A Hellion at the Highland Court: A Rags to Riches Highlander Romance (The Highland Ladies Book 9)

by Celeste Barclay

  “Nae yer fault,” Laurel whispered. “I’m certain ye didna do it, and I’m certain ye wouldnae have let someone if ye’d kenned.”

  “But ma lady, all that happens under this roof is ma responsibility.”

  “It may have been the last few years, but that ended yesterday. This wasna yer doing, or lack of doing really. Aggie, I never blamed ye.” Laurel scowled and muttered, “I blame that tart Gara.”

  “She’s dead,” Brodie stated. Both women looked at him in shock. “A guard found her behind a storage building while he helped search for ye. She’d been stabbed several times.”

  “How long before ye found me did ye find her? Who kens?”

  “Half an hour, mayhap. Monty, Donnan, Graham, and I went with James when he fetched me.”

  “Graham and James wonder if it was me?”

  Brodie’s mouth thinned. His wife’s perceptiveness wasn’t always convenient. He supposed that was part of what caused Laurel’s problems when she arrived at Stirling. She’d figured out people, and either didn’t care for them or didn’t care for their reaction to her. He nodded.

  “Even if I hadnae been locked in the larder, I wouldnae have done it that way. One clean wound, and I wouldnae have lingered for more.”

  “That’s what Monty and Donnan said,” Brodie frowned. He glanced at the door but pushed aside a hint of a thought.

  “They’d ken. They taught me.” Laurel shifted as some pain eased, allowing her to sink lower in the water until it rippled on her chin.

  “They said that too.” Brodie ran his hand over Laurel’s head, wanting to touch her, to show his concern and affection. But there was little more he could do while she was in the tub and with Aggie present. He also worried that he’d hurt her if he touched anything but her hair.

  “Ma laird, ma lady. I think it’s best I take maself off to some other task or whatnot.” Aggie rose from the side of the tub and the stool she’d sat upon. She patted Laurel’s hand that still rested over hers. “Ye’re a good lass, ma lady. It’s been clear since ye rode in holding hands that ye love the laird, and if anyone doubted it before, they canna wonder now. He loves ye too. Ye’ll be good for our clan, ma lady. I’m glad ye’ve come.”

  “Thank ye, Aggie. That means a great deal to me. I’m happy to be home.”

  Aggie beamed at Laurel and glanced at Brodie before taking her leave. When the door clicked shut, the couple looked at one another. Brodie’s mouth descended to Laurel’s, as her neck strained to lift her chin to meet him. The kiss was hungry and frantic. It was as if none of the time lying in bed or while Laurel soaked had been enough to reassure one another that they were safe and together. Laurel’s dripping hands pulled at Brodie’s leine.

  “Off,” she demanded, her voice growing stronger. As though their first kiss was the succor Laurel needed, she found strength she’d believed had been sapped. “I want to see you, touch you.”

  Brodie obliged before his hands plunged beneath the surface. They skimmed along her legs, over her belly, up her ribs. He squeezed her shoulders and massaged her neck. Laurel’s hands prowled over her husband’s chest and back, covering every inch she could reach. But when she found his stitches, she gasped and jerked away.

  “It’s naught but a wee scratch,” Brodie claimed, repeating what Nora said. She’d always downplayed his injuries except for the few that nearly killed him. She’d done it since he was a child, and he knew that while he didn’t need her to make him brave, he found it endearing.

  “A wee scratch ma arse. Let me see,” Laurel demanded. She tried to sit up further to look, but she hadn’t the strength. She didn’t touch the wound, but she ran her fingers next to each side. “Did Nora do this?”

  “Aye.”

  “She’s vera good. She’s likely a better seamstress than me,” Laurel grinned. Seeing the clean sutures and recognizing the scent of the ointment relieved her initial fear. The wound was long, but she could tell it wasn’t deep. She didn’t forget that it could get infected, but she didn’t hold any immediate fears for Brodie’s life like she did when her fingers touched the stitches. With a nod, she motioned for Brodie to come closer. He leaned across her, bringing his mouth back to hers. When his kisses didn’t meet her demands, she cupped his jaw and deepened them. Brodie groaned as he gave in to her. He’d been cautious not to overwhelm her, fearing she was still too weak. When they were both breathless, they rested their foreheads together.

