Page 73 of Seduced By the Reckless Highlanders
“Laird Ballantine,” he answered. “And I am a friend of his son’s.”
“Ah, the one who has a bed in the young master’s chamber,” Kitty said, nodding sagely. “Is he scared o’ thieves breakin’ in in the middle o’ the night?”
Bernard chuckled. “No, mistress.” He shook his head, unable to explain the strange middle ground he occupied between servitude and privilege. “We are good friends and like to talk a lot.”
“Is that why ye talk like a nob?” one of the other maids asked.
“I suppose so since we were brought up together,” he replied, smiling. Then he bowed and turned away. “I am sorry to have disturbed you, ladies. Goodnight.”
“Wait!” Kitty ordered, and ushered him toward the big table that ran down the center of the room, where some of the other kitchen maids were enjoying a few moments’ rest. “I will get ye some milk. Sit doon.”
The kitchen maids willingly made space for him since it was not every day that a tall, handsome man of heroic proportions made his way into their domain. After a few moments, after the cook had given him his milk, into which she had drizzled a generous amount of honey, some more of them drifted across to hear what he had to say.
Before long, they were talking, laughing, swapping life stories, and cracking jokes. Bernard felt at ease in their company and was glad that he had come to the kitchen. He was also gaining some valuable information about the estate and the way it was run. The ladies, all determined to impress the handsome stranger, were only too willing to tell him about everything and everyone in the castle and the village. He was not surprised to find that they held Andrew and Alasdair in the same contempt as everyone else did and Janice in high esteem. They loved Laird Stewart too and were sad to think of his upcoming death.
Once Bernard had charmed all of them thoroughly, he sighed and stretched, making some of the women almost faint with admiration. He smiled at them all and bade them goodnight.
“Come an’ see us again!” Kitty ordered sternly. “Or we will come an’ get ye!”
Bernard saluted. “Yes, ma’am!” he said, in a tone of deep respect. “Should I bring wine?”
There was a great chorus of ayes before he bowed and smiled at them, then left.
“My god!” Kitty breathed, turning to the rest of the kitchen staff after Bernard had gone. “Good tae look at, an’ good inside. What a man!”
“Aye. Wouldnae step over him tae get tae my man!” one of the others said fervently.
The next morning, Bernard’s visit to the kitchen was all over the estate, told in tones of such reverence that he had achieved the status of a demi-god.
Bernard went back to his chamber to find that William had managed to get away from the ceilidh too and was dozing, still fully dressed, on his bed. As Bernard opened the door, he woke up and rubbed his eyes.
“Where have you been?” he asked groggily.
“I went to the kitchen for some hot milk and talked to the kitchen maids and the cook,” Bernard replied. “I learned quite a lot that might be useful to us. For instance, did you know that Andrew has a trysting place in the woods where he takes all his conquests, mostly maids and widows? There is also speculation that there are a few little Andrews and Alasdairs out there.”
William yawned and closed his eyes. “Just another spoiled lairdling with too much money and not enough sense,” he mumbled. “He sounds perfect for our needs. Tell me the rest in the morning.” He turned over on his stomach and a moment later, he was snoring.
Bernard climbed into bed and drew the blankets over his chin, then closed his eyes, but sleep would not come. He lay awake in the darkness for a long while, thinking.
His instincts told him that Laird Ballantine’s plan to control the Stewart clan was far-fetched and foolish, but he had to obey the man to whom he had sworn fealty and who paid him rather well. He was much more inclined to support Janice, a woman with a strong will and a good head on her shoulders who had the capability to shoulder responsibility. Why should either of the least deserving men in the world inherit so much?
Was there any way he could achieve both goals? He knew that the only way he could do so was to let William marry and control her, but he doubted that he or any other man had the strength of character to do that, and it suddenly occurred to him that the only way to tame Janice Stewart was with love.
Did he love her? He wanted her more than any other woman he had ever known, but he found himself in a quandary. His loyalties were torn between two different clans, just as his place in society was suspended between two different strata, the upper and the lower. He knew that even if William had loved her, he could not marry her, even if out of duty if the two fathers saw fit to pair them, because William had a secret.
Laird Ballantine’s plan at first had been to marry William to Janet, but he had resisted so fiercely that the laird had given up trying. Bernard knew that he had been in love with Mia McLeod, the widow of a gentleman farmer, but she had not been considered a suitable match. Despite his father’s disapproval, William had secretly married her a year before, and they were expecting their first child. The marriage was to be revealed at the child’s christening.
His thoughts drifted back to his and Janice’s encounter earlier, and once more, his body surged with desire. He wondered if he would ever be able to want any other womanagain. He hoped so because he could see no chance of a future with Janice.
CHAPTER 14
Bernard took great care with his appearance that morning. He shaved until his face was as smooth as an eggshell and bathed in water that was as hot as his skin could tolerate, then washed his hair thoroughly and scrubbed himself with coarse soap and a pumice stone.
William laughed as he dressed, watching his friend. “I don’t think you could be any cleaner if you let one of the washerwomen scrub you against a rock in the Bonnie Loch,” he remarked, grinning.
He was referring to the boulders against which the women slapped and then scrubbed the washing clean so that they could rinse them in the clean loch water.
“What is the occasion? Are you trying to impress someone?”
