Chapter 12
“D
oes the Laird know about this?” Jamie demanded as he carried in the bags filled with Isla’s things.
He was trailed by Adair, Elspeth, and a pretty young blonde who’d barely lifted her gaze from the floor as Sloane tried to get her settled in.
The woman was barely showing, but she kept her hand around her belly protectively.
Lachlan didn’t know anything about Isla being in the keep and she hadn’t found a great time to tell him. “The Laird is a wonderful man for opening his home up like this,” Sloane said instead and winked at Elspeth. She smirked and shook her head.
“There isna much traffic in this wing of the keep,” Sloane said cheerfully as she kneeled down to start a fire in the fireplace. “So ye might find it quiet, but I will make sure that ye are taken care of. I am sure that ye want a bath.”
“We can help with that,” Adair said after his wife looked pointedly at him. “Aye, Jamie?”
Exhaling loudly, the younger warrior followed Adair out while muttering something dark under his breath. Elspeth chuckled. “Ye have to forgive Jamie. He is brash and sometimes inflates his own importance.”
“He is handsome,” Isla said softly.
“Aye and he knows it. Ye best watch out for that one,” Elspeth advised as she sat down on the bed and smiled. “Isla, I know this is hard for ye, but ye need not worry. We will take care of ye.”
Sloane’s heart went out to the poor woman. She knew what it was like to have a difficult parent. From what she could tell, Isla’s mother was a nasty woman to begin with. For all she knew, Isla had gotten pregnant on purpose in order to get away from her mother.
She would fight with everything she had to make sure that Lachlan let Isla stay here. She couldn’t stand the thought of the poor woman being out on her own in that condition.
“Did ye have a chance to eat dinner before the gentlemen escorted ye here? I bet we could scrounge up some food for ye if ye are hungry.”
Isla shook her head and Sloane turned back to the firewood in frustration. While the woman conversed easily with Elspeth, she didn’t speak much to Sloane. It was understandable. She could only imagine what the clan had been saying about her.
After a few minutes, the fire flared to life and Sloane sat back on her haunches in satisfaction. At least Isla would be warm and safe tonight. “Perhaps we’ll sneak out some biscuits in case ye change yer mind tonight.” She looked to Elspeth for help.
“Oh, aye, an excellent idea,” Elspeth said enthusiastically.
Finally, Isla smiled briefly and nodded.
“Wonderful.” Sloane sprang to her feet. “I’ll get that while Elspeth gets ye settled. Yer bath should be heated shortly.”
Knowing that the pregnant woman would feel more comfortable once she was gone, Sloane took her time as she headed down the hall and toward the kitchens.
It hurt her to know that Isla despised her without even getting to know her, but hopefully, she would come around.
Sloane wanted friends and more importantly, she wanted Isla to feel welcome and safe.
There was no point in doing this if Isla felt the same hostility here that she did at home.
After getting the pregnant woman settled, Sloane and Elspeth headed to Freya’s room. The dark-haired beauty was sitting next to two piles of clothes, and she smiled warmly when they entered. “Ye are just in time. I’ve already finished with half the pile and I was growing bored.”
“Half! Oh, ye sew quickly. I wanted to help ye. I still want to help ye!”
Freya and Elspeth exchanged a look. “And I would love for ye to help, but not tonight. Honestly, I saw the first dress that ye tried to mend and I think ye might need a few lessons first, but Elspeth has agreed to help and ye can entertain us while we work.”
“‘Ye are wonderful to do this,” Sloane said and sighed as she sat in the chair by the fire. “I doona know what I would have done.”
“’Tis the least that we could do and ye can be sure that I will have a word with the servants about this,” Freya said sharply as she handed some of the ruined dresses and a sewing kit to Elspeth.
It was sweet that Freya wanted to help her, but Sloane knew that punishment and harsh words were not the answer to her problems. “I appreciate the offer, but I must win over their respect. I cannae do that if others are fighting my battles for me.” She didn’t want to spend the night thinking about how others hated her, so she changed subjects. “How long have ye two been friends?”
“Since the day that I arrived,” Elspeth laughed. “I arrived on MacFarlane lands with every intention of finding a husband and the first man that I saw was Quinn. Lord, I hated that man on sight. He was oozing charm and laying it on thick and it was Freya who came to my rescue.”
