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She was a free woman and he had had an itch for her since he had first seen her. How he had suffered over what he had thought sinful musings. With this news, he would no longer have to worry about eternal damnation.
He could kiss Terese, and that prospect set his loins to aching.
I need you.
That’s what she had said to him and at the time, he wished he could have told her he felt the same. He needed her. He needed to ease her pain, keep her safe, kiss her, touch her and damn…he wanted to make love to her.
He had believed that all out of his reach, but now…now things were different.
Very different. He rubbed his head and near groaned. Once his men discovered the truth they’d be sniffing after the women like animals in heat, especially Andrew. He was already smitten with Megan and once he learned that she was not a nun…
Lachlan groaned again and shook his head. He would have to gather his men together and set down some rules. They might not like it, but they’d obey. Or else they would face dire consequences from Cavan, their laird, and not a one of them would want that.
He needed to address this matter immediately and later he would have a talk with Sis—He shook his head. Terese. She was now plain and simply Terese. Not that, by any means, Terese was plain and simple. No, she was a beautiful woman he planned on getting to know more personally and he was confident that she wanted to get to know him just as much.
Feeling lighter in his step, he walked away to deliver the news to his men.
Andrew got Lachlan alone, as Lachlan had suspected he would, after the men dispersed smiling and mumbling among themselves. Lachlan had made it clear that they were to behave. He didn’t ban them from talking with the women, but he did warn that if the women showed no interest, not even in a conversation, then the men were to leave them alone.
“I think Megan’s just skittish around men,” Andrew said as he and Lachlan walked away to talk on their own. “If I could just get her to know me better, I think she’d like me.”
“I can’t make an exception,” Lachlan said. “I’ll have a revolt on my hands if I grant you special privileges.”
Andrew moaned with frustration.
“Use your wits and find a way for her to talk with you,” Lachlan suggested.
“How?” Andrew bemoaned. “I’ve tried and she just gives me a cold stare and walks away. Even when I offer help, she turns me down. What else can I do?”
“What do you like about her?”
Andrew grinned. “Her tenacity.”
“Then show her your own,” Lachlan said and gave him an encouraging slap on the back before walking away.
Lachlan made a point of talking with each of the women and informing them that his men knew the truth, and also the strict orders his men had been given regarding the women. Each of them was appreciative and thanked him profusely. He saw no worry in any of their eyes, except for Megan. She actually paled.
“None will bother you,” he assured her.
“They better not,” she said and stormed off.
The news changed nothing for the others at the convent, Frances summoning it up the best. “Nuns or not, they are good, kind, generous women.”
It was four days before Lachlan got to talk with Terese, not that he hadn’t tried before that. Rowena had told him that she slept and was in too much pain to be disturbed. He wasn’t sure if he believed her, but when she walked him down the hall and eased the door open to Terese’s room, he saw for himself.
She lay pale and sleeping, and tucked under a mound of blankets.
“The chills,” Rowena had whispered, but had assured him not to worry.
He continued to inquire about her progress and on the morning of the fourth day he woke before sunrise and saw her. Her long blond hair was free and fell slightly unkempt around her face, and she hugged, with a degree of difficulty, a green wool shawl around her as she walked to her favorite spot on the hill.
He caught up with her and slipped an arm around her to help her sit.
“You are a gentlemen,” she said.
He turned his charming smile on her. “At times.”
“And other times?”
“That would depend on the women you asked.”
Terese smiled and shook her head.
“I am glad to see that you’re feeling better.”
“Rowena told me that you frequently inquired as to how I was doing.”
“I was concerned,” he said. “Not all wounds heal as they should.”
“No…No, they don’t,” she agreed slowly, making him wonder what wound she was recalling that hadn’t healed.
“I’d like to know who you really are.”
“Nobody,” she said softly.
He felt the pain of her response. It was like a stab to his heart and he wanted to beat the person who had hurt her.
