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Chapter Eight
Aindreas
Aindreas felt so confused as he listened to her words. He loved the way her voice sounded and could listen to her for hours. It was lyrical and enchanting, as if she was weaving a spell over him. He watched the way her lips moved, how her head tilted from side to side as she spoke. He watched her fingers stroking the shawl she cradled around her shoulders. As he gazed at her, listening to her story, he wondered how he could ever in his right mind speak so ill of her; how he could ever call her his father’s mistress. In her new attire, she no longer looked like one of the fae but rather a lady of the court. His gaze lowered, watching how the white fabric clung to her curves, leaving very little to the imagination.
Maybe not quite a lady, he corrected, his lips twisting into a smile. For no lady would walk around the gardens in her sleeping gown. She lacked the knowledge and grace most ladies knew at her age, yet she was charming. She was interesting.
“And what did ye do before my father rescued ye from yer dismal state?”
Blair grimaced, shrugging her shawl closer to her body. “I kept busy, cleaning the cottage and feeding our horse. Our livestock was stolen last summer. I don’t know by who. I had hidden away in the barn when they came.”
“And they did not find ye?” Aindreas asked, hating the concern bleeding through his words. “They didn’t burn down yer home?”
Blair shook her head. “I suppose they thought it was abandoned. I was lucky they didn’t find my mare. I’ve been living off the land ever since, trying to keep myself alive, trading what I can in the villages.” A stray strand fell over her forehead, and she promptly pushed it behind her ear. “It was all I could do, really.”
Aindreas wondered what it would have been like if Lady Fiona hadn’t taken him in. Would he have been given to relatives? Did his birth mother have any living family he could have been given to? Aindreas frowned, knowing deep down he could have had a life very similar to Blair’s, alone, with no family to care for him, desperately trying to survive one day at a time.
“How did ye keep yerself sane?” he found himself asking, unable to take his gaze off her.
“I kept busy,” she said, a twinge of sadness in her tone. “If I didn’t, the pain would take hold. It was very difficult for me. I am glad yer father found me when he did.” She sighed happily and looked around. “This place is quite beautiful.”
He wondered if her hair was just as soft as it looked, and he couldn’t get the thought out of his head no matter how hard he tried. All he wanted to do was run his hands through her locks, perhaps pull her towards him, claim those plump lips. His gaze returned to her lips, reddened and demanding to be kissed.
Aindreas closed his eyes, forcing himself to look away. He shouldn’t be feeling this way, he thought while taking a step from her. He shouldn’t be feeling anything towards her. She was his father’s mistress. It didn’t matter that Lady Fiona wasn’t his birth mother. She had been more of a mother to him than any other. He needed to use Blair to hurt his father. That was his mission; he reminded himself. Break his father for what he did to his mother.
At that thought, Aindreas felt disgusted with himself. He wanted to leave, wanted to be cruel to her so Blair would remain far from him. If anything, the only thing he should be feeling towards her was contempt and lust. All he needed was one night with her, preferably in front of his father’s watchful gaze so he would know she had betrayed him.
But where would she go after Aindreas achieved his vengeance?
She didn’t have a family to return to, nor a father to arrange a decent marriage for her. It was odd she had never known her father. Had he died before her birth? Had her mother been married before? He knew children were born out of wedlock, yet the idea of it was still bizarre.
Although, given his family’s secrets, he shouldn’t find it so unusual.
Lady Fiona had made no mention about his own true father, and so he assumed the man had died or fled when he discovered his lover pregnant. It was terrible to think about, and so he tried not to.
The laird hadn’t been a perfect father, but at least he had been there for Aindreas.
And never mind her lack of family, if Aindreas were to claim her, the gossip alone would ruin her. It would ruin any potential of a promising future with a simple life and a simple husband. She would be desolate.
Why should he care? a dark whisper clawed in the back of his mind. She’s yer father’s mistress. She’s already made her bed, and the way she clings to any man around her, she wouldn’t be opposed to sleeping with the laird’s son.
But he didn’t want her to open her legs for just anyone.
He wanted her to want only him.
Aindreas inwardly groaned, wanting to rake his hands through his hair and smack some sense into himself. He shouldn’t care about some peasant’s pitiful story. What mattered most was hurting his father, showing him what heartbreak felt like.
Blair turned to him, her emerald eyes gleaming under the moon’s glow. There was a soft blush on her cheeks, and he didn’t know why, but he wanted to touch her, tell her he would be there for her. “I bet my life seems boring compared to the life of a laird’s son,” she said with a bright smile.
Aindreas felt his heart crack at her words. He wasn’t the laird’s son. He wasn’t anyone’s son. Their lives may be different, but their backgrounds were similar. He smiled mournfully, knowing that he had to secure a good marriage in order to become laird. He felt just as lonely as she, and he was surrounded by family.
“It has its moments,” he said while looking away.
A light flashed from one of the windows overlooking the garden, and his gaze lifted, finding his father staring out the window, dressed in his sleeping gown and a robe while holding a candle. His father’s brow furrowed, looking upon them with concern.
Aindreas’s smile widened, knowing now was his chance to take what he wanted. He closed the distance between them, licking his bottom lip as he leaned into her. Her eyes widened innocently while his arms wrapped around her, pulling her close to him.
“What was that?” he breathed into her ear, looking around aimlessly. His hold on her tightened, and he felt her tremble in his arms. He scowled, knowing this was not enough to get a rise out of his father. He should just kiss the girl and be done with it, but there was something in her gaze that made him stop. Something so innocent, he couldn’t be the one to tarnish.
