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On the third day since the man—by the name of Sebastian Seabrook, stayed in her bed recovering from his attack—his fever broke and he asked for food. Teagan prepared a meat stew and served it with bread Lachlan bought from one of their neighbors. Unfortunately, their cabin had no oven to bake in, and Teagan didn’t have the knowledge to make bread over an open flame.
Having helped Mr. Seabrook sit up a short time ago, she found it easy to spoon the stew into his mouth. “Ah don’t dare give ye much. Yer stomach has been empty for several days now.”
“I’m starving,” he replied after he politely chewed his spoonful and opened his mouth for more.
Teagan laughed at the ridiculous way he looked. The eye that had been swollen shut was open a slit with a yellow and purple bruise beneath it. Bandages still covered most of his head, and her special black healing ointment ran down the side of his face covering his stitches. Her heart fluttered. A more handsome man she’d never seen. She needed to stop noticing things such as that. At least until she was convinced he could be trusted.
“I’m waiting,” he said, his one good eye narrowing on her, causing heat to kiss her cheeks.
“Sorry.” Try as she might, she could not keep her hand from trembling as the spoon carrying the stew approached his lips.
“Do I make you nervous? It is not my intention to do so.”
“Mr. Seabrook,” she huffed at him. “Ah assure ye ah’m not nervous.”
“Sebastian please. There is no Mr. Seabrook.”
She thought for a moment. “No Mr. Seabrook. Then “tis Lord Sebastian I presume?” She rose and curtsied with a smile.
“Should I be flattered or insulted by that curtsy?”
“Why flattered of course.”
“Please don’t treat me differently than you have. I’m the second son. It’s my brother who’s the duke.”
“A duke.” When her father dies Lachlan will also be a duke. “Is it difficult being the brother of a duke?”
The question brought a smile to his lips, and she melted back down into the chair.
“Not at all. I have never envied him. My father flaunted his mistresses and gambled the family fortune away. Poor Thomas inherited a mess and all our father’s debts. For a year he stalled the creditors, swallowed his pride, and became a fortune-hunting duke. Fortunately for him and all of us in his family it ended well. He inherited money and a business from one of our father’s childhood friends along with guardianship of his daughter.”
“The answer tae his prayers ah suppose.”
“You have no idea.” He laughed. “He married his ward and they are happy, in love, and expecting baby number two.”
“A fairytale made in heaven,” Teagan replied with a heavy heart. If only she could get that elusive fairytale ending. All she had to look forward to was being captured by her father and forced to marry, if not that brut of a man she’d wounded, then someone equally repulsive. A change of subject was needed so Sebastian didn’t notice her sudden melancholy.
“How does yer arm and leg feel?” she asked as she spooned the last of the stew into his mouth. He raised his brows as he chewed as if to say, “you always ask questions then shove food in my mouth.”
After he chewed he tested his arm and winced. “Hurts like a bugger. I beg your pardon for my language.”
“May ah inspect yer leg?”
He nodded and took a deep breath, probably anticipating pain. Since he was still naked beneath the sheet, she carefully moved it off his leg but tugged and tucked it around his hips so as not to expose his man parts. Her cheeks already felt scorched, and she could only imagine what they would look like if she saw all his nakedness.
She unwrapped the bandages and inspected the area around the stitches. “It has good color, the skin around the stitches is less angry and there isnae much swelling anymore. Brice made ye a crutch to help you move around on until the wound heals. Ah dinnae want it opening up again. When yer ready, please let he or ah ken and we’ll assist you.”
The smile he sent her melted her bones. What was it about this man? Her body and mind had experienced strange and unusual happenings since bringing him to her home. True, when she and Lachlan had come across him lying half in the river and half on the banks, she believed him dead and didn’t give him a care in the world. Even when she helped Lachlan move him and bring him here to her room and onto her bed, she still didn’t think much about him. In her mind he was probably going to die.
While she had cleaned and bandaged his broken body, something seeped into her skin through her fingertips. Whatever it was traveled throughout her body waking her up to her sensuality for the first time in her life. Those new awarenesses made her feel like a desirable woman. Something she’d never felt before.
“I don’t think I’m ready to get up just yet,” he hissed as she accidentally bumped his leg recovering him with the sheet.
“Just as weel. Ye need tae regain yer strength. Wouldnae want ye falling and injuring yerself in more ways.” She couldn’t help her hand from pushing the same lock of stray hair that kept creeping down in his eyes. “Ye should rest.”
