been erected, cottages had been repaired and some wore new thatched roofs while forest wreaths graced many doors. It was obvious hope had returned to the Clan MacKinnon.
Could her marriage to Arran bring hope and good change to her clan? She prayed it would. She didn’t want her children raised in the dismal surroundings that she’d been raised in.
Purity turned a corner and came to an abrupt halt, seeing Arran speaking with Flora. The woman wore a generous smile and she touched Arran on the arm with far too much familiarity. Why wouldn’t she? The two had shared many an enjoyable poke in the barn, and Purity knew that for sure since she’d been in the barn when they stumbled in and tumbled down on a pile of hay. She had remained quiet as a mouse for fear of being discovered and she had listened to Flora’s moans of pleasure and Arran’s loving encouragement.
She couldn’t see if her husband smiled at Flora, though the woman’s smile never faltered and after a few moments, Flora patted him on the arm and turned to hurry away. Arran turned then and his eyes fell directly on her.
She didn’t like the sting of jealousy she felt and she was sure he saw it in her eyes since she felt the heat of it herself. To avoid saying something she might regret, she turned and hurried to the keep. When she caught sight of Quiver, she hurried to say as she passed him, “Please see to King and Princess for me. They are off on a walk.”
Quivered nodded and when his eyes went wide as he looked past her, Purity knew her husband was close behind her.
She snatched her garment up enough to give her feet better flight and ran for the keep. She didn’t stop once inside. She went straight to the stairs, rushing up them and into the bedchamber she had slept alone in last night.
She went to shut the door and her husband was suddenly there. His hand caught the edge of the door, stopping it from closing on him. He wore no smile and his eyes settled on her questioningly.
“Did seeing me with Flora upset you?” he asked.
He sounded more curious than anything and that perturbed Purity. She stepped away from him, warning herself to hold her tongue, ready to snap at him. Unfortunately, jealousy reigned and her tongue let loose. “She has no right touching you the way she did. That right is mine and mine alone.” Her chin went up. “What if I let another man touch me like that?” She regretted asking when a spark of anger brought a scrunch to his brow and a glare to his eyes.
He stepped in the room, closing the door behind him, then his hand shot out and grabbed hold of her arm to yank her up against him. “I wouldn’t like it at all and believe me when I tell you that any man who dares to touch you would suffer for it.”
She got annoyed she’d allowed herself to feel such jealousy and cause such unnecessary anger in her husband. “It won’t be necessary since I would never let a man touch me with such familiarity.”
“I will see that Flora never does it again,” he said. “She simply wanted to tell me how glad she was I made it home and congratulate me on my marriage to you. She also told me, quite joyfully, that she was now happily wed, on which I congratulated her.”
Purity felt foolish. “I am sor—”
He pressed his fingers to her lips and silenced her apology. “You had every right to get angry, feel jealous, especially with what you’ve witnessed between me and Flora in the past. But I gave you my word that I would remain faithful to you and I meant it.”
“You always have been a man of your word,” she said, continuing to feel foolish.
“And that hasn’t changed, nor will it,” he assured her and wondered why her jealousy sent a strange stirring in him. It was almost as if he was pleased to know she was jealous. That she truly wanted him, no other, for herself alone. At one time, he had never thought of having only one woman. He never thought one woman would be enough, and yet now the thought of having any woman other than Purity didn’t appeal to him. He found no interest or felt no desire for any other woman, but his wife.
“You realize you are committing to