Page 25 of Strachan (Hostage Brides #2)

Cecily’s back ached from churning the butter. The handle of the plunger would leave blisters, but it was all her own fault for offering to help Bertha around Fellscarp. She had a sneaking suspicion that Bertha was still testing her, seeing if she was too lofty to do menial tasks. But Cecily had churned butter many a time at Fallstairs, for there was often no one else to do it save for her father’s servant, Morag, who was as lazy as anything. She was determined to prove Bertha wrong.

Cecily stretched, leaning her hands on the small of her back. The tedium of forcing the plunger up and down in the butter barrel let her mind wander. Where was Peyton? He had not returned since their intimate exchange over the gift of the furs. Her loins flamed at the thought of his lean, hard body surging inside her.

Cecily’s hand slipped off the handle and hit the side of the barrel. ‘Satan’s balls!’ she cried.

‘Look at you - beautiful but useless and with a filthy mouth. Does Peyton know you curse like a slattern?’

Lowri Strachan leaned on the doorway, her face a mask of gleeful disdain. The lass was unnervingly similar to brother - dark, ferociously prickly. She put Cecily on edge, though in a different way from Peyton.

‘Oh, you are back,’ said Cecily, as her heart tightened in her chest.

‘I can tell by the scowl on your face that you are thrilled to see me again,’ said Lowri, sauntering over.

Cecily did not rise to the provocation. ‘I thought Peyton had despatched you south for safekeeping.’

‘Who told you that?’

‘Peyton.’

‘He talks at night, does he? I suppose with a face like that, you can get any man to give up his secrets while he slips between your legs for his pleasure.’

‘I have never whored myself for secrets or for a man’s pleasure,’ she said.

‘Are you not my brother’s whore?’

‘No. I am his wife.’

The smile dropped from Lowri’s face like a stone.

‘Did Bertha not tell you?’ said Cecily. ‘I thought you knew all of Peyton’s secrets.’

‘Peyton is not here, and I have not seen Bertha,’ said Lowri. ‘She would only scold me for coming back, and I’ve no desire for a tongue-lashing just yet. When did you wed my brother?’

‘A little while back.’

‘So you are happy. You got what you wanted.’

‘So did he,’ said Cecily, planting her feet and putting her hands on her hips. If Lowri wanted a fight, she could have one. ‘You went against Peyton’s orders coming back,’ she said.

‘I do as I please, and I sold cattle to put money into his hands to help him hang onto what he has fought, tooth and nail, to get.’

‘He told me that he trusts you, Lowri. Now, he trusts me, and I know his troubles too.’

‘I doubt you know anything of the world. Weren’t you cossetted and favoured at Fallstairs? Didn’t your father lock you away like a precious jewel to keep you pure for the marriage market?’

Cecily’s heart sank. Did Peyton tell Lowri that? Did he think so little of her?

‘My life has not been as easy as you think,’ she replied. ‘I heard that Peyton sent you to a convent to keep you out of harm’s way, as you are troublesome.’

Lowri’s face fell. ‘My brother tried that, but I will not be caged. I broke free.’

‘As did I.’

‘Aye, you ran away with an Englishman, and when he turned out to be a bad bet, you leapt into my brother’s bed. You are so na?ve and frivolous. You are an ornament, a man’s plaything, nothing more.’

Cecily took a step towards Lowri, her hands fisted. ‘You could never understand my life, as you have no wish to know me, or I you. And I wonder that you judge so much when you know nothing of men, Lowri. I pray you never find out what they are capable of.’

‘Oh, the soft little kitten has her hackles up,’ sneered Lowri.

‘Leave me be. I owe you no explanation.’

‘Tell me anyway so I may know you better and ill-wish you less.’

‘Alright, here is the truth of my life. My mother died two years ago, and she was the steady one. My father lost his way in his grief. He fell into drink, bad company, gaming.’

‘A real man never loses his way,’ said Lowri. ‘He is not turned by grief, fear, lust or anything.’

‘Who is this paragon of a man, Lowri? I am sure I have never met him.’

