Black Richard's Heart (The MacCulloughs #1) - Suzan Tisdale Page 0,66

have a habit of gettin’ into mischief,” he explained. “Only two weeks ago, Colyne nearly drowned in the well because Raibeart had convinced him gold was hidden within.”

“Good, lord,” she replied with wide eyes. “Ye jest.”

“Nay, lass, I do not jest,” he said, smiling down at her.

“So ye would like me to keep an eye on them?” she asked. ’Twas a tremendous responsibility, to be certain. But she felt up to the challenge. After all, she’d had a lifetime spent with four older brothers. Two younger boys should not be much of a challenge.

“Aye,” Black Richard said. “It would mean a great deal to me if ye were to keep an eye on them.”

A deep sense of pride filled her heart. He was trusting her with his younger brothers’ good care. Remembering the way in which they had introduced themselves at the evening meal the night before, she could not help but think they needed a woman’s guidance.

“Verra well,” she said with a lift of her chin. “Marisse and I shall keep them out of trouble.

Little did she know ’twas easier said than done.

“I would like to ken why ye lied to me,” Richard asked Loreen bluntly. He was never one to beat about the bush.

Affronted with his accusation, Loreen’s eyes grew wide. “What, pray tell, did I lie to ye about?”

A tic began to form in his jaw. She had lied to him outright on two occasions in as many days. Firmly believing ’twas naught more than growing pains - his people coming to grips with his marriage - he wanted to give Loreen the benefit of the doubt. “Twice I asked ye to fetch me wife. Both times ye returned sayin’ she was restin’ and did not want to be disturbed.”

She didn’t so much as flinch. “’Twas not a lie. She was restin.”

Richard was having none of it. “Loreen, I have already spoken with my wife. You did nae give her my message.”

Raising a pretty brow, she said, “I do not trust them. Either one of them.”

He couldn’t deny feeling much the same in the matter of trust. Still, Loreen had lied to him and that was something he couldn’t simply ignore. “When I give ye an order, I expect ye to follow it.”

Rolling her eyes heavenward, she crossed her arms over her chest. “I do not think ye trust them either.”

While he was angry she had lied to him, he couldn’t disregard her worries completely. Besides, he and Loreen had a history together, albeit an odd one. At one time in his life, he considered her a friend. Still, he wasn’t going to discuss his relationship with his wife with her. “Never lie to me again,” he told her bluntly. “I will not have it.”

“I have only yer best interests at heart, Richard,” she said.

No matter her good intentions, he couldn’t ignore the fact that she had lied. Past friendship aside, he had to stop this behavior in its tracks. “I will not warn ye again, Loreen. Do not ever lie to me, no matter yer reasons. Is that understood?”

Looking as hurt as she did angry, she gave a slight inclination of her head. “As ye wish, Richard,” she replied curtly before quitting the room in a rush.

An ache began to form at the base of his skull. If the past was a good indicator, he wasn’t done dealing with Loreen.

With great anticipation, Aeschene and Marisse left the keep for their first day-lit walk in an age. Her new brothers-by-law were acting escorts, directed by their older brother to take the ladies wherever they wished to go, but within reason.

Though ’twas a damp, gloomy day, it mattered not to Aeschene. She was out of doors and there was no need to creep about with worry of being caught.

The cool air was invigorating and she wished Marisse would hurry their pace. “Och!” Marisse complained when Aeschene kept pushing her forward. “Ye might not mind steppin’ in horse dung or puddles, but I do.”

Raibeart and Colyne were following behind them reluctantly. Aeschene ignored their complaints that they had much better things to do than to watch over their brother’s wife. ’Twas too grand a feeling to be out of doors and she’d not allow them to spoil her good mood.

“What does it look like beyond the wall,” Aeschene asked excitedly.

“Who can tell?” Marisse quipped. “The wall be nearly as tall as the keep.”

“’Tis to keep out invaders,” Colyne said. His tone was filled with adolescent incredulity, as if the