The Highlander's Hidden Heart by Kathryn Le Veque

Author:Kathryn Le Veque [Veque, Kathryn Le]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Medieval
Published: 2017-07-24T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOUR

That evening

After finally permitting Rora to go back to her duties because she was fearful that their tryst would be discovered, Jackston lingered with his horse a little longer, not wanting to retreat into the manse and back into the lair where a spinster sister was pinching him and Lizelle was trying to show him such domestic bliss. He was quite certain Lizelle had changed out of her stained clothing by now and was waiting for him to come to her and, frankly, he was surprised that she hadn’t come looking for him. But he was grateful for small mercies. His time in the stable had allowed him to come to know Rora in a most intimate way and he was more convinced than ever that he was smitten with her. Perhaps even more than smitten.

But that was something he had to sort out for himself.

So, he remained with his horse, pondering the dilemma he was facing. He’d been reluctant to come to Braelaw before he ever met Rora, and she was most certainly something he hadn’t expected. He began to wonder if his attraction to her was some extreme reaction to his unwillingness to marry Lizelle, but he’d never been the type to fall for a woman, at least not to the point where he was thinking of marrying her.

God’s Bones… what was he going to do?

Eventually, the sun began to set in the west, casting long shadows in the stables and the grooms entered with covered fish oil lamps to feed the beasts their evening meal. When the grooms entered, Jackston exited into the stable yard and headed to the manse beyond. The wall surrounding the manse was sealed off, the gates closed as the business for the day had been finished and people were finishing up their tasks before the evening meal commenced. Jackston could smell roasting meat on the breeze and it was making him hungry. Fortifying himself with a deep breath for courage, he headed into the manse.

Robert was near the door in conversation with his majordomo when he entered and Jackston was once again subjected to the man’s very warm reception. But the moment he set foot inside the manse, Jackston took on the look of the hunted. He knew there were at least two hungry females nearby and he wanted to be ready when he was set upon.

Oblivious to Jackston’s hunt-or-be-hunted demeanor, Robert led him into the great hall, which now had people in it, mostly senior soldiers, and other people that Jackston didn’t know about – or even care about. In fact, he was thinking of a plan to get Robert alone so he could relay his decision to the man when his host indicated for him to sit at the head of the table.

In the host’s spot.

Jackston groaned inwardly; Robert wasn’t making this simple for him in the least but perhaps that was the man’s plan. Perhaps Robert knew what Jackston was thinking, returning to Lizelle after all of these years, and he was showing him what it would be like when Jackston, in fact, was the lord of Braelaw.

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