The Red Drifter of the Sea (Pirates of the Isles #3) - Celeste Barclay Page 0,16

up onto her elbow and started to shake her head until she realized the positions they were in.

“Have you been sleeping on the floor?” She asked aghast.

“I wasn’t going to string you up or leave you on the floor. And I don’t have the right to share the bed with you,” Kyle explained.

Moira huffed and frowned before slipping from the bed and padding across the floor to the table. She felt around until she found the flint and the candle. Once lit, she turned back to Kyle and sighed. She shooed him off the floor and onto the bed. Careful not to reveal too much, she climbed onto the bed and sat cross-legged near the foot while Kyle lay on his side, watching her.

“I still don’t understand you, Kyle,” Moira admitted. “Why are you so thoughtful one moment and domineering the next?”

Before Kyle could answer, she held up her hand and shook her head. He waited for her to speak, wanting to reach out and smooth the furrows between her brows. “Kyle, I don’t understand why I trust you with my body as I do. Maybe it’s just desire. Maybe it’s knowing I’m not a virgin and have no reason to fear anyone finding out. Lizzie took care of that by announcing Aidan had left my bed to go to hers. But I’m just not ready to trust you with everything. The more you manipulate me, the more I fear telling you.”

“I don’t know how to take care of a woman, Moira.” At her skeptical look, Kyle laughed. “I know how to pleasure a woman, but I don’t know how to take care of one. The last time I tried, I was seven and my mother died anyway.” Kyle expected to see pity in Moira’s eyes, but instead, he recognized something he hadn’t seen since Senga was on board: sympathy.

“I was ten when my mother died,” Moira responded. “I tried to care for her too, but she wasted away despite my efforts.”

“You did? Where was your sister or the healer?”

“Lizzie was already being Lizzie. She’s three years my senior, but she’s been turning boys’ and men’s heads since very early on. My mother held a tight rein on us until she fell ill. Then Lizzie turned wild, and I became the responsible one. I’d been the one my mother fretted about. I learned the lessons she taught me about comportment and grace. I learned what I could about being a chatelaine from her. But the moment my lessons were through, I fled. I’d go riding or fishing or for walks along the cliffs. I’d come back filthy, with rips in my stockings and twigs in my hair. When my mother fell ill and it was obvious no one in my family would tend her, there was no choice but to leave my childhood behind.”

“You became chatelaine when you were ten?” Kyle was incredulous.

“Not really. I mean, our cook and our head of house continued my lessons about keeping home and hearth in one piece. Our seneschal continued my lessons in reading and maths, so I learned to mind the ledgers. At fifteen I was still naïve, even though I had taken on all the duties as lady of the keep. When Aidan started paying attention to me, I was awestruck. His visits allowed me chances to leave the keep, the walls, and do the things I missed. He’d take me for walks and out on his dinghy to fish. We’d go riding for hours. It seemed natural when he pressed for more. I thought he loved me. I thought it meant he wanted to marry me. I didn’t notice that he never actually talked about love, and he never mentioned marriage. Ever.”

Moira paused, unsure if Kyle wanted to hear her tale of woe. But his encouraging nod had her drawing a breath before she continued.

“Once Lizzie discovered what we were doing, she decided she wanted Aidan for herself. She announced to everyone in the Great Hall how I was hopelessly besotted with Aidan and thought he would propose soon. She was right, of course. Aidan laughed harder than anyone until he saw my face. He tried to explain that he’d made no promises, and I agreed. Before I finished speaking, Lizzie slid into Aidan’s lap and reassured him they could continue on as they had, and that she would never be so foolish as to expect him to marry her. I learned he was already bedding her. Within a year,