Page 42 of The Shadow of a Laird
They spent half an hour talking about nothing very much, such as who was marrying whom, the horses her father was buying, and the latest fashions. None of these subjects interested Gavin at all, but he dutifully smiled in all the right places and interjected with a one-syllable comment now and then. He was just about to make an excuse to leave for a moment when he looked up—and froze instantly.
The woman he was staring at had long, golden-brown hair, and as he watched her, she turned in his direction and he saw her bright blue eyes widen in surprise as she recognised him.
Maura had been smiling at someone, but as soon as she saw Gavin the smile faded from her face, then she turned away and disappeared into the kitchen.
He was relieved to see that Elspeth did not appear to have noticed that anything was amiss, and sat back in his chair again, wondering what to do next. He was tense and nervous, on the alert for Maura’s reappearance.
A thousand questions ran through his mind. Why had she stayed in Ardneuk instead of going back to Carmalcolm? Was she somehow being kept against her will? If so, would he be able to rescue her? He had to find out the answers.
Just then, he saw Maura striding past him without so much as a glance in his direction, and without thinking, he jumped to his feet and followed her. Elspeth had no time to say anything. She sat where she was, stupefied, and watched Gavin disappear through the door.
Gavin almost lost Maura, when she broke into a sprint as soon as she was outside and began to race away from him. She might have been wearing trailing skirts, but she could still manage a fair turn of speed for a woman.
“Maura! Stop!” he cried, but she kept on running.
However, a woman could never outrun a man, no matter how fit she was, and a few seconds later he caught up with her and dragged her to a halt. Then, holding her hand firmly, he marched back to the tavern, then slipped into the shadowy alley beside it.
Then, because he simply could not help himself, Gavin wrapped his arms around her and gave her a tight hug. He felt as though he could have stayed holding her forever, but sense prevailed, and he put her away a little to look into her eyes.
“What are you doing here?” he demanded. “I thought you had gone back to Carmalcolm.”
Maura looked at the ground and said nothing, although he had the feeling that she desperately wanted to answer him. Gavin stared at her for a long moment, then tilted her chin up so that she was looking at him, but she closed her eyes and pushed his hands away. He felt fury rising up inside him, and made a mighty effort to control it.
“I need to talk to you,” he said urgently. “I need to explain some things to you, and you must tell me what you are doing here. I will make some excuse to Elspeth and come back tomorrow night—please promise me you will be here.”
Maura nodded, then disappeared behind the building. Gavin stood for a moment, trying to calm himself down and collect his thoughts, then wondered what he was going to say to Elspeth. God help him—what was he going to do?
He walked inside again, hoping that he did not look as flustered as he felt. “Sorry about that,” he said to Elspeth, who cheeks looked flushed. “I just saw someone I knew and wanted a few words before they went away.”
It was a lame excuse, and he knew it, but Elspeth only smiled and said, “My goodness, I thought your breeches had caught fire.”
They laughed, and Gavin somehow managed to eat the rest of his food, even though his appetite had completely disappeared. The rest of the afternoon dragged on, and Gavin somehow managed to get through it, although it became more and more difficult to pretend to be engaged in their conversation.
The sun began to set in the middle of the afternoon, as it usually did in the depths of winter, and Elspeth suggested leaving. “My father will be worried about us,” she said, “and I have some letters to write before dinner.”
Gavin felt almost weak with relief.
18
The inn had emptied out after the mad rush of the market day, but Maura had asked if she could stay for an extra few days in exchange for doing some work in the tavern. The owner jumped at the chance to employ her, since he was short-handed and she had experience. She had been quite worried about her uncle’s reaction to her being gone for so long, but her need to be close to Gavin and make sure he’s safe overrode all others.
“Ye are doin’ me a service in fact, hen,” he said, laughing. “It’s no’ very often I get such a bonny lass as yoursel’ workin’ for me!”
Maura had made no comment on his remark, not wishing to attract any unwanted attention.
Now she went back into the kitchen of the tavern and began to do her duties of washing plates and cups almost without thinking; her hands moved on their own because her mind was elsewhere.
The shock of seeing Gavin had almost made her scream out loud, and it had taken all her self-restraint not to do so. She had desperately wanted to stay and talk to him, but seeing him again had brought back the old pain and the futility of loving him. Thesight of him had filled her with joy, but she had to quash her feelings because she was impotent.
Loving him was hopeless; he was betrothed to another. Yet no matter how many times Maura told herself that Gavin was out of reach, a glimmer of something like hope always reared its head.
She wondered if Gavin had managed to win the support of Laird Jamieson. That would, she hoped, help him take back his home if he kept his end of the bargain and married Elspeth. The thought of that sent a sharp stab of pain through her heart, but she reminded herself that he was not married yet.
That was a small consolation because until he was, she could spend as much time with him as he could spare. It might only be a few moments, but the memory of it would last a lifetime. Perhaps they could even make love again. Then she sighed. No, that was too much to hope for.
Maura had gone over the memory of their one encounter over and over again, and each time she swore it would be the last because it hurt too much. Yet, it was no good, since she dreamed of his muscular man’s body moving against hers and driving her to ecstasy almost every night.
A sense of happy anticipation filled her as she reminded herself that she was meeting him the next day; no matter what he told her, no matter how bad the news might be, she would see his dear face again. Perhaps it would be for the last time, but she was ready for that—she hoped.
