Was that grudging admiration Dougal heard in his brother"s voice?
Hugh raked a hand through his hair. "Dougal, I need to ensure that when Caitriona leaves in a few months, we can all return to our normal lives without pain."
Without pain? "You expect to miss her?"
"Not me," Hugh said sharply. "The girls! I don"t want them to grow fond of Caitriona."
"Ah! I thought-" Dougal frowned. "Hugh, are you attracted to this woman?"
To his surprise, Hugh turned red.
Dougal blinked. Hugh? Blushing? "I suppose that"s a yes."
"She"s a dashed pretty woman, so of course I find her attractive! To be honest, I"m looking forward to having her in my bed. But that does not blind me to the fact that, because of their mother"s shortcomings, my daughters might be susceptible to Caitriona. They want a real mother, and I don"t want them to grow fond of her over the coming weeks."
"And thus miss her when she leaves." Dougal shrugged. "Then don"t let them grow close."
"How? If I tell the girls to stay away from her, they will become wildly curious about her, and if I tell Caitriona not to speak with them, she"ll do it just to show me she can."
"That is a difficult situation." Dougal mulled this over. "Perhaps...perhaps you could just keep Caitriona busy."
"Busy?"
"Yes, too busy to entertain the girls and develop a relationship." Hugh immediately looked hopeful, and Dougal gave himself a mental pat on the back.
"That"s a good thought. I could ask Caitriona to make certain that various ch.o.r.es are done-the big ones we usually do in the spring-and take the girls to work with me at the stables whenever possible."
Dougal leaned back and silently toasted himself. Sophia would be so proud he was helping Hugh; she was forever telling him how important it was that they talk to one another.
Hugh nodded thoughtfully. "I can do that."
"You train horses; women are not so different."
"That"s a very good point," Hugh said, looking much struck. "Horses are skittish in nature, too."
"Emotional."
Hugh nodded. "There are parallels."
"Just don"t tell your woman that, unless you fancy sleeping alone the rest of your life."
Hugh grinned. "Afraid I"ll tell Sophia you suggested it?"
"Of course not," Dougal said in a lofty tone. "Besides, we were not speaking of me and Sophia. So, what are you going to tell this wife of yours?"
"I will give her a list of ch.o.r.es to oversee that should keep her, and the entire household, in a tizzy for weeks. The girls thirst for a real mother. Given even the smallest encouragement, they would latch on to Caitriona."
"Maybe she doesn"t have to leave in three months," Dougal suggested.
Hugh frowned. "I have no room in my life for a woman, much less a wife. Furthermore, I vowed to protect my daughters from harm, and they would be deeply hurt if they grew to care for whoever I married and the relationship failed."
Dougal poured more port into his and Hugh"s gla.s.ses. "What did Caitriona say when you told her about the children?"
Hugh was silent.
Dougal lowered his gla.s.s. "You have told her, haven"t you?"
"No."
"Good G.o.d, why not?"
"At first because we were mere strangers, and I"m not one to discuss the children anyway. Then I was busy arranging things for the d.a.m.ned marriage, and...well, I forgot."
"What about on the way here?"
"It seemed such an awkward thing to blurt out." Hugh sighed. "d.a.m.n it, I never wanted to marry! If I could have found a better way to deal with the scandal, I"d have done it, but I had no choice. Then I spent the entire trip here trying not to-" He glowered. "I will tell her first thing in the morning."
"Good. See that you do."
Hugh finished his drink and stood. "I know what I need to do," he growled. "It"s just d.a.m.nably inconvenient."
"Consciences work like that."
Hugh made his way to the door. "Yes, well, I"d be better off without mine."
"Nonsense. The girls need your stellar example. Besides, it takes a lot of pressure off of me."
"Pompous a.s.s."
Dougal just grinned.
Hugh reached the door and hesitated. "Dougal, thank you for the advice. You"ve given me something to think about."
"If Sophia had been here, I"m sure she would have told you the same thing." Dougal thought for a moment. "Except the part about training women and horses." He put down his gla.s.s. "Meanwhile, I suggest you find a gentle way to tell your new bride the rules of the house, including that you have three lovely daughters and she"s to leave them alone. Be firm, but fair-you know how it"s done. Your horses are the best trained in the entire country. Shall I return the girls in the morning?"
"After breakfast, if you don"t mind. I"ll need a little time to inform my new bride of everything."
"I shall be off, then." With a flourishing bow, Dougal sauntered out of the sitting room.
In the hall, he took his coat and hat from the footman, slipping the lad a shiny coin.
Liam beamed. "Thankee, m"lord!"
"You"re quite welcome. Now that his lordship has a new bride, I may need your services even more."
Liam placed a finger beside his nose and gave Dougal an exaggerated wink.
Dougal chuckled. "Good lad! I shall expect to hear from you." He knew it wouldn"t be all smooth sailing for Hugh. As Dougal well knew, any woman worth her salt would take a list of rules as a challenge. That was how he and Sophia had started their own courtship, after all-with a challenge.
His lovely wife had been a crack gambler and had brazenly challenged Dougal to a series of card games in an effort to win back the house her father had lost. Naturally, Dougal hadn"t been able to turn from such a tempting offer, especially one with golden hair and the lushest mouth he"d ever seen.