She should rest as well as she hadn’t had much sleep since Sebastian arrived in their humble cottage. Unfortunately things needed tending to. At times like this she missed her pampered life in Scotland where she could rest a spell when the urge came over her. Albeit, that and her mother were the only things she missed. As for her father and Ian, she didn’t care if she ever set eyes on them again as long as she lived. And for her and Lachlan’s sake, she prayed she didn’t. Nothing good would come of them coming face to face. More likely her and her brother’s slow, torturous death would be the outcome.
***
Sebastian closed his eyes to rest, but his mind had other ideas. Since waking up in this room, he’d managed to piece together how he arrived here and he thanked God he was still alive. Those men who robbed and beat him, after he’d fallen off his mount and slid down an embankment bloody and hurt, had left him for dead. He owed his life to Maggie and Brice for bringing him here and mending his broken body. A frown creased his brow. The brother and sister lived like poor country folk, but they weren’t your average country folk.
Even with their thick Scottish brogue they spoke like the privileged gentry. Something was not right about this. The only thing he knew for certain was they meant him no harm. Meanwhile, he would heal and hopefully find out the truth about them.
Maggie, he grinned and winced at the pain radiating up his face. Beautiful Maggie. The first time he glimpsed her gorgeous red hair cascading down around her shoulders, he’d believed he’d gone to heaven and she his angel of mercy. What an utterly pleasant surprise to find out he lived and she—a living, breathing woman, cared for him with gentle, knowing hands. The emerald green of her eyes changed with her fluctuating emotions. When she concentrated on his injuries, they darkened with worry and concern. During their easy conversation of just minutes ago, they lightened and sparkled with amusement.
When she’d leaned over his naked body, clad only with a light sheet, and her breast brushed his thigh as she examined his leg, he’d nearly groaned. And he wondered if she’d noticed something stirring to life beneath the sheets. Thank God she took that moment to touch his injured leg causing him unbearable pain, which squashed his rising desire.
Something about Maggie called to his inner self. It didn’t matter that he believed she wasn’t who she said she was. If she hid something, Sebastian didn’t believe for a minute it was bad. Nothing about her could be truly evil. She emanated such innocence and genuine kindness—he knew without a doubt, a true beautiful soul lived within her.
How could he be thinking about his attraction to his savior when he still needed to find his half-sister? He scolded himself. She had sounded desperate in her letter, and he worried about what she had omitted in her correspondence. They all believed there were things she refused to say or couldn’t say. Was she starving? She hinted at being an age of around sixteen or seventeen. Was there a man trying to coerce her into giving him her innocence in return for shelter and food?
If only he weren’t injured, he could purchase a horse and ride today. Then his insides stilled. There were two problems with that. His body was in need of healing and he had no funds. Perhaps Maggie would write to Wentworth for him even though his pride would need to be swallowed. He’d let his family down and he hated it. Hated the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach for failing to find Penelope.
“Ah thought ye were resting,” Maggie said with a soft concerned voice. The cadence of it soothed his worried mind.
“May I ask something of you?”
She must have noticed his seriousness because she approached the bedside and took his hand, the one belonging to his unbroken arm, in her small callused ones. “Anything.”
“I need to send word to my family. They must be worried.”
Immediately, she let go of his hand. “Oh my God, how could ah havenae thought about yer family?” She rushed from the room, came back with her face flushed and her hair in disarray, and his heart fluttered with longing. After setting down parchment, ink, and quill on a small chest of drawers with missing knobs, she stood ready.
“You didn’t know my identity until today, so don’t be upset. There was nothing you could do,” Sebastian said, trying to ease her worried look and he succeeded. Only now she looked at him with a smile and expectant eyes. Swallowing, he hoped to ease the sudden dryness in his throat, and he began to tell her what he wanted put in the missive.
“Dear Wentworth, I have not found Penelope. I am fine, but my horse and I got caught in a terrible storm and got lost. I was unfortunately injured. A brother and sister just outside of Northumberland have taken me in until I heal. Please do not worry about me, but I am concerned about Penelope. Perhaps you should seek Mr. Smythe’s help. I hope this letter finds you and our family well. Your brother, Sebastian.”
“Is that all?” Maggie asked with a frown. “Should ye nae tell them how extensive yer injuries are? And that ye were accosted and robbed and left for dead by highwaymen?”