  “I still feel weak as a day-old foal, but yer kisses certainly have restorative powers,” Laurel grinned.

  “I can think of one thing yer kisses have brought back to life,” Brodie chuckled. When Laurel glanced down at his groin with interest, Brodie tsked. “Mayhap in the morn. I need to get ye back into bed and some food in ye.”

  “That isnae what I want in me,” Laurel grumbled, but she knew he was right. She didn’t have the strength for anything. Her mind was willing, but her body wasn’t able. As she watched Brodie’s hardened length move as he stood to help her out of the bath, she considered what Aggie told her that morning. She remembered how flatly he’d told her Gara was dead. It didn’t strike her as though he harbored any sentiment for her. But she struggled to reconcile all of that with the lusty man she knew. “Brodie?”

  “Aye, Laurel,” Brodie rarely used her full name when they were alone together, but her tone made him feel his response warranted it.

  Laurel waited until they were both under the covers once more. She struggled but managed to roll onto her side to look at him. She observed him for a moment, trying to tell what he was thinking, how he might answer her questions. But she knew she could read nothing into his expression until she asked.

  “Gara seemed far too jealous and possessive for a woman ye never bedded. I dinna ken if I believe ye anymore.” Laurel watched his reaction. There wasn’t a moment of guilt for past actions or for being caught.

  “I told ye the truth, Laurel. But I also ken what I saw too. It didna make sense to me either. I dinna have a reason why Gara acted as she did. But I didna lie to ye.” Brodie didn’t like Laurel doubting him, even thinking for a moment that he would lie to her. But he’d left her alone with strangers while he went to fight a battle from which he might not have returned. He couldn’t blame his bride for being on edge and worrying.

  “I admit I asked Aggie. I just couldnae understand why Gara was so hostile. She spent most of the day glaring at me. When she stepped in ma way one too many times, I didna change course. I walked right into her and knocked her on her arse. I thought she’d locked me in the larder as revenge.”

  “I canna say she wasna who did that, but she isnae alive to do ye any more harm if she was. What did ye ask Aggie?”

  “I asked her if Gara was yer leman.” Laurel looked at Brodie once more. She believed him, but there were still too many things to reconcile for her to feel at ease. “She laughed and denied it. But then I wondered if she was just being loyal to ye and hiding yer secret.”

  “Aggie kens I dinna bed servants. The way Gara acted was just what I’ve always wanted to prevent. I didna want a moody woman or a boastful one upsetting the other maids.”

  “That’s what Aggie said.”

  “Because I’ve made it clear for years, well before I became laird.”

  Laurel’s brow furrowed as she came to the part that left her in the most doubt and was most confusing. “Aggie said that ye go to the village when ye wish to couple.”

  “Wished, Laurel. Wished. Went, nae go. As in the past. Nae present, and nae the future.”

  Laurel nodded at the sternness in Brodie’s voice, appreciating the conviction. “She said ye’re practically a monk. I ken ye swore ye would have waited for Eliza. But I canna make heads nor tails of how the lusty mon I ken is the same mon who isnae that interested in coupling.”

  Brodie smiled down at Laurel, seeing her genuine confusion and discomfiture. He saw the logic in her thoughts, and he reminded himself that she didn’t know him as a young man. She only knew him as
the staider leader, the one who didn’t chase women.

  “Laurie,” Brodie’s voice softened. “Ye tease me that I’m auld, and I am. I’m auld enough to nay longer let ma cock lead me aboot. I dinna need a woman in ma bed to feel content with life or to feel like a mon. Those days came and went before ye met me. I felt that way once, but nay anymore. Mayhap I outgrew it. It’s nae that I dinna enjoy coupling, and ye ken that I dinna have any issue being able to. It just wasna as important as other things.” Brodie grinned. “As for now? Well, I have this bonnie and lusty wife, who’s younger than I am. I have to keep up with her, so she doesnae run off with a younger mon. And I canna help it if I find ma bride to be the finest lass I’ve ever seen with or without clothes. It’s nae ma fault that she tempts me and distracts me. I say it’s her fault that I canna keep ma hands off her—or ma cock out of her.”

