Eveline’s eyes sparkled as she stared up at him in wonder. “ ’Tis no small thing for you to think this way. Many would have no such kindness to those weaker or less intelligent than themselves. Even in my own clan, there were many who thought the laird should rid himself of his daft daughter. Many would not only condone or sanction such ridicule but they would participate themselves.”

Graeme frowned, not liking the idea that anyone in her own clan would have acted so harshly toward her. “It does not make me more of a man to belittle those under me.”

She smiled. “I quite like you, husband.”

He blinked in surprise at her pronouncement. Then he laughed. “I like you, too, Eveline.”

Then he realized the one word she hadn’t said and he was suddenly filled with impatience, wanting to hear it from her lips.

“Say my name,” he said huskily. “Graeme. I want to hear you say my name.”

“Graaame,” she said slowly and with great care.

“A little louder,” he encouraged. “You spoke it so softly, I almost did not hear.”

“Graeme,” she said louder and with more confidence.

The sound delighted him. It sent an uncontrolled shiver up his spine. The ache in his gut intensified. He stared back at her, so close and yet with too much space between them.

It didn’t matter that he no longer had to fear taking advantage of a woman who wasn’t aware of the kind of intimate relationship that took place between a man and a woman. She was still innocent and he would have to take great care with her. He would have to advance slowly so as not to overwhelm or frighten her.

But his need was savage. Clawing relentlessly at him, growing more with every moment he spent in her presence. He’d experienced lust. He was well acquainted with matters of passion. But this was … different.

It transcended simple attraction, a need for a woman—any woman—to assuage his desires. She called to him on a completely different level. She spoke to the very heart of him. Inspired feelings of protectiveness and fierce possessiveness that he wasn’t even sure he liked.

Feeling this … strongly … for a woman was dangerous. It clouded a man’s judgment. Made him forget his duty. Made him forget everything else save … her.

“I like my name on your lips,” he murmured, his voice catching. He was suddenly grateful she couldn’t hear him, couldn’t tell the difference in his tone. It told too much. It told of his weakness when it came to her.

She smiled beautifully, her eyes lighting up, sparkling with pleasure. “I like my name on your lips as well,” she said shyly. “Even though I cannot hear it. I imagine what it would sound like. I feel the vibration in my ear and it’s … comforting.”

His expression sobered. “It must have been very difficult to adjust to hearing nothing, to wake up to a silent world.”

“It was,” she whispered. “I thought so many things. That it was my punishment for daring to defy my father and even Ian to a degree. But I couldn’t imagine God wanting me to marry a monster. He wouldn’t be that unmerciful, would he?”

“Nay,” Graeme said, touching her cheek. “Perhaps God gave you to me to protect so that you’d never have to worry about Ian McHugh again.”

Her eyes widened. “I had not considered that.”

He smiled. “Then consider it now. Perhaps the king’s dictate was not such a terrible thing after all. I find the matter of our marriage not nearly as distasteful as I did in the beginning.”

Her cheeks blossomed with color, but he could see the warm delight in her eyes. She truly was a beautiful lass and he was falling more under her spell by the minute.

“I’ll pull my brothers to the side and gain their assistance in telling the members of our clan of your situation. I’ll not make a public announcement. I don’t want to discomfit you in any way.”

She nodded. “Thank you.”

He tipped his finger underneath her chin and then leaned in to kiss her one more time. It was brief—it had to be lest he allow things to go too far this very moment—but it was no less sweet.

“I meant what I said earlier,” he said as he pulled away. “Kierstan and those who participated in the abuse you experienced will not work in the keep again. Furthermore, if you have any further issue with them, or anyone else, you’re to let me know the moment it happens. They will be dealt with harshly.”

Eveline swallowed, but nodded her agreement.

He reluctantly rose from the bed, putting more distance between them. Then he turned so she’d see his mouth as he spoke.

“I go now to speak with my brothers. It will be time to sup soon. Perhaps you should rest a moment and then join me in the hall.”

CHAPTER 23

“A word, please,” Graeme said to Bowen and Teague as he approached them in the courtyard.

Bowen lowered his sword and backed away from Teague before sheathing it in the leather scabbard that hung from his side. Teague waved his hand to dismiss the group of men they’d been training with, and then the two brothers closed around Graeme.

“The clan is unhappy with your dictate,” Teague murmured. “Few are sympathetic to the ‘Armstrong bitch.’ ”

Graeme’s nostrils flared and he would have gone for his brother, but Bowen stepped in between them, putting his hands on Graeme’s chest.

“He did not call her such, Graeme. He was only repeating what many have said after you dismissed the women from the keep.”

“She is not to be spoken of in such a manner regardless of whether you’re repeating the words of others,” Graeme snapped.

Teague held up his hands. “I’m merely telling you that there is much discontent. They feel you’re being disloyal to your own kin by siding with the Armstrong lass.”

“She has a name,” Graeme growled. “And it is no longer Armstrong. She is a Montgomery.”

Bowen sighed. “Aye, we know it. We’re on your side. But you cannot ignore what’s being said around you because it offends you. You can’t make the clan accept Eveline, no matter how much you may wish it. You can tell them how they must act. You can tell them what they must say. But you can’t force them to accept your wife, because you can’t change what’s in their hearts. And what’s in their hearts is hatred.”

Graeme sighed. He knew what his brother said to be true, and it frustrated him.

