Page 14 of Bound to a Scot
“Bein’ able tae breed isnae what makes a lass a woman,” Maddox growled.
“Some people believe it is,” he replied. “Laird Macfie obviously thinks so. After all, he married his wife at fifteen, eh?”
Maddox grunted and took another swallow of his wine, staring through the window and into the darkness of the night beyond. Despite all the talk about marrying Cecilia, he couldn’t stop thinking about Emmeline. The moment their eyes had locked when he walked into the dining hall, his heart had leapt into his throat. It still felt lodged there.
The minute he’d seen her, their kiss had popped into his mind and he hadn’t been able to shake it since. And he knew that when she’d seen him, her mind had gone back to that moment as well. He’d seen it in her face. He’d seen it in the way her eyes had widened and her cheeks had colored.
“What is it?” Adair asked.
“What is what?”
“What is it ye’re thinkin’ about? And dinnae bother tellin’ me nothin’ because I can see it all over yer bleedin’ face.”
That was part of the problem with him and Adair being so close—he was never able to get away with anything. The man seemed able to see through him, intuit his thoughts. It drove Maddox crazy more times than not, but it also served him well to have somebody who knew him so well serving as his chief advisor.
“So? What is it, then?”
Maddox sighed but told him everything. Not that there was a lot to tell, but he told Adair about what had happened at the inn andthe moment he’d walked into the dining hall to see her sitting there. He’d told him about his conflicted emotions and that at least a small part of his reluctance to marry Cecilia stemmed from his attraction to Emmeline. Adair drained another cup of wine as he listened and when Maddox had finished, he set his cup down.
“Ye’re a bleedin’ idiot,” he said.
“Aye. I ken that.”
“And ye ken ye cannae dae anythin’ about that,” he said. “Ye’ve got tae put the lass out of yer bleedin’ mind.”
“I ken that too,” he said.
Although he did know that he had to keep Emmeline out of his mind, he couldn’t, no matter how hard he tried. The attraction he felt for her was on a deep, primal level he hadn’t ever felt before. And the more he tried to push it away, the tighter it held him.
“Maddox—”
He waved Adair off. “I ken, I ken.”
“Dae ye though?
“Aye, I dae.”
“She’s the wife of the laird ye’re lookin’ tae ally with.”
“I ken, Adair. Drop it.”
“I cannae drop it. Nae until I ken ye’ve got the lass out of yer bleedin’ mind. And I can tell by the look on yer face, ye dinnae.”
Maddox sank back into his seat and frowned, knowing that Adair was right, but not knowing what to do about it. Not knowing how to get his mind off a woman he knew he’d never have. A woman he knew he shouldn’t even be thinking about.
“This is what I meant when we talked about makin’ a sacrifice fer the good of the clan,” Adair said. “Puttin’ aside yer own wants and desires aside, tae make a deal with Macfie that would secure the future of our people.”
“I ken, Adair.”
“I hope ye dae, because carryin’ on with Macfie’s wife like ye are isnae goin’ tae dae any of us any good. If anythin’, ye’re goin tae get a lot of people hurt because the kind of fire ye’re playin’ with often blows up intae war.”
Maddox scrubbed his face with his hands, biting back the irritation of being lectured by Adair. He would have snapped at him, but he knew the man was right. About everything. If Macfie ever knew what had happened between him and his wife, he could very well declare war on his clan. And while Macfie didn’t have an overwhelming force he could bring to bear, the fact thathis people were hungry and discontented meant he might not either. If war broke out, his reign as Laird of Clan MacLachlan could come to a sudden and bloody end.
“I hear ye, Adair. I’ll put her out of me mind,” Maddox said.
“Will ye?”
“Aye. I will.”
