Page 52 of The Warrior
“It was done before I left.”
“Ah well, I decided to forgive ye.” She looked at him from under her lashes and gave him a slow smile. “I know how ye can make it up to me.”
“I want ye to go,” Duncan said. “Now.”
“Ye don’t mean it,” she said giving him a coy smile.
Duncan paused. He may as well make it plain. “Moira is here.”
“Moira?” Rhona said her name in a shriek, then she narrowed her eyes to slits. “I should have known. Ye were always such a fool for her.”
He was, but there was no point in discussing it.
“And did the little princess let ye pleasure her in bed like she used to?” Rhona said. “That’s all Moira thinks you’re good for. She won’t be seen with ye in the light of day.”
“Don’t,” Duncan warned her.
“Ye don’t like hearing the truth?” Rhona’s eyes were snapping fire as she poked her finger into his chest. “Moira never thought ye were good enough for her.”
“If ye have anything in my house, take it with ye now,” Duncan said. “You’re not coming back.”
When Rhona did not budge, Duncan took the large cloth bag from the hook on the wall and started tossing in the odds and ends she had left in his house. He’d never really noticed them before.
“As soon as ye left for France, Moira started sneaking off with that handsome Irish chieftain,” Rhona said. “She used my clothes, pretending she was me, just like she had with you.”
“That’s enough.” Duncan did not want to hear it, did not want to believe it.
“While ye were bleeding for her as ye crossed the sea to France, I had to listen to Moira prattle on about what an important man her Irish lover was,” Rhona said, waving her hand in the air, “and all the things he could give her.”
Duncan shoved the bag at Rhona and opened the door. “Out!”
“She forgot ye like that.” Rhona snapped her fingers in front of his face as she left. “And she’ll do it again.”
* * *
A hint of spring was in the air, and the view from the path to Duncan’s cottage was indeed wondrous. Moira spread out her arms and drank it in. When she was near the top of the hill, she paused in the middle of the open field to look back at the Cuillins and was pleased with herself when she could remember the names of most of the peaks. There was no place on God’s earth she would rather be than right here.
She smiled as she continued up the path. Just ahead, Duncan’s cottage was a pretty sight with its fresh whitewash and thatch. Sàr lay on one side of the door, and someone had planted a dog rose on the other side that would be lovely come summer. Who would have guessed the fiercest of the MacDonald warriors had a soft spot for dogs and flowers?
As she drew nearer the cottage, she heard raised voices. Rather, one voice. A woman’s.
Her stomach dropped. Duncan had not mentioned that he had a woman waiting at home. When Duncan touched her, he made her believe there was no other. Perhaps she had just wanted that to be true.
Only now did Moira admit to herself why she had come to his cottage. She had wanted to take that last step and let him make love to her fully. She was no longer a seventeen-year-old lass in the blush of first love. She thought Duncan did not have the power to hurt her now.
But she was wrong.
She should have known that a man as fine looking as Duncan would not be alone. Even apart from his handsome face and warrior’s body, Duncan was the sort of man who intrigued women—at least the brave ones. They were drawn by his darkness and silence, each hoping to be the one woman he would share his secrets with.
Before Moira could start back down the hill, the door opened and a black-haired woman came out. Her head was turned, and she was shouting back toward the cottage.
“Ye are a damned fool, Duncan Ruadh! Princess Moira would never have stayed with ye before, and she won’t now.”
The woman adjusted the large cloth bag that weighed down her shoulder, then started marching down the hill with her head down. Moira had nowhere to hide in the open field. After a few steps, the woman looked up, and they both sucked in their breath.
“Rhona!” Moira could not think of a single other word to say to her former maid.
“Duncan will come crawling back to me after you’ve broken his heart again,” Rhona said.