“No. I don’t want to worry my family when they have other things to concern themselves with. My sisters, Bella and Amelia, both newly married had some tragedy in their lives, they don’t need any more stress upsetting them. My brother’s wife is increasing with their second babe and Emma needn’t concern herself with anything but her and the babe’s health. And if I know my brother, he will leave immediately for here or to find Penelope. Hopefully to find Penelope.”
“If ah may be so bold to ask, who is Penelope?”
“I beg your pardon. She is claiming to be our father’s natural born daughter. I was traveling to her and bringing her to my family’s country estate in hopes of finding out the truth. I let my family and her down.”
“Ye didnae let her down. Ye tried yer best. “Tis nae yer fault ye were accosted by highwaymen. And if her claim turns out tae be true, she will be a lucky lady indeed tae have found such a loving family as yers.”
Sebastian heard the sorrow in her voice, and he wondered about her family other than her brother. The haunted look in her eyes just now made his heart ache for her. Something happened to scar her deeply. “Tell me about your family?”
“There is nothing tae tell.” Her eyes darted away from his. He knew deep inside she lied to him. Perhaps when she needed a friend to talk to, she would share.
“May I ask one more question?” Her eyes stayed diverted from his and he missed the contact.
“Yes.”
“Who is Marissa?”
Witnessing Maggie blush softened the shock of hearing Marissa’s name spoken out loud. Then he exhaled and closed his eyes, briefly acknowledging the sudden but quick stab to his heart. Perhaps he was getting over her quicker than he thought because his heart only hurt for a moment, and he breathed easier. “She is my brother’s best friend, the Earl of Northborough’s sister. The earl is also married to my sister, Bella. Marissa and I practically grew up together. Our two families were and are very close.” He paused, trying to find the right words to make him not look like a bloody arse.
“We were not betrothed, but it was expected we would marry. I don’t know what I was waiting for? Perhaps I wasn’t truly convinced we would suit one another as husband and wife or that I loved her in that way. One week before I left home, she ran off to Gretna Green with a captain she’d only recently met. Obviously she arrived to the same conclusion I had.”
“I’m sorry,” Maggie whispered as she took his hand. “Are ye worried for her running off with this captain she just met?”
“No. Marissa might have just met him, but I went to Eton with him. He’s a second son like me, and we were quite close during are education years. Lost touch when he entered His Majesty’s Army, but I have no qualms that he will take good and loving care of Marissa. They make a fine couple. Of course when they return from Scotland, he’ll have Northborough to answer to.”
“Is Lord Northborough quick tae temper?”
Sebastian laughed, then gasped in pain as his laughter shook his whole body, jarring his leg and arm. “No. Myles, as he prefers to be called by his friends, is easy going, charming and witty. If Marissa is happy, he will be ecstatic. He, along with my brother, want love matches for their siblings.”
Maggie frowned and looked wishful. “Love matches. If only my pa—” Her hand flew to her mouth and her eyes widened in shock.
“I thought your mother and father were dead?” Sebastian asked, knowing he’d caught her in a lie. Would she trust him enough to tell him the truth?
“They are.” She recovered fast. “Ah meant tae say, when my paw were alive he dinnae care if ah found love. He only wanted me tae marry someone who could provide for me and any children we were blessed tae conceive. He gave my maw little say in the matter. As for my brother, they wanted him tae marry the mean spirited daughter of a neighboring wealthy estate owner.” Her brows drew together. “He refused.”
“Why?”
She released his hand, looking startled to realize she still held it. “No more questions please. If ye’ll excuse me, I’ll leave ye tae rest and go find Brice and hand him yer letter. He’ll need tae find someone tae take it tae yer family.”
“Wait.” He didn’t know why he reached out to her, but he didn’t want to be alone with his thoughts even though he was exhausted and had trouble keeping his eyes open. “Stay.”
She shook her head. “Ah’m sorry, ah cannae.”
As he closed his eyes and felt the pull of sleep, he wondered once again what secrets she hid. Would he ever have the privilege of knowing? Was Maggie even her true name?
***
On her way to find her brother, Teagan chastised herself for letting her guard down with Sebastian. Just because he was English didn’t mean her father didn’t send him? He could still be their enemy. She would have to be more careful in the future not to be swayed by his good looks and charm.
“Brice,” Maggie called as she stood in the doorway of the blacksmith shop.
