“Oh, Mavis,” Jetta said sympathetically, and he glanced around to see the old woman rushing away toward the doors to the kitchen,the full pitcher still in her hand. Jetta followed after her with concern on her face, and Geordie turned a scowl on his brother.
“Do no’ look at me,” Aulay protested, raising his hands. “I have done nothing.”
“Ye ken Acair and Mavis—”
“I do,” he acknowledged. “Though I did no’ think anyone else knew.”
“Everyone else knows,” he said heavily.
“Aye, well, they are no’ married, any more than you and wee Katie were.”
“What does that mean?” Geordie asked, stiffening.
“Nothing,” Aulay said at once, and sighed. “’Tis just that affairs with servants rarely last long, and Uncle Acair is a noblemanjust as we are. There is no reason he canno’ marry and become laird o’ Innes if he wishes.”
“Mavis is no’ just a servant,” Geordie argued. “She’s been like a mother to us since our own mam died. Before that even. Shewas always like a second mother.”
“But she was no’ our mother, and she is no’ married to Acair,” Aulay said solemnly. “He is free to woo who he wishes.”
Geordie opened his mouth to respond, but then paused as his uncle spoke beside him.
“Here ye go, lass. Ye just sit down here beside me and I’ll have a servant fetch ye a drink.”
Geordie turned to scowl at his uncle and asked spitefully, “Why do ye no’ ask Mavis? She was here with ale just a moment ago.”
“Well, she’s no’ here now, so— Katie, love!” he called, smiling past Geordie. “Prey, fetch this lovely lady a beverage, there’sa good girl.”
Geordie glanced over his shoulder in time to see the dark-haired maid rush away toward the kitchens. He turned back to peerat Dwyn. She seemed a bit flustered by his uncle’s attention; her gaze was lowered shyly, but her face was almost the samecolor as her gown, and there was no missing the relief on her face when her sisters rushed up from speaking to their fatherfarther down the table and took up position on her other side. They had to make Lady Catriona Lockhart and Lady Sasha Kennedyshove down the bench to create room for them, but the sister named Una had no compunction about making the request. Geordiewas quite sure the other two women were about to protest—both of them got spiteful mean looks on their faces—but then, notingthat he was watching, Catriona smiled and elbowed Sasha, urging her to the side before leaning to whisper in her ear. Sasha’seyes darted his way and then away and she moved along the bench.
Geordie grunted and made a note to himself to warn Alick and Rory about the pair. They were both lovely on the surface, buthe’d pity any man who married either of them, and he was damned if he’d have one of those vipers in his family. What kindof woman made a sport of taunting and harassing another one? His brothers’ wives would hate them.
“Here ye go, m’lady.”
Geordie tore his gaze from Dwyn’s flushed face, and glanced to Katie when the maid set a mug of ale before the lass. Seeinghim watching, the maid offered him a sweet smile that he automatically returned, but it was Dwyn and Uncle Acair who thankedthe girl before she hurried off.
“Geordie?” Aulay said now.
He saw Dwyn’s eyes widen slightly as she heard his brother address him by name, and realized only then that he hadn’t botheredto introduce himself in the tree that morning. He offered her an apologetic grimace for it, and then turned reluctantly tohis brother, raising an eyebrow in question.
“Have ye had a chance to meet any of the ladies since arriving?”
A small sound of distress drew his gaze back around to Dwyn. She’d obviously heard the question and was afraid he might disclosewhat had happened between them that morning. Geordie gave her a reassuring look and then turned back to his brother. “Nay.Although I did see Lady Catriona and Lady Sasha in the orchard. They were chasing after one of the other women, taunting her,and then stopped to sneer at me when they saw me sleeping under a tree.”
“Oh?” Aulay eyed the women briefly. “Good to know.”
“They’re Lowlanders,” he pointed out with disgust. Lowlanders were nearly as bad as the English to his mind. You couldn’texpect much from them.
“Oh, now, there’s nothing wrong with Lowlanders,” Uncle Acair said. “Just look at our lovely Dwyn here. She’s a Lowlandertoo and a fine figure o’ a woman.”
Geordie frowned as he realized that was true. Innes was in the flatlands to the east of the mountains that made up the Highlands.
“Aye, and Innes is on the North Sea. Surely that makes up for not having our lovely mountains,” Aulay suggested, offeringDwyn one of his rare smiles. Although they’d become much more common since the arrival of Jetta in his life, Aulay was stillnot used to company in his home. This was no doubt a trial for him, but he was making an effort, Geordie thought, and thenglanced around as a maid responded to his uncle’s wave and rushed over with a platter of food.
“Here ye go, lass.” Uncle Acair turned to take the platter and held it in front of Dwyn. “What will ye have? Or shall I feedye?”
When Dwyn’s face flushed with embarrassment, Geordie scowled at his uncle. “Can ye no’ see ye’re embarrassing the lass? Shecan feed herself.”
“Young men today, eh, Dwyn?” his uncle said lightly. “No romance in their soul. You stick with me, lovey. I’m a man who kenshow to treat a woman.”
Geordie glowered at the man, and then glanced around with a frown when he was suddenly elbowed in the side. Seeing that Aulayhad shifted over into Jetta’s empty spot and that he was the one who had jabbed him with his elbow,
