Page 15 of Kilted Seduction
Silence fell when she entered the hall, filled with expectation and curiosity. Then Aedan rose from his seat and pulled out the chair beside his. “Thora.”
She walked over to his side and put her hand in his. Aedan whispered in her ear. “Mac explained matters tae ye?”
“Aye.” Then, just because she could, Thora turned her head slightly and smiled sweetly at him, looking deeply into his eyes. She smirked at the hiss of indrawn breath Aedan responded with, before he pulled back with the ghost of a smile on his stern face.
“Minx. ‘Tis nae kind tae tease when I’m tryin’ tae introduce ye tae me clan.”
“And why nae? Why should they have any doubt what I am tae ye?” She offered him a winsome smile, then took her place at the table. With a huff, Aedan sat beside her, and the servants began to deliver the meal.
She could hear the whispers that drifted around and see the eyes that would move her way, only to look aside a moment later. She could imagine what was being said at the different tables.
She took a deep breath, determined to ignore whatever rumors might be spreading. It was all part of the plan. She might be horribly embarrassed and feel guilt for what she was doing and the deception she was offering the clanfolk, but she couldn’t allow that to sway her decisions.
She had a part to play, and if Aedan Cameron could manage to contain his feelings and successfully act the part of her ‘lover’ and husband, then she would do no less.
Thora held out her cup for some wine and offered Aedan the warmest smile she could muster.
As he settled back into his chair, Aedan was still shaken by Thora’s look. He’d meant to make sure she understood what he’d planned. He hadn’t expected her to tease him.
Whyhadshe looked into his eyes like that, as if she was boring into his soul? Was it because she was playing a part, as she had when she’d tried to - no, he had to admit ruefully - when she’d seduced him the night before? Or was it…?
He didn’t dare pursue that line of thought, or even consider it too closely. He couldn’t afford to let himself become entranced by her again. Thora MacTavish was far too dangerous for him to let his guard down around her for a second time.
He could see the Council members exchanging glances and whispers and did his best to pay them no mind. He was certain he’d get questions from them later, either when they cornered him in his study, or at another Council meeting.
He turned to see how Thora was coping with the attention, and found himself the recipient of a warm, inviting smile.
It bewitched him. There was a sort of luminosity that made her skin seem to glow and her blue eyes to shine with a soft inner light. Her black hair shimmered in the torchlight where it fell over her shoulder and contrasted with her paleness, giving her a sort of eldritch, fey look.
He’d never seen anyone like her, and for a moment, he almost believed in magic and visions.
Aedan jerked his gaze away and took a long swallow of his mead to clear his head.What am I thinking? I’m supposed tae beplayingthe part o’ a laird in love, nae losing me senses over the lass in truth!
He had to remember that, beautiful as she was, she was as much a trickster and a manipulator as any faerie in the stories his mother had read to him when he was a wee lad. If there was one thing that every story agreed on - even the ones where the Fair Folk were there to help, rather than tease, tempt or harm - it was that it was never safe to trust them.
The same was true of strange maidens who arrived in thunderstorms to bind him into ludicrous schemes for the sake of foiling plots that existed only in their dreams.
He needed to think of something else. Grasping at the first topic he could think of, he leaned over slightly. “Is the food tae yer liking, Thora?”
“Aye. I’m quite enjoying it. Though the company has more o’ me attention.” She offered him a sidelong glance.
She was daring him to play the game with her. They were both playing a role, a role they would have to make believable for the next several days. She was challenging him to match her bold performance.
Aedan never had been one to refuse a challenge, not from any man or woman, be they lady, laird, guardsman or village lass. He smiled back, and offered her a basket of thick-sliced bread. “Aye, the company is exceptional taenight.”
He let his eyes drift over the dress she wore. It was somewhat large on her slim frame, but with the sash of Cameron colors across her shoulder and round her waist, you would have to be standing close to her to tell. “That dress suits ye well.”
“Yer man-at-arms found it for me. And talking about me clothes, alas, I fear Miss Rhiannon is nigh overwhelmed. With yer permission, perhaps we ought tae engage a servant tae tak’ her a plate at mealtimes, and another tae remind her tae sleep? Otherwise, it seems tae me that she may forget tae care fer herself, and I would hate tae see her work marred or delayed by hunger or over-weariness.”
“An excellent suggestion.” Thora was right - the seamstress was quite capable of forgetting to eat or sleep in the midst of her work until she passed out from the strain. She’d once wound up in Maeve’s cottage for three days, after a fainting spell caused her to crack her head on the floor and rattle her skull.
Their conversation reminded him of something else. “I shall need tae have the shoemaker see ye. Ye’ll need some good indoorshoes fer dancin’ and some stout boots fer travelin’. Wouldnae dae tae be wearing anything that ends below the knee with the weather as it is. And I recall, ye lost yer last pair o’ shoes.”
“Only one o’ the pair, me laird.” She gave him an indignant look, which he returned with a raised eyebrow and smug grin, glad to have shaken her composure at least a little bit. “But I cannae deny I’ll be glad tae have some shoes more suited tae the weather when we leave.”
There wouldn’t be time to get her a properly fitted pair, but if he could find a maid with similarly sized feet - or a child - the shoemaker might be able to provide a pair with leather lacing that could be adjusted to fit her.
“Whatever are ye thinkin’ tae put such a smirk on yer face?” Thora was giving him a narrow-eyed look.
