Page 30 of Scandalous Passions

“I do,” she replied, turning to the others but truly addressing Lachlan and Marjorie. “Please excuse us just for a few minutes while I assist Aileen.”

They walked from the room, and she directed Aileen into a small antechamber next to the chapel that served as a storage room of sorts, without a tonic to be found.

“Janet…” Aileen said huskily, reaching for her.

She stepped back. “It’s been a long time.”

“What is the matter? You still want me. I know you do. We couldn’t take our eyes off one another at supper.”

Janet shook her head. “I was shocked to see you. I did not know you and Hamish were the longstanding guests of the king. But I do not dally with those who are wed. An unbreakable rule of mine.”

The other woman pouted. “You and your rules. Do not think of my husband; we have an understanding now that he has his heirs. Think of me. Think of us and all that time lost because of my silly father. I never stopped loving you.”

“No, Aileen,” she murmured. “That summer will always hold a special place in my heart. But a memory it shall remain.”

“Is it the king’s Beast? Or your ward?” Aileen said abruptly, her violet eyes flashing with jealousy. “I saw the tender look you gave her.”

“Do not—”

“You’ll forget Lady Marjorie once she’s wed, and I’ll be waiting. I’ll win back your love, and it will be just like before; you’ll see.”

Dismay gathered like storm clouds. They could not tarry in this room any longer, or the other guests would grow curious. But it seemed her former lover was determined to recapture the past no matter what she was told…an act that could unleash several kinds of trouble.

And more trouble was the last thing she needed.

…

Everything had been so right. And now it was all wrong.

Marjorie stared at the duck, beef, and cooked vegetables on her pewter plate, her appetite gone since Janet had left the room with Aileen Campbell. She and Lachlan had seen there was some sort of bond between the two women—he’d even asked if they knew each other—but she didn’t believe for a moment the story about sharing a tutor. Two people did not share stolen glances over a tutor. And that made her heart hurt.

Their time in the wagon and in the solar with Lachlan had meant everything. She’d thought Janet felt something for her in return. But maybe that was just the loneliness that had been her most faithful companion, tricking her, seeing something that wasn’t there.

Angus Campbell cleared his throat. “I am desperate for some air. Lady Marjorie, would you care to walk in the gardens for a bit? I should enjoy hearing of your convent life.”

“Sun is setting,” growled Lachlan before she could reply.

“Nonsense,” said Angus. “Plenty of time for a short walk. No need to scowl, Sir Lachlan. You know, if you scowled less and smiled more, you might find a wife as pretty as Mistress Sinclair here.”

Lachlan glared at him. “Not looking.”

Not looking.

Marjorie winced. Just two words and her heart had crushed to powder.

The second rejection shouldn’t hurt; she wasn’t free to choose Lachlan even if she wished to. But it did. Especially after Janet had chosen Aileen. Especially when in the solar she had touched him so intimately, had him in her mouth, reveled in the splash of his seed on her breasts.

It seemed no matter what she said or did, she would always be unwanted.

“Lady Marjorie? A walk?”

She studied Angus Campbell. The man appeared her opposite in every way: slender, handsome, red hair falling to his shoulders without a single strand out of place. His clothing was new, costly, and in the French style. In truth, he did not make her heart beat faster like Lachlan did—or Janet, for that matter. And his elaborate flattery seemed to extend to all women rather than her in particular—a true courtier. Yet no one else had asked her to take a walk in the garden nearby, and in her guardian’s absence, Jean Sinclair clearly approved. She was smiling indulgently at the notion of her accompanying Angus.

Could she grow to love such a man, one already in the king’s favor?

There was only one way to be sure.

“Yes,” Marjorie said abruptly. “I should like that, Master Campbell. The flowers in the garden are lovely.”