He rushed to the door and pulled her outside. “What are ye doing here? Are ye daft, ye left him alone?”
“He asked me tae write a letter tae his family. His name is Sebastian Seabrook, and his brother is the Duke of Wentworth.” She paused to catch her breath. “Do ye think he is making it up? That he is just trying to worm his way into our trust so we will let our guard down? Or can we believe him? His story is plausible. Should we send the letter?”
Lachlan pulled her along with him. She knew he wanted to get them out of the prying eyes and ears of several town folks. The residents of this small town were still leery of them, being Scottish and all. One of the main reasons he’d left his kilt at home and wore English clothing. Another being he didn’t want to stand out in case his father’s men caught up with him. Dressing as the English did would enable them to blend in with the townsfolk.
“What did ye tell him?”
“Ah said ye would find someone tae deliver the missive.”
“We cannae send it,” Lachlan said with a frown. “Even if he is telling the truth, we cannae have his family members coming into our home. In case ye havenae noticed, his eyes follow our every move. He has a suspicious nature. Ah think he suspects we are nae who we say we are. And if his brother, the duke, arrives and he shares his beliefs, what then?”
“This could be tae our advantage. Surely the duke must have the ear of the prince. He could help us?” By the expression on her brother’s face, she’d not convinced him. “Ah finally believe he is no threat to us, and ye willnae help him?
“Nay. Give me the letter?”
Teagan regrettably handed over the sealed letter. She didn’t believe Sebastian or his brother—if they found out the truth about them—would notify their father. Not if they told him how he wanted Lachlan dead and possibly her as well.
After leaving her brother, she walked slowly home, pondering how outlandish their life had become. And if she would ever feel safe or be free again?
When she arrived home she had to be assured she had total privacy, so she tiptoed to the doorway and her breath stopped at the sight before her. Sebastian had unwrapped his bandages on his head and she saw for the first time his lovely blond hair.
Immediately she wanted to run her fingers through it in the worst way. Shaking her head, she left the room to quickly disrobe, remove her dirty dress and chemise, and put on her only other clean piece of clothing, another chemise. After washing the discarded items and several other pieces of clothing, she hung them on a rope tied between two trees that Lachlan had created.
Now she set to work making another stew for several meals to come. How she missed the meals served at Murray Castle. Why had she never appreciated the family’s servants or the cook and kitchen staff? One of several things she’d learned on this forced adventure was to be forever grateful for the help of servants. If she ever saw her home again, she would make time to thank each and every member of the staff. And never take them for granted again. She had not been unkind to any of them but had not gone out of her way to be kind either.
She realized, now that she handled everything, that servants had a thankless job. And she felt sorry for them being born poor and of the lower classes. Teagan would admit she had been somewhat a spoiled child when younger. Her mother had doted over her endlessly, dressing her in extravagant clothing and parading her around the village. Silent tears leaked from her eyes at the thought of her strong but kindhearted mother. Never could she ever understand what her mother saw in her father.
Her father had never shown any interest in Teagan. He thought females were useless, except for overseeing the household and warming a man’s bed at night. And yes, for baring sons. Many sons. He’d never not shown his disappointment in her being a girl.
But if her father valued sons over daughters, why had he always been displeased with Lachlan? No. More than displeased, almost as though he hated him. Lachlan didn’t deserve his father’s hatred. He was the first born son.
Why was her younger brother by a year so revered by their father? Because surely, Ian was not the better choice to run an estate? He took after their father, mean-spirited, tight-fisted, and demanding while Lachlan took after Mother. No doubt that being the reason their father bonded with Ian and wanted him to inherit. Or more likely Ian was the way he was because of Father. Father trained him from the time he left the cradle.
If only things had been different and their mother still lived. When Mother had wed Father, she brought the wealth into the Murray coffers. From what Teagan had been told, the castle was in disrepair until her mother’s dowry, which had been much more substantial than most. It must have been if they never lacked for coin over the years.
Rumors had been whispered since she was a little girl. Rumors about her mother carrying Lachlan and her before the nuptials were exchanged. Her parents had married quickly, there wasn’t even time for a hand-fasting. Even if there was truth to this, why would Father not like them? To her limited knowledge about married people, this type of hurried ceremony happened quite often.
Wiping away her tears as she chopped up vegetables for a stew, she willed herself to stop crying as the tears wouldn’t change anything. Her mother was still dead. And she found it unfortunate her brother wouldn’t send the letter to the Duke. Deep down inside she believed he would help them. Sebastian made him sound like a kind, honorable, and caring man.
