Walcott shook his head. “When you’re done taunting me, please talk some sense into him.” He pointed to Slatter.
“First, what are you doing here?’ Slatter asked.
“A visit to see how things go,” Devin said.
“Not as I’d like,” Slatter admitted.
“He has a wife,” Walcott announced.
Devin’s eyes almost popped out of his head. “Did you say wife?”
Walcott nodded. “I did. He wed one of the Macardle sisters.”
Devin looked to Slatter. “With Sorrell wed to Lord Ruddock that leaves either Willow or Snow. Don’t tell me you wed the blind one.”
Walcott answered with a shake of his head.
“Willow then.” Devin shrugged. “I heard she has become a good healer, following her mum’s path, sensible too. But you know it can’t work. Why ever did you wed her in the first place?”
“It was either that or let Beck keep her,” Walcott said and went on to explain the whole ordeal to him.
“Naked, you say, in a hole in the ground with her?” Devin asked with a laugh. “However, do you get yourself into these things?”
“Fate hates me,” Slatter said and Devin laughed harder. Walcott didn’t crack a smile.
“Then my original advice holds. Use this unforeseen union to your advantage,” Devin said.
“She is an innocent in this, I won’t use her,” Slatter said adamantly, leaving no room for negotiation.
“Then if she is no use to you, be rid of her, unless…” Devin let his unfinished remark hang in the air.
“What are you implying, Devin?” Slatter asked with a touch of annoyance.
Not averse to sharing his opinion, Devin said, “Maybe your wife means more to you than you want to admit.”
“I barely know her,” Slatter snapped.
“You were naked in a hole in the ground with her. I’d say you got to know her well enough,” Devin said with a chuckle.
“I’ve had enough,” Slatter said. “I will not discuss Willow with either of you.”
“That’s not an option, my friend, and you know it,” Devin said. “This has to be resolved and quickly. You need to concentrate on finding him. This mess has gone on far too long.”
“I almost had him,” Slatter said and looked away, shaking his head, annoyed he had failed.
“Let’s discuss it and see what might be done,” Devin suggested.
“We’ve done everything and still he eludes me,” Slatter argued.
The cottage door opened. “Have you tried setting a trap?”
The three men looked at Willow.
“You should have whispered—though I don’t think any of you know how to do that—if you didn’t want me to hear,” she said.
A slight smile broke at the corners of Slatter’s mouth at his wife’s blunt remark and his eyes remained fixed on her. She looked refreshed after a good night’s sleep, her cheeks a rosy color, her green eyes bright, and her dark red hair loosely plaited with a few wavy strands falling around her face. She was beautiful and she was his… for now.
Willow walked over to her husband relieved to see that he had made it here safely. When she woke and found herself alone, she feared something may have happened to him. It was when she caught a whiff of his scent on her that she realized he had been wrapped around her last night. She had hurried and dressed, eager to see him. That was when she had heard the men talking, and she had listened.
She smiled when Slatter stretched his hand out to her before she reached him. She took it and was immediately planted snug against him and tucked in the crook of his arm.
“Willow, this is Devin, a longtime friend,” Slatter said.
“It is a pleasure to meet you,” Devin said and gave a nod toward her.
“We must talk so I can learn more about my husband,” Willow said and it wasn’t lost on any of the men that she made it clear she was Slatter’s wife, her intention.
“Devin is sworn to secrecy,” Slatter said and chuckled, “unless you give him a pint or two.”
Willow smiled and seeing the look the two men exchanged, she had no doubt Devin would keep Slatter’s secrets. That Slatter had such a loyal friend was a good thing to know, since it told her that Slatter was just as loyal to Devin. Not something you would expect from a man known for his charming tongue and lies.
“Have you tried setting a trap?” Willow repeated, refusing to have her question ignored.
“It’s difficult to set a trap for one so slippery,” Walcott said.
“Then one must be as slippery as he is,” Willow said.
“So how does one set a slippery trap?” Devin asked with curiosity.
“My wife doesn’t need to be involved in this,” Slatter said.
“Why not?” Willow turned her head to look at him. “It seems that this problem, for some reason, takes precedent over the problem of our unconventional marriage. Once it is settled, we can take the necessary steps to see our marriage absolved and to see you rewarded for saving me.”