'Our fathers didn't raise ignorant daughters, and it's your mistake to believe otherwise,' Brenna said.
'Isn't that so?' Jamie asked her husband, who stood behind her.
Alec knew better than to disagree with his wife, as the issue seemed important to her. 'Yes, that is so.'
Connor held one of the doors open for his wife. Jamie gave Brenna a farewell hug, then wrapped her arms around Connor, whispered something into his ear that made him smile, and gave him a kiss on his cheek.
'Come home more often,' she ordered him before moving away from the door so they could go outside.
Quinlan's eyes widened in disbelief the second he saw his mistress. She noticed his concern, shook her head at him, and pulled her hair down to hide her stitches. Quinlan didn't say anything.
They all noticed how she favored her left side coming down the steps. Connor tried to be gentle with her when he lifted her onto her horse, but she still grimaced in pain.
Connor's farewell to his brother made her forget about her discomfort. She almost laughed out loud, so amusing was his action, for instead of bowing to his brother or grasping his hand to say his good-bye, he slammed the flat of his hand against his shoulder. Alec pounded him back. Once the barbaric show of affection was finished, Connor swung up behind Brenna and put his arm around her waist.
He leaned down close to her ear and whispered, 'You've only a short ride before you're home.'
Alec patiently stood by their side, waiting until his wife had finished saying her good-byes and gone back inside to find Grace. As soon as the door closed behind her, he turned to Brenna. His expression showed his amusement. 'My daughter has a special fondness for her plaid.'
'Is that so?' she asked, wondering why he wanted to discuss Grace's blanket now.
Alec nodded. 'She can tell hers from another by the scent. At least that is what my wife believes. Jamie must be right, because Grace knows when one has been substituted for another. She likes to wrap herself up in the blanket while she sleeps. She'll have need for it tonight, Brenna, or my wife and I will get little rest.'
Connor could tell from his wife's puzzled expression she didn't understand what Alec was asking. 'He wants you to give it back, Brenna,' he said.
Her face turned the color of a sunburn in less time than it took to blink. She almost dropped the plaid when she moved her elbow away and handed it to Alec. 'I can't imagine how I forgot to put it down on the stool. I did have every intention of doing just that, but I became involved in our discussion and must have…'
She stopped trying to come up with a logical explanation for her behavior when Alec put his hand on top of hers. He looked as though he wanted to say something important to her, and she instinctively tensed in anticipation.
'My wife will be over the first of the week to plant your flowers, Brenna.'
'Thank you, Laird.'
'Alec was thanking you,' Connor told her.
'I realize that. I was thanking him for showing me such kindness.'
'If I were not so grateful to you for coming to my daughter's assistance, I would have to take issue with you for believing Connor and I wouldn't notice anything was amiss. We notice everything.'
'For two intelligent women, you both misjudged us,' Connor said.
'Aye, you did,' Alec agreed. He removed his hand and stepped back. 'You do understand that it was our decision that allowed you to win your wager, but you need not thank us for our thoughtfulness.''
She laughed again. 'You believe you let me win? I think not, Laird.'
He raised his eyebrow. 'We deliberately pretended not to notice.'
'That is so,' she agreed. 'And you would be right to believe you favored the outcome if your observation had been what we wagered about. Jamie and I knew you would notice.'
'What was the wager over?' Connor asked, a hint of a smile in his voice.
'Jamie was sure you wouldn't be able to keep silent and would demand to know what happened as soon as you looked at me. I wagered you wouldn't say a word, and if my memory serves me, I do believe that is exactly what happened.'
'One is the same as the other,' Connor argued.
'Is it?' she asked with an innocent smile and a look that told him she thought he was wrong.
'Admit it, Connor. The victory belongs to Brenna,' Alec conceded.
'It does,' Connor agreed.
'Will Jamie bring Grace with her when she plants my flowers?'
'No, I don't let my children leave my land. Connor, I'll be riding with my wife. I expect you to be there.'
Alec shoved him once again to show his affection, before striding back toward his home. Grace must have been waiting just inside the doors, for as soon as Alec pulled one open, she ran to him and snatched her blanket out of his hand.
Once she and Connor were on their way, Brenna made herself more comfortable by shifting her weight on his lap and wrapping her arms around his waist.
'I was sorry I didn't get to say good-bye to Grace.'
'She's busy explaining her conduct to her father now.'
'What will he do to her? It was an accident, Connor. Surely Alec won't hurt her tender feelings.'
'She and Dillon are not allowed upstairs alone. Alec will simply remind Grace to obey his orders.'
'Are the other children as carefree?'
'No. The boys are shy of strangers, but God help you once they get used to you. They're far more devilish than Grace is.'
'I fear she will always be my favorite.'
Connor was deliberately trying to keep up the idle conversation so Brenna wouldn't notice the number of Kincaid soldiers riding escort. He didn't want her to become concerned about Alec's reasons. She might even assume MacNare was somehow responsible for his brother's outrageously protective gesture.
He knew he was going to have to put up with his brother's interference. He wasn't happy about it, though. Neither was Quinlan, but unlike his laird, he wasn't trying to hide his irritation.
'I would not make a favorite of one of my children,' she assured him.
He didn't have anything to say about that. She wanted to keep him talking, in hopes that the conversation would take her mind off the pain nagging her now. Her head was throbbing, and her thigh was once again burning something fierce.
He realized what her goal was as soon as she shifted position in his lap again.
'I had already left home before Dillon and Grace were born,' he remarked. 'I am closest to Mary Kathleen, as I know her better than the others. Still, I will admit I have a special fondness for Grace, but only because she reminds me of someone else.'
She tried to look up at him, but he gently pushed her face against his chest so she couldn't. She pinched him to let him know how much she disliked that and then asked him to tell her who Grace reminded him of.
'A child I once held in my arms.'
He wouldn't tell her anything more, but the memory of the child he'd held had pleased him. The warmth in his voice told her so.
'Are you pleased Euphemia is coming to visit?'
'Yes. You aren't, though, are you?'
'Of course I am,' she argued. 'I'm just a little… apprehensive about meeting her. It's very important to win her approval,' she added. 'She's your mother, after all, and it would be very upsetting if she didn't like me.'
'Why?'
She couldn't believe he needed to ask. 'Because there must be harmony in your household, that's why, and it's up to me to see to her wishes. While she's in your home, she's mistress. Surely you understand now.'
'You worry about every little thing. She'll like you just fine.'
She wasn't as certain as Connor was, but she vowed to win Euphemia's love. Several minutes passed as she thought about different ways she could please the woman, and then she put the worry aside and moved on. She tried to think about the lovely time she'd had visiting with Jamie as a means of taking her mind off the pounding her thigh was taking. It didn't work.
'It's a good day for a walk, isn't it?'
He didn't answer her. She wasn't deterred. 'I believe I'd like to walk for a little while. It will be nice to stretch my legs.'
