A Hellion at the Highland Court (The Highland Ladies #9) - Celeste Barclay Page 0,129

a monk. I ken ye swore ye would have waited for Eliza. But I canna make heads nor tails of how the lusty mon I ken is the same mon who isnae that interested in coupling.”

Brodie smiled down at Laurel, seeing her genuine confusion and discomfiture. He saw the logic in her thoughts, and he reminded himself that she didn’t know him as a young man. She only knew him as the staider leader, the one who didn’t chase women.

“Laurie,” Brodie’s voice softened. “Ye tease me that I’m auld, and I am. I’m auld enough to nay longer let ma cock lead me aboot. I dinna need a woman in ma bed to feel content with life or to feel like a mon. Those days came and went before ye met me. I felt that way once, but nay anymore. Mayhap I outgrew it. It’s nae that I dinna enjoy coupling, and ye ken that I dinna have any issue being able to. It just wasna as important as other things.” Brodie grinned. “As for now? Well, I have this bonnie and lusty wife, who’s younger than I am. I have to keep up with her, so she doesnae run off with a younger mon. And I canna help it if I find ma bride to be the finest lass I’ve ever seen with or without clothes. It’s nae ma fault that she tempts me and distracts me. I say it’s her fault that I canna keep ma hands off her—or ma cock out of her.”

“Is that so?” Laurel giggled. “This wife sound vera demanding.”

“Aye, and I love it,” Brodie’s grin widened before he grew serious. “Laurie, I love ye. I want to be a mon ye trust and respect.”

“Ye are,” Laurie asserted.

“Wheest a moment. I want to be a mon ye trust and respect because I dinna want ye to live in yet another place where ye dinna feel welcome, where ye feel out of place. And more than aught, I want ye to keep loving me. Ma life is so much richer for having ye in it. I dinna want to give that up.”

“Ye ken I felt like a pauper for so many years. I ken the Rosses are hardly anyone’s poor country cousin, but ye ken how things stood. I ken ye can provide me with whatever cloth and jewelry I wish. But I feel richer now than I ever did at Balnagown when I had everything given to me, richer than I ever did eating in the king’s home. I feel richer because I have a mon I love and who loves me, and I have a life that gives me hope. I’ve never felt so rich.”

“Laurie, I know this wasna a comfortable conversation for ye, and I canna claim it was lovely for me either, but I want ye to always come to me if ye have questions or aught is troubling ye.”

“Ye may regret making that offer,” Laurel grinned once more. “I have kept to maself for so long that now that I have someone I trust, whose opinions I value, and whose advice I trust, I may nae leave ye alone.”

Brodie grew quiet for a moment, a speculative look entering his eyes. Laurel felt equal parts curious and hesitant, unsure how to interpret the expression. Seeing her reaction, he smiled and pressed a quick kiss to her lips.

“Ye know that I’ll spend ma mornings in the lists, sometimes even the entire day. There are two mornings a month when I adjudicate issues among clan members. Oh, as an aside, ye shall adjudicate any conflicts between women. Some afternoons I ride out to villages or to inspect fields. I meet with the council once a week.”

Laurel wondered what Brodie was getting at. She knew the responsibilities of a laird. She might not know which day of the week he did some things, but he wasn’t telling her anything new.

“I ken that your duties will often keep you tied to the keep all day.” Brodie watched Laurel. She nodded, encouraging him to get to his point. “On days when I ride out, if ye can join me, I’d like ye to come. Nae only because I want ye to ken yer new clan. I want to spend the time with ye. And I had another thought.” Brodie wondered if it was a mistake to make his next suggestion, but he continued. “There are also times when I must tend to correspondence and accounts, things that