A Hellion at the Highland Court (The Highland Ladies #9) - Celeste Barclay Page 0,58

before God and a priest say to forsake all others. If I canna honor that, how can ma people believe me honorable enough to lead?”

“Brodie, we both ken clan members dinna care if the laird has a leman. Too many of them do. People dinna consider it dishonorable despite what the mon pledges,” Laurel pointed out.

“I consider it dishonorable,” Brodie stressed. “I will nae betray ye, and I will nae forsake ye. If I didna think—nay, ken—I could keep maself only unto ye, I wouldnae have handfasted with ye. If I’m honest with us both, I wouldnae have kissed ye the first time. Part of me kenned the risk we took of being found, and I disregarded it. I wasna displeased or regretful when we were discovered. It was a relief.”

“A relief?” Laurel’s brow furrowed.

“Aye. It meant I didna have to hide from ye or anyone else that I want ye as ma wife.”

“But ye ken that everyone says ye kissed me to make me quiet, and that now ye regret it.”

“Would I have spent each day with ye, mournful when we each had other duties to attend to? Would I have agreed to exchange our own vows today, if I regretted having ma future linked to yers? Would I have needed ye with the consuming passion that I just did, that I still do? Laurel, nay one forced me to pursue ye, and nay one forced me to marry ye.”

“But the wager,” Laurel whispered. While they’d settled the disagreement they’d had the morning Laurel overhead the ladies talking in the Great Hall, Brodie hadn’t explained how the rumors came about.

“When I arrived in Stirling,” Brodie began. His chest tightening as he prepared to tell Laurel why he’d initially sought her out. He prayed she didn’t gather her clothes and run from the chamber by the time he was through. “I didna come straight here. I wanted a hot meal and a few drams of whisky before finding ma bed.” Brodie nudged his chin in the bed’s direction.

Laurel listened and watched, noticing that Brodie had grown uncomfortable. She fought back tears that threatened merely from her anxiousness.

“I found yer brother and Donnan at the Crosspool Tavern. I’d already had more than a little whisky as I rode. When Oliphant and MacDougall began talking aboot ye, I was curious. I was nae even close to sober at that point and jested that I liked a challenge. When Oliphant suggested a wager, Monty refused. I confess I considered it for a moment,” Brodie looked at Laurel shamefully. She nodded and offered him a tight smile. “I said I liked a challenge, and I was curious aboot ye. I hadnae even met ye, but ye intrigued me. It was happenstance that I stumbled upon ye in town the next day. If ye hadn’t rattled off all those curses in Gaelic, I wouldnae have kenned it was ye.”

“But ye did because I am the Shrew of Stirling,” Laurel said bitterly.

“I did because ye are quick-witted and have a way with words. Yer tart comments come sooner and faster than others can manage. Ye’ve moved onto the next idea before they’ve understood yer first one. Ye fascinated me as we walked together. But yer lack of guards deeply concerned me. Laurel, ye may have been oblivious, or mayhap ye purposely ignore them, but men watched ye. They didna ken who ye were under that ugly veil. But they kenned they liked what they saw of yer figure. It scared me that ye—or any woman—would so brazenly tempt fate.”

“I told ye why I did it,” Laurel whispered.

“I ken, and I dinna fault ye for what ye thought ye should do. But ye scare me with yer disregard for yer own safety.” Brodie’s shoulders slumped as he took a deep breath. “I ken ye dinna think anyone would care if harm befell ye, but I would. I would care to ma core. I dinna want to lose ye when I’ve just found ye.”

There was sadness in Laurel’s eyes as she nodded. He’d spoken aloud what she’d believed for years, what she’d had proven true too many times. But she no longer wanted to take reckless risks. She didn’t want to torment Brodie by making him scared to trust her or for her safety. And she didn’t want to lose the tenderness she received from him.

“I dinna want to lose ye either, Brodie.” Laurel kissed him softly before nuzzling closer to him. They laid together for a long