Page 31 of In Bed with a Scot

“The inn about a day’s ride from here?” the cook asked.

“Aye,” Bain nodded.

“That is because the cook there is my daughter. I taught her how tae make parritch,” the cook replied with a smile of pride.

“I thought that it tasted familiar,” Keelin admitted.

Isabelle and Madden exchanged a fleeting look at mention of the inn where they had shared their first night together. Madden caught Keelin watching them more closely than usual and averted his eyes. Does she ken the truth? He tried not to dwell on the thought. If one person had noticed, then that meant that others might have as well.

“If ye had seen her, ye would have kenned she was mine as she looks just like me,” the cook admitted.

Lorcan chuckled, nodding. “Aye, ye could pass as sisters.”

The cook blushed at his compliment and bustled back to the kitchen.

“Family resemblance is interesting. Isabelle and I dinnae look anything alike, while Keelin and I have often been mistaken fer braither and sister,” Arran admitted.

“Aye,” Lorcan agreed. “People used tae believe that Isabelle and I were brother and sister with our dark hair, but fer her grey eyes. I dinnae ken anyone in the family that ever had those eyes. I remember some of the village lads used tae jest that she was nae a true member of the laird’s family.”

“Aye, we knocked more than a few teeth out o’ their heads fer it if I recall rightly,” Arran nodded.

In spite of himself, Madden looked into those beautiful grey eyes and found himself being mesmerized once more. Keelin cleared her throat next to him to get his attention. Madden turned his head back towards her. “May I have a word?” Keelin asked, her tone saying that he did not have a choice.

“Aye,” Madden replied, nodding his head.

The two of them excused themselves from the table and walked out of the hall into the courtyard. Keelin looked all about them to make certain that no one would overhear them then she turned eyes of fiery judgement towards Madden. “Is Isabelle the woman from the inn? Did ye take me cousin Isabelle tae yer bed, Madden?” she hissed. Madden tried not to give anything away, but apparently, he failed as Keelin hauled off and punched him straight in the chest. “What were ye thinking?! Bain Sutherland will kill ye both!”

“I was nae thinking,” Madden admitted. “I did nae ken that she was married. I did nae ken who she was. At the time, she was but another bonnie lass that literally fell intae me lap.”

Keelin’s brows rose in question at his choice of wording. Sighing, Madden told her the entire story. When he was done, Keelin was staring at him with her eyes wide open. “Ye care fer her.” It was not a question, but an observation.

“Aye, I dae, and more the fool I am fer it,” Madden admitted grudgingly.

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” Keelin breathed.

“Aye,” Madden agreed. “Ye cannae tell a soul what I just shared with ye. Isabelle’s very life depends upon it.”

Keelin nodded. “I willnae say a word tae anyone, but ye must keep yer distance from her. The looks that ye are giving each other will be noticed. I willnae be the only one who has noticed.”

“Is all well with the both of ye?” Arran’s voice broke into their conversation. His head was poking out of the doorway, his brow furrowed in concern. “Did yer breakfast nae settle?”

“Aye, all is well. Keelin and I were discussing when she plans tae return tae her parents,” Madden answered, lying.

“Och, nae yet, surely. Ye have nae been here fer very long. It has been good tae have ye here. Isabelle wouldnae forgive me if Keelin left now. It has been tae long since me wee lassies have been together.” Aran came around the side of the door and wrapped his arms around Keelin’s shoulders.

Keelin shook her head. “I will nae go yet,” she promised. “Ye are right. It has been tae long since we have all been together.”

The three of them reentered the hall to find that Isabelle had left the dais and returned to her room. Madden looked towards the stairs, his mind going to her bedchamber and what he had left for her there.

Isabelle, unable to take the tension between herself and Madden for another moment longer, slipped quietly from the hall and climbed the stairs to her bedchamber. It was impossible to be near him and not want him. He was strength and sex appeal personified. When she was near him, she could not think straight, and her body responded with a throbbing need between her legs. It was uncomfortable and there was nothing that she could do about it but put as much distance between them as possible.

When she entered her room, she shut the door firmly behind her and leaned against it with her eyes closed as she breathed in the quiet of the space. Her head was throbbing in time with the beat of her heart, and she found it to be entirely too uncomfortable to deal with in that moment. She needed to find a way to release the anxiety that threatened to swallow her whole. Sighing, she opened her eyes and walked over to the bed with the intention of lying down for a nap only to be brought up short by the sight of her necklace resting on top of the bed covers.

Madden, her heart whispered his name in a prayer of gratitude. He had not stolen it. He had returned her most precious possession, and in doing so, he had returned to her a piece of her heart.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“Ispoke with the council,” Arran announced over a dram with Madden and Lorcan in the great hall after a bout of training with the men of the clan. They were sweaty, tired, and thirsty, but the training had gone well, and the men were ready for any situation that might arise.