Quest of the Highlander (Crowns & Kilts #5) - Cynthia Wright Page 0,108

that we may seal our new arrangement.”

Nora’s heart was beating like a drum. What if the sweetmeat did not have the same effect on a big man like him as it had on her at Stirling Castle? As she raised her goblet to answer his toast, her hand trembled. Slater frowned and gripped her wrist.

“What’s this?” He stared at her suspiciously, searching her face, and she felt herself flush. “I hope you don’t imagine you can deceive me!”

Nora knew she should attempt to return his stare with wide, innocent eyes, but hatred welled up in her, burning her heart.

“Why don’t you simply tell me the truth?” she asked, defiant.

He slammed down his goblet and grasped both her arms, his thumbs digging into the soft flesh above her elbows. “Which truth do you mean? I’ve already enlightened you about your ridiculous dreams of a future with Lennox MacLeod. And I helped you realize that your fantasies of being a master weaver are laughable!”

Nora thought she heard his voice begin to slur. Did she dare to hope that the sweetmeat was having an effect? “I am referring to that night at Stirling Castle,” she said. “What truly happened between us?”

He laughed a bit too loudly. “You can blame the sweetmeat you ate then, which will soon be affecting you again.”

“The sweetmeat?” Nora feigned surprise. “Why, what have you put in it?”

“I use a variety of herbs, including Linden flower, which causes sedation, especially when taken with wine,” Slater said proudly. “There are also other exotic substances, given to me during voyages to distant islands. I think I have the mixture just right, don’t you?”

“Does it excite you to render a female like me defenseless?” She wanted to kill him, but first she had to hear why he committed these terrible acts.

“Of course. Especially when my victim is an innocent maiden like you. Can you imagine how arousing it was to deflower so proud a beauty?” Slater tried to bring his crotch in contact with her hip, pressing against her. “Some ladies become utterly senseless and have no memory at all afterward. I can do all sorts of wicked things to them.” He drew a ragged breath. “Others, like you, are more resistant, yet you were unable to move or struggle against me. Later, I’m quite certain your memories were muddled. Yes?”

Nora tasted tears at the back of her throat. “But why would you choose to violate me? I had done you no harm.”

“Because Lennox MacLeod wanted you.” Leaning closer to her ear, Slater muttered, “I saw how he stared at you in the banquet hall that night. He would have liked to have you himself, so it amused me to take you instead. I despise men like him, who behave as if their righteous code of honor puts them above the rest of us. The sort who’s too virtuous to stick his cock in a common kitchen maid, given the chance.”

Listening to Slater rant, Nora realized that all his instincts were twisted. Everything that had happened that night at Stirling Castle now came clearly into focus for the first time. “You are a monster.”

“Yet my babe grows in your belly.” Drawing back, he leered at her, his lids heavy. “You have no choice but to join your fate to mine.”

Over Slater’s shoulder, Nora glimpsed a movement on the steps leading to the upper story. Her heart leaped. Surely she must be seeing an apparition, for midway down the stairs stood Lennox. How could he have gotten inside? The door was barred! He wore his belted plaid, the sash fixed to one broad shoulder. His unruly golden hair was crowned by a tartan bonnet bearing the Clan MacLeod badge.

Yes, it was Lennox, still a Highlander, and he had come back to her! Nora wanted to cry out to him, but somehow she managed to remain unmoving in Slater’s grasp, waiting to decide what she should do next.

She watched as Lennox pressed a silencing forefinger to his mouth, then sent her a heart-melting grin. In one brown hand he gripped the hilt of his claymore, and she saw that a dirk was thrust into his belt. Shadows played over the hard muscles of his legs as he soundlessly descended the remaining steps.

Just then, Slater lifted his head and peered at her with glazed eyes. “What are you looking at?”

Remembering how strangely dizzy she had felt after eating the sweetmeat at Stirling Castle, Nora pointed toward the corner behind them. “Over there. Is that a