Devil of the Highlands Page 0,94

into his presence aflutter; from the very youngest to the oldest. How could a youth like I compete with that?"

Evelinde turned her gaze back to Tralin to see the wry expression on his face as he shook his head, and continued, "I was just a callow youth to Jenny compared to Darach's attentions. He teased and flattered her, and she soaked up every word like a flower desperate for attention."

"And Biddy did not mind?" Evelinde asked slowly, wondering for the first time if Darach were the lover. If he were, he had been a despicable cur, taking advantage of a young noblewoman like that. Not to mention his own sister-in-law.

"Nay." Tralin waved the thought away. "She knew it was all teasing. We all did. Although, I think Jenny might have been naive enough to believe every word he said. As much as she thought herself so much older and more sophisticated than Cullen and I—we were a whole year younger than she," he added, rolling his eyes. "In truth, she was terribly naive."

"She was only fifteen then?" Evelinde asked with a frown.

"Aye," Tralin said, and shook his head sadly. "And a young fifteen. She never would have survived marriage to the Campbell."

Evelinde nodded, and murmured, "Cullen mentioned that she was betrothed to marry him."

"Aye. I doona ken what her father was thinking agreeing to the match." He shook his head, but then added cynically, "Or, actually, perhaps I do. The man was imagining all that Campbell wealth and the powerful connections that the marriage would bring him. 'Tis no wonder the lass killed herself."

Evelinde considered that, her gaze sliding to Tavis, who was seated on the bench where the maid had been working. She was no longer working, however, but was seated in his lap, her arms around his neck, the rag she'd been cleaning the table with trailing down his back as he kissed her most thoroughly and eased one hand up her skirt.

Evelinde turned her glance quickly away, shaking her head at the man's idea of guarding her. Fergus was still watching her closely, of course, but… Her gaze slid back to Tavis, and she frowned. She had no difficulty believing Tavis might think nothing of charming his way under an unmarried noblewoman's skirts… if he thought at all before doing such things. Evelinde suspected the man didn't think at all, at least not with his head. And if Darach was as Tralin described…

Turning back to Tralin, she asked, "You are sure Tavis's father would have left Jenny alone?"

Tralin frowned at the question, and for one moment she saw uncertainty flicker on his face, but then he shook his head. "Nay. Darach was a bit of a rogue and liked to lift the skirts of the willing servant or wench, but he would never have dallied with a young noblewoman. And he would hardly ruin his own wife's sister. Biddy would have killed him did he try."

Chapter Fifteen

Biddy would have killed him did he try.

Evelinde stared at the crack of light coming through the window a couple of feet from the bed and yawned wearily. She hadn't slept well last night. Her mind had been taken up with what she'd learned from Tralin. Cullen had returned to the keep after Tralin had spoken those words, preventing her asking further questions, but it hadn't stopped Evelinde from thinking over everything she'd learned.

While Tralin had said he was sure Darach wouldn't have ruined Jenny by taking her as a lover, he hadn't appeared certain. The only thing that might suggest Darach hadn't been Jenny's lover was that Tavis had told her that his father had ridden out of the bailey just before Jenny had gone for her walk the day she'd come back weeping and fled. However, it was possible Darach had ridden out and around the curtain wall to the cliffs. He could have been the girl's lover.

It didn't speak well of either Biddy's sister or husband if they were lovers, but if Darach was as bad as Tavis, Evelinde didn't think his conscience would trouble him much. She certainly didn't see much in the way of conscience in Tavis when it came to the way he dallied with the women here. He got what he could from each woman and went merrily on his way to the next like a bee flitting from flower to flower, uncaring of the havoc he left behind.

As for Biddy's sister, Jenny had been betrothed to a horrid man known for his