He joined her laughter. "Aye and my lady wife is ever fond of telling me just how much it shows."
Cat liked this man a great deal even though they"d only just met. "How long have you known Lochlan?" she asked, as they made their way through the crowd again.
"Only a few years, but I"ve known his brother Sin most of my life." He folded his hands behind his back. "What of you, Lady Cat? How long have you known him?"
"Not too terribly long. My cousin married his brother Ewan and now Lochlan is seeing me back to my uncle."
"That"s rather nice of him."
"It is."
They walked for several minutes more while Cat tried to think of some way to broach the topic she truly wanted to discuss.
Simon finally stopped her and gave her a pointed stare. "You know, my lady. You can ask me anything."
"Pardon?"
His gaze was warm and open. "I sense in your silence a need to interrogate me over Lochlan and his family."
"How did you know?"
He shrugged. "I"ve been around many women who were highly inquisitive about the men I"ve known. I figure you"re no different than the others."
It was true, but..."I"m not sure if I should be flattered or offended."
His laughter was low and playfully insidious. "I never openly offend anyone...behind their backs is another matter entirely."
She shook her head at his playful tone. "I find it hard to believe you could ever do anything dubious."
A strange look fell over his face as his features instantly sobered. "There is much a person is capable of in the right circ.u.mstances."
Cat paused as she caught the underlying threat in his voice. "You"re one of the Brotherhood, aren"t you?"
He gave only the subtlest of nods.
She felt horrible for him. "I didn"t know, Simon, please forgive me."
"There"s nothing to forgive. You didn"t know and I didn"t volunteer the information. Besides, I"m not the subject who fascinates you. That would be Lochlan."
She had to force herself to cringe at the truth. "I wouldn"t say Lochlan fascinates me."
"If you say so, my lady." But his tone was filled with disbelief. "In that case, I"ll pretend that I don"t notice the way your voice softens whenever you say his name."
His words horrified her. "It does not...does it?"
"Aye."
She felt heat creep over her face. "He is not the kind of man who intrigues me. Truly. At all."
"If you say so, my lady."
"I do say so, but--"
"You still want to know about him."
She nodded even though she wanted to continue her denials. Yet what was the use? Simon could obviously see straight through her.
Simon led her away from the crowd, to a small, secluded bench where they could sit and not be overheard. "I don"t know much from Lochlan himself. Most of what I know about him and their family comes from his brother."
"And that is?"
Simon took a deep breath before he answered. "I know Sin would lay down his life for him and there aren"t many men Sin feels that way about."
That was good to know. "I heard that their father was rather abusive to others."
Simon gave a bitter laugh. "Aye, you could say that and it wasn"t just to strangers. He was a drunkard who seldom spared his fist to any of his family. Lochlan did his best to protect his brothers, but from what I hear there was never anyone around to protect him."
Her heart ached with those words. "He"s been responsible for the whole of his life, hasn"t he?"
"Aye."
That truly saddened her. She hated to hear of anyone in such a state. While her father hadn"t always been kind, her mother and her mother"s family had been. She"d had an escape from the pain of her father"s court and the moment her mother learned of her treatment, she"d stopped it and kept Cat completely protected. How she wished all children could be so fortunate.
"And there"s never been a woman who"s captured his heart?" she asked quietly.
"Only one."
She was stunned by that. To hear Lochlan speak, she would never have believed it. He acted as if he had no concept of love. "Did he not ask her to marry him?"
"Aye, he did."
Cat was glad she was sitting. Had they still been walking, she would have most likely fallen from the shock of it. "What happened to her? Why didn"t he marry her?"
Simon"s eyes snapped with fury for his friend. "When his father learned of it, he made her his mistress."
She felt the pain of those words like a physical blow. Nay...surely it wasn"t possible. "He did what?"
"He made her his mistress," he repeated, his tone lethal. "Sin said it was his way of teaching Lochlan that all people had a price and that he could trust no one. That no woman would ever look at him as anything more than the laird of his clan. He would be a trophy to them. Something to claim but never anything to love."
Cat was stunned that anyone would be so cold and stupid. And mean. What had happened to his father that he would think no more of people than that? Think no more of his son?
And what kind of woman would be so foolish as to fall for such a deceitful person? "Why would she, if she was involved with Lochlan, take up with his father?"
Simon laughed bitterly. "You ask me to decipher the mind of a woman I"ve never met? I can barely fathom my own wife"s reasoning most days."
Perhaps there was truth to that. People often did the most bizarre things that never made sense to anyone save them.
"Do you know what happened to her?"
He nodded. "She died giving birth to his father"s b.a.s.t.a.r.d a year later. Sin said that Lochlan was the only one who attended her burial and that every year on the date of her birth and death, he takes flowers to her grave."
