Page 28 of The Rebellious Countess
“I’ll spend one week with you upon my next journey to Le Conquet.”
Máira closed her eyes, the last bit of her dignity dropping to the floor for her husband to trample. She knew better than to hope. She knew better than to trust a man. Hadn’t her father taught her they could not be trusted?
He had been the best of men, until their mother died. Then he’d shown how utterly untrustworthy every man was—yet there was the Duke of Nithsdale, her sister’s first husband, and the Duke of Ross, her second husband. They were both good men. Honest and generous. Yet maybe they were all fools. Maybe no man was loyal or true. Maybe Elias was merely acting as all gentlemen did, and her ideas of love and marriage were just the romantic imaginings of a young girl.
“You have nothing to offer me now, Elias. You’re married. You have responsibilities.”
“I will no longer be married upon my return.”
“Does your bride know that?” Genuine surprise lifted the tone of Hag’s voice.
“She will when we return.”
Máira couldn’t take it any longer. She had to see her husband’s face. She had to let herself absorb the look of interest in his eyes as he gazed upon another woman. She peered around the corner, her husband’s profile in perfect view.
“We have an accord, Elias. Your next visit you are mine for one week.”
Máira thought she was going to be ill as she watched Hag kiss Elias on one cheek and then the other. Her lips lingering on his skin as she caught sight of Máira.
“You’re lucky that’s one of my favorite pastimes,” Elias said as he pulled away and looked Hag in the eyes. He never noticed Máira standing there watching them make a deal for his body, even though Hag and her big man standing at the door had.
“You men are all alike. Sex, fighting, and drinking. That’s all you think about.”
Elias laughed when she didn’t think he would. Máira thought Hag had left one thing off that list—money. From her experience that was the first thing men prioritized.
“Not necessarily in that order, Hag. Besides you left out money,” Elias said with a laugh.
And any last bit of hope Máira held fluttered out the door with her heart. She closed her eyes, her shoulders sagging with defeat.
“I need you to look after my wife.”
Máira’s gaze snapped up. Like bloody hell.
The fighting Blair sister spirit rose up in her chest. Her father had taught the sisters to fight when they were but bairns, and their mother had told them to embrace their anger and fight with courage. She’d also told them to keep a level head, but that lesson went out the door with Máira’s heart.
“I will not be ‘looked after’ by your mistress,” she growled as she stormed into the room ready to take all three of them on if she had to. She would go home tomorrow on the next ship.
Elias dropped his head into one palm and began to rub his face.
“That’s right, dear Husband. Your subterfuge is over.” The way she spat out the term of endearment left nothing to the imagination about her feelings toward her spouse. A log in the massive fireplace shifted and sparked, sending shards of half-burned wood onto the stone hearth. Not one pair of eyes went to the firebox to ensure the log didn’t fall to the floor. Hag and her man stared at her with interested amusement as she walked upto the bar and moved in between her husband and Hag. Their two stools were entirely too close for a married man to occupy with a woman other than his wife. She turned toward Elias, her back to Hag.
“Look at me,” she demanded, when Elias refused to even acknowledge her presence.
It was as if she were a ghost of years past, attempting to talk to the living who had no idea she was present. Elias looked down at his drink, swished it around and downed the contents of his glass. She watched his throat constrict as he swallowed. Fumed at the way his eyes closed and he savored the burn of the alcohol. She had to bite her tongue, her teeth sinking deeply into her flesh, when he finally said, “Go back to bed, Máira. I’ll be there in a moment.”
His dismissal was all it took for her anger to explode. She pushed him in the chest and watched in stunned fascination as he fell backward. His body hunched toward her, his free hand coming up to grab her wrapper. He caught the opening of her neckline and pulled her over the top of the stool with him.
Máira gasped. Their eyes connecting as the two of them went over like a tree in the forest. Glass shattered. Wood cracked and Elias hit the floor with a thud. She landed on top of him, cushioned by the hard planes of his body as he somehow wrapped around her in a protective cocoon.
She snorted. This man wouldn’t protect her from a midge. Yet still as they lay there staring at one another, their eyes clashing like Titans, she felt his attraction to her grow beneath her belly, and her own body lit with a heat she couldn’t deny. It was Hag’s voice that broke the spell as they glared at one another.
“I don’t think your wife cares to keep my company while you’re gone.”
“She’ll do as she’s told,” Elias ground out.
Máira snorted again. “Like hell. I’m going home on the next ship.”
“That would be theMaribellein a fortnight’s time, and I have business to attend to while we’re here. You’ll stay with Hag.”
