be the owner’s priority.
How long he lay there, the smell of vomit permeating the air, Ben couldn’t say, but as night fell, and his stomach finally stopped protesting its abuse, he gathered his things, threw some chilling water onto his face, and made his way downstairs for a liquid dinner. Damn the food, he needed a drink.
Shouts of welcome abounded as he made the dining room. The smoky peat fire burning bright in the corner of the room gave the ambiance of comfort and warmth, when in reality, the lodge, situated at the foot of the Waternish peninsula, was anything but homey. A whorehouse in the middle of nowhere would be a better term.
“The usual, Laird?” the barmaid said, her teasing grin ruined only when she smiled, and the full extent of her rotten teeth appeared. But then, he didn’t have to kiss her.
“Aye, lass. Ye know me well.”
She winked and poured him a good cup of the golden liquid. “I’m more than willin’ to know ye better. Just say the word, Laird, and I’m all yours.”
Ben smiled, liking the lass even more. “I’ll hold ye to ye words, lass, so ye better mean them.”
“I do,” she said, moving away to serve another patron.
Ben looked about the room and caught sight of himself in a mirror just beside the dining room door. His shoulder-length hair was matted, dirty, and in need of a good wash. Well, perhaps tomorrow he’d go down to the shore and bathe. He could, of course, send for warm water here, but the cooling ocean was more appealing. The inn’s water was dirtier than himself.
Ben downed a few more whiskys and ate a bowl of stew for good measure. He nearly choked on his mouthful when a hand came down hard on his back, sending him forward in his chair. “Aye, I thought it was ye, Laird of Ross. What brings ye into Macleod land?”
Ben stood. “Braxton, lad. ‘Tis been a long time.”
The man laughed and then frowned. “Aye, too long. ‘Tis good to see ye. And Gwen will be happy to see ye as well. She’s outside, probably demanding all sorts of things from the publican’s wife. We don’t normally stay here, but Gwen couldn’t stand a minute more in the carriage and asked to stop for the night.”
Damn. Ben clenched his jaw, not wanting to see a happily married couple, and certainly not his best friends’ sister whom he’d liked more than he ought as a young lad. “Aye, I can see Gwen, lass doing such a thing.”
Braxton sat beside him, smiling politely to the barmaid when she asked what he’d like.
Ben frowned at the lass when she used the same beguiling tone on Braxton that she’d used on him. When Braxton ordered a lager and didn’t react to the wench’s flirtation, she slammed the drink down and walked off in a decided huff. Ben grinned.
“How are ye, Laird? You seem well, other than the bloodshot eyes or the fact that ye stink of vomit.” Braxton flicked at Ben’s tunic. “Ye have a great dollop of it still on ye clothes.” Braxton took a sip of his beer, his eyes contemplative.
“Och, I may have drunk more than I ought the previous evening, but that’s not up for discussion and neither are my clothes. What is, though,” he said, sitting back down, “is what are ye all doing traveling about? I would’ve thought Gwen would be at Castle Druiminn looking after Abby and the new bairn.”
“Aedan has gifted me and Gwen land and a larger estate not far from their own. We inspected the property a few months past and will occupy the place from tomorrow. It’ll do us nicely, I believe. Be a safe and happy place for our bairns.”
Ben finished off his drink as the thought of Aline flittered through his mind. Of how excited she’d been upon first seeing his estate. It was nice that she’d been pleased with what she’d settled for. If anything, at least he’d given her a good home with an abundance of servants.
“I’m happy for ye, Braxton, as I’m sure Gwen is, too, being so close to Aedan and Abby once again. Are the bairns with ye, then?”
“Aye, she is and yes, they are, although they’ve probably gone running down to the beach with Nurse,” he said, turning as the door opened. “And here’s Gwen now.”
Ben met Gwen’s gaze and smiled, standing to pull the lass into his arms. Holding her was like he’d stepped back through