Page 88 of The Defiance of a Scottish Heart
“All right. I’ll tell you.” What the hell. The man was dead, so what did it matter? He stared at his mother, tears brimming his lashes as he tugged on his sheath, wishing to hold his sword in his hand to feel better. He spun around and faced the back, pacing, then turned to face her. “I’ll tell you everything.” Perhaps it was time to stop keeping secrets, but he didn’t wish to tarnish his father’s image. Yet since he was dead, why not tell his mother the truth?
She came toward him, her arm outstretched again, so he blurted it out.
“Da was a cheating man. He took a lover.”
There. It was revealed. The secret he’d kept for nearly four years was finally known. He’d never told his mother or Lennox or Eva or Jasper or anyone.
“That’s it? That’s what’s bothering you? Is that what keeps you from a betrothal?”
“Aye. Of course. I don’t wish to marry someone if it’s in my blood to be a liar and a cheat.”
She walked forward and nearly slapped him but stopped and grabbed his collar. “Never say that again about your sire.”
“But he was. A liar and a cheat. He was married to you and carrying on with another woman. I saw him, Mama. I heard him speaking with her, making their … arrangements.” He strung out the last word as long as he could.
“Sit down, Taskill.”
“Not unless you promise not to hit me again.”
A very unladylike snort came from his mother, something he hadn’t heard before. “I promise.” She moved back to the seatbehind the desk. After she sat down, she folded her hands on the surface in front of her. “Taskill …”
“There’s nothing you can say to excuse it, Mama. And why is this not bothering you more than you are saying? I thought you’d be in tears by now, learning the truth of your husband. Why aren’t you upset?”
“Because I knew, Taskill. It’s not a surprise to me. I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed, but your mother is no fool.” She drilled the fingers of one hand on the desk in a perfect rhythm.
“You did? I’ve kept this for so long and you knew? Why? Why didn’t you hate him for it? I don’t understand you at all.”
“Because it was an arrangement we had. We were a married couple and our relationship had nothing to do with our job as parents. We both supported all of you, but we had different … needs. And we both did it willingly.”
“Wait. What? You did what willingly?”
“We did it as quietly as we could, made sure to use discretion, but if he was with a woman, then I was with her husband. It’s what we did as a couple, Taskill. We both agreed and enj—”
He covered his ears. “Nay, nay, nay. That’s enough. I don’t wish to hear anymore.”
And he ran out the door.
Chapter Forty-Six
Sheona
Sheona entered the great hall as Taskill came barreling down the staircase with an expression on his face that she couldn’t fathom. “Taskill, are you hale?”
“Nay. Please. I just need some time alone. I’ll be back in an hour, Sheona. I must have private time.” He looked upset, so she let him go without further questioning.
He hurried out the door. As soon as he left, Rut came out of the solar and down the stairs. “Where is Taskill?”
“He left.”
“Where is he going?” Rut’s rich blue skirts swirled around her ankles as she descended.
“He said he needed private time.” Sheona had known Lady MacVey all her life, but she’d often been a wee bit afraid of her. Sheona had always thought her tall, but when she came down and approached her, she realized they were about the same height.
Her father came in the door and said, “Rut, what the hell did you do to your son? He looks a mess.”
“Where did he go?”
“Toward the stables is all I can tell you. Do you want me to get him?”
