them out and feed them to the crows.”
The blonde gasped, turning a stunned expression to Laurel before looking to Brodie for help. He stood with his arms crossed, his face set in stone. When she just kept blinking and shifting her weight, Brodie frowned. “You were in the courtyard not an hour ago. I know you heard what I said. Lady Campbell’s word is law when it comes to everything in this keep. That includes me. It seems she isn’t interested in sharing, nor do I intend to accept any offers.”
“What’s your name?” Laurel asked, softening her tone.
“Gara, ma lady.”
“When you run belowstairs to tell everyone what a bitch I am, be sure not to forget to tell them I don’t share.”
“Aye, ma lady.” Gara dipped into a wobbly curtsy before dashing from the room.
Laurel wasn’t ready to face Brodie. She’d made an assumption that could have resulted in her humiliation instead of the maid’s. She steeled herself for Brodie’s disapproval. She was confident he wouldn’t speak against her in front of anyone, but she knew he wouldn’t hold back in private. She turned around, unprepared for the Cheshire-cat grin he sported.
“I do like it when you’re fierce,” Brodie said as he kissed the skin behind her ear and pulled at her belt. But Laurel stepped back.
“That wasn’t my place,” she whispered. At Brodie’s confusion, she clarified. “It wasn’t my place to turn down an offer made to you. I—We didn’t talk aboot whether you’ll—”
“Laurel.” Brodie’s tone warned her to stop. “Perhaps you don’t recall, but we’ve had this conversation before. It bears repeating. I do not have a leman. While I dislike comparing you to Eliza, I would have you remember I was prepared to accept celibacy for at least two years.”
Laurel nodded. She clearly remembered the conversation they had, but the maid’s attentiveness to Brodie made her suspicious. “It felt like what she offered wasn’t really intended for me.”
“Gara and I have flirted from time to time, but naught more.” He offered no more explanation, and she supposed there was no more to give.
Brodie guided Laurel to sit before he unlaced her boots and took them and her stockings off. With a light tug, he brought her back to her feet and pulled his cut down leine from the waist of her rolled over breeks and pulled the waist open. Laurel pushed them past her hips until they dropped to the floor. She bent to pick them up, but Brodie stopped her, reaching for them himself. He laid the breeks over the back of a chair before he lifted the leine over her head. She’d never been self-conscious in front of Brodie, but his silence was unnerving.
“Laurie, I love you. I love every bit of you. I am not telling tales when I say how blessed I am to be your husband. You make me happy in ways I never imagined. I won’t do aught to jeopardize it. It’s too precious to me. Our lives will demand much of us, and there will be sadness and frustration, even anger, as we serve our people. Happiness was all too fleeting until I met you.”
“I love you, too. Despite everything that’s happened since we left Stirling, I feel like the Laurel I once knew. I feel free. You’ve given me that. I imagined the only way I could have it was to be on my own. I’m so glad that isn’t true. I want to be the one you turn to during those trying times. Not only the happy ones.”
“You will be. We are partners. I wish for you to be by my side this evening when I meet with the others.” Brodie looked past her shoulder at the wisps of steam still rising from the water. “I ken Aggie arranged baths for everyone else. I don’t need to rush. Shall we discover if there’s room for two?”
Laurel smiled as she helped Brodie undress. When they stood naked, Brodie lifted Laurel, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. She cupped his jaw as they kissed before he stepped into the tub. As they settled into the soothing heat, their bodies joined. Brodie kneaded her breasts as they floated just above the surface. Laurel’s head fell back with a moan. Brodie’s tongue trailed along her throat as her hands skimmed his arms before moving to his shoulders, massaging the muscles that bunched beneath her hands. Their kisses grew more insistent as they moved together. Laurel closed her eyes, reveling in