A Beautiful Lie (The Camaraes) (70 page)

Of course she wasn
’
t all right! 
Muira wanted to scream at him.  How could she possibly be all right?  However, when she opened her mouth to shout as much at her husband, an intense wave of nausea gripped her.  She clamped a hand over her mouth, jumped up from the bed, and rushed over to the china washbasin where she was violently sick.

If she hadn
’
t felt so absolutely dreadful all of a sudden, Muira would have been completely mortified about being sick in front of her husband, as it was, she simply whimpered pitifully and crumpled in a little heap on the floor.  She barely even registered Lachlan rushing to her side.

“
Muira?  Lass, what is it?  What
’
s wrong?
”
he asked desperately, crouching down by her side.

“
Probably just something I ate,
”
Muira groaned, holding herself rigidly still and waiting to see if the nausea had passed. 
“
I
’
m sure it
’
s nothing,
”
she moaned, trying to struggle back onto her feet.  Lachlan
’
s arms were instantly around her.  He lifted her effortlessly off the floor and held her gently in his arms.

“
You want to go back to the bed?
”
he asked softly.  Muira nodded her head weakly, and allowed Lachlan to carry her across the room.  He laid her down carefully on the blankets, staring at her worriedly. 
“
Should I call for the castle doctor?
”
he asked, pressing his hand against her forehead to check for a fever.

“
I
’
m sure it
’
s nothing serious,
”
Muira sighed.  In all honestly she was already feeling quite a lot better.  She didn
’
t want to do anything that would run the risk of making Lachlan stop looking at her in the devoted fashion that he was staring at her now, but she
had
to know if he
’
d spoken to Ewan yet. 
“
How did things go with Laird MacRae?
”
she croaked, gratefully accepting the glass of water that her husband had just handed her.

“
Fine,
”
he said curtly, ringing for the maid to clean things up.

“
Lachlan,
”
Muira sighed, gazing up at him imploringly.

“
It was a couple of hours of people introducing themselves,
”
he shrugged his shoulders.
 
“
Graem hasn
’
t made his offer yet.
”

“
A couple of hours?
”
Muira repeated fearfully.  She didn
’
t know the exact time, but she felt certain that Lachlan had been gone a lot longer than that. 
“
What else did you do?
”
she whispered.

Lachlan sighed. 
“
I spoke to Ewan.
”

“
NO!
”
Muira cried, sitting up quickly, and suffering a wave of dizziness for her trouble. 
“
I told you!  I didn
’
t-
”

“
Muira, we
’
ll discuss it when you
’
re feeling better,
”
Lachlan groaned, raking a hand through his hair.

“
No,
”
Muira sobbed, shaking her head fervently. 
“
No, we need to discuss it now-
”

“
Muira,
”
Lachlan growled in warning. 
“
Just lie there and rest,
”
he pleaded.

“
But I need to know!
”
she begged. 

If he
’
d told Ewan everything that had gone on between them
…
well, then Muira was frankly surprised that Lachlan was still standing in one piece, but was her brother about to storm into the room and drag her back to Castle Cameron kicking and screaming?  Because she
wasn
’
t
going to go quietly!  She might have made this mess, but she was going to
un
make it too!

“
Muira,
please
just rest, you
’
re not well,
”
Lachlan begged wearily.  He really didn
’
t want to go into what had happened between himself and Ewan Cameron- and was prepared to use almost any excuse to avoid doing so. 

Lachlan had kept details to a minimum, but his brother-in-law wasn
’
t stupid, he would be back to ask more questions once he
’
d had time to process the tanist
’
s strange request.  Lachlan didn
’
t doubt it.  What kind of husband asked for his wife to be taken away from him after all? 

He
’
d told Ewan that irreparable differences had emerged between himself and Muira since they had been married.  Ewan
’
s repeated
‘
are you quite
sure
Muira feels the same way?
’
had taken Lachlan rather by surprise, but he had insisted, and Ewan had, of course, agreed to take his sister home with him with he left Eilean Donan.

“
Lachlan, I
’
m fine!
”
Muira argued. 
“
Really, it must have been something I ate earlier.
”

She did look a little better
, Lachlan had to agree.  She was a bit less pale and her eyes were brighter, still
…
that didn
’
t change his mind.  He didn
’
t want to discuss what he
’
d said to her brother.  Fortunately a further interruption helped him avoid the subject, in the form of Liane.

“
I
’
m afraid your mistress has been somewhat ill, Liane,
”
he murmured.  The maid nodded in obvious concern
…
and then her eyes caught on Muira, who was still protesting that she was fine, and then flitted over to him.  Liane
’
s gaze darted between the couple half a dozen times, and then a broad smile lit her face.

“
Oh aye, ill sir?
”
she grinned, but given that this was Liane, and that she was prone to her little oddities, Lachlan didn
’
t pay her too much mind. 
“
Shall I have a bath made ready for you mistress?
”
she asked of Muira.

Lachlan followed the maid
’
s gaze.  Muira seemed to hesitate.  He could practically see her thoughts turning over in her head.  He shifted uncomfortably, not having a clue what she might be up to now.  It was breaking his heart to think of letting her go
…
but perhaps that was the whole problem?  He
’
d been weak.  He
’
d let someone in.  He
’
d let someone matter.

“
Yes, thank you, Liane.  I think I would like a bath,
”
Muira said slowly.

Liane nodded cheerfully, while Lachlan sighed quietly.  He
’
d been hoping that Muira would let him sit by the fire, ostensibly reading, while he really kept an eye on her.  He didn
’
t trust anyone else to look after, (that was going to be a problem when he was forced to let her leave!) but he didn
’
t trust
himself
to be left in same room as her while she bathed!  He felt his body quicken at just the thought of seeing her naked, glistening figure half submerged in the large tub.

“
I think I
’
ll-
”
he began quickly, already heading for the door.

“
Oh-won
’
t you stay and help me?
”
Muira purred softly.  Lachlan choked, while Liane made quite a show of pretending not to have heard.  What the hell was his wife playing at?  Lachlan would have dearly loved to know!  He couldn
’
t very well say anything in front of the maid however, so he sat down in one of the fireside chairs and waiting to find out.