Page 62 of Laird of Smoke
Glancing at Adam, she saw he looked exactly like she felt.Breathless.Ravenous.Stunned.
Catching her breath, she managed to croak out, “Who is it?”
“Your bath, m’lady,” a man replied.
Adam pushed off of the door, but she noticed he reached down to adjust the bulge below his belt.
She blushed, knowing that must be for her.Then she blinked the smoke from her eyes, tossed her head, straightened her gown, and answered the door.
A sour-faced gentleman came in, followed by three beardless youths.
They staggered in, carrying large pails of cold water on yokes across their scrawny shoulders.Copious linens were draped around their necks.They carefully navigated the distance from the door to the tub.Their faces were sweaty.Their brows were pinched in concentration.They were obviously overburdened and weary from climbing the winding stairs.
Eve’s first instinct was to help them.
But she was Lady Aillenn now.And a proper lady would do nothing of the sort.Aillenn was accustomed to having servants at her beck and call, doing her bidding, no matter how difficult.
Meanwhile, the sour-faced man settled a great cauldron of water onto the fire for heating.
The youths dropped the bath linens onto the bed.Then they poured water from the pails into the tub, managing to spill only a drop here and there.All but the last lad.His pail caught on the tub’s wooden edge and tipped.Water sloshed outside the tub, down the dais, and spread across the floor.
“Finlay!”the man snarled.
The youth panicked and dropped the pail, spilling more water.
The sour-faced man charged forward in rage and seized Finlay by the front of his leine.While Eve looked on in frozen horror, he threw the poor lad against the wall.
Finlay’s head hit the plaster with a loud crack, and he sank to the floor, dazed.
Eve gasped.“He didn’t mean… ’Twas an accident.”
The man ignored her.“Ye!”he barked at the other two lads.“Clean this up before I knock your heads together!”
Before they could comply, Adam lunged forward.To Eve’s astonishment, he grabbed the brute of a master by the scruff of his neck.Dragged him, kicking and bellowing, to the tub.Then plunged the man face-first into the water, holding him under.
Eve held her breath.
The man struggled in Adam’s grip, his body twisting, his legs kicking.
What was Adam doing?Did he intend to drown the brute?She looked on in fear as he maintained an iron grip on the man splashing frantically in the water.
Finally, Adam let him up.But he wasn’t finished.He coiled his fist in the drenched linen of the man’s leine and lifted him up on his toes.
Inches away from the sputtering man’s face, he bit out, “Lay so much as a finger on them again, and I’ll lop off your hand.”
No one could help but be intimidated by the smoldering fury in Adam’s eyes and the deadly quiet of his voice.
“Do ye understand?”Adam demanded.
The man gasped, choked, and nodded.He knew he was outmatched.At least hebelievedhe was outmatched.Eve imagined he would be less cooperative if he knew Adam was not the son of an Irish lord, but a common outlaw.
Adam released him.“Go.The lads will clean this up.Get out o’ my sight e’er I change my mind and decide to drown ye after all.”
Once released, the man attempted to hide his fear behind bravado.He straightened his shoulders and walked stiffly toward the door.When he slid across a wet spot and almost lost his balance, Eve tried to not take undue glee in his misfortune.He closed the door behind him with more force than was necessary.
But now, Eve no longer had the heart to pretend indifference.She rushed to Finlay, who sat on the floor.
“Are ye all right?”