How could anyone who knew their plight, not want to help them? A sudden bang and shattering glass from the bedroom had her wiping her hands and running into the room. Sebastian stood, pain etched on his face, his teeth clenched.
“Bloody hell. I’m sorry. Look at the mess I’ve created. I only wanted to see if I could get up.
“Do nae fret.” Teagan reached for him because he looked as though he would topple any moment. Which he did, falling back onto the bed and taking her with him. As she fell on top of him, he yelled in pain.
“Ah’m sorry,” she said as she struggled to get up.
“No. Don’t move. Give me a moment to breathe through the pain.”
Teagan stilled. The only thing she did was lift her head and look into his mesmerizing blue eyes. Both of which were open now. Even though they radiated discomfort, they took her breath away with their intensity. “Forgive me, ah only meant tae help ye.”
“You did. Without you I may have landed on the floor.” His chest rose and fell, and his heart beat fast beneath her chest. Strange, her heart beat rapidly as well.
She swallowed hard because she realized he was totally naked beneath her. When she entered the room she had panicked so at seeing him standing and swaying that she didn’t notice his unclothed state. Nor hers as she wore only a chemise as her clothing dried. Now as she lay on top of him, she felt every muscle, bone, and dip in his body. As well as his swollen member pushing against her stomach.
“May ah get up now?” she said in a near whisper as all the air had escaped from her lungs.
“Must you?” His one free arm curled around her and landed softly against her back. The warmth from his large hand settled deep within her bones. Odd how this near stranger affected her so. He made her long for things her body seemed to understand but not her mind. Oh, she knew what happened between a man and women sexually, but to experience it, was another matter entirely. She’d never even kissed a man, never mind got this close. A heat burned in her belly and she felt wet down below. Between her thighs.
“Ah must. If La...Brice found me thus.”
It took all her willpower to divert her eyes from his soul searching ones and rise off his body. As her unsteady feet landed on the ground she looked back, gasped, and covered her mouth with her hand. She’d seen penises of old and sick men, and the one time with MacPherson, but nothing she’d ever seen prepared her for what Sebastian had between his legs. His shaft was thick and long and not unpleasant to look at.
As she stared at it she swore it grew in length and girth. “Ah’m sorry.”
“No. Forgive me,” he said as he struggled to pull the sheet over him to no avail. “It appears I need some help.” His cheeks were bright red with embarrassment.
All her focus was on his face as she gently tugged the sheet from beneath him and covered his waist. “Ah must ask my brother for some clothing for ye as we cut yers off. Excuse me,” she mumbled, trying to keep herself in control. “Ah have things tae attend tae.”
As she left the room and draped the fabric across the door opening, she covered her pounding heart with one hand and her heated cheek with the other. “Deep breaths, deep even breaths,” she told herself, hoping to calm the rapid beat of her heart and the vibrations in her body. How had that happened? One minute she was saving him from toppling over and hurting himself and the next she landed on top of his hard, naked body. A body that would be forever remembered in her mind. Even if he turned out to be their enemy, she would remember. Although she prayed he was not in their father’s employ.
Going back to preparing the meal, she took extra careful precautions chopping vegetables as her hands trembled still. After setting everything in the cast-iron kettle on the open flame in the small stone fireplace, she tidied up the cabin even though she’d cleaned early that morning.
All she knew was she needed something to keep her occupied until Lachlan returned from work. Distance between her and Sebastian would be wise. Over the course of the past several years she recognized when a man lusted after her, and she’d witnessed that same lust shining from Sebastian’s midnight blue eyes.
Even though she had never lusted after a man before, she had experienced it then. She had stared at his slightly parted lips and wanted so desperately for him to kiss her. For his mouth to crush hers in a kiss worthy of a swooning.
Of course, Sebastian may lust after her now, but when he found out about their deception, he would feel differently. Possibly even hate her. Unless he had deceptions of his own. Her hand palmed the pain in her chest at the idea of him hating her. Why had Lachlan insisted they lie? Yes, she knew the reasons why, but her female intuition told her he would prove an ally in their fight with their father. And they needed all the help they could receive to stay hidden and alive. God forbid their father found them, they would need more than luck or Sebastian. They would need an army of loyal men. An army they didn’t have, nor would.
