‘You should have woken me so that I could greet him.’
‘You were sleeping, like the dead, Giselle, it would have been unkind.’
‘How long does he intend to stay with us?’
‘As long as it takes for him to get up his courage. He is to go back to Beharra and declare his feelings for Morna.’
‘That might take a great deal of courage, for she is fearsome,’ she laughed.
‘So is Cormac. Owen must seek his permission to court her openly. I hesitate to say it aloud, but I think marriage might be in the offing.’
‘Does Owen’s regard run that deep, then?’
‘Apparently, though I am not counting my chickens just yet. I can scarce believe our good fortune in finding a man who will take Morna on.’
‘Owen will be lucky to get her. She is very lovely, and you know it.’
‘Aye, but she is also a great deal of trouble, like all women.’
‘Do you think she loves him, Lyall?’
‘She likes Owen well enough, beyond that, I know nothing of my sister’s feelings. Women guard their secrets well, don’t they?’
Lyall looked out over the loch and frowned. It gave Giselle a chance to stare at him. She wondered if he was aware of her doing it. The wind ruffled his dark hair against his face, which was shadowed with stubble. Goodness, what a fine face he had. The light in his eyes softened them to a pale emerald, and they were so beautiful as to make her breath catch in her throat. Lyall tugged his hair back behind his ear, something he did when he was discomfited. It drew Giselle’s eye to his broad hands, and she imagined them sliding over her, gentle and rough all at the same time. Shockingly, the thought drew a pulse of desire from deep inside her.
Could she want her husband? Had she managed to push through the mire of her awful memories, the pain of childbirth, the exhaustion of her son’s demands on her? Was she able to desire again, and want to be desired in return?
Giselle took a deep breath before her courage failed her.
‘Lyall, since Owen is here, perhaps it is best we do not sleep in separate chambers.’
He did not turn to look at her. ‘You are concerned what he might think if he discovered it? You don’t need to spare my blushes by pretending, Giselle.’
‘I am not. I just think it is time we shared a bed again, don’t you?’
‘If that is what you want,’ he said, still staring out over the loch.
‘Yes, it is. I will get one of the servants to mind Fearghas. Shall I come to you tonight?’
He turned and looked deep into her eyes, and her knees almost gave way. His look was scorching in its intensity.
‘Tonight it is then.’
She turned and hurried away.
‘Courage now, there’s no turning back,’ she whispered to herself. ‘Do what you have to do for his sake and yours, before it is too late.’
***
Lyall barged in as Giselle was changing from her working clothes. Twilight was creeping in across the dark water outside, and a chill draught rushed in behind him. He banged the door shut and pulled the bolt across it.
‘The bairn, where is he?’
‘Downstairs with Joan. She is tending him for me.’
Lyall strode up and down in his agitation. He turned to her. ‘I could not wait until tonight.’
‘Good,’ she said, but her voice sounded small.