Sweet Temptation (33 page)

“Good,” Colleen said, brightening and relaxing a little. “Then ye willna expect Gavin tae be at yer beck and call every minute o’ the day.”

“Certainly not. I have servants for that.”

Colleen relaxed even more and said, “I never dreamed ye would be so obliging. Half the women in the world only marry a man so they can try tae change him.”

“I like Gavin the way he is.”

“And ye willna set up a screech when he does something ye do no’ like?”

“I didn’t know Gavin very well before I married him, but to the best of my knowledge, he hasn’t done anything since the wedding that I’m not perfectly content for him to continue doing for the rest of his life.” Sara thought of the nights he had stayed away from her bed, and hoped she would be forgiven for this small lie.

“I think I will have some tea,” Colleen said, becoming positively cheerful. “After the way ye looked at me during the party, I made sure ye would throw a fit if I ever came near Gavin again.”

“I hope I will never
throw a fit,
as you put it, and I certainly have no intention of preventing Gavin from seeing anyone he likes or of hindering anyone from seeing him. I’m his wife, not his jailor.”

“I must say, I never thought a proper set-up virgin out of a fancy London school would be ready tae turn a blind eye tae a man’s mistresses.” Colleen accepted the cup of tea Sara handed her. “I made sure ye would scream the house down and preach propriety at every turn.”

“I don’t mean to inquire about what Gavin does when he’s not with me,” replied Sara.

“Ye willna have tae,” Colleen said with one of her lusty laughs. “Some gossipy female will give ye the name o’ his next mistress practically the minute Gavin picks her out.”

“No, they won’t.”

Colleen looked up from her tea so quickly she almost spilled it. Sara’s words had surprised her, but her tone was even more unexpected. She had spoken in the same quiet voice, but there was an edge of steel in it now.

“Sure they will. Respectable females can’t stop talking about a man’s doings when he steps out.”

“I don’t think you understand me. I expect I shall hear a great deal about what Gavin does, but I won’t hear anything