Page 32 of Seduction in the Highlands

Chapter Fifteen

Liam lunged to the door and opened it a little, pushing only his head out. He couldn’t believe what Fergus had just done. “Bloody Hell, lad, get away! I will see ye downstairs.”

Fergus was drunker than he’d seen him in a long time. He was certain Fergus would have overpaid at the house of women or even had money taken from him, but right now, that was not Liam’s problem. He practically pushed Fergus away and closed the door again, fearful of seeing what Elizabeth’s expression might hold.

He swallowed nervously, trying to think of something to say that would erase the embarrassment of only a moment before. He pointed a thumb to the door. “I wouldnae take anything that man says seriously. He is as drunk as a brute and could barely focus on me face when I spoke tae him.” He chuckled a little, but the atmosphere in the room felt frosty.

Elizabeth stood, still clutching the sheet around her, around the body that had so delighted him only a few heated moments before. He couldn’t help watching the shape of it under the soft fabric, but his eyes snapped back up to her face when she spoke, her voice slightly clipped. “I think it is better that you went anyway, Liam. It would be a little unseemly to spend the night together once the alcohol is cleared from everyone’s minds and eyes come morning. The inn is close enough to Fort William and to Mull that I do not wish any of my acquaintance to know about what has occurred.”

Liam felt like he’d been pierced with an arrow. Was she embarrassed by him? Or was she simply embarrassed that she had let things get to this stage? He searched his mind. She had wanted this, right? He had not been a brute and forced himself on her. He began to gather his clothes and was tucking his shirt into his pants. “Aye, I think I should go. I wouldnae want tae embarrass ye lass or bring ye any further humiliation.”

She nodded, watching him dress with no longer an eye of lazy, seductive interest as it had been before, but almost as if she was angry with him. “Yes. Go and find yourself another lass. I forgot that you are so well-experienced with women that one can be used whenever you have the need. One can replace another.” She crossed her arms, and Liam saw red.

Why was she so unbendable now? Where was the soft, wicked lass of delights that he had just spent an incredible hour making love to? Why had she gone and replaced herself with the woman from the library, who had angrily scolded him like a child? He slid on his boots, trying his best to hold his tongue from hurling out too many insults.

Once he was dressed and by the door, he couldn’t take it anymore. That moment had been more than special to him, and she was treating it as if it was nothing. He supposed he should have listened to Brea after all. His hand on the door, he turned back to her and said, “Well, I suppose it is nae matter tae ye. Ye only have had a ‘moment with me and naething more.’

To punctuate his words, Liam slammed the door behind him and sighed deeply, rushed down the stairs to meet Fergus and to get riotously drunk before daybreak. There would be no chance he would sleep tonight, for Brea had gotten her revenge.

* * *

The next morning, the sight of dawn spilling in through the inn windows felt like knives in his eyes, and he groaned as he lifted himself up from a chair in the inn. He was unsure how or when he had decided to bed there, but he was grateful that he had not stumbled into Elizabeth’s room by mistake.

Elizabeth. Feck, what an error in judgment that was.

The words formed in his mind, but he knew that he didn’t really believe them. As soon as Fergus had opened his bloody mouth, the whole of insecurity between he and Elizabeth had poured out, and she turned on him as quickly as Brea might have. He humphed to himself. Perhaps they were more alike than he’d realized.

Rubbing his eyes to clear away the last remnants of sleep, he tried to find Fergus. No one else was in the inn’s main room except the two of them, so he was not hard to spot. A snoring pile of red curls was in the corner chair near the fireplace, and with a few groans, Liam tried to stand up and find his way to his friend.

“God, curse us all,” he growled to himself as he felt his head bang. He hadn’t meant to drink so much last night. Well, he had meant to, but he hadn’t wished for a return of that horrible hangover the day after Charlotte’s wedding. As soon as he returned to Mull, he would seek out Charlotte for another cup of her miracle tea.

He looked down at Fergus. Or perhaps two cups of tea. Shaking his friend awake, he stood up and fastened the rest of his buttons on his waistcoat. He had no idea how they had come undone since he’d fastened them after his time with Elizabeth.

Damn it.He did not want to think about her or last evening at all. He could not bear to think about it and so resolved not to. He had done it before with many women, not giving them a second thought. Surely, he could the same in this situation? Suddenly, the innkeeper burst through a side door, a basket filled with eggs in his hand.

“Och, ye lads are awake now. Our Lord and Savior, but ye lot drank more than I have seen two men consume before. But, nae matter, ye have paid me handsomely for it.” The innkeeper grinned and patted his waistcoat pocket. Liam did not even want to venture a guess at how much money they’d foolishly spent, money they should have brought back to Duart.

Instead, he leaned over the bar, partially to support his groggy weight, and asked, “Did ye see that lass this morning? The blonde one, with the pink cape?”

The old man winked at him. “Och, that bonny one that took ye by the hand last night? Aye, I have seen her. Blessed I am for it, for she is even bonnier in daylight.”

Liam slammed a hand on the table as his headache became even more pronounced. He kept his eyes closed and pinched the bridge of his nose to help alleviate some of the pain. He said in a low voice. “Bloody Hell, man, I dinnae wish tae hear how bonny the lass is or yer opinion on the matter. I simply want tae find out where she was going. Did she tell ye?”

He was afraid they might meet on the coast of the Sound, and he had no intention of spending the whole journey across the water with her and Fergus together. He knew he’d have to see her again, but he wasn’t ready yet. Not in this state and not when he didn’t know what to say to her.

The innkeeper looked only slightly perturbed. He pointed towards the shoreline. “Aye, she told me she was headed tae Fort William. Strange though, last night she asked me where the house of fallen women is, yet I dinnae think she ever went there.”

The old man was rubbing his beard in thought, and Liam had had enough. “Aye, we ken well enough yer thoughts on the lass.” He turned away and back to Fergus, who had begun to stir. Roughly, he lifted his friend to his feet.

“Come, lad. We must return back tae Duart with our catch. Hopefully, we will feel less like shite by the time we arrive there. I have nae interest in spending another day in such frightful pain.”

Fergus groggily nodded his head, and he allowed himself to be pushed to the door. “Wait here.” Liam rushed back to the innkeeper’s storeroom to grab the two sacks they had brought with them. He hauled them to the doorway and thrust a sack into Fergus’s limp hands.

“I feel just as shite as ye do, lad. Ye have got tae carry yer weight.”

“Och, I ken. Leave me be.” Fergus was ornery. Liam was too. But at least he would be spared the sight of Elizabeth in the morning light and her improved level of beauty as the innkeeper had described. At least she would be going to Fort William, and he might be spared her presence for a day or two.

* * *

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