Page 69 of Seduced By the Reckless Highlanders
If Janice was thinking that Bernard was holding her in contempt for almost giving him her body, Bernard was feeling exactly the same way. He knew she was the chatelaine of the castle, and she probably thought he was trying his best to become her lover so that she would be forced to marry him.
He also knew that Janice had a substantial dowry, and indeed, now that the second formal dinner was approaching, young men were beginning to introduce themselves to her and waylay her in the corridors and on the staircases, trying to make themselves noticed. What Bernard did not know was that she had no interest in any of them, and although he fought it down, he was wildly jealous.
William was worried about his friend and said so as they sat in their chairs sipping wine around the fire in their chamber.
“You seem very distracted,” he remarked as he watched Bernard staring broodily into the fire. “Is something wrong? You can tell me.”
Bernard looked up and smiled at William, distractedly rubbing his jaw and thinking about how much he needed to shave.
“No, Will,” he answered. “I am fine, just a little tired.”
William studied Bernard for a moment, then said, “Bernard, we have known each other forever. I know when you are lying. Tell me what is wrong.”
Bernard sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. “Janice,” he said irritably. “You told me to keep her busy, so I did, and now I cannot stop thinking about her.”
“Perhaps we can use it to our advantage,” William replied.
“How? We are supposed to be working on the weak brothers, not the strong sister,” Bernard pointed out.
“If you make her fall in love with you, perhaps you can get her to do as you wish,” William suggested. “She is not immune to your charms, is she?”
He raised his eyebrows and twitched a smile at his friend, then reached out his hand to squeeze the bulging muscle on Bernard’s arm.
Bernard gave him a playful swipe. “Remember, I am not one of you. I cannot go to the dinner tonight or partake in any of the formal events. I cannot be at Janice’s side at all, so before you start urging me to fall in love with her, remember that.”
William stood up to fetch them both a glass of wine. “No need to ask you to fall in love with her,” he observed. “You already have.”
Bernard looked up at his friend in shock, then opened his mouth to deny it, but William shook his head, laughing. “I told you! I know you better than you know yourself.”
Bright red had always been the color that suited Janice best, and now, as she lay in her bath, she gazed at the lovely creation that had been laid out on the bed for her. She felt excited to be wearing it but had often felt a little uneasy, even conscience-stricken, wearing expensive fabrics like satin when ordinary people had to wear patched linen clothing. Consequently, shekept her wardrobe of evening gowns very small and was happy to wear the same ones over and over again.
Her maid, Anne, followed her eyes as she looked at the new dress. “Mistress,” she said briskly, “I hope ye are no’ feelin’ bad because yer da bought ye a new dress? Most lassies would be jumpin’ for joy.”
“But Anne, so many young ladies have?—”
“Nothin’, mistress,” Anne said, shaking her head. “How many times have I heard ye say that? Ye deserve a new dress, an’ if I might be sae bold, I dinnae want tae hear any more about it. Yer da paid the seamstress vera well for it, an’ she is a widowed woman wi’ five children who needed the coin. I hope that makes ye feel better.”
Janice stood up and let her maid dry her and help her into her chemise and the bright new dress, then pin up her hair in the style she always used for the most formal of ceilidhs. When she had finished, Anne stood back to survey her handiwork.
“Mistress, I have never seen ye look sae lovely!” she breathed, clasping her hands together and laughing. “Ye must be in love. Are ye?”
Janice felt herself blushing furiously. “Of course not, Kitty! There is not one single young man at the dinner tonight with whom I would like to spend five minutes!”
Kitty, who had known Janice since she was a child, had always been at liberty to speak freely. “An’ what about the ones who arenae at the dinner, mistress?” she asked with a sly wink. “Like the big handsome lad ye went out wi’ this mornin’? Dinnae think naybody noticed because we a’ did.”
“I was just helping him out,” Janice mumbled. “Now, where are my pearls, Kitty?”
As her maid, with an old-fashioned look, went to fetch her jewelry, Janice took a look at herself in the long mirror in front of her. Kitty had been right. There was a glow about her tonight,something she had never seen in her reflection before. It was fanciful, of course. It was obviously because of the color of the dress; she had not dressed up for Bernard since he would not be at the feast. Maybe she would pass him on her way to the great hall or find him on the turrets, or—what was she thinking?
She shook her head to clear it before Kitty came back with her pearls and matching earrings, then daubed some perfumed oil on her wrists and behind her earlobes before she pronounced her mistress ready.
Janice gave Kitty a tense smile before she left, hoping, as she made her way down the corridor, that she would bump into Bernard. However, there was no sign of him, and she had resigned herself to her fate and turned in the direction of the great hall when she was summoned by her father to his private parlor.
Breathing a sigh of relief, she entered the cozy room where the laird was sitting by the fire, for once not poring over a ledger. He looked up as she entered and gave her his kind smile, the one he kept especially for her. He looked weak and very tired, his eyes becoming more shadowed and wrinkled every day.
“You sent for me, Da?” she asked as she kissed his cheek.
“Yes,” he answered. “I have decided to offer you the position of estate manager officially, so you will have some sort of credit for all the hard work that is about to land on your shoulders.”
