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Within minutes of her arrival, Madi had appraised the other young women gathered in the hall and dismissed them all as pitifully wanting. She had been supremely confident her beauty was unrivaled until Egan had appeared with a flame-haired stranger dressed in deep lavender. Sensing a most unwelcome threat, she pressed against Kieran.
“Who is Egan’s unwilling companion?” she asked.
“His whore,” Kieran sneered. “She’s an orphan you needn’t befriend. Don’t even deign to speak with her.”
Skell had already heard about Egan’s woman from Ula, but she was far more beautiful than he had been led to expect, and he moved swiftly to his daughter’s side. He slid his hand along her shoulder in a protective caress and insinuated himself between her and Kieran in time to hear the latter’s disparaging remark.
“He’d not dare flaunt a common whore before his family,” Skell chided. “She has the face and figure of a goddess and is obviously highborn. Clearly Egan has forged a secret alliance, and then stupidly believed we would accept a transparent tale about a pretty orphan. You mustn’t dismiss her, my child. She is more dangerous than you can even dream.”
Madi’s glance narrowed to hostile slits. “She’s as slender as a leaf and undoubtedly fragile. I’m not afraid of her.”
Skell looked over her head to nod at Kieran and was pleased to see just how well the young man understood his warning.
Ever alert to the reactions of others, Egan placed his hand firmly on Oriana’s back to propel her into the hall ahead of him. “You swore to obey me whenever my kin were near. Now do it!” he ordered through clenched teeth.
Oriana recoiled, but she was caught and knew it. She glared a silent curse at Egan, then called upon a lifetime of deception to project the confidence of a queen. She straightened her shoulders, raised her chin, and moved with extraordinary grace while a terror she had yet to name tore at her heart and threatened her very soul.
Chapter Nine
Egan had known men who never allowed their wives to stray from their sides, possessiveness he had previously found pathetic, but that he now finally understood.
Nothing Oriana did was provocative. To the contrary, she was the least flirtatious woman he had ever met. He had introduced her to his kin with pride, but on every occasion, she had responded with no more than a polite nod and a slight smile. Then, with a demure downward glance, she had retreated from the conversation without taking a single step away.
She was not really his woman, as she oft reminded him, but her lack of interest in impressing his family insulted him nonetheless. She might have been unfazed, but he was acutely aware of the attention she garnered. There was not a man present who did not eye her with open lust, while the women’s furtive glances were filled with dark reproach. Uncertain which was worse, he welcomed the distraction of a fine meal but noticed that Oriana ate nothing and sipped from the same small cup of wine all evening.
When the first of his guests began to yawn, he was inspired to suggest they take the falcons out to hunt at dawn, and that prompted many to retire. He then left Ula and Kieran to entertain those who remained and exited the hall with Oriana firmly in tow. He heard more than one ribald suggestion as they passed, but because a king was expected to be virile, he stubbornly ignored the crude remarks.
Oriana was deeply grateful that Egan had not told tales of his travels to his guests until dawn, but when they reached his chamber she stepped through his doorway and spun to face him.
“It’s my gift you want, not me, and you shouldn’t have shoved me through that crowded hall. I found the noise nearly unbearable and even if the knowing had spoken an eloquent warning, I’d not have heard it over the din.”
Eager for a fight, Egan’s disgusted scowl deepened as he slammed his door and leaned back against it. “I did not once shove you toward anyone, but perhaps you were too distracted to notice how well you were treated.”
He was furious with her, although his voice was as soft as smoke. “You’re also wrong about my not wanting you, and while you’re too willful to admit it, you want me too.”
Aghast at his boldness, Oriana responded with laughter that bordered on a feral howl. “I’ve no control over your wild imaginings, but did you see the same brooding restlessness that I observed tonight? It’s plain in the sly glances passing between the men. If I knew more names, I could better describe a particular individual’s mood, but your whole family appeared to be passing secrets they’d not share with you. That can’t possibly be good.”
Oriana went straight to the fire and grabbed the poker, but she left the half-burnt log untouched. She thought Egan was merely taunting her, but if he turned amorous, she would have only one chance to strike him. She intended to make the blow count.
Her disturbing comments caught Egan by surprise, and he hurriedly latched the door and came toward her. “First my kin were a noisy lot, and now they’re brooding, restless, and secretive? Did you find nothing to admire about them?”
Although Oriana had been too frightened to dwell on anyone for long, she had swiftly grown bored with tales of long-dead men. “I prefer my own company to that of bloodthirsty Dál Cais warriors seeking new enemies to slay.”
It was now Egan who responded with hoots of laughter. “I’ll scarcely have time to seek new enemies after dealing with the multitudes you’ve undoubtedly insulted here tonight.”
Oriana gritted her teeth. “Do not mock me, Egan. There’s mischief afoot, and when you’ve been left out, it must concern you.”
Her posture was as rigid as the poker in her hand, and Egan wisely kept his distance. “No one was whispering about me, you blind little fool. You were the subject of whatever controversy occurred here tonight.”
As Oriana turned to face him, the poker slipped from her hand and struck the floor with a loud clatter. “But I did nothing to arouse curiosity!”
Egan shook his head in dismay. “Oh, no, you merely cloaked yourself in mystery as darkly intriguing as the night.”
When Oriana sent a confused glance toward the fire, for one terrifying instant he feared she might hurl herself into the flames. He reached her without feeling the steps and gathered her into his arms. She was trembling, and he held her tightly.
“Must I remind you yet again that I’ll protect you? Why do you still doubt me?”
Since she had made a concerted effort to avoid drawing notice, it had not occurred to her that his kin could have been preoccupied with her. For an awful moment she clung to him, and when he brushed her brow with a tender kiss, she bit her lower lip to stifle a grateful moan.
