“Just say it, my lord, for I am bursting with curiosity.”
“That man, the cripple. I know about you and he.”
She blinked, taken aback by his unexpected statement. “Aye? What do you know?”
“I know you spent time alone with him in an inn.”
“If I hadn’t, he would likely be dead. Believe me, he was barely conscious most of the time and unable to move at all. Seduction was the last thing on either of our minds.” He didn’t say anything but continued to study her, as if trying to determine if she was being truthful. She couldn’t help it. She laughed. “Are youjealous?”
“No,” he said quickly.
“Because you have nothing to fear, my lord. He is a friend, nothing more. He’s never been anything more than a friend.”
He waved this away impatiently and advanced on her. “Jealousy has nothing to do with it. After the debacle with your sister, I find myself cautious. I will not have my earldom passed to some bastard you try to foist upon me as my own.”
Her jaw dropped, and her breath left her in an indignant rush. How dare he. She’d done nothing to deserve such questioning of her virtue. Her eyes narrowed as she suddenly understood him. This wasn’t about jealousy or his earldom—it was about the infernal contract.
“I am so blind.” Her body trembled, the heat of anger flushing her. She shook her head, lips twisting bitterly. “Am I unsuitable now, my lord? That’s what this is really about, isn’t it? You’re really scrambling for reasons if this is the best you can manage. Why not pick someone capable of cuckolding you, like my brother-in-law? Or what about Hagan? We’ve been carrying on secretly since I returned from the Lowlands.” Gillian laughed harshly. “Oh, or what about Old Greer in the village? Even at five and seventy he makes me shiver—and he doesn’t even need a cane.”
He closed the distance between them in two steps, grabbing her arms. He gave her a hard shake. “This is not a jest, Gillian. I won’t do it again. Do you hear me? Iwill notdo it again.”
Gillian strained away from him, unsettled by his vehemence. “Do what again? I don’t understand you.”
“I’m sick of women who dissemble, and I’ll not stand for it. If you marry me, you do so understanding that you aremine.”
She glared back at him. “You think if you bully me and falsely accuse me that I’ll break the betrothal? You will not rid yourself of me so easily.” She threaded her fingers in his hair and yanked.
A hiss of pain passed through white teeth, fury and surprise erupting in his eyes. Gillian’s hand was stilltangled in his hair. He grabbed her wrist before she could yank again.
“You are a little fool.”
She opened her mouth to call him worse, but he silenced her with his mouth, a hard kiss of possession that scattered her thoughts. She sagged against him, her hand clenching in his hair. He released her wrist and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her against him. A sigh shivered through her body. Then as quickly as the kiss began, he shoved her away. He held her at arm’s length and stared at her, breathing hard, his brows drawn together in consternation.
Her heart, already beating wildly, jumped and stumbled in her breast. He suspected something. She didn’t know what, as he gave no credence to witchcraft and so likely wouldn’t believe in a love philter, but he knew something was amiss. Perhaps he sensed a dissonance between his will and his actions. She could see it in his eyes, the bewilderment. He didn’t understand why he’d felt compelled to kiss her. He clearly wished he hadn’t kissed her, but he’d been unable to stop himself.
Desperate to distract him before his skeptical mind actually began to grasp at witchcraft, she said, “I won’t share either.”
Her words broke his intensity. “What?”
“I’ll not be worrying every time you lay with me that I’ll catch the pox from one of your whores. Doyouunderstandme?”
He dropped his hands from her arms and turned away, one hand spanning his temples, as if forcing away a headache.
He gave her a wary sideways look. “I’m going to bed.”
When the door closed behind him, Gillian opened her fist. Three black hairs lay across her palm. She glanced at the open window, at the moon, not quite full. She couldn’t wait until tomorrow night. He was having second thoughts. The moon might not be full, but as far as Gillian was concerned, it was close enough.
9
Wake up!”
Gillian jerked awake from a rather unpleasant dream in which she stumbled endlessly along a cliff, pursued by an enormous dark figure. She blinked up at the red blur slowly coming into focus.
Rose stood over her, dressed in fine velvet skirts but no bodice. Her silk-embroidered shift strained across her breasts. Rose saw where Gillian stared and glanced down at her chest.
“Do you think they’re getting bigger?” Rose had smallish breasts and had expressed concern that Jamie MacPherson would not find them to his liking. She’d told Gillian she’d even placed an “enhancing” spell on her bosom, but it had proved futile.
Gillian frowned at her sister, shading her eyes to block out the blaze of candles illuminating the room. “You woke me for that?”
