Page 45 of In Bed with a Highland Beast

Bonnie was an unexpectedly skilled opponent. She was not as strong as Lucia, lacking the raw brawn that came with a life of physical labor, but she was fast and light on her feet. It made for an exhilarating fight, one that had Lucia’s blood pumping and her lips stretching into a wicked grin.

The best part of it all was that her grin was reflected on Bonnie’s own face. She, too, was enjoying this, and Lucia was glad to not only have a worthy opponent but also have this love for the fight in common with her.

The sparring only ended once both of them were exhausted and panting, with Lucia’s sword against Bonnie’s neck. Part of it hadbeen skill and part of it had been pure luck, Lucia knew. She had moved at just the right time in just the right way to get Bonnie where she wanted her, but had she been only a moment late, Bonnie would have managed to escape her.

Laughing, Lucia lowered the sword and Bonnie turned to her with a laugh of her own, shaking her hand.

“Ye fought well,” Bonnie said.

“So did ye,” said Lucia, wiping the sweat off her forehead with her free hand. “I didnae expect ye would be so good.”

“Me wife has many talents!” Evan called as he rushed to Bonnie, pulling her into a tight embrace from behind. “Next time,mo graidh, perhaps ye shall win. We will train together.”

“It was enough fer me tae fight such a formidable opponent,” Bonnie said with a small shrug, placing her hands on Evan’s arms. “Thank ye, Lucia. I needed that. I can never train with the lads like that. And I usually enjoy archery more, so I rarely spar.”

“Personally, I dinnae think it is very ladylike fer lasses tae fight,” said Kayla as she and Alaric approached. “It isnae proper.”

With surprise, Lucia saw Alaric shoot Kayla a stern look, one she wouldn’t expect from him in this situation.

“Lucia had nay choice but tae fight from a young age,” he told Kayla. “She didnae have the luxury tae think whether or nae it is ladylike.”

Silence fell over the training grounds after Alaric’s words. Lucia glanced at Kayla and found her cheeks burning bright red. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but no sound came out, so she simply closed it once more and glared at the ground between her feet until, once again, Isabeau broke the tension in the air.

“All I ken is that I could never dae such a thing,” she said in that light, almost foolish way of hers. Lucia knew Isabeau was no fool, though. She was only playing the part, knowing very well that it suited everyone present if she pretended to be a naive girl. “I tire simply watchin’! I envy those who can fight like that! I doubt I could even hold a sword.”

“I can teach ye,” Lucia offered immediately. It was like an instinctual response; she could never stop herself from offering to teach girls and women how to fight.

“Ach, that would be lovely, Lucia,” said Isabeau in that same tone, and Lucia didn’t know if she truly meant it or not, but she would be more than happy to provide the lessons. Then again, she figured that if Isabeau truly wished to learn, then she could have already been taught by Bonnie or her brothers. Perhaps she didn’t even need to learn at all; perhaps she already knew how to spar and only pretended to be clueless. “Thank ye. But now I think we should all head inside fer some tea. It is gettin’ chilly out here.”

That much was true, Lucia thought. The wind was like needles on her exposed and sweaty skin, and though her body felt warm, she knew she could easily catch a cold that way. As they all headed inside, she stayed at the back of the group and watched as Kayla once again sidled up to Alaric, trying to keep her jealousy and her rage contained. It was foolish, she told herself, to be jealous. Alaric had told her she was the only one for him and she had to believe it. He had told her he would speak to Evan and she had to put her faith in him.

She wasn’t used to giving up control like this. But what other choice did she have, other than to sit and wait?

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

It wasn’t the first time Alaric had seen Lucia fight; far from it, in fact. But every time he saw her, something ignited in him. She was not only strong and graceful, but as strong as any soldier he knew. Alaric himself had always felt more kinship with soldiers than he did with nobles since the life he had chosen was one that had him spending more time with the former rather than the latter, and it was yet another difference between Lucia and Kayla that he couldn’t ignore.

He had to speak to his brother. There was no other way around it.

As they all sat in the drawing room drinking tea, Alaric nodded to his brother, giving him a meaningful look. It was a look they had shared plenty of times before, and so Evan knew to excuse himself and follow Alaric out of the room subtly, the two of them heading to the courtyard, where they could be away from the others.

Alaric had some small reservations about leaving Lucia with Kayla, but at least Bonnie and Isabeau were both still there. How wrong could things go, he wondered, in the time that he would be gone from the room?

“What is it?” Evan asked as they stepped outside. Alaric had a suspicion that Evan already knew what he was going to tell him, or at least had an idea. His brother was clever, and he had been watching him and Lucia all day.

“I need tae tell ye somethin’ an’ I need ye tae consider it carefully,” he said. “Even if yer first reaction is tae disagree.”

Evan took a deep, steadying breath, already reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose, as he often did when he was trying to stave off an oncoming headache.

“Go on,” Evan said.

Alaric took a steadying breath of his own. Then, he said, “I dinnae wish tae wed Kayla.”

Feigning shock, Evan gasped. “Truly? I would have never thought.”

Rolling his eyes, Alaric pushed Evan with his shoulder. “Dinnae dae this now,” he begged. “This is serious. I didn’t plan to, but I have fallen in love with Lucia, Evan an’ I cannae hurt her like this.”

For a long time, Evan said nothing. When he spoke, he did so carefully, his tone measured. “I understand,” he assured him. “But I’m sure ye also understand what it is ye are askin’ o’ me.”

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