she would not be.
And that was that.
Chapter 2
They gained the stable and she was forced to slide from the saddle. The yard was already muddy, making her glad she had good boots to protect her feet. A man like Monroe would have a stone courtyard, with thousands upon thousands of small rocks hauled up to his castle to keep the rain from turning the courtyard outside his home into a bog. It was a task for which a smaller clan such as the Leasks did not have the resources.
At least the stable was sturdy and dry. The stallion was happy to be led through the doorway and toward his stall. He snorted and shook the water from his head. Elspeth heard Monroe behind her and peeked back at the man. Slight amazement hit her as she caught him seeing to his horse with his own hands. For so powerful a man, the sure strokes of his hands drew her attention. He was no stranger to the task and even appeared to be enjoying it. No boy appeared to relieve his laird of the chore, which meant the man had either told his people to leave them alone or he always saw to his own stallion.
“Ye find it surprising that I tend to my own horse, Elspeth?”
She frowned at the use of her Christian name. But a little ripple of sensation traveled across her skin leaving gooseflesh behind. He chuckled at her pout, clearly enjoying her annoyance.
“I suppose ye believe that the laird of the Monroe clan would be above doing chores, but I’ll tell ye something, lass—any man who will nae rub down his own stallion does nae deserve the trust of that animal.”
“I agree.”
Her own hands were moving along the flanks of her brother’s horse, and even if her fingers lacked the strength of a man, she would keep at the task in spite of the ache that often invaded her joints. It was how she showed the animal he was more than just a beast of burden.
Monroe nodded. “’Tis a point of honor to look after good Hector here. I’m longing for the day that I can teach me son to honor the same tradition.”
“Ah, of course, the reason ye are here.” Her voice sounded hurt and she struggled against the feeling because it shouldn’t make any difference whatsoever why the man was on Leask land.
“Well now, lass, would ye prefer that I came to meet ye because of the number of sheep yer brother offered me to take ye?”
“No.” She rubbed a little too hard, gaining a snort from her brother’s horse. “Why did ye name yer horse after a hero who fell before the end of the battle?”
“Because he carries me, and all men have flaws, lass.” Monroe stopped working and looked over the back of his horse at her. “I have desires that distract me and I’m no fool enough to say otherwise.”
“What ye want is a sin. The church could have us lashed for even talking about handfasting, ye know.”
He laughed, the sound deep and brassy. With a final pat on Hector’s flank, he stepped around the animal. Elspeth felt him nearing her. Her belly tightened and her eyes were glued to him in fascination.
“Lads and lasses have nay stopped surrendering to their passion. We Scots are too lively for that to ever happen.”
“Ah, and now we’re to the root of what ye want, aren’t we? Surrender. ’Tis so easy for a man to ask that of a maid.”
She turned her back on him and went out into the rain once more. At least the icy droplets cooled her skin and sent a shiver down her back that had nothing to do with Hayden Monroe. It was disgusting the way her thoughts were becoming so wanton.
But she shivered again and again, the chill of the spring night making itself known. Rushing up the stone stairs that led to the double doors of the Leask tower, she then darted inside before Armelle the housekeeper caught her dripping water across the floor. The hallways were dim with only a few candles set to burning along their lengths. There would be a fire in the hearth in the hall but Elspeth turned in the opposite direction. Let her brother welcome their guest and entertain him. She wanted to dry her hair.
There were two sets of kitchens at Leask tower, one built in back of the great hall and a second one that faced the yard. Elspeth headed toward the smaller kitchen. Now that it was dark, it would be deserted but the coals in the hearth would still be hot. Picking up a log from near the hearth, Elspeth pushed at the thick layer of ash sitting in the fireplace. It looked cold and dead but she could feel the heat teasing her chilled nose.
The end of the log easily moved the soft ash to reveal a softly glowing bed of embers. Pushing the wood into it she reached over to pick up the bellows that hung from the stone side of the chimney. Pulling it open to suck air inside, she aimed it at the wood and closed the bellows. Air rushed into the hearth making the embers glow brighter. The heat increased, warming her cheeks, and the wood crackled just a tiny amount. It was wasteful to use a log here where only she might enjoy its warmth, but she craved the sanctuary enough to shoulder the guilt.
Just one log wasn’t too greedy. She worked the bellows some more, smiling when the wood crackled. A few more moments of patience and a small flicker illuminated the hearth. Elspeth fed it a few smaller branches to make sure the log would burn.
“Exactly what I was thinking, lass, to warm my fingers in front of a fire.”
Elspeth jumped. She swung around, landing on startled feet that lacked balance for the first moment. She righted herself quickly, shooting a glare at Hayden.
“I did nae invite ye here.”
“No, yer brother did.”
He was already halfway into the small kitchen and the expression on his face announced the fact that he wasn’t impressed with her temper. The man moved too silently; it had to be unnatural. She looked down at his boots and wished she hadn’t because she enjoyed the length of well-muscled legs that smoothed into strong calves. His boots were knee high and she gained a glimpse of bare skin above them where the pleats of his kilt were shorter.
“But I’ll confess that I was too weak to resist his invitation since my own home was full of men trying to peddle their sisters and daughters to me.”
His comment deflated her anger. Her jaw partially dropped open and a hint of merriment danced in his eyes. She looked away, jerking her head to the side as she realized he was watching her, intensely studying her with his keen gaze. But the moment her eyes were focused somewhere else, all she wanted to do was look back at him.
“I thought ye sought another wife. That is the only reason Dunmore made the journey to yer home.”
He frowned, his expression darkening. “It’s nae a home, not at the moment.” Each word was edged with pain. He walked farther into the kitchen and sat down on the floor in front of the hearth. He closed his eyes and allowed the heat from the fire to warm his face. Nothing moved for long moments except for the flicker of the flames casting their orange and scarlet light over his features.
“At the moment Rams Court is naught but a place I protect. Without my family, it is nae a home.”
Elspeth reached for him, the pain in his tone too much to ignore. Her fingertips made the briefest of contacts with his shoulder before she jerked them back. Heat shot down her arm as white-hot as the lightning that had sent the storm breaking around them out on the hills. She had never been so aware of a single touch,
