Page 45 of Seductive Scot
“Nae really,” she said, shifting and looking even more culpable. “I merely spoke around him of the fact that I was now wed to a McCaim and that the McCaims were a powerful clan. I reminded him that my husband had full control of my castle now, and that my powerful husband had powerful allies in the MacKinnishes, who were here with him because my husband’s mother was a MacKinnish. I might have suggested that they would think of ye as family, as well, which made yer prospects much more pleasing. And I might have mentioned how the queen adored ye.”
“Maggie,” Deirdre scolded.
“What? Can I help it if Fearghas is a fool? Ye are too good for him. Ye have always been too good for him, and just like Cedric, he does nae see how much ye have to offer with just yerself, but the moment he thinks ye can bring him something—”
“He wants me for what I can bring him.”
“Aye,” Maggie said in a sour tone. “So if his pursuing ye happens to make Reikart jealous, and that jealousy happens to make him release his guilt and fall in love with ye, I do nae see the harm in it. Do ye?”
Deirdre sucked her lower lip between her teeth in thought. “Nay,” she said slowly, “but I do nae know how I feel about Reikart. What if I realize we do nae suit? What if I realize we do, and he will nae open himself up to me?”
Maggie patted Deirdre’s hand and then rose. “’Tis a chance ye will have to take, Deirdre. When I fell in love with Rhys, he told me at first that he could nae allow himself to stay in my time with me, so we could never be.”
“I didn’t hear this part of the story,” Shona said rising, as well, and turning to face Maggie, who nodded. “Aye.” She turned red as a ripe summer berry. “I think I may have accidentally seduced him, though at the time, my intention was simply to grasp the moments with him that I could.”
Shona looked thoughtful for a moment before she glanced down at Deirdre once more. “Reikart is terribly stubborn. I’ll do what I can to ensure ye two have time alone to get to know each other, but if ye find he has yer heart, ye may have to follow yer sister’s lead.”
Deirdre could feel her mouth hanging open. “I could never purposely seduce yer son.”
“Of course not, dear,” Shona said, patting Deirdre’s shoulder. “It would be accidental, just as yer sister did,” she said, grinning at Maggie.
“Itwasan accident!” Maggie protested.
“Yes, yes, of course it was. I accidentally let another man kiss me when I knew my husband could see us—before my husband was my husband and was too foolish to know he wanted to be my husband,” Shona said. “We are all only human, so we all have accidents.” She winked, and Deirdre laughed. She hadn’t laughed as much as she had in the last few days in years. “Might I suggest ye be careful not to accidentally touch Reikart, accidentally swim in yer léine when he might happen upon ye, accidentally hint that ye might need to entertain another’s intentions of courting ye. These are allaccidentsthat might be consideredseduction.”
“Ye are bad,” Grace chastised her sister.
“Yes, I am,” Shona said, now grinning from ear to ear. “I was already quite incorrigible before I time-traveled, but once I landed in the future and got a taste of independence and the rights women have, I did become quite impossible. Luckily, my independent nature was just what my husband wanted.”
“I’d love to hear all about how women are in the future,” Deirdre said, completely fascinated.
“Ask Reikart,” Shona responded with a wink. “We’ll go down now and watch them train for a bit, and then the two of ye should work on his Court etiquette. It will be dangerous there, and ye’ll need to rely upon each other.”
“I want to rely upon myself,” Deirdre said.
Shona smiled. “Good. That will drive my overprotective son mad. It’s perfect.”
Chapter Fourteen
You cannot put a fire out–
A Thing that can ignite
Can go, itself, without a Fan–
Upon the slowest night.
~ Emily Dickinson, “You cannot put a fire out” (530)
Reikart was going to ignore the attraction he felt for Deirdre if it killed him. And at the moment, it felt like it might. He swung his sword up as Dermot had instructed and tried to concentrate on his uncle as he showed him another move to master. But as Deirdre strolled across the courtyard with her sister, his mom, and his aunt, he was having a hard time keeping his mind on the training and his gaze off her.
A swish came from his right, and he jerked his focus back to his uncle just in time to parry a powerful blow that vibrated down the length of his sword arm. It was a damn good thing he’d been going to the gym daily for years or he would be worried about his ability to protect himself. The history books hadn’t exaggerated the ferocity of the Highlander men; they had to be fierce to survive.
“If ye take yer attention off yer enemy, ye’ll die,” Dermot snapped.
Reikart nodded, and he managed to keep his attention where it needed to be for several rounds. He stopped strikes from the right and left, dipped low so he didn’t take a blow to the head, and jumped over Dermot’s sword as he slashed low and toward his shins.
“You trying to cut me?” he asked, swiping at the sweat that was running down his forehead despite the winter temperatures.