“If I can accept her, then why can they not? Her kin is responsible for the death of my father. They are responsible for the loss of our clansmen’s lives, and yet I know that I cannot hold a lass responsible for the sins of her father any more than the Armstrongs could hold Rorie responsible for the Armstrong lives that have been forfeit to us.”

“Aye, but you’re assuming that they would afford the same courtesy to Rorie,” Teague said in a grim voice. “Everyone is not you, Graeme. Not everyone has your logic. You can look at the situation and say the lass is not to blame and we should not make her pay for the sins of her kin. But everyone else just sees the enemy and their thoughts turn to vengeance.”

“She’s not daft,” Graeme said, frustrated with the course of the conversation.

Bowen lifted his eyebrow. “Nay? I had my doubts. Why then does everyone in her clan assume so and why has she never corrected their opinions?”

“She’s deaf.”

Teague’s gaze sharpened. “Deaf? She cannot hear? How then does she know what it is we’re saying? She understood enough of the insults the women were slinging to go into a sword-wielding rage.”

Bowen grinned. “A fierce wee kitten swinging a sword. Now that was a sight to behold.”

“She reads the words that are formed on our lips,” Graeme explained. “ ’Tis extraordinary if you think about it. She lost her hearing as a result of her accident, but not her wits.”

“It still doesn’t explain why she perpetuated such a myth,” Teague said.

Graeme related the story that Eveline had told him, of how she sought to protect herself from marriage to Ian McHugh only to find herself forced into marriage with Graeme.

Bowen and Teague both wore frowns when Graeme finished. Then Teague shook his head. “It was quite clever of the lass even if a little extreme.”

“Not so extreme if it prevented her from falling into the hands of a man who’d sorely abuse her,” Bowen murmured. “Think on it. The lass went to her father with her fears and he discounted them. Mayhap he wanted the alliance too much to put any credence into what she said. Or mayhap he just thought she was overly fearful and that once accustomed to the idea she’d come around. But ’tis clear she thought she had no choice.”

Graeme nodded. “She didn’t want to continue the deception, but she was fearful of my reaction. She thought that I was kind to her because I thought she was daft and that I would no longer look at her as someone to be pitied and that I’d despise her because of her heritage.”

“And were you kind to her because you thought she was pitiable?” Bowen asked.

Graeme hesitated. “In the beginning, aye. I felt sympathy for her even as I felt frustration for being forced into marriage to a woman who could never be a wife to me. I was angry, but I also knew I could not be angry with her.”

“But not now,” Teague commented.

“Nay, not now. She’s … special. I cannot explain it, but I do not regret our marriage.”

Bowen blew out his breath. “You’ve a difficult path ahead, brother. It won’t be a simple thing for her to win favor with our clan.”

“Aye, I know it. But you and Teague will aid me in this, will you not?”

Teague and Bowen exchanged glances.

“Aye, we will,” Teague said. “If the lass is what you want and you are content with her, then we trust your judgment and will do all we can to ease her way.”

Graeme nodded. “My thanks. Rorie has accepted—nay, befriended—her already. ’Tis good for Rorie to have the companionship of other lasses. Rorie doesn’t have much use for the women in our clan.”

Teague chuckled. “That’s because the lass is convinced she’d rather be a lad.”

“The day will come when she will marry. I would have her prepared for that,” Graeme said.

Bowen frowned. “We will not do as the Armstrongs were forced to do. We will not sacrifice her for alliances or favor with the crown. We have no need of either and I’ll not have her marry someone who would treat her as Ian McHugh would have treated your Eveline.”

His Eveline. Graeme liked the sound of it. She was his. Not fully, yet, but he’d remedy that soon enough.

“Rorie is happy here with us,” Teague said with a scowl. “There’s no reason for her to leave.”

Graeme smiled. “I suggested no such thing. Rorie is young yet and she may change her mind. She may want to seek out a husband and settle down to have children of her own.”

Bowen chuckled. “I wouldn’t wager anything on that.”

“My thanks again for your support of Eveline,” Graeme said in a more serious tone. “It will mean much to her as well. Rorie has been the only friendly face she’s seen since she arrived on our lands. I’m determined to change that.”

“If you are content, then that is sufficient enough for me,” Teague said.

“Do you want us to share all that you have told us?” Bowen asked.

“Most, yes,” Graeme replied. “I want you to spread the word that Eveline is not daft, but that she is deaf and that she perpetuated the deception to escape marriage to Ian McHugh. We have no love for the Armstrongs, and I’m not above using our clan’s dislike of them to rally support for Eveline. If ’tis believed that Eveline was a victim of the Armstrongs and the McHughs alike, then ’tis more likely she will find sympathy among our own kin.”

“ ’Tis a dangerous game you play,” Teague mused. “Eveline would not likely appreciate such things said about her family.”

“ ’Tis true enough,” Graeme said darkly. “Tavis Armstrong would have used his daughter for his own purposes despite her wishes. That they love and cherish her is not enough to satisfy my disgust over that fact.”

Bowen nodded. “ ’Tis a good plan. Foster sympathy for Eveline by letting it be known that she is happier in our clan than she was in her own.”

“Bowen and I will talk to the men,” Teague said.

“Thank you. I will see the both of you in the hall for the evening meal.”

Graeme turned and walked back toward the keep, suddenly anxious to see his wife again.

CHAPTER 24

Eveline dressed with care for the evening meal. She’d worn only simple dresses since her arrival. Plain, more suited to working within the keep or even outside the keep than anything that could be considered pretty or frivolous.