Black Richard's Heart (The MacCulloughs #1) - Suzan Tisdale Page 0,72

with Lachlan and Rory. She could hear them before she and Marisse reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Thank God!” she whispered under her breath.

“I told ye all was well,” Marisse reminded her.

Even though her insides were shaking with relief, she didn’t want to make a spectacle of herself. “Take me to him,” she whispered softly.

“Richard,” she said as Marisse gently shoved her to stand beside him. “Is all well?”

“Aye,” he replied.

Without asking permission, she wrapped her arms around his chest and hugged him tightly. “I am glad ye have returned.” It felt good to feel his heartbeat against her cheek. He smelled like the outdoors and rugged man and ’twas all she could do not to demand he take her above stairs at once. Instead, she decided ’twas best to behave in a more dignified manner. Stepping away, she said, “Ye must be exhausted and hungry. I shall have a bath readied and have a meal brought to ye at once.”

“Marisse, will ye please help me?”

She left him then, in the gathering room, while she went to do as she said she would.

Confusion knitted Richard’s brow as he watched his wife walk away. When she had hugged him -which he wasn’t certain he found an annoyance or a delight - he could feel her tremble. Before he could ask what had upset her so, she was walking away to see to his needs.

She was as baffling as she was delightful. He did find the latter realization more than just annoying. He didn’t want to like her. He didn’t want to find himself thinking about her whenever he was away from her.

Last night, he, Lachlan, and Rory had helped patrol their western border. Thankfully, there had been no sign of any of their enemies. However, the quiet stillness of the night afforded him plenty of time to think about his wife.

All the night long, his mind -which should have been focused solely on watching his surroundings for any signs of trouble - kept wandering back to her.

Was she warm enough? Had she eaten? How had Raibeart and Colyne treated her?

And did she miss him?

’Twas the last question that irritated the bloody hell out of him. What did he care if she missed him? What did it matter?

He had decided the thoughts were brought on by nothing more than sheer exhaustion, lack of food, and the simple stress of being chief of his clan. Nothing more than that.

Why then, when he saw her descending the stairs, did his heart skip a beat? Why did his traitorous groin ache with a need he hadn’t felt in an age?

’Twas a puzzle, to be certain. His mind kept going back to the fact that he’d known her less than a sennight. His body’s reaction to her was naught more than a natural thing, born out of too many years alone as well as the fact that she was the closest thing to a goddess as a mere mortal could ever hope to get.

Bah! he cursed inwardly. Ye are behavin’ like a lad on the cusp of manhood.

Exhausted to the point of madness, he ordered Lachlan and Rory to bed before he himself ascended the stairs. What I need is sleep, he told himself.

Stripping out of his clothes, he washed the dirt and grime away and slid into his bed. Before he succumbed to exhaustion, he prayed to God he would sleep without dreaming.

Chapter Thirteen

Aeschene was nothing if not diplomatic. She had learned at an early age that if you wanted to get someone, say a very stubborn father or brother, to do a thing, it must be presented in such a manner that the presentee believes ’twas his own idea to begin with.

And that is exactly what she did with Raibeart and Colyne. Once she explained to them that Richard was running himself ragged with all the work that needed to be done, the boy’s minds whirled.

“I do wish to help Richard,” Raibeart said, scratching his jaw as if he had a week’s worth of beard lining it.

“I want to help too,” Colyne chimed in. “But how?”

Feigning complete ignorance, Aeschene and Marisse shook their heads as if they had no earthly idea how the two lads could assist their older brother.

After a length silence, Aeschene spoke up. “’Tis too bad there are so many cottages and huts that lay empty and in ruins.”

Marisse caught on quickly. “Aye. But I believe it is more a shame that there are many occupied cottages that are in dire