  “Is that so?” Laurel giggled. “This wife sound vera demanding.”

  “Aye, and I love it,” Brodie’s grin widened before he grew serious. “Laurie, I love ye. I want to be a mon ye trust and respect.”

  “Ye are,” Laurie asserted.

  “Wheest a moment. I want to be a mon ye trust and respect because I dinna want ye to live in yet another place where ye dinna feel welcome, where ye feel out of place. And more than aught, I want ye to keep loving me. Ma life is so much richer for having ye in it. I dinna want to give that up.”

  “Ye ken I felt like a pauper for so many years. I ken the Rosses are hardly anyone’s poor country cousin, but ye ken how things stood. I ken ye can provide me with whatever cloth and jewelry I wish. But I feel richer now than I ever did at Balnagown when I had everything given to me, richer than I ever did eating in the king’s home. I feel richer because I have a mon I love and who loves me, and I have a life that gives me hope. I’ve never felt so rich.”

  “Laurie, I know this wasna a comfortable conversation for ye, and I canna claim it was lovely for me either, but I want ye to always come to me if ye have questions or aught is troubling ye.”

  “Ye may regret making that offer,” Laurel grinned once more. “I have kept to maself for so long that now that I have someone I trust, whose opinions I value, and whose advice I trust, I may nae leave ye alone.”

  Brodie grew quiet for a moment, a speculative look entering his eyes. Laurel felt equal parts curious and hesitant, unsure how to interpret the expression. Seeing her reaction, he smiled and pressed a quick kiss to her lips.

  “Ye know that I’ll spend ma mornings in the lists, sometimes even the entire day. There are two mornings a month when I adjudicate issues among clan members. Oh, as an aside, ye shall adjudicate any conflicts between women. Some afternoons I ride out to villages or to inspect fields. I meet with the council once a week.”

  Laurel wondered what Brodie was getting at. She knew the responsibilities of a laird. She might not know which day of the week he did some things, but he wasn’t telling her anything new.

  “I ken that your duties will often keep you tied to the keep all day.” Brodie watched Laurel. She nodded, encouraging him to get to his point. “On days when I ride out, if ye can join me, I’d like ye to come. Nae only because I want ye to ken yer new clan. I want to spend the time with ye. And I had another thought.” Brodie wondered if it was a mistake to make his next suggestion, but he continued. “There are also times when I must tend to correspondence and accounts, things that keep me at ma desk. I was wondering if ye’d share yer solar with me.”

  Laurel’s brow furrowed as she looked in the adjoining chamber’s direction. She canted her head and nodded. She didn’t understand what Brodie meant, but she was happy to share any space with him.

  “Ye dinna have to say yes if ye would like to have somewhere that is just for ye. But I thought mayhap, once the bed is removed, that I could bring ma work up here, and I could keep ye company if ye’re doing the household ledgers, or mayhap ye’re sewing me a new leine.” Brodie tried to add some levity, nervous that he was being foolish. Laurel’s warm smile made him relax.

  “I canna think of aught I’d like more, Brodie. I ken there will be some days when people will pull us in every direction, when there’s so much to do that we canna sit down until the evening meal. I dinna need yer company to help me be a chatelaine, but I wish for it because I enjoy it. If I can snatch even an extra hour with ye alone, even if we’re both working, then I canna wait.”

  Laurel tried to smile again, but a yawn escaped. She no longer feared she would freeze to death, and she was even comfortably warm. But as much as she wished it had, neither the bath nor resting in bed with Brodie gave her back her strength. She needed sleep.

  “Can ye stay awake long enough to eat, thistle?” Laurel heard the immediate concern in Brodie’s voice, and she sensed he felt guilty for pushing her to remain awake and to talk.

  “Brodie, I’m glad ye let us talk. At the time, I needed answers more than I needed sleep.” Laurel stretched to kiss his cheek. “And aye, I can stay awake just that long. I’m starving.”

