“Dunnae be silly,” Marion exclaimed from the other side of Bridgette before scowling at Lachlan.
LachlanneededBridgette to move. Being so near her would drive him out of his head. Yet, he did not want her to depart the table, nor his side. “Nay, dunnae depart. It’s just that Helena will be down to supper shortly, and she will wish to join me, I’m certain.”
“Helena can have my seat,” Rory Mac replied, getting up from where Cameron usually sat at the end of the dais. “Alanna’s been shooting me looks for aid with the bairn since I sat,” he said with a grin. “Best to make her happy now so she’ll be sweet to me later.”
Iain chuckled at Rory Mac’s words as their friend exited the dais. Lachlan needed to speak to Iain and tell him of Helena’s search of the castle, but Bridgette and Marion were sitting between him and his brother, and he certainly could not speak freely in front of those two. Restless and impatient to find a private moment before Helena arrived in the great hall, Lachlan shifted in his seat as he tried to come up with an excuse to get Bridgette and Marion—or allow him and Iain—to leave the dais for a moment. He could think of nothing, and as his irritation grew, he reached to grab his wine goblet, and his hand landed atop a soft warm one—Bridgette’s.
Startled, he cut his gaze to where their hands lingered together over the same wineglass. Suddenly, she trembled under his touch. If lightning had struck him, it would not have hit him as hard as his desire for her in that moment. He inhaled sharply as his fingers curled of their own volition around her small hand.
When he realized what he was doing, he opened his mouth to apologize and make some inane excuse, but the awareness that she was not attempting to move her hand but staring at him with a look of raw desire, struck him speechless. Her lips parted even as her chest rose and fell with the quickening of her breath. She wanted him, too! Exultation and fear stole his breath. God’s teeth. It was one matter of torture to resist the temptation she presented when he had believed that she did not desire him in the least, but if his understanding of her was clear now, resisting her would be impossible! No. His mind rejected such weakness of control and character. He could not weaken whether she desired him or not, and likely, he was simply conjuring a false image in his haze of lust.
“I’m sorry, lass,” he choked out as he released her hand.
“Nay,” she replied, her voice hoarse. “I did nae see ye reaching for the goblet. ’Tis yers, I’m certain. Mine’s just here.” She reached for her goblet, picked it up, and drank the entire contents in a few gulps.
“Thirsty?” Marion asked, eyeing Bridgette with raised brows and a strangely knowing half smile.
“Aye, I’m verra thirsty,” Bridgette snapped. “And now I wish to dance.” She gave Marion a pointed look. “Do ye care to join me with the women?”
It was only then that Lachlan noticed a small group of women had gathered at the back of the great hall and were forming a circle to dance.
Marion smirked at Bridgette but then nodded. “I suppose I could—”
Before Marion could finish her sentence, Bridgette had risen, taken Marion by the hand, and was practically dragging a half-laughing, half-protesting Marion off the dais. He stared after Bridgette, unable to look away from her gently swaying hips. His fingers twitched to grasp them and—
“Lachlan?”
Lachlan twitched at the sound of Iain speaking to him. Slowly, as not to appear as unaware as he truly had been of his brother, Lachlan turned and looked at Iain. “Aye?”
Iain slid across the bench toward him, making Lachlan suspect his brother had something to say that he did not want overheard. Lachlan did, as well, so it suited him.
Iain stared hard at Lachlan and then slid his gaze toward the floor in the direction of Bridgette and Marion. “Is there anything troubling ye?” he asked before looking at Lachlan once again.
Lachlan tensed and met his brother’s unwavering stare with one of his own. “Nothing I kinnae resolve.”
“Ye ken the bond of brotherhood between the four of us makes our clan stronger than others where brothers fight amongst themselves and have divided their clans because they kinnae set their own desires aside.”
A tick started in Lachlan’s jaw. Was Iain warning him to stay away from Bridgette? He despised himself for apparently being transparent enough with his lust that Iain suspected something. “Nothing is more important to me than the three of ye,” Lachlan assured Iain.
Iain nodded. “’Tis how it should be until the woman meant for ye comes along. Then, I vow to ye brother, if she is meant for ye and ye for her, nothing will be more important to ye than she is. And all else will resolve if approached with great care.”
“I’ll remember that when the woman meant for me comes into my life,” he said slowly, not certain what Iain was telling him.
“Make sure yer eyes are open so ye dunnae miss her, aye?”
Lachlan nodded, and Iain clapped a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “I’m glad we had this talk. ’Tis the truth it was Marion’s idea. Actually, she insisted. She is worried about ye possibly binding yerself to Helena for life. Marion claims she has a bad feeling about the woman, and wants me to convince ye to rethink things.”
Lachlan chuckled at the irony of Marion’s feeling and how correct she was. “What did ye tell Marion?”
Iain flashed a grin. “I pledged to try, which is likely why she went off to dance with Bridgette when the lass fairly dragged her away. What do ye suppose had Bridgette so eager to quit the dais?” Iain speared Lachlan with a curious stare.
“I’ve nae a notion,” Lachlan replied, glad it was not a blatant lie. He had a half suspicion, which was likely just his imagination. “Let us nae tarry on Bridgette and what has nettled her. I’ve proof that Helena is here to find something.”
Iain’s eyebrows arched even as his lips formed a grim line. “What proof do ye have?”
Lachlan quickly told Iain of his afternoon spent following Helena and how it had ended with Helena trying to seduce him.
Iain picked up his wine goblet, swirled the liquid around, and set it down without drinking. Lachlan knew his brother was thinking upon what Lachlan should do. Finally, Iain spoke. “We must learn what she’s seeking,” he said slowly, almost as if testing the words.
