In fact, ye are more bonny than most women.” She giggled. Ye are to consider me handsome or the like. “I donna think ye are to say those words to a man, lass. “Looking like that, lass, I bet the packs are fighting over ye. Her hair was pinned up, but one curl brushed against her slim, ivory neck.Ĭlosing what was left of the gap between them, Declan looked down at her and gave her a roguish grin. Her throat looked warm and shapely above a low-cut bodice. She wore a gold-colored gown that clung to her curves in all the right places. Ye leave me to the wolves,” jested the healer. When he entered the great hall, someone poked him in the ribs. Fortunately for him, he had no interest in political machinations. His mind wandered back to the peculiar conversation in the tavern. At court, he had no doubt someone might drive a dagger straight through his heart as soon as he turned around.
Granted, his family drove him mad with their constant lecturing, but they were his own and they depended on each other. The solace of his own chamber, the bantering with his brothers-well, that part was not exactly peaceful. It was but a small price to pay for her aiding his kin.Īs Declan made his way through the halls of the castle, he sorely missed the informality at Glenorchy. She clearly needed some joy in her life and he would see to it. Perhaps he could stay his tongue long enough not to spar with her, or maybe he could even swallow his pride and choose another partner for her with whom to dance-not an easy feat, by any means. This eve, he would make sure that the woman enjoyed herself. Losing a brother, being a ward of the court, finding out that the man she was to spend the rest of her days with was now a viscount wed to another…It was enough to drive a sane person mad. Cranborne had certainly made a mess of things.Īs of late, the healer had been through a great deal. And that was why Declan had enough sense never to dally with virgins or women who were wed. Cranborne had promised her a future, taken her innocence, and never returned. When he had placed his hand at the lass’s back, she had trembled, but he was relieved to see her compassion for others beat out the urge to cause bodily harm.įeeling like an arse, he had tried not to overhear the conversation with Cranborne, but raised voices left him with few options. He was not sure he could have done the same. Reluctantly, Declan had to admit that the healer had handled herself with dignity and respect. Having met the viscount, he could not say what surprised him more: that Cranborne had ruined the healer or the obvious affection the man held for his wife. Declan prepared for the evening’s festivities in honor of Viscount Cranborne, donning the courtly fashions he had borrowed from his brother.
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