As she stood a wave of dizziness came over her and she grabbed the table
edge. Hoping she could stop the twirling sensation, she closed her eyes and tightened
her hold.
“Alenna,” a deep, concerned voice said at her elbow. She opened
her eyes as Tynan put his arm around her waist. “I will take care of her,
my lord.”
“Tynan shall see you safely to your chambers,” the baron said.
He nodded and smiled as they left.
Once out of the great hall, Tynan pulled her to his chest. His expression was
thunderous, as if she’d committed a great transgression.
Before he could speak she said, “You can wipe that glower off your face,
Tynan. I can’t help it if I don’t eat rotten meat every day.”
“Meat in yer time is better?”
“It’s preserved by freezing.”
His eyebrows went up. “Then ye have only guid meat in the winter?”
His comical expression temporarily took her mind off the muddle in her intestines
and she smiled. “No. We have a way to keep it frozen year round.”
Cocking his head to the side slightly, he said, “I’ve much to learn
of yer time, Alenna.”
In contrast to the glares he’d given her all evening, his gaze grew soft
and concerned. Without hesitation he lifted her in his arms.
“Tynan, you don’t have to carry me.”
He strode through the castle. “But I will. I’m takin’ ye
home.”
Home.
A strange word for him to use.
He shifted her in his arms as if to get a better grip. “I’ll have
Elizabet put together a tea for ye.”
At the mention of the woman’s name, a twinge of consternation added to
the conflict in her stomach. “The baron was very talkative tonight.”
“Aye. I could see that. He likes yer company too much.”
The sour quality to his tone surprised her. “Why too much?”
“When it comes to women, I dinnae trust him.”
“Because he’s had ten mistresses?”
Tynan looked down at her, and in the flickering light of one of the torches,
she noted the tightness about his mouth. A sure sign of his disapproval, if ever
there was one.
“A man with mistresses is often foolish. He doesnae think with his mind.”
She smiled. “I see. You mean you’re afraid he won’t make
good decisions if he’s distracted by a woman.”
“Aye.”
Alenna let out a laugh. “Do you know this from personal experience?”
“Aye. If a man places a woman’s welfare above his duties, above
the trust other people have in him, he is fair ruined.”
Startled by his statement and by how it made her feel, Alenna said, “So
a man in love is stupid?”
His nodded firmly. “He is.”
“You think the baron can’t perform his duties correctly when he
has a mistress?”
“If he dare fall in love with her.” As they came to the Black Tower,
Tynan sat her on her feet.
“Is he in love with Caithleen?”
“Nay. But if he were to take ye as his mistress, I ken it wouldnae be
long before he were a mad man.”
Indignation stirred her as he opened the door and they went into the room.
“Are you saying I would make him crazy?”
Shaking his head as if she couldn’t possibly understand, he leaned in
close. “Ye might, at that.”
“I don’t know whether to be insulted or flattered,” she said
weakly.
“He finds ye comely, as any man with two eyes must.”
Suddenly the warmth and special attention in Tynan’s gaze was immediate.
Too intimate.
Do you find me comely, Tynan?
He jerked back, and for a moment Alenna thought she’d asked the question
aloud. Feeling tired, she sat on the pallet. Immediately he went to work on starting
a fire in the hearth.
“The baron will want ye for his mistress before long.”
“What?”
“I watched ye together. Dougald even noticed it.”
“If you mean that he was rude to ignore Caithleen, then you’re
right—”
“’Tis not just that. ‘Tis in his eyes. I saw it before he
took Caithleen as his mistress. If a man looks close, he can see what another
man is plottin’. ‘Tis not a hard thing to do.”
“You had me fooled. I thought you were staring at me and yet you were
watching the baron.”
He cocked an eyebrow and grinned. “I was starin’ at ye part of
the time.”
The little devil on her shoulder wanted to know why. “Oh?”
He stood. “I wanted to see if ye wished for his attentions.”
“Of course not. He touched me,” she said.
His spine stiffened. “He touched ye?”
“On the hand. Several times.”
He swallowed hard. “He should nae have done that.”
“Well, he seems like the type of man who does whatever he wants, whenever
he wants.”
Tynan’s face hardened again. “Aye.”
Even in that moment, when he frowned, she knew the essence of what made Tynan
a powerful man. When he looked at a woman he saw her. Beyond a woman’s fetching
facade, or fancy clothing, Tynan looked into the soul.
Somehow his watchfulness was deeper than sexual, though as disquieting as any
lustful gaze. As he continued to stare, she felt devoured, yet somehow protected
at the same time.
Alenna drank in the sight of him like a thirsty woman. In that moment she understood
why women admired him, and yet feared the primal man hovering under the surface.
“God’s blood,” he said, his voice rumbling deep. “How
does any man resist ye? How do I resist ye?” He shook his head. “I’ll
get Elizabet for ye.”
Seconds later he was out the door, leaving her more confused about the man
than ever.
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