Taming The Lion

The door to the chamber opened.

Catlyn turned toward it, her already low spirits plummeting when she saw Dora standing awkwardly in the doorway, a covered tray in her hands It was surely the cruelest of ironies that the one woman upon whom her mother depended was Eom’s mistress.

“Oh, Dora,” Jeanme exclaimed. “I’m so glad you’re back. You’ve got to help me find Thomas’s plaid.”

“Aye, my lady.” Blue eyes downcast, Dora sidled into the room and set her burden on the table. She was slender, blond and so radiantly beautiful that men, even those who’d known her all her life, stared when she passed by.

Small wonder Eoin had been tempted to dally with her while courting the plain wren of a woman who was heir to the distilleries, Catlyn thought. Even her mother preferred Dora’s company. Where Catlyn attempted to coax her mother back into this world, Dora seemed to slip readily into Jeannie’s.

“It may be that one of the maids took the plaid to wash,” Dora said. “Tomorrow we’ll go down and look about.”

“Let us go now.” Jeannie got awkwardly to her feet.

Dora swiftly put a hand under her elbow, steadying her. “Oh, nay, my lady. ’Tis night, now, and the maids will be asleep. You should be abed, too.”

“I am not sleepy,” Jeannie protested.

“Come sit by the hearth, then,” Dora coaxed. “I’ve brought up a cup of warm milk.”

“All right. But at first light, we must go down and search. Search everywhere.” Jeannie dutifully walked to her chair.

Dora glanced quickly, apologetically, at Catlyn. “I know ’tis a futile errand,” she whispered. “But the fresh air and a wee bit of exercise might do my lady good.”

“Aye.” Catlyn jumped up and crossed to her mother. She should be glad her mother had someone in whom she could confide and trust, but instead, she was jealous of Dora. Again. “I will ready Mama for bed, Dora. Eoin is doubtless waiting for you.”

“Nay, that is over. He...he is wroth with me.” Her hand absently fluttered over a bruise at her temple.

“Did he do that?” Catlyn exclaimed.

“Nay.” Dora shook her head so violently her long blond braids flew back, revealing another dark mark below her ear.

“Dora.” Horrified, Catlyn went to her, took her gently by the shoulders. “Tell me true if Eoin has beaten you.”

“Nay, at least I do not think it was him.”

“Tell me what happened,” Catlyn demanded.

“Accidents. A stone flying out of the darkness.”

“Oh, Dora, I had no idea.”

Dora turned her head aside. “Please let it go. It is right that I be punished. I should not have let him kiss me knowing he was promised to you, but I have been so lonely since Alan died. One minute Eoin and I were speaking of the past, the next...” A single tear trickled down her cheek.

Catlyn’s eyes filled with tears. “It is not your fault. It is Eoin’s, taking advantage of your grief.”

Dora raised her head, looking Catlyn in the eye for the first time since Catlyn had found them together. “I swear it was the first time, and it went no further than a few kisses.”

Catlyn believed that as surely as she now believed that she had not really loved Eoin. She had agreed to wed him out of duty and respect for her father’s wishes. “Thank you for telling me,” she said. “Now tell me who threw these rocks at you.”

“Someone who wishes me punished.”

“I will put a guard on you and alert Adair to watch.”

“Nay.” Dora grasped Catlyn’s hand. “It would only make matters worse if they thought I had complained.”

“Very well, I will say nothing.” Directly, but she meant to spread the word that she would not tolerate such behavior.

“I am sorry I ruined things for you.”

Catlyn smiled faintly, her heart lighter than it had been in weeks. “Dora, I begin to think you did me a very great favor. For all he was my father’s foster son and lived here ten years, I realize I did not truly know Eoin. He has revealed his true nature, the charming, self-serving rogue. Had we wed, he would likely have pursued other women.” She chuckled. “And I would have been forced to cut out his cheating heart.”

Dora managed a watery smile. “Thank you for not turning me out. You are truly the most generous of women.” She grabbed Catlyn’s hands and kissed them.

Embarrassed, Catlyn freed her hands and patted Dora awkwardly on the shoulder. “You have amply repaid me by caring for Mama.” She looked over at her mother, who stared into the empty hearth as though it contained the secret of life.

“She will regain her senses,” Dora murmured.

“I pray you are right.” Catlyn walked over and hunkered down at her mother’s knee. “Mama, shall I read you a story?”

Her mother glanced at her and smiled brightly. “I think that’s why my Thom has stayed away so long,” she said. “Because he knows the plaid’s not mended. He’ll not come back to me till I’ve found it and set it to rights.”

“Aye, Mama,” Catlyn said softly. Her heart aching, she stood and walked toward the door.

“We must be up and looking at first light,” Jeannie said.

Dora’s reply was lost in the closing of the door, but doubtless it was something soothing.

Catlyn stood outside the room, shaking, her emotions a shambles. After a moment, she found the strength to move down the hall to her own chamber.

Why? Why had these things happened to her clan?

Father Griogair, the priest who had come over from the town of Doune to bury her father, said that God visited such hardships as these on folk as a penance for past ill deeds. If so, she was paying a very high price for having teased her brother when he was alive and tormented their tutor with her endless questions. Of course, if Eoin was to be believed, she also suffered from the sins of being cold, inflexible and indifferent to a man’s natural need for a mistress.

Did Ross Sutherland have a mistress?

Without a doubt. He was a rogue, the sort of handsome rascal who thought all women worshiped him. It would be folly to have him here, luring her maidservants into trysts in darkened corners. Oh, and he’d be good at that, Catlyn thought, shivering as she recalled what it was like to be the focus of his searing blue eyes.

He made a woman, even one as cautious as herself, feel as though she were the most important creature on earth. It was all a lie, of course, an act. But she would not have him here, breaking hearts.

Through the slits between the window shutters, Ross watched Catlyn make her exit. How lonely and sad she looked, he thought, her shoulders bowed, her steps slow.

He transferred his gaze to Catlyn’s mother. Clearly the death of her husband had unhinged Lady Jeannie’s mind. His heart contracted in an unwelcome spurt of sympathy. He tried to push it away, reminding himself he could not afford to feel anything for the lass he’d come to rob. But his own mother was dear to him, though Lady Laurel probably did not realize how much he loved her. He had disappointed both his parents with his refusal to settle down and accept the responsibilities for the estates he’d one day inherit.

The land he had lost in that drunken wager.

Just let him get back that damned note from Hakon, Ross vowed, and he would spend the rest of his life proving he was worthy of his parents’ love

“Come to bed, my lady,” murmured the maid.