Page 31 of A Scot for Bethan
“Even if you were drunk?”
Another scowl. “I’m never that drunk.”
“Even if she was a— Even if she was a w…” She didn’t manage to say it, but Murdo understood.
“A whore is still a woman, free to choose, is she not? If she really didn’t want me, or my coin, then I’d have no choice but to use my—” He stopped abruptly and frowned. “Wait. Why are you asking me all this?”
“No reason.” Damn and blast, she had to stop this, or he would get suspicious. “I guess I needed to see not all men would behave like McDonald just did.”
His face tightened. “You can be assured of it. I’m telling you true, my lady, only despicable weasels would attack a woman thus. And I’m not a weasel.”
“No, you’re not. Well, thank you.”
Tears started to sting her eyes as soon as Murdo closed the door behind him. Was this what her life would be from now on? Would she have to fend off attacks from men who wanted to possess her, in order to get to her new fortune? What a frightful prospect that was.
Bethan stayed in the solar, staring through the window until it was too dark to see anything.
Chapter Nine
“Iwill have to leave,” Bethan announced the following morning.
Everyone had broken their fast in the hall with bowls of creamy porridge. In just a few days, this new Scottish dish had become a favorite of hers and she already knew this was what she would want to eat in the morning for the rest of her life. She would have to make sure to ask the cook for the method before setting off, since no one in Wales had heard of it.
“Leave?” Cameron placed his spoon down.
“Yes. There is nothing here for me except trouble.”
“Surely it can wait a few days? You’ve been on the road almost a month already, you’ll need a rest.”
Yes, a rest would have been nice, but she didn’t have that luxury. McDonald’s attack was proof enough. Who would be the next man to think he could use her body to build his fortune? But since she had decided to keep the events of the previous day a secret, she couldn’t reveal the reason behind her decision to leave as soon as possible, so she stayed silent.
“Where will you go?” Cameron asked when he saw she wasn’t going to answer.
In truth, she had no idea. Could she return to Castell Esgyrn? She was certain the Hunters would welcome her again, but she knew she would feel like a failure, coming back still unmarried, even if Dougal’s defection was hardly her fault. Could she go live with Siaspar at Castell y Ddraig? As a thank you for her brother’s hospitality, she could offer to look after his estate. Having no wife, mother, or sister with him, he might welcome the feminine touch, at least for a while, while she thought on a more permanent solution.
Bethan rubbed at her temple. This was a problem she could have done without. For years she had thought she would have a home here, in the Scottish Highlands, and she was even thinking she could come to like the country. On the way here, she had fallen under the charm of the rugged landscape. But with Dougal gone, she had no reason to stay at Crois Dhubh, and staying anywhere else in the vicinity, alone, put her at risk.
“I don’t know yet. I will go to Wales and decide when I’m there.” At least she had a few options, even if they were not ideal. The hand massaging her temple traveled to her neck and rubbed. God, she was so tired. “There is no rush.”
“What is that?” she heard Cameron say.
“What is what?”
“This.” Leaning over to her, he placed his finger, callused and warm, next to hers on the tender skin underneath her ear. Heat flooded through her. How he could make such a simple touch so sensual was mystery. “You have a scratch here.”
A scratch? Courtesy of McDonald’s attack, no doubt. The heat in her veins instantly turned to ice. She had hoped to keep the assault a secret from him and she’d thought to have succeeded.
“I must have caught myself with a pin this morning when I tried to put on a veil,” she said in her best unconcerned voice.
“You’re not wearing any veil,” Cameron pointed out. “In fact, you never do.”
Damn, of course he would have noticed she didn’t. They had been together for a month. “I don’t usually, but I wanted to wear one today. I changed my mind when I saw I could not pin it satisfactorily, probably because I’m out of practice.”
“Mm.” He didn’t sound convinced.
The finger at her throat started to draw slow circles on her skin, stealing her sanity. She swallowed hard. Cameron must have felt it because he stood up abruptly, as if he’d only then realized what he was doing.
“Come. I need to show you the papers pertaining to your new fortune.”