  Brodie left their bed and called out to a servant, requesting a tray for them both. It was past the evening meal, but Brodie knew Berta would have something set aside for them. As he climbed into bed again, he realized he was running out of steam too. He reminded himself that he fought a battle that morning, sustaining an injury that he ignored for hours while he searched among the dead. Then he’d raced around the keep and bailey, searching for his wife, despite the untended wound. He’d found strength from a reserve he didn’t know he had to carry Laurel to their chamber. The stitches still stung like the devil, but he was more concerned with Laurel’s wellbeing. But as he took a moment to breathe, he realized he had reason to be tired.

  “Did Nora leave a tisane for ye, or mayhap something stronger?” Laurel looked at the bedside table behind Brodie’s shoulder, but she didn’t spy any cups. “Yer wound must feel like ye’re going up in flames.”

  “It smarts,” Brodie said nonchalantly.

  “I ken what a good liar ye can be, Brodie. I can only imagine what ye told the Lamonts and MacDougalls this morn before ye fought. But ye dinna lie to me vera well. Or at least nae right now. Yer side pains ye.”

  “Naught a few drams of whisky canna cure.”

  “A few drams of whisky with medicinals stirred in. A tincture wouldnae go amiss. Dinna suffer when ye dinna need to.” Laurel frowned and shook her head. “Brodie, I dinna ken how to find Nora if ye develop a fever in the middle of the night. I dinna ken where any medicinals are stored in the keep. I didna find aught besides what Berta uses to cook with too. Can ye please ask for some willow bark and yarrow to be brought here, mayhap some angelica too? I would sleep better kenning it’s here.”

  Brodie knew Laurel was right, and he could see how her eyes pleaded with him. He rolled over to get out of bed once more, but another knock sounded. He pulled two clean leines from his chest, donning one and giving the other to Laurel. Once she wore it and was covered to mid-calf, he opened the door. He wanted to groan when he saw how many people waited outside their door. He just wanted food and Laurel. But he knew Aggie and Berta worried about them both, Nora was there to check on them both, Graham wanted to be certain he was fine, and he could tell Monty and Donnan were anxious to see Laurel. He let everyone in, and his spacious chamber felt overcrowded with anyone but Laurel and him. Once the Rosses spoke to Laurel and Graham spoke with him, Aggie and Berta dropped off the tray, and Nora examined them both, Brodie locked the door to the outside world.

  Thirty-Seven

  Laurel woke warm and comfortable against Brodie’s side. He laid on his back, his wound away from her. Her head rested on his chest, and one of her legs had found its way between his. The bed beneath them was more comfortable than hers at Balnagown or Stirling. The sun already filtered in around the window hangings, and Laurel knew it must be close to midmorning. She had a moment’s panic when she realized Brodie still slept next to her, but when she tilted her head to look up at him, she found gray eyes watching
her.

  “I’m keeping ye,” Laurel mumbled as she tried to pull away and sit up. A brawny arm pulled her back down.

  “I’m nae ready for ye to leave me.”

  “Me to leave ye? Ye’re the one who must have a hundred things to do today. I have at least half that.”

  “There are things I canna leave until tomorrow, but there are none that must be done this vera minute. Ye needed sleep, and I didna feel comfortable leaving ye alone.” Brodie saw the fear flash in Laurel’s eyes, and he realized his wording didn’t convey his thoughts. “I meant, I wasna comfortable leaving ye when I wasna sure how ye’d feel today. This is yer second morn here, and I havenae even introduced ye to most of the people ye had to work with yesterday. This isnae at all how I thought I would welcome ye here and help ye become Lady Campbell.”

  “Mayhap, but it’s what the Lord gave us. Thank ye for being here when I woke. I admit I would have been vera sad to wake alone.”

  “Laurie, I had to leave ye yesterday even though I didna want to. There will many more times in our life together when I must do the same thing for the same reason. But I dinna want to abandon ye to figure out life here. I will make the time to show ye around, to help ye get to know yer new home and yer new clan. Ye have yer brother and friend here for now, but I dinna want ye to be lonely when they leave. I ken Colina isnae a likely new friend, but there are women I think ye’d get along with. I’d introduce ye rather than leaving ye to find them on yer own.”