Now he realized his hot pursuit had come from more than mere pride, but at the time he"d have sworn the whole thing had to do with Sophia"s defiant att.i.tude.
It would be good for Hugh and his Caitriona to face challenges; that was the true stuff of life.
Dougal walked out into the crisp night air where his horse awaited. At least there would be something interesting to do while Sophie was in Edinburgh. When he brought the girls home, perhaps he"d stay here for a few days, too.
The fireworks should be very entertaining.
Chapter 10.
"Not all surprises are welcome, ye know. Some are hard, cold facts that run ye down and leave ye in shock."
OLD WOMAN NORA TO HER THREE WEE GRANDDAUGHTERS ON A COLD WINTER"S NIGHT Triona awoke slowly, wonderfully warm and coc.o.o.ned in fresh sheets. She smiled at the delicious warmth, moving her legs to untangle herself from the bedding. Then she realized that she wasn"t just tangled, but trapped, almost as if- Her eyes flew open and she realized she was securely tucked against Hugh MacLean, her back against his chest, his arm holding her against him, their legs entwined.
She"d thought they might have separate bedchambers; many married couples did. Still, she savored the coziness of feeling so protected. His arm was a comforting weight on her shoulders, his hand loosely curled over one breast, which caused her breath to quicken. But it was the feel of his legs, tangled with hers where her night rail had slipped up around her knees, that made her want to snuggle deeper in his arms.
His skin was so warm. She could feel the powerful muscles of his calves and thighs, and the rough hair on his chest- Was he naked?
She sat straight up, scrambled from between the sheets, and jumped out of bed, her feet sinking into the plush rug.
MacLean pushed himself up on one elbow, his hair falling over his forehead. "What"s wrong?"
As the sheet slipped down, Triona found herself admiring his broad, finely muscled chest and flat, rippled stomach.
He started to toss the sheets aside.
"Don"t!"
He froze. "Don"t what?"
"Don"t get up! You...you don"t have any clothes on."
After a startled moment, he gave a deep laugh. Still grinning, he dropped back against the pillows and tucked his hands beneath his head. "I always sleep in the nude."
Didn"t he get cold? Perhaps not, for his skin had been as warm as if he"d been standing in front of a fire. Still, it seemed decadent and naughty.
He grinned, his gaze flickering over her. "I can see you believe in the benefits of st.u.r.dy nightwear. There"s enough material there for two gowns. Maybe three."
She smoothed her night rail. "It"s cold at Wythburn. The chimneys put out more smoke than heat, so we all wear sensible nightwear." The thought of her brothers and sisters made her throat tighten with homesickness, so she shoved the thought aside. "I was afraid to catch the ague."
He smiled slowly. "I haven"t been ill a day in my life."
She"d wager that was true, for he certainly looked exceedingly...healthy.
He reached down and flipped back the sheet on her side of the bed, revealing a narrow strip of his muscular hip and leg. "Come back to bed; it"s too cold to be up. Give Mrs. Wallis"s troops a little time to light the morning fires."
It was a bit cold, even standing on the thick rug. And he"d felt so very warm.
Her gaze took in his broad shoulders, the way his chest tapered down to narrow hips that were barely hidden by the sheet.
Suddenly it was hard to breathe. Her heart pounded and her nipples tightened in the most unusual way.
"Come back to bed, Triona. It"s too cold to be up."
She frowned. "No, really, I-"
Suddenly, the wind moaned-a dull, roaring moan that rattled the windows and stirred the curtains. Cold air whooshed down the fireplace with such force that a puff of ash blew out, and Triona shivered as her night rail fluttered about her.
She glanced suspiciously at MacLean. He was still in the same relaxed position, hands locked under his head, but there was a tension about his face-the look one got if one had a headache.
She eyed him. "You did that."
He laughed, though he rubbed one temple. "What if I did?"
"I"ve always heard that the MacLeans cannot control the weather; they just start it when they get angry."
"Hmm. Apparently you heard wrong."
She eyed him warily, crossing her arms over her chest against the swirling cold, not sure how she felt about this development. "Can the others do the same?"
He gave a smug smile. "No, just me. Now, come to bed, sweet. It"s not even seven yet, and I refuse to give up a perfectly good morning. I get so few, because of-" He stopped suddenly.
She rubbed her cold arms. "Because of what?"
He lifted the blankets again. "Come to bed, and I"ll tell you."
The bed did look tempting, and the wind had sucked all of the warmth from the room. It would take the fireplace hours to rewarm it. She hugged herself tighter, her teeth beginning to chatter.
Hugh"s smile vanished. "d.a.m.n it, I didn"t mean to make you freeze. Come to bed!"
She shook her head, her teeth clattering now.
With a m.u.f.fled curse, he tossed back the sheet and rose. For one glorious instant, the light from the window by the bed highlighted him from head to toe.
Triona couldn"t help but appreciate his fine masculine form. He was every nude statue she"d ever seen-a wide and powerful chest, narrow hips, a flat, rippled stomach, and ma.s.sive thighs.
She only had one second to look, because he scooped her up and carried her back to his bed, where he tucked her under the sheets and blankets, then climbed in beside her.
Triona closed her eyes, savoring his warmth as he wrapped himself around her.