Chapter 14
Aleck drummed his fingers along the table as they waited for Isla to join them for dinner, stealing glances at his wife as they did so. There was a soft smile about her lips, as if she were hiding a secret.
He knew what that secret was. After all, he had partaken in it only an hour before, ruining a good pair of boots in the process.
But the moment he had walked in and saw her in their bedchamber, he knew he had to have her. She had been on his mind during his training, coupled with the new revelation that they had experienced earlier.
What he was going to do about it remained to be seen.
Finally, Isla came down the stairs and he motioned for her to take the seat next to his brother, watching as she did so. She was a delicate thing, and not because she was with child either.
Aleck couldn’t picture Lachlan choosing a woman such as this. He would have thought Lachlan would be partial to a woman like Fennella.
His chest tightened and he glanced back at his wife, seeing the frown on her face as she stared at the woman across from her. What did she think about the situation? Did she believe Isla? He hadn’t asked her earlier.
“My lord.”
Aleck turned to the woman in question, inclining his head. “Ye are among family here, Isla. There is no need for formality.”
She ducked her head, tucking her hair behind her ear. “I wish to thank you for your hospitality. I wasn’t sure what I would find upon my arrival.”
“Where did ye come from?” Duncan asked, his expression belying his distrust for her story as well.
“North,” she supplied, her eyes on Aleck. “Your brother was there before his tragic death, was he not?”
“Aye,” Aleck was forced to agree. Lachlan had gone north to make amends with a clan there and garner support for the battle that would eventually take his life.
Isla gave him a small smile. “I know you must have questions and I am uncertain if I have all the answers.”
“Why didn’t Lachlan bring ye back?” Aleck asked. “He was never one tae withhold secrets.”
To his surprise, her eyes filled with tears. “My father was a brute and refused to acknowledge our marriage. I begged Lachlan to leave before he killed him and just recently was able to get away from his clutches.”
Fennella coughed, but not before Aleck heard her snort, causing him to smile inwardly. His wife clearly didn’t believe the woman or her story.
He, on the other hand, wasn’t so certain still.
“I do not mean to cause any issues,” Isla continued, as she picked up her cup of water. “But I want for Lachlan’s child to be near its family. He would want the child here.”
That was certain. Aleck swallowed and took a moment to drink some ale, his insides in turmoil.
She was potentially carrying his brother’s bairn, his last remaining link to his brother.
Suddenly Aleck could picture a child with Lachlan’s features running through the keep as they used to, the laughter filling the halls.
He could picture raising the child, the future laird, to be like his da, to be a fierce warrior on the battlefield.
“Give me a reason tae believe yer story,” Duncan said after a moment, picking up his ale. “Something that is beyond the fact that ye are with child.”
Isla cleared her throat, smoothing her hands on her skirts. “Your brother had a crescent scar on his neck, one that he said he got from his da when he was younger. I believe it was from...”
“Training,” Aleck finished, remembering the same story. Lachlan and their father had been sparring when he had not blocked their da’s sword and he nicked Lachlan’s skin. The wound had never healed properly, but Lachlan had worn it like a badge of honor.
“That’s right,” Isla said, a soft smile on her face. “He told that story more than once.”
He would. To someone he trusted. It was one of the precious memories they had of their da. But very little people knew of it.
“Well then...” Duncan stated. “It seems ye did know our brother.”
“I knew him very well,” Isla answered. “And I loved him just as much.”
Aleck stared at the gentle swell of her stomach, desperately wishing for a sign from his brother that this woman was stating the truth. He wanted to believe her, but there was still lingering doubt in his mind.
“Will your father come after you?” Fennella asked as she speared her potato. “Do we need to worry about a threat?”
Leave it up to his wife to think about fortifying their keep once more and protecting their clan. Aleck wanted her again, in their bed this time.
“Of course not,” Isla said, giving Fennella a serene smile. “He will not come after me. Likely he is glad that I am out of his keep. My sister, she will give him what he wants. I never was planning to do that.”
Fennella sniffed. “I too have sisters. I know how valuable the females can be.”
“Aye,” Aleck said, giving her a wink. “But I am glad that I was able tae steal ye away lass.”
She flushed and turned her attention to Uncle Fergus, leaving Aleck to talk with his brother and his potential sister by marriage. His brother’s ring was now resting on his hand, a pain that never seemed to lessen though he had thought his marriage to Fennella was finally helping him heal.
Until today, when Isla arrived. And now, he was forced to confront his brother’s death all over again.
It was many hours before he and Fennella walked to their bedchambers, Aleck’s senses dulled by the ale he had consumed. “Och wife ye slay me,” he slurred as she opened the door, giving him a tantalizing view of her arse in the process. “I burn for ye Fennella.”