Freya rolled her eyes and snorted. “Aye, it felt like my sacred duty to make sure that the women who were not familiar with my cousin’s reputation didna fall for him.
Of course, I wasna needed in Elspeth’s case.
She could handle her own and it had been a long time since I’d seen a woman dress Quinn up and down the way that she did.
I knew immediately that Adair was the man for her. Ye owe me for that.”
“I disagree. That man is nothing but a pain,” Elspeth retorted, but she smiled widely.
“It was love at first sight. My father was eager to get some of the guards wed, so Adair and Elspeth were married almost immediately. It just took some time to get the two of them to admit that.”
“Well, my wedding was awful. I think it was the talk of the clan until yer wedding, Sloane,” Elspeth added with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “I thought Father Shaw would drop dead right then and there.”
“He was verra upset,” Sloane admitted as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Do people really talk about it?”
“Aye, but only in jest,” Freya assured her.
Sloane doubted that. Most people didn’t speak in jest when it came to her. “This is so nice. I have never had friends like this before.”
Freya and Elspeth exchanged another look and Sloane realized how it must have sounded. Once again, she hastened to fix her mistake. “I mean to say here. I wasna sure that I could make friends here.”
“Ye have nothing to worry about. Once the clan gets to know ye, they’ll love ye too. They just have to shed their misconceptions,” Freya assured her. “How was Isla?”
“Hates me,” Sloane said a little too bitterly before she took a deep breath. She couldn’t let it bring her down. “But I am sure ’tis just her situation. It will take her some time to adjust.”
“Isla is quiet and shy,” Elspeth said gently as she finished up with one of the dresses and picked up another. “It takes her a while to adjust to people and things, but once she does, she is so open and sweet. I think that the two of ye are going to be amazing friends.”
Sloane hoped so. She had no idea what she would do if she didn’t have Freya or Elspeth here by her side.
It was late into the night before the women went their separate ways. Armed with her tailored dress, Sloane slipped back into her chamber and laid it on her bed. Lachlan would already be sleeping. She didna want to wake him, but he’d made it clear that she was to spend every night in his bed.
Slowly, she made her way to the door between their chambers and slipped inside.
Sure enough, he was sprawled naked among the blankets and the light of the fire licked along the smooth skin of his body.
Astounded by the power that he radiated, even asleep, and his stunning beauty, she placed a hand over her chest.
Could she be falling in love with her husband?
Because she’d never had a chance to love anyone before now, Sloane wasn’t sure that she could trust her feelings. She knew all about lust and she wasn’t sure if the connection between her and Lachlan was only physical. She was hoping that it was manifesting into something else.
This was something that she couldn’t even discuss with Elspeth or Freya. It was personal.
“There ye are,” he said huskily as he opened his eyes. “I thought I was going to have to come fetch ye. I doona like coming to bed alone.”
There was no anger in his voice and she unbuttoned her dress and slipped into the bed next to him. “Freya and Elspeth were helping me with a project and I lost track of time,” she whispered as she snuggled next to him. From the heat radiating from his body, they didn’t need the fire.
“What kind of project?”
“Some of my dresses needed mending,” she said.
“Why? What was wrong with them?”
Immediately, Sloane tensed. She didn’t want to tell him the truth, but she didn’t want to lie to him either. “I am not verra good with a needle and thread and Freya and Elspeth are so good. They agreed to help me after I failed in the past.”
That wasn’t a complete lie. She had failed miserably with the first dress. She’d pricked her finger so many times that her dress would need to be washed again.
“Ye didna have a tutor or a mentor to teach ye?” he asked as he rolled over and wrapped his arms around her.
Closing her eyes tight, Sloane hid her face in his chest. He’d told her that here in this bed, she could ask anything and say anything without fear of retribution, but she just couldn’t tell him the truth. Not yet.
“I suppose my father didna think that it was necessary.”
“Freya hated hers. She complained for months during her lessons. My head still aches when I think about it. Of course, she actually enjoys it, but she willna admit it.”
With a chuckle, Sloane surrendered to his embrace and when she felt his breathing slow and his body grow lax, she opened her eyes and studied him.
“I wish I could tell ye what I was feeling. I wish I could tell ye how lucky I am to be here and how happy that ye make me, but I am so scared that ye willna understand. I have never known love, but I believe that I can find it here with ye. Just be patient with me.”
He didn’t answer, but it felt good to get it off her chest. Settling back down in the bed, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.