“Oh,” she murmured, and then drew in a breath that raised her breasts a little farther out of her gown.
Geordie glanced down at them, and then lowered his head and slid his tongue out to slide it across the curve of one soft moundalong the neckline of her gown as he bent to set her in the bed. It was a swift action, one he was sure her sisters didn’tsee, but he was pleased by Dwyn’s small gasp and the way her arms tightened around him as she shivered in his hold beforehe released her. She was also flushing prettily, her eyes wide and sparkling with the beginnings of desire, when he straightenedand looked down at her.
Geordie smiled with satisfaction at her expression, pleased that he could affect her so easily. If her sisters were not there—
But they were, he reminded himself, and forced his face into a more polite expression as he moved toward the bottom of thebed. “Good sleep, ladies.”
“Good sleep, m’laird,” Dwyn and Aileen said together. But rather than the polite good-night, Una asked, “Do ye think LairdBuchanan will arrange fer one o’ his soldiers to come collect Dwyn in the morning? She canno’ walk below to break her fast,”she reminded him.
Geordie paused at the door, a scowl tugging at the corners of his mouth at the idea of one of the Buchanan soldiers carryinghis Dwyn around. He shook his head. “I’ll tend to her meself. She was hurt in our home, after all. ’Tis the least I can do.”
“Oh, how kind,” Aileen said happily.
Una nodded. “Shall ye sleep in the orchard again? Should I come find ye there when she wakes?”
Geordie hesitated, but then shook his head. “I’ll sleep on a pallet in the hall rather than out in the garden. Just open thedoor does she wish to go below or to the garderobe.”
Dwyn’s eyes widened with dismay, and she opened her mouth on what he was sure would be a protest, but he didn’t stay to hearit. Opening the door, he slid out into the hall, and pulled it firmly closed behind him. Even through the door he heard theexcited squeals from Dwyn’s younger sisters inside the room, and could imagine them rushing to their sister in the bed asthey hurried into speech.
“I think he likes ye, Dwyn!”
“Aye, he could no’ take his eyes off yer bosom.”
“And he’s decided to cart ye about by himself so canno’ find ye overly heavy.”
“He’s such a big man, her extra weight probably does no’ signify to him. He could probably carry the three o’ us at once withthose broad shoulders and thick arms.”
Rather than be flattered by the compliment, Geordie found himself scowling at what he considered an insult to Dwyn. Whileshe wasn’t a skinny lass, he liked her curves. She was like a ripe peach, soft and round, and Geordie did like his peachesripe. They were the juiciest and most pleasurable to eat.
That thought led naturally to his wondering if Dwyn would be as juicy. He’d yet to test that, but had kept his caresses andkisses above the waist other than running one hand along her leg as he’d helped her down from the tree. Now, however, he couldn’thelp but wonder what he would have found had he let his hand slide up the inside of her leg and to the treasure trove betweenher thighs. Would she have been warm and wet for him? He was quite sure she would have been, and the thought started an achebetween his own legs that made him glance down to see that he was sporting another tent below the waist.
Sighing, he turned away from the door. He had to fetch a pallet and bed down in the hallway. He’d be damned if he’d let anyonecarry wee Dwyn around.
He’d barely had that thought when the door to the master bedroom opened, and Aulay emerged. Spotting him, his brother movedtoward him, his expression grim.
Geordie didn’t have to think hard to know what he wished to talk about, and the moment they were close enough to speak withoutneeding to raise their voices, he murmured, “The glass looked deliberately spread across the floor.”
“Aye,” Aulay agreed. “It covered the floor from wall to wall for several feet, and certainly wouldn’t have landed that wayhad it fallen from something.”
“Nay,” Geordie said solemnly. They were both silent for a minute, and then he said what both of them were thinking. “Someoneset out to hurt Dwyn.”
“It would seem so,” Aulay agreed, his tone grim. “I hardly think whoever did it simply wished to catch just anyone enteringor leaving the garderobe. They must have seen her enter and spread the glass to catch her unawares when she left.” He pausedbriefly and then added, “I noticed the torch outside the garderobe was out too, so she was no’ likely to see the glass.”
Geordie glanced at him sharply at this news. He hadn’t noticed that the torch was out. He’d had eyes only for Dwyn, but realizedit had been darker at that end of the hall. There had still been light from the other torches to keep it from being too dark,but it had been just dark enough that she could not have seen the glass.
“Do ye think it was the lasses from Lockhart and Kennedy?” Aulay asked now.
“Probably,” Geordie said tightly, and then scowled. “Ye should send them both away. They’re no’ the kind o’ women we needin our family anyway.”
“Aye, and I would if there was proof they’d done it, but . . .” He shook his head unhappily, and then added, “And we may bewrong. What if it is no’ them?”
“Who else could it be?” Geordie asked with surprise.
“Well, Acair did a fair job o’ making Mavis jealous today,” he pointed out.
“Mavis would never do something like this to the lass,” Geordie protested at once.
“Mayhap no’, but jealousy can turn the sweetest lass into a virago, and ’tis no’ impossible. And then there are five otherwomen here beside Catriona and Sasha hoping to win