‘My brother is such a man,’ she spat.

‘Half-brother, most likely, and trust me, he is turned by lust,’ said Cecily, wanting to wound Lowri.

‘A man’s weakness, soon forgot,’ she spat. ‘You may bind him with your bonnie face and womanly wiles, but he will tire of them soon enough. He lives for Clan Strachan, and he will do anything to hang onto his position after a lifetime of being beaten down and humiliated.’

‘I know all about that. Peyton told me about his parentage.’

‘Aye, so you have wed a bastard. How do you like that?’ said Lowri.

‘I like it very well. And are you a bastard, too?’

‘No, the man who sired me was wed to my mother. And he used his belt to teach her the error of her ways. But he never used that belt on me once Peyton grew big enough to knock him down with one hand.’

‘And where is your father now?’ said Cecily.

‘Rotting in hell, I suppose. He had no love for his family, and they had no love for him.’

‘Then we have something in common, for my father was going to sell me in marriage to the highest bidder. Did you know that?’

Lowri narrowed her eyes and said nothing. Her silence was unnerving.

‘Just because you love your brother doesn’t mean we have to be rivals, Lowri,’ said Cecily.

‘Peyton protects me as I protect him. We are blood. That is all that matters to us Strachans. And what of you? Do you love my brother?’

Lowri came close and loomed over Cecily. She was slightly built but tall for a woman and had an air of menace. Her question was too heavy for Cecily to carry. ‘I will not talk of this with you,’ she said.

‘So, it is as I thought,’ sneered Lowri. ‘Peyton is a safe haven from your sins. You do not crave his bed. You hide in it. Peyton is a good man. He is loyal and brave, and he cares for you. I hate to admit it, but he does. I will not let you crush his heart just because you can, with your golden hair, bonnie face and fancy dresses.’

‘I won’t hurt him,’ said Cecily.

‘You already have. Do you know how much danger he faces? He should have married for an alliance, not for lust or beauty. And you should have stuck to your Englishman or some other rich suitor, and then we would all be happier.’

‘I was a fool about Edmund. I believed I was in love.’

‘Where did love get you, eh? Beaten and almost dishonoured, that’s where. I’ll never be like you, making a fool of myself over a man. You can count on that.’

‘Sometimes you can’t help but make a fool of yourself once you let love inside your heart.’

Lowri’s lip curled.

‘I’ve learnt the error of my ways,’ said Cecily. ‘And if you think Peyton feels only lust for me, then you are wrong. It is deeper than that.’

‘I think I know my brother better than you.’

‘You don’t know his heart. You don’t know all his troubles and what he feels inside because he is always brave and strong in front of you.’

‘And he is weak with you,’ spat Lowri.

‘Sometimes.’

Aye, Peyton was weak with her. Cecily pictured him, limbs entwined with hers, crying his passion into her neck, gasping and shutting his eyes when she took his manhood in her hand, holding her close to his chest as he fell asleep. She recalled the softness of his hair as she ran her fingers through it, the tender slide of his mouth and the bittersweet surge in her breast when he looked at her, really looked at her. His weakness made her trust him, want him, and love him.

‘Why would a woman like you ever care for Peyton?’ snapped Lowri.

‘Why would I not? I care for him because he is everything I did not dream of. Because he is nothing like Edmund Harclaw, the man I thought I loved to distraction. He talks to me like an equal. He is interested in my hopes and opinions. And I want him above all others.’

Lowri tutted and shook her head, raising Cecily’s ire.

‘You may nurse our suspicions, but I swear it is true. And if you get between me and Peyton, you will have a fight on your hands because I truly care for him.’

‘A fight, is it?’ laughed Lowri.

‘Aye, and it is a fight you will lose, for I know how to get down in the dirt and dig my claws in. If you ever strike at my heart, Lowri, I will strike at yours twice as hard.’

Lowri’s eyes widened. ‘Do you know, that is the first admirable thing you have ever said? I hope you mean it because if you do not, and if you betray Peyton, I will cut out your heart and feed it to you.’