Page 8 of Deception of a Highlander

“No’ all men are that way,” he replied carefully.

Mariel gave a small shrug that suggested she did not agree with what he’d stated but hadn’t the desire to argue. “Lady Glamis is free to come and go as she pleases, and when our king tires of her, she will do well for herself with the gifts he has bestowed upon her. Queen Anne, however, is doomed to a loveless marriage with a faithless husband. No,” she said with finality, “I’ll take a mistress’s freedom to a wife’s unloved misery any day if those are my only options.”

“Besides,” she added while he absorbed what she had told him. “Is it such a bad thing for a woman to want a man without the attachment of marriage?” She lowered her head and slanted her eyes up at him from beneath her long lashes.

* * *

Mariel knew her brazen question had been a risky move. However, she had not imagined the glint of interest in his eyes or the subtle way he glanced down her body when he claimed to have not noticed Lady Glamis. If she were going to seduce Kieran, she would have to break down his hardened exterior slowly.

Judging from the heat of his gaze, that exterior had just been chipped.

Her question did not need a reply when the answer hung so heavy between them.

“It’s warm in here,” Mariel said in a soft tone. “Perhaps we should continue our conversation outside.”

Without waiting for his answer, she slid her hand against his elbow, so the curve of her bosom brushed against his arm. Kieran took a step back, and his broad shoulder bumped against the back of a man with cropped blond hair behind them. The slender courtier whipped around to face Kieran. His throat was so crowded with a stiff neck ruff that he had to turn his entire body.

Mariel’s blood ran cold. She knew the man’s face. Worse still, he would know hers.

“You made me spill my wine,” the courtier slurred. He pointed to the ruby drop that beaded on his ornate doublet. Kieran cast the thin man a look of rude nonchalance before turning back to Mariel.

“I was speaking to you, barbarian.” The man pressed a lazy finger into Kieran’s cheek, and his bleary gaze drifted to her face. Recognition flickered in his unfocused eyes. “Hey,” he murmured. “I know you.”

Her stomach clenched. Her heart slammed against her chest.

She was caught.

CHAPTER 4

Several courtiers nearby eyed Mariel with interest. The drunk man’s finger lay pressed against Kieran’s reddening face still.

“I think ye should remove yer finger before I break it,” Kieran growled.

The man pulled his attention from Mariel to Kieran. He loosed a high-pitched laugh and placed his free hand next to his ear with an exaggerated motion. “What’s that? I don’t understand Erse. Perhaps if you spoke English—”

Kieran’s fist slammed into the man’s bony chin and sent him crumpling to the ground.

The chatter of voices ceased, music fell away mid-note, and the clink of coins from the card tables stilled. A roomful of hundreds of people skidded into an unnatural silence. Every eye was drawn to the out-of-control Scottish beast and the hapless courtier he’d brutally assaulted. To make matters worse, the man did not rise from his pile on the floor.

While Kieran did not seem to notice the commotion he’d caused, Mariel did. Any attention drawn to him was aimed at her as well, something she could ill afford in a court where she had made naught but enemies.

“Kieran,” she said in a quiet voice and placed her hand on his forearm, “perhaps it’s best we go now.” She caught Jane’s shocked gaze from across the room and nodded her head toward the door.

“And I was finally starting to enjoy myself,” Kieran muttered under his breath. A white-haired dowager gasped and stared incredulously at him. He turned away from the unconscious man and tucked Mariel’s hand in the crook of his arm as gallantly as any gentleman.

Mariel dropped her eyes to the floor and tried to keep her head turned toward Kieran to shield her face. Her heart beat wildly and every nerve was on edge. Where one person knew her, there could be more.

The heavy thump of Kieran’s boots on the polished wood floor filled the tomblike silence of the room. Upon their exit, a wave of voices roared to life behind them. It was not difficult to guess what they were saying.

Relief eased the tension in her shoulders. Though he would never realize it, Kieran had saved her by accosting the man. Were the courtier not so drunk, he would have doubtless recognized her more quickly.

Too many things could have gone wrong.

“You’ve created quite a stir,” she said as they strode through the quiet hall. Candles flickered on either side of them, illuminating prized pieces of art and furnishings. “I’m afraid you may not receive a warm welcome at court tomorrow.”

“I dinna intend to be at court tomorrow, or London for that matter.” They rounded the corner to the final few steps that led to the sprawling front lawn.

Jane waited by the doorway with Mariel’s sable cape in her hands.