Undeniable by Violetta Rand

Author:Violetta Rand [Rand, Violetta]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Highland
Published: 2018-07-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

“DO YE PROMISE not to tell yer husband?” Helen asked Keely while they were alone in the women’s solar the day after Jamie left.

Keely had made the space, located on the second floor, as elegant and comfortable as Helen’s own solar at Dunrobin Castle. A single, arched window allowed natural light to flood in. On the opposite wall was a stone hearth. Above the hearth hung a tapestry honoring Clan Oliphant, Keely’s father’s clan. A trestle table with an embroidered tablecloth and padded benches graced the center of the room. Weaving and embroidery materials were kept in baskets along the north wall. A tray of food and wine was set out on a smaller table in the corner.

“Secrets can hurt a marriage,” Keely told her. “I learned the hard way. But I also value the honesty and trust ye and I share. Is it shameful that Jamie has expressed interest in ye?”

Helen stood up from the trestle table and folded her arms across her chest. “He wishes me to stay away.”

“I doona believe him. I think ye present a challenge, make him think about things he hasna considered in a long time.”

“I asked if we could remain friends.”

Keely gave her a sideways look. “Helen, a man like Jamie doesna want to be yer friend—any woman’s friend.”

That news disappointed Helen greatly. “There’ve been other women, then? That he’s cared about?”

Keely set her embroidery aside. “Of course,” she said without hesitation. “He’s travelled halfway around the world, met many people, done many things. He’s a hot-blooded Highland warrior. Would ye expect any less?”

“No,” she answered regretfully. “I have no adventures to speak of, no great accomplishments to share. To an experienced man such as Jamie, I must appear no different than a child.”

“Why are ye so hard on yerself, Helen?”

“Because I wish for so much more than I have.”

“Ye are not alone.”

“I know.” She reached across the table and squeezed Keely’s hand appreciatively. “I am sorry if I sound selfish. It’s just…”

“What?”

“While we kissed…”

“He kissed ye?”

Helen felt her cheeks blush. “Twas more than a mere kiss.”

“Alex wouldna approve. And I am not sure…”

“Nay,” Helen said. “I wanted him to kiss me.”

“Ye did?”

“I am one-and-twenty, Keely. I have never been alone with a man, never been permitted to speak with one as I have Master Jamie, and I surely have never had the benefit of a man’s romantic attention.”

“Only because yer father wished the best for ye.”

Helen couldna help laughing. “The best for him, Keely. He guarded my virtue so he could marry me off to a powerful laird, not because he really cares.”

“I doona believe that. Somewhere underneath all his blustering, he is still yer father. Remember my own sire is set in his ways.”

“I want to believe it. But after my mother died, he changed. He tried to forget about her, took a mistress a week after. To this day, the servants whisper about it, especially when he shows interest in a new woman. I doona wish to marry a man like that.

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