dinner, but he hardly cared.

That day, everything had changed. Laird Shay Lamont was back in his life, and it seemed no matter what he did, he had once again come to take away the woman Gilchrist loved.

CHAPTER SEVEN

“There, me lady. All warm fer ye now.”

“Thank ye, Helen.” Kyven waited until Helen had retreated back behind the dressing screen then released her robe and stepped into the bath and sank into the heat.

Something about the hot water released the tension that had been in her muscles all night. She had tossed and turned, unable to relax, thinking much of the near kiss with Laird Shay, and how Captain Gilchrist had interrupted them.

“How are ye this morning?” Helen asked with worry in her tone. Clearly, she was perceptive and she had seen Kyven was not her usual self. She remained on the other side of the screen, tidying the room as Kyven bathed. “What is the matter? Was it meeting Laird Shay? Has it upset ye?”

“I… I dinnae ken.” Kyven said in all honesty, sinking her body under the water so that only her neck and head were above. Her auburn hair trailed down the back of the bathtub. “I dinnae ken what tae think of him, Helen. It’s all well for the council tae tell me he is a good laird, well respected, a military leader, but there is something about him…”

She paused. She couldn’t quite put her finger on what was unsettling about Laird Shay, but there was certainly something amiss. Helen had spoken before about how all the maids found him a deeply attractive man, yet Kyven’s heart and body could not let go with the same excitement.

“How dae I ken if I can marry him or nae?” Kyven asked with a heavy sigh, staring up at the ceiling of the castle in wonder.

“Ah, that is an easier question tae answer,” Helen called from the other side of the screen with a giggle. “Ye need a man that will be yer friend, a man that will respect ye, and above all, a man that ye can face the responsibilities of a marriage bed with.”

“Oh, Helen. Ye and the bed!” Kyven splashed the water as Helen laughed once more. “I swear, it is all ye think about.”

“Nay, nay, of course nae.” She was wandering around the room as she tidied for Kyven heard the maid’s footsteps walking up and down. “I am merely being practical, me lady. It is something which will be expected of ye. Dae ye truly think that once ye are wed the council will stop making demands of ye? They will ask fer ye tae produce an heir next. They’ll be impatient for one, demanding ye consummate yer marriage every until yer belly is full with child –”

“God’s wounds!” Kyven muttered loudly then plunged her head under the water, just so she could block out Helen’s words.

Despite it, she knew she couldn’t escape the truth. There had been a time when she thought such responsibilities would fall on her elder sister’s shoulders, Imogen. Yet Imogen’s greed and cruelty had led to her death. Now, all those responsibilities rested on Kyven, and sometimes, it frightened her.

What if she struggled to produce a child? What if she had no wish to bear a child with the man she married?

Bobbing under the water, her mind wandered to what it would be like to share Shay’s bed. She thought of those lips coming toward her, just as he had nearly kissed her hand the night before. To her amazement, she recoiled under the water, then pushed herself back up and spluttered into the open air.

“Well, that’s nae a good sound,” Helen called again. “I take it the thought of producing a child with Laird Shay is hardly exciting ye?”

“Hmm.” Kyven grunted. “Helen…” She shifted in the water. She knew so little of what it was like to be with a man, she wanted to know more. She had to understand what it was like if she was going to consider such a thing with Laird Shay.

“Aye?”

“What’s it like?” Kyven asked in a nervous whisper. “I mean, truly. What is it like tae be with a man completely? Tae be… at his mercy.”

“A strange choice of words.” Helen giggled once more. “But aye, when yer man is strong, ye are under his power, but that can be the thrilling thing, fer him tae pleasure ye, tae put ye in positions he knows will bring ye excitement. Oh, aye, it is a grand thing indeed.”