“Scott, there’s somethin I’d discuss with ye,” Noah said tightly. “Ride up ahead with me.”
Scott flashed Saoirse a wicked grin. “Och, looks like I’m in bother.”
Envy sparked inside Noah as he watched the exchange. How nice it would have been to be as carefree as Scott. He spoke so easily to people, making friends wherever he went, always drawing the laughter and attention of any gathering they entered. Indeed,hewould not have struggled if he was in Noah’s position. Saoirse would have been in love with Scott within minutes. Then again, with so much charm to throw around, Scott would not make a faithful husband.
“I wasnae really goin’ to tell her about our old adventures,” Scott said, once they were a safe distance from the carriage. “Ye’re both so tense—I thought the mood could do with lightenin’.”
Noah sighed. “Aye, but this is tiresome enough without ye makin’ it worse.”
“Tiresome?” Scott raised an eyebrow. “Och, nay. I ken that look on yer face, M’Laird, and it’s nae the look of a weary man. I can guess what’s been goin’ through that mind of yers.”
Noah cleared his throat, certain that guilt was etched across his face like a mud stain. “I daenae ken what ye’re talkin’ about.”
“Aye, ye keep tellin’ yerself that,” Scott teased. “But I see it in yer eyes still. Ye’ve been undressin’ yer wife with that wanderin’ gaze of yers. Daenae deny it. As I say, I’ve seen that same look on ye in the taverns when a bonnie lass catches yer eye. So, tell me, how are ye goin’ to seduce this one?”
“This one happens to be my wife,” Noah scolded.
Scott tilted his head in bemusement. “And? Does a wife nae also need seducin’? If anythin’, she needs more of it! Give her some passion, M’Laird, and be the envy of all of Scotland because ye have a satisfied wife who cannae stop singin’ yer particular praises.”
Noah burned with embarrassment. “It’s just… different.”
“Aye, because ye’re makin’ it so,” Scott insisted. “It doesnae have to be. Ye have needs, she has wants. Or did ye think ye could just hide her away in yer home and pretend she doesnae exist? If that’s the case, why bother marryin’ at all? There are plenty of women who want to warm yer bed, and if ye daenae have yer wife as one of them, daenae have one.”
“Ye must to stop that sort of chatter,” Noah hissed, stealing a look back at the carriage. “I daenae need Saoirse thinkin’ all manner of things about me. Let her be ignorant to the rumors. She says she kens somethin’ of my reputation, but I’m certain it was a lie. If she trulyhadheard, she wouldnae have met me at the altar. So, I’d like to keep my past a secret, if ye’d be so kind as to hold yer lips shut.”
“Aye, that would be the best thing to dae,” Scott said, bobbing his head. “But ye ken, women have a strange awareness about them. They ken things, even when there’s nay way they could. And Saoirse, nay doubt, has it too. Even if she willnae understand the feelin’ that lurks within her, she’ll ken somethin’ is wrong. They always dae, and it’ll only make her want to get to the root of it more.”
Noah grimaced. “Then what dae ye propose I dae?”
Scott flashed a mischievous grin. “That, M’Laird, is entirely up to ye. But if she were my wife, I’d claim her as my own as quickly as possible and keep her so distracted in the bedchamber that she wouldnae care what I’d done before.”
“Be serious,” Noah chided.
“I am, and she’s yers for the takin’, M’Laird.” Scott thumbed back at the carriage. “I watched her last night. Eyes like a hawk on her I had. And when a few of the townsfolk came in and started tryin’ to dance’ wit’ her, she turned her cheek to them and sought her brother-in-law. It’s nae other lads she craves. It’s ye. Why else do ye think she’s tryin’ to rile ye up, flashin’ smiles at me and pokin’ into yer past?”
“What?” Noah couldn’t believe his ears. To hear that she had turned away from strangers made his stomach tighten with a curious sense of… pride.
Sheisloyal. Despite my ill manners, and the fact that I scorned her, she remained true to me.He gulped down as much air as he could fit into his lungs, fighting to control the burning desires that swelled within him. It took every ounce of his strength not to climb into the carriage and kiss her right then and there, in gratitude and apology and with a promise of more. He wanted so badly to crush his lips to hers and make her his on this very road. Yet, he wouldn’t allow himself to do so.
“There’s that look again.” Scott smiled. “Ye want her, so why deny yerself the pleasure?”
“Ye ken why,” Noah muttered.
Scott rolled his eyes. “Ye cannae tell me that yestillhold a candle for… och, what was her name again? Catherine? Catriona? The bane of yer existence? That was so long ago, and ye havethatwoman waitin’ for ye to be a husband to her.” He thumbed at the carriage more insistently. “Lasses of her beauty and wit daenae come along too often, M’Laird.”
“I ken that,” Noah replied, shaking his head. “And nay, I feel nothin’ for…her.” He couldn’t bring himself to say her name, even now. “Nothin’ remains of the love I had for that woman and that, my friend, is the problem. She took it all. I daenae have any to give to Saoirse.”
Scott sniffed. “Nonsense. Yer heart is nae a well that can be drained dry. Ye’ve neglected it, that’s all, and ye need a new lass to fill it back up. Yer wife, I bet, would make it overflow if ye let her.”
“Why does everythin’ ye say sound so crude?” Noah managed a laugh.
Scott winked. “It’s a gift.” He paused. “Look, I ken that witch of a lass pummeled ye to dust. But ye’re married now and yer bride is amusin’ and beautiful and, aye, she might chatter on like a magpie, but at least there’ll never be an uncomfortable silence. So, stop lettin’ that auld harpy keep ruinin’ yer life and concentrate on the shiny new bird that’s comin’ home to roost.”
“But… what dae I dae?”
Scott’s face lit up, his eyebrows wiggling. “I think ye already ken the answer to that, M’Laird.”
CHAPTER7