William held up his hands. “I’ll nae attempt to discuss yer past.”
“Excellent,” Brodee replied. “’Tis a sound way to ensure ye keep yer tongue.”
A derisive sound came from William, and then he said, “I think if ye were nae intrigued by yer new wife, that would be the bigger concern.”
“Oh aye? Why is that?” Brodee asked, finishing the wine in his goblet and setting it down.
William held up his fist and popped out a finger. “She’s quite bonny.”
Her image filled Brodee’s head. The same that had several times. Patience with her arm’s spread wide, skirts tied to expose her shapely legs, and her head thrown back as she twirled under the moonlight with shadows cast by the fire dancing across her face. “Aye,” he replied, not saying more. He had no wish to reveal just how enticing he thought Patience was.
William held up a second finger. “She’s pretending to be touched in the head.”
“Aye,” Brodee agreed. “How did ye ken that she was feigning it?”
“She has too many logical moments,” he replied and popped up another finger. “She’s intriguing. A bonny lass who blurts her thoughts without realizing but purposely is pretending to be cracked? Is it because she dunnae wish ye to touch her or bed her because her dead husband has her heart?” Brodee took a breath to speak, but William kept talking. “Or it is because she fears ye since she only kens ye as the Savage Slayer? Or is it neither? She’s intriguing.”
“Aye,” Brodee reluctantly agreed a third time. “But I dunnae wish to be intrigued.”
William let out a bark of laughter. “I dunnae believe ye have much control over that.”
“I can control it,” Brodee said, willing it to be so.
“Ye think ’tis so easy to control how a woman makes ye feel?”
“Aye, I do. I’ve nae wanted a woman in my life for many years, so I’ve nae allowed myself to feel for one.”
William shook his head at Brodee and gave him a look that implied he had no sense. “Ye are a daft fool. Ye’ve nae had the complication of a woman who meant anything to ye because ye had nae yet met a woman who truly intrigued ye. And now, my friend,” he said, standing up and stretching, “ye are wed for life to a woman who intrigues ye.”
Brodee didn’t like how logical William’s point was. He wouldnotcare for Patience. He had no desire to ever open himself up again to the pain that went along with loving someone and losing them. It was misery.
William clapped him on the shoulder, bringing Brodee’s attention back to his friend. “If ye need guidance in discerning Patience’s true character, I’m happy to aid ye,” he offered with a wink.
Brodee frowned. “What the devil do ye ken about women?”
“Nae much myself,” William said with a shrug, “but I’ve watched verra carefully how a woman can lead a man to the Heavens or to Hell. And from what I’ve observed, men that protest the most, fall the hardest. I saw it happen with my brother.”
Brodee gave a tilt of his head in acknowledgment. He knew William’s brother, Bram, had betrayed the king and his laird for the love of a woman who had led him astray.
“I’ve compiled a list of qualities to be wary of in a woman,” he went on.
Brodee raised a brow. “Such as?”
“She’s cruel to animals and children. She complains a great deal. She’s lazy. She steals. She is nae true to ye.”
The mere idea of Patience bedding another man made Brodee’s fingers reflexively curl into a fist. The vows had been spoken. He would not have made himself hers voluntarily, but that had nothing to do with her. She was the bonniest creature he’d ever beheld, and aside from pretending she was cracked, she seemed lovely. And now he was hers and she was his. He would never take another woman to his bed, and he expected her to never take another man to hers.
“She sneaks off,” William continued, oblivious to Brodee’s inner thoughts. “Especially at night. Oh, ye catch her in a lie that endangers yer life.” William pointed a finger at Brodee. “That one is especially important.”
Brodee laughed. “So ’tis fine if I catch Patience in a lie as long as it dunnae endanger my life?”
“Exactly,” William pronounced. “She may say things such as she’s nae angry when ye ken damn well that she’s vexed. ’Tis annoying but harmless. Now imagine that she feigns her own kidnapping, for instance, and when ye go to rescue her, ye realize it was a ploy to get ye in front of the king’s enemy. For the love of Christ, dunnae join with the enemy for her and betray the king.”
Brodee knew well that William spoke of Bram’s plight. William’s face twisted with shame.
Brodee clasped William on the shoulder. “Yer brother’s shame is nae yers.”
William’s gaze locked with Brodee’s. “’Tis why I pledged myself to ye, Blackswell. Ye honestly believe that, whereas most men believe the opposite. But we are nae here to discuss me. Since ye are nae going to care for yer wife’s feelings, I suppose ye will permit a public bedding tonight? After all, what does it matter if she’s shamed when we all watch ye join with her?”