She turned, her hands on her hips and no look of heated passion on her face. “Do you truly believe her story?”
Aleck frowned. “How can I not? She wouldnae have known that story without Lachlan telling her.”
“That still is not enough,” Fennella muttered, yanking out the leather cord that held her hair back from her face. “There’s something I do not like about her, something that I can’t put my finger on.”
“’Tis means nothing,” Aleck replied, reaching for her. “She means nothing.”
Fennella remained rigid in his grasp. “But it does mean something Aleck! The babe she’s carrying could be the heir, which means you are not laird.”
“But ye are still mah wife,” he reminded her, his thumb caressing the dip in her shoulder. “Nothing can change that.”
She looked up at him and Aleck was taken aback by the hurt in her eyes. “But that would mean you had no reason to make me your wife to begin with. Didn’t you take my brother’s offer because you needed an heir?”
Something in her voice caused Aleck to pause. “Do ye regret marrying me lass?” he asked slowly.
“I dinnae know,” Fennella replied in a tiny voice.
Aleck let go of her then, striding to the door. He could not stay here with her right now. He thought that maybe they were starting to be a true husband and wife, that he had feelings for her, but she was questioning their marriage.
It was not something a man wanted to hear.
“Where are you going?” she asked, as he opened the door. There was a hint of distrust in her voice and he sighed heavily, keeping his back to her.
“Just to see my uncle. Go to sleep Fennella. ’Tis been a long day.”
He left before she had a chance to respond, striding down the hall and toward the study, knowing that his uncle preferred the warmth of the room at night.
Sure enough, Uncle Fergus was seated in one of the chairs near the fire, staring into the flames.
Aleck fixed himself a draught of whisky before joining him, falling into the chair.
“Nephew.”
“Uncle,” Aleck responded, not looking in his direction.
“Something the matter?”
Aleck tipped his head back and downed the whisky, enjoying the fire the liquid caused as it raced toward his gut. “Nae.”
Uncle Fergus chuckled. “I dinnae believe ye Aleck. I’ve seen that look on yer face before.”
“I dinnae want to talk about it.”
“Fine,” he answered, reaching for the bottle of whisky, handing it to him instead. “Then ye are going tae need this.”
Aleck filled his glass again, his thoughts racing. What if Isla was telling the truth? Then it meant he was no longer laird. All the work he had put into this clan, into this keep, would be for his brother’s bairn to oversee.
Not him.
The thought didn’t sit well with Aleck.
“Ye know,” Uncle Fergus said after a moment, “yer da used tae come into this study when he and yer ma had a rift. He would sit in that chair just as ye are now and tell me about all the ways he cared for her until his anger would cease, and he would go back tae their bed with a ready apology.”
“I bet he never was in the position I am in now,” Aleck ground out, slumping in the chair. There were no bastard children that he was aware of and even though this child was not his, he felt like it was.
And he and Fennella were arguing as such. Did she really believe that they should not be wed? He felt it in his very bones that she was the woman for him, that no other would ever come close to how he felt about her.
Finding his brother’s heir was never going to change that about him. He didn’t care if he was laird or not when it came to being her husband. He just wanted to protect her and love her.
“Och so it is women trouble,” Uncle Fergus stated, as Aleck drank his second glass before pouring a third in rapid succession. “Just know this lad, the woman is also right.”
“Not about this,” Aleck growled, thinking of her words. The mere thought of Fennella leaving sickened him to where he could hardly breathe.
“Whatever it is,” his uncle said as he pushed himself out of his chair, “I’m certain it will turn around in the morning. Don’t make us lose that lass Aleck. She belongs here.”
Aleck didn’t reply, waiting until his uncle had quit the room before drinking his third glass, starting to feel the spread of numbness throughout his body. That was what he wanted to feel, nothing at all.
“Lachlan,” Aleck whispered, “what is tae come of this?” He didn’t know what to do about Isla or her claims. He couldn’t turn her away from the keep, not without knowing if the bairn was truly Lachlan’s. If it was, then the child deserved to be here, along with its mother.
If not, then he would cast her out for the liar that she was.
The problem was he didn’t know how to start proving that she was telling the truth and not tear apart his relationship with Fennella. He needed his wife at his side. He needed her strength, her laughter, her smile, and without it, his life would not have meaning.
Not even fighting on the battlefield could give him the feelings that he had whenever he was in her presence. The way she made him feel, he couldn’t explain it.
Groaning, Aleck leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes, Scot’s whisky coursing through his veins. This was his home, his and Fennella’s, and no matter what came of Isla’s story, it would remain so. Now that Fennella was here, he couldn’t imagine it without her.