A moment later, Janice stood up and tapped her spoon against her glass for silence. She smiled at everyone and said warmly, “First of all, thank you all for coming to our celebration. We are honored to have you all here, and we hope you have enjoyed your stay and will take home many happy memories.” She held up her glass in a toast. “Sláinte Mhath!”
“Sláinte Mhath!” came the loud reply.
“My father, my brothers, and I would like to let you all know that the lairdship will be handed over before the end of the month; that is in two weeks’ time. Since we have had four events in our competition and the result is a two-two tie, my family would like you all to help us by voting anonymously for whoever you think will do a better job of running the estate.
“This does not mean that you will be deciding the outcome, of course. It merely means that you will be assisting us with your opinion. We will let you know the details at breakfast. Thank you all once more.”
She looked around again and raised her glass, smiling at everyone and hoping that she was building up as much goodwill as she could.
She looked over to see her brothers clowning around at the other side of the table, and her spirits plummeted. She needed fresh air.
Laird Stewart leaned over and tapped his daughter’s hand. “Thank you, Janice.”
He smiled sweetly at her, and she kissed him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the youngest son of Laird Angus Devine approaching. Of all the young men who had been hanging around her during the last few days, he was the one she liked the least. He was fairly handsome, with a tall, lean frame, chestnut hair, and deep blue eyes. But he was vain and self-important, and Janice could not stand the sight of him.
“Excuse me, Da,” she said to Laird Stewart. “I have to go. Angus Devine is coming to see me, and he makes my skin crawl.”
Then she stood up and fled before the odious man reached her.
12
The full moon was beginning to wane, its clear disc fading into the sky as if it were a knife that was losing its sharpness. The clear air was cool and welcoming against her cheeks after the stuffiness of the great hall. There, too many people had been crowded together, their bodies rendering the air hot and humid. As well as that, she had been too busy to pay much attention to any of the young men, so now, after a late start, they had all come to pay court to her. She could see them circling like a crowd of vultures, and though she welcomed the attentions of a couple of her genuine admirers, she could see the naked greed in the eyes of many of the others.
Janice mounted the stairs to the battlements and stood at one of the parapets, looking into the darkness and trying to lose herself in it. Below, she could see the gilded forms of trees and the gleam of the Bonnie Loch in the distance, but for once, its beauty did not soothe her troubled spirits.
She was trying not to think of Bernard, but the harder she tried to think of another subject, the more impossible it became until eventually she gave up and abandoned herself to images of him, remembering the taste of his lips during that single delicious kiss they had shared.
He had tasted of salt and ale, not a refined taste like that of brandy or fine wine, which was probably what her brothers and Bernard’s friend, William, had been drinking. And that was what she liked—yes,liked—about him. She thought for a moment. Of course she liked him. That was all since she hardly knew him. However, judging by the assessing and admiring looks many other young ladies had been giving him, she was not the only one.
Even though he was lower on the social ladder than they were, there was something about him that made them look at him in admiration and whisper about him behind their hands. Perhaps it was his potent masculinity, Janice thought. She chastised herself for feeling so unreasonably jealous of all the other young ladies. He did not belong to her, after all, and she had no claim on him, but she knew she would miss him. He would be going home in a few days and then she would make herself forget him. She was determined to. She absolutely had to.
* * *
Bernard had spent the evening in his and William’s room after his friend had left in a state of total boredom, which he relived by imagining that Janice was in his arms again. Naked. In his bed beside him. The more he thought about her, the more aroused and frustrated he became, and eventually he rose and strode to the door. Outside, it was cool and quiet, although he could hear the distant hum of music and laughter from the great hall and pictured Janice dancing there. She would be laughing, the skirts of her dress flying around her, and he smiled at the thought, although the notion of other men touching her bothered him greatly.
He walked on and began to ascend the stairs to the turrets. The stairway was dark, and he knew that at this time of night there would be few guards since there was currently no threat from any of the clans surrounding the castle.
He ascended the last step and stopped suddenly. There, as if he had conjured her up, stood Janice, the moon gilding her perfect profile and the sensuous lines of her figure. In the cold light, he could not see the color of her dress, but he did not have to know that to see that she looked beautiful.
Presently Janice heard the sound of heavy footsteps behind her and spun around to face whoever it was, hoping it was not one of her half-drunk brothers since she was just in the mood to kick one or both of them where it hurt most.
However, although Bernard was the last person Janice had expected to see, he was the one she was most glad to see. She watched him with appreciation as he walked toward her, the moonlight making him look as though he were made of marble. Every one of his powerful muscles was sharply etched in black and white, and all his movements were made with the sinewy ease of a jungle cat stalking its prey. She was mesmerized as his gaze caught and held hers, but she realized he was frowning at her.
“Why are you standing out here?” he asked. “It is cold. Come inside again, please. I would hate you to catch anything.”
He reached out a hand and gripped her arm, pulling her toward him, but she resisted and turned away.
She sighed. “I have done my duty for the evening. I have made my speech, planned all this, and made sure that everything went off without a hitch. But I could not stand another moment in the company of my idiotic brothers.” She shook her head angrily. “I was sorry to leave my father alone, but I might have done something to Alasdair and Andrew that I would have regretted later.
“My father has made me the estate steward, which is good news, but Andrew and Alasdair will receive all the credit for my hard work. That in itself does not bother me since I do not seek the unnecessary attention, but I would like to be treated with some dignity by my brothers. They make complete fools of themselves and me at every occasion.”
There were tears of anger in the corners of her eyes, and a single one made its way down her cheek before he gently brushed it away. Bernard was seething, and he felt as though he wanted to wrap his arms around her and make his body into a shelter for her. In his view, Janice was a treasure, and she did not deserve to be treated this way.
“If I could, I would give them my own form of justice!” he growled, fisting one of his hands and punching the palm of the other. His brows were drawn down, shadowing his eyes menacingly.
“No, they are my brothers, and I love them, no matter how silly they are,” she replied, sighing. “I just wish they would grow up.”
“So you will let them get away with treating you with such disrespect?” he asked furiously.