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Duncan drew the line at that question. A bit of banter was one thing. But he wouldn’t disrespect Elaine by talking about her to anyone else, even if she was a lady of pleasure and even if they had done nothing but trick all the fools under the castle’s roof.
“What goes on in my bedchamber is my business, Finn.”
“Ye need tae tell that tae all the maids in the castle then, my friend,” Finn countered. “Either that or keep yer bloody noise down,” he said, bursting into laughter.
Keir joined in, and Duncan could not help but let out a small chuckle. He didn’t care that the castle talked about his exploits. His plan had worked, and he could not be more pleased. Now, maybe word would get back to the council, and they would leave him in peace, at least for a little longer.
When breakfast was over, Duncan returned to his bedchamber. Elaine was still fast asleep, and, moving across the room, he lowered himself to sit on the edge of the bed beside her relaxed body. Watching her breast slowly rise and fall with each breath, his gaze took in the beauty of her softened face, and a smile suddenly came to him when he remembered last night. While Allison had been good company, entertaining him with stories, he had never felt the same pull he felt at that moment toward Elaine. A shadow of guilt passed over him as the face of his beloved Cora came to his mind’s eye, but he dismissed it. There was nothing he could do for her now. Not until he found the people responsible, anyway. Then, he would have his revenge.
Elaine stirred as he watched her and, slowly opening her eyes, looked at him with slight concern.
“Good morning,” he said.
“Good morning, my… Duncan.”
“Yer getting better,” he chuckled lightly. The laughter left him, and their eyes locked in an intense gaze. Duncan found himself leaning in closer to her, feeling her breath on his cheek. He kissed her on the lips tenderly, unable to resist theirfullness.
“I would like tae thank ye for last night. The money is on the dresser over there.” He nodded across the room. “I will expect ye tae come tae me again tonight.”
“So, we can groan again?” Elaine said, a small smile dancing on her lips.
“Aye, something like that. If ye perform as well as ye did last night, I’ll pay ye double.”
It made sense to bring her back. Elaine knew what she had to do and had done it with no argument, not that many people usually argued with his demands. But even as he reasoned that he only wanted her to return because she knew what he wanted from her, he knew he was lying to himself. Allison could do exactly the same thing and likely just as well. Yet, he had not felt the same tug toward any lady of pleasure as he had with Elaine. And no matter how much he tried not to consider the truth, it was obvious he was not simply choosing her for convenience’s sake.
* * *
Elaine left the laird's bedchamber and wandered down the castle's stone corridor, not knowing where she was going. The guard who had brought her to him the night before had taken her down corridors so quickly, through hidden passages with many twists and turns, that she couldn't remember how they had arrived.
Duncan had invited her to the Great Hall to fetch herself some breakfast but she had insisted she was not hungry. Besides, her mind had been too busy thinking about his invitation. He wished for her to return that same night, which ought to have scared her, but it did not. Though she knew she would be required to go through the same deception as last night, pretending that they were lying together clearly for other people’s benefit, his invitation had given her hope. Elaine could still not understand the reason behind their performance, and yet, she could hardly care. Returning to his bedchamber would give her another opportunity to search for the ring.
Recalling the night, her heart had thumped in her chest as she had sneakedaround the bedchamber. But, with so much furniture and so many possible locations, she hadn't been able to look everywhere. Duncan hadturned over, his entire body facing the room, and herruse would have been exposed if he had simply opened his eyes. She had run over to the fireplace and stood in front of it, pretending to warm her hands, terrified that he would discover her. It was a flimsy excuse, but it was all she could think of at the time.
She had not needed it, however. He never awoke. And, with the worry of being discovered preventing her from continuing, she had crawled back intobed. Duncan killingher family was still fresh in her mind and shehad no doubt he would do the same to her if he found out why she was there. She had failed last night. So tonight, she needed to work harder.
“Hello,” a friendly voice came from behind her.
Elaine turned to see a tall man about Duncan’s age walking toward her. He was handsome with long dark hair and deep brown eyes.
“Hello,” Elaine replied nervously.
The man smiled widely. “My name is Finn Stewart.” He bowed toward her. “I’m Keir’s personal healer and a close companion o’ the laird.”
“Keir?” Elaine said with a frown, completely forgetting her manners and introducing herself.
“The laird’s brother,” he confirmed.
“Och, I see.”
An awkward pause hung between them before Elaine caught herself. “I apologize. My name is Elaine…” she suddenly stopped. She could not allow the laird to discover her last name. And if this man were as close as he said he was to Duncan, then surely it would not take long for it to spill out.
“Elaine…?” He raised his eyebrows, clearly interested in knowing her last name.
She had to think fast, and as her mind worked, she suddenly thought of a ridiculous answer. Absurd as it might be, she could only hope that Finn Stewart did not know any better.
“We ladies o’ the night dinnae disclose our last names,” Elaine said, trying to keep her voice steady.
While the notion seemed ludicrous to her, clearly, Finn did not think so at all. As though he heard the same every day, he looked pacified and nodded. “Och, I see.” He paused for a moment with a slight frown. “It’s strange that ye say that, because there’s something very familiar about ye, and I cannae put my finger on it.”