It was just the sort of thing Lochlan would do. But oh the pain it must cost him. Why would his father have hurt him so badly?
Suddenly, she felt like a fool for complaining about her own father to him. By comparison, her father was a saint.
"Did the baby survive?"
"Nay, it was buried in her arms."
Cat winced as she also remembered her earlier conversation with Lochlan when she"d thoughtlessly asked him about what type of woman he"d want for his bride. No wonder he felt as he did. He"d already offered his heart to a woman only to have her serve it back to him in pieces.
How could anyone hurt another in such a manner?
But then life seemed to be nothing except pain.
And in that moment of sympathy, she wanted to do something nice for him. But what?
"Tell me, Lord Simon, does Lochlan have something he enjoys doing?"
He looked baffled by her sudden switch of topic. "Such as?"
"Chess? An instrument he plays? Anything of that nature?"
"Nothing Sin ever mentioned and nothing I"ve ever seen him do."
Cat paused to look about the various vendors who surrounded them. Nothing stood out among their wares that looked like Lochlan. He was a simple man with simple needs.
And then she saw it...
There, across the way. A smile curved her lips as she rose from her bench and headed toward the stand. There were several n.o.bles in front of the table, glancing over the wares.
Ignoring them, she picked up the small toy that was carved to look like a monkey. She pressed the bottom and watched as it rocked back and forth. Its tiny mouth opened and closed, making a clicking noise. It was perfect.
Unlike Lochlan, it was completely frivolous. And it was just what such a stern man needed.
"Would milady like for us to wrap her toy?" an older male merchant asked.
Smiling even wider, she handed it to him. "Aye, please."
Simon frowned at her as he joined her and she paid the man for the toy. "Is it a gift for a child?"
"Nay. It"s for my protector."
"Lochlan?"
She nodded. "I think he could use a bit of merriment. He seems far too somber to me."
Simon scratched at cheek as he looked skeptical. "I"m not sure how he"ll welcome this gift."
Neither was she. "I suppose we"ll find out, eh?"
"I suppose."
She thanked the merchant as he returned with her parcel. Taking it from him, she started back toward their tent.
Lochlan paused in the crowd as he again had the feeling that he was being watched. He scanned the people around him, but he couldn"t find anyone who seemed to be the least bit interested in him. Still the feeling was there, tingling his skin and begging him to look until he found the source of it.
"Lochlan?"
He turned to see Julia heading for him, with Bryce three steps behind. "Aye, la.s.s?"
"Would you please escort me about so that Bryce may be free to annoy someone else? The saints as my witness if I don"t have peace from him soon, I shall have to kill him."
Lochlan suppressed a smile at her mortal tone.
Bryce let out a disgusted breath. "I have no choice. Bracken will kill me if I don"t. Think you I enjoy watching you fawn over stupid woman things? Oooh, aah," he mocked in falsetto. "How lovely. How beautiful. This would make a most splendid gown...It"s only cloth for Peter"s sake.
Who cares what it feels like?"
She growled at her brother. "You"re such a boy."
"And glad of it. Especially if it"ll save me from the need to pet every piece of fabric at the fair.
Why can"t you go watch the joust like a normal person?"
"See!" she shouted at Lochlan while gesturing at Bryce.
Lochlan cleared his throat as he felt sorry for the lad and grateful that he"d only had brothers.
"Aye, la.s.s, I see quite clearly. Bryce, hie yourself to the lists. I"ll take over the guardianship of your sister for you."
One would have thought the boy had just been crowned king by the look of relief and joy on his face. "May G.o.d bless you, Lord Lochlan. Your kindness truly knows no boundaries and I am sure the Lord will be merciful to you always. Truly, you have just bought yourself sainthood."
Then the boy shot off so quickly that Lochlan didn"t even have a chance to respond.
Julia let out an audible sound of relief before she closed the distance between them and took his arm. "Thank you, my lord. You have truly saved my sanity this day...and most likely my brother"s life. For my next stop had I not found you was surely at an armorer"s booth for a dagger to stab him with."
"Then I"m most glad you found me."
Laughing, she released his arm and flounced off before him so that she could stop and browse at more cloth.
Graham MacKaid stepped back into the shadows as he saw Lochlan pa.s.s by and b.u.mped into his brother Sean who was directly behind him.
"So we have two women to choose from," Sean whispered. "Which one do we take?"
"The one without a brother to back him."
Sean started away from him, but Graham grabbed his arm. "Not yet. We haven"t been following him all this time to act quickly now and risk losing all. Let"s find out more about the woman with him, then we"ll take her."