Page 42 of When A Laird Loves A Lady
Once Bridgette composed herself,she said, “We must first work on yer appearance. Ye look affright.”
Marion grimaced and raised her handto her hair, but Bridgette caught her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. “Weall look affright after travel. We’ll clean ye up afore supper when we returnto the castle. That should make him remember why he wanted to bed ye from thestart. I have a gown ye can borrow that is sure to reawaken his desire, thoughI dunnae think a man who cares nae for a woman stares at her the way he staredat ye. His eyes were full of fire.”
“Truly?” Marion asked in awe.
Bridgette nodded, but Marionthought perhaps her new friend was just being nice.
“What else besides the bath and thegown? What do you recommend?” Having a friend was wonderful. Not that Angus hadnot been a friend, she thought guiltily, because he had, but he was more like afather than a friend, and she could never talk to him of the things she andBridgette were talking about.
Bridgette motioned Marion forward.“Let’s talk as we walk. If we dunnae move quickly we’ll nae have time to visit theseer and make it back afore anyone finds us missing.”
Marion nodded and strode besideBridgette down the dense trail that was growing deeper in shadows. As theywalked, Bridgette cleared their path with a dagger she removed from her boot,and Marion thought of the dagger she’d lost in the river, the one Angus hadgiven her. She was sad to have lost the gift, but she needed to acquire a newdagger. A bow and arrows would be lovely, as well. She’d never owned a set,though she was an excellent shot. Father had refused to allow her to ownweapons. Both daggers she ever had, Angus had secretly given her.
Her musings were interrupted whenBridgette spoke. “I think ye must have done something right last night becauseI swear it was desire burning in Iain’s eyes today, so what I think must havehappened or is happening is that Iain feels guilty about wanting ye. He’s agood man, and this may be hard to hear, but he loved Catriona fiercely.”
It wasn’t hard to hear. That he’dloved Catriona was not the problem. In truth, it was a good thing because itproved he had the capacity to love fiercely. The problem was, his ability anddesire to love that way again seemed to be gone. Where did that leave her? Shehated to think that she was bound to a man for life who would never love her.And in spite of her earlier foolish thoughts about leaving him—sheknewthey were foolish—she had nowhere to go. And besides that important fact, she’dmuch rather stay and have a good, strong marriage.
She wrung her hands together whileducking under a swinging branch as she finally answered. “I know he loved her.And I know he thinks no one can take her place, but I have no wish to do that.He told me right before we were married that he would never love me, that he hadno desire to love the way he had again.”
“Oh,” Bridgette said. The one wordwas low and accompanied by a wince. “That is bad.”
Marion’s shoulders sagged. “I know.There is not much hope for a future that begins that way.”
Bridgette stopped on the trail,patted Marion on the shoulder, and then pointed toward a hill. “The seer isover that hill in a cave.” Bridgette looked back to Marion. “I think what yemust do is first make Iain mad with desire and then show him that he kinnaelive without ye and how ye make his life better. He will nae be able to helpfalling in love with ye, no matter what he may think currently.”
Marion nodded. That seemed likegood advice, except she had spent so many years trying to show her father thathe could not live without her and he had never grown to love her. The idea oftorturing herself in that same way made her stomach knot, but she could notdeny the longing she felt. She’d always dreamed of having love and a family,and Iain was her husband now. If they never loved each other, her dream wouldbe dead.
“I’ll try,” she said.
Bridgette grinned. “When I fell inlove with Lachlan it was as if lightning struck me. One day, he rescued me froma man trying to seize me, and I knew then that I loved him. How did ye and Iaincome to be together?”
Marion quickly told Bridgette ofKing Edward’s decree, her attempt to escape marriage to Froste, and Iainrescuing her.
Bridgette sighed, a wistful smiletugging at her lips. “Did ye fall in love with him after he rescued ye, then,as I fell in love with Lachlan?”
“I don’t love him,” Marionasserted, her chest tightening. “I don’t plan on being that vulnerable andallowing him into my heart until I know he is willing to offer love in return.”
Bridgette snorted. “If ye ask me,ye already love the man.”
“I didn’t ask you,” Marion snapped.
Bridgette smirked at her.“Defensive people are usually trying to deny something.”
“I cannot possibly love him! I haveonly known the man for a few days!”
Bridgette moved around Marion andstarted climbing the hill toward the cave as she spoke. “I only knew Lachlanfor two days afore I understood he was the one for me.” Bridgette swung aroundand looked down at Marion from the top of the hill. “My mum knew my da onlyfour days afore she loved him. So dunnae try to tell me ye kinnae love him yet.Love is nae only for those who have known each other for a long while. If itis, then ye may as well give up hope because Iain knew Catriona all his life.”
Marion’s breath caught in herchest. That was exactly what she feared, that she was the biggest sort of foolto hope Iain could ever love her with the same depth he loved his first wife.That was the real problem, she realized. She didn’t simply want his love asshe’d told Bridgette. She was greedy, and she’d waited all her life to beloved. She wanted him to love her fiercely and completely and with an intensitythat rivaled, but was not the same as, what he had felt for Catriona. And thenshe could love him the same way in return.
Eleven
Marion stood at the opening of the cave, whereBridgette had instructed her to stay. A raspy, crackly voice that sounded as ifit had been well used floated on the wind from within. She could hear that the seerwas speaking, but she could not determine what she was saying. As Marionwaited, she stared at the orange sun and watched it lower in the sky. Soonthey’d be returning to the MacLean hold in the dark, and it would be much toolate for someone to not have discovered they had left the castle.
“Bridgette,” she hissed into thecave. “Bridgette, we must go!”
When Bridgette suddenly appearedwithout a sound, Marion yelped. “You Scots must be taught at birth how to movewithout making a sound,” she grumbled.
Bridgette laughed. “Nay. They waittill we can walk,” she said with a wink. Then she looked up at the sky and frowned.“I’d nae known I was in there so long.”
