“And you allowed her to believe we girls took it?”
Eoin absently smoothed his hand over her tresses. “Duncan made me swear a vow of silence—said we’d not eat a decent meal in a month if Lady Margaret discovered we’d used her masterpiece.”
“Do you realize that without a guard, Ma took us into the forest—whilst it was snowing, mind you—and each of us chopped until blisters formed. Then she made us drag the heavy thing all the way back to the keep.”
Eoin grimaced. He hadn’t been aware of the severity of their punishment. “I’m sorry we made you go to so much trouble. I never should have kept mum.”
Helen turned her face up to him. “And go against your vow to my brother?”
God in heaven, he’d never realized her eyes were so incredibly blue. “That would have caused some consternation,” Eoin said, his voice husky.
“I’ll say.” Helen smiled, ever so innocently. “Knowing Duncan, he still wouldn’t have forgiven you to this day.”
Chapter Six
Aleck trudged toward Mary’s cottage, a trek he’d made many times before. He’d done a good job of keeping his affair with Mary a secret up until Helen gave birth to a bloody bitch. Christ, he’d waited so goddamned long for Campbell’s sister to bear his son, the birth of a daughter pushed him over the edge of his tolerance. Any reasonable man would feel the same.
If only Mary had been the daughter of a knight, he would have been able to marry the widow. He’d been in love with her even before her husband passed. But she was the daughter of a common crofter. An alliance with her would bring no riches. Lady Helen Campbell had come with an impressive bloodline as well as a healthy dowry, not to mention the alliance with her family served him well at court.
The problem was the lady herself. How on earth Colin Campbell, the great Black Knight of Rome could have sired a mouse like Lady Helen was beyond Aleck’s comprehension. He’d expected and preferred a robust woman who brazenly spoke her mind and presided over the keep with a firm hand. Helen was too bloody nice for a noblewoman. Aleck couldn’t imagine Lord Campbell ever allowing servants to be friendly. They were provided by God to serve the gentry and perform a duty for their maintenance.
Aye, bringing Helen to Mingary had been a mistake. She was so demure—hadn’t a backbone in her body. Aleck stopped and scratched his chin. Her behavior in the solar this morn had been quite out of character for her. She’d never confronted him with such passion. He’d wanted to take his dagger and slit that slender neck of hers. Seek an annulment? Take Maggie away? The bitch finally gives me a bairn and she’s suddenly found her grit? Well, she will not leave me until I’ve interred her rotting corpse into the family crypt.
He pulled out his dirk and ran his thumb over the flat edge as he continued along the path. The thought of Helen meeting her end tempted him. But that wouldn’t solve his problems in the short term. He needed an heir from Helen first. After she birthed a son, Aleck would be free to dispose of her as he saw fit.
But he must visit her bed again soon. The very idea repulsed him. He’d never enjoyed swivving with his wife. She provided him no sport whatsoever. Worse, with small breasts and a tight arse, she looked more like a lad than a lass. But Mary? Aleck could bury himself in her mountainous breasts along with his cock in her...
He moaned and rubbed his crotch. Christ, just thinking about that woman made his seed dribble in his breeks.
He rapped on Mary’s door and entered the small cottage. It smelled of tallow candles—a scent to which he’d grown fond. It reminded him of Mary’s practicality and made him hungry for her.
Seated at her loom, the woman glanced over her shoulder and stood with a smile. “I’m surprised to see you m’laird.”
“Oh?” He crossed the floor and pulled her into his arms. “And why wouldn’t I visit my leman in the middle of the day, as well as after dark, or any time that suits my fancy?”
“Leman,” she grumbled. “I hate that word.”
“But you are.” He nuzzled into her hair. “And so much more.”
She pushed away and strolled toward the hearth. “Tell me, why is Sir Eoin MacGregor here?”
Aleck unfastened his sword belt and tossed his weapons on the table.