Page 64 of Seduced By the Reckless Highlanders
“Ah, this is my friend, Bernard Taggart.” William smiled and stood aside, holding out his arm to usher Bernard into the group.
At once a pretty, young, blonde woman stepped forward and offered him her hand, which he bowed over since he was not permitted, as a member of the lower classes, to kiss.
“Aileen Montgomery,” she said, gazing at him admiringly. “Why did we not see you at dinner last night, sir?”
“Because I am not one of you, mistress,” he answered.
The young lady looked puzzled. “One of us?” she asked. “What do you mean?”
“I am not of the nobility,” he answered. “I am merely a guard.”
“Oh, what a pity.” Her smile lost some of its sparkle suddenly, and he had the impression of a shutter going down between them. He felt nothing; he hated snobbery, as did William.
“Come, Bernard,” William took his friend by the arm and led him away, glaring at the ladies. “If my friend is not welcome in their company then neither am I.”
Bernard shrugged, then laughed. “Will, I simply do not care what they think of me. As long as you and Laird Ballantine are my friends, I need no one else. Let them admire me or men of their own class—I will not lose sleep over it.”
“Do you not want to marry someday?” William asked.
“And I have told you at least a hundred times before,” he answered, unconcerned. “Perhaps if I find the right woman, but I will not go searching for her. If I don’t find anyone, I think I will buy a dog. They love you whether you are a guard or a laird or a laborer.”
William laughed loudly at that. “It is my duty, and I am a dutiful son, and I have found the right woman. It is just a question of making my father see sense.”
“Why have you not married Janice?” Bernard asked teasingly. “She is a very beautiful woman.”
William looked at his friend in horror. “She would wipe her feet on me!” he cried. “She may have the body of a woman, but she has the mind of a man. No, there is a nice, biddable young lady waiting for me who adores me and will give me plenty of children, preferably sons. Janice would never have been my choice.”
“You make her sound like a monster,” Bernard observed. “But many of the lairds think it is a pity she is not a man. They are of the opinion that she would make a better laird than either of her brothers. But, of course, that is only the opinion of everyone I have spoken to so far.”
William frowned. “Aye, well, she might be a good leader, and although she will never be in charge, she might influence whoever is. She might even be the acting laird—not officially, of course—but those brothers of hers are not too bright and will beeasily influenced. We must make sure they listen to us, not her. There does not seem to be any love lost between them, which is good news for us.”
They walked in silence for a while until they came to the main entrance of the castle, then strode over onto the flat land around it.
“I think the best solution would be to see that she is married and settled somewhere else.” Bernard’s voice was thoughtful.
“You take her on, then!” William chuckled as he looked sideways at his friend. “But God help you!”
Bernard laughed, and they walked on for a while and finally sat down among a thicket of spruce trees, leaning their backs against their solid trunks.
“I must speak to my father,” William said at last. “If all these other lairds are on her side, it will be a problem for us, even if she is only working behind the scenes. When Janice comes back from the village, can you keep her occupied for a while?”
“Of course,” Bernard replied, nodding.
He yawned and wandered back to the castle a long way behind his friend, thinking, and suddenly, at the thought of the curves of Janice’s waistline, hips, and breasts, the animal in him surged with a rampant desire. He knew he could never have her, but that still did not stop him from wanting her quite desperately.
When he reached the castle, he climbed up onto the topmost turrets to avoid the masses of people downstairs and stood looking out over the rolling countryside on which Howdenbrae Castle stood, thinking about what their ultimate mission was. Their plan was to weaken the Stewart clan and make it dependent on the Ballantines, and although he had always felt uneasy about it, he now felt downright ashamed. However, he worked for Laird Ballantine—no, he depended on him—and hisfriendship with William was priceless to him. He owed them his loyalty. In fact, he owed them everything.
At that moment he saw a woman on a horse cantering toward the castle, her dark hair flying behind her like a banner. He waited until she had passed over the drawbridge and then leaped down the spiral staircase, taking the steps two at a time.
CHAPTER 9
After she dropped her horse at the blacksmith to be fitted with new shoes, Janice went to sit and talk to Queenie McBride, telling her about the antics of her brothers and some of the guests who had come to the castle.
She sighed as she spoke. “They are my brothers, Queenie, and it is my duty to love them,” she said sadly, sipping a cup of ale as she spoke. “But I do not like them very much. In fact, sometimes I wish—no, I cannot say it.” She had been about to sayI wish they would drop dead,but refrained, afraid of what Queenie would think of her.
Queenie studied the young woman in front of her, then put her hand over Janice’s on the bar. “We cannae choose our family, hen. Sometimes I am glad I am only a workin’ class woman, though,” she said thankfully. “We dinnae have tae worry about castles an’ estates, an’ we can marry whoever we like. In some ways, I have a better life than ye.” She smiled sadly.
Janice smiled at her. “You are right, Queenie, but you have different problems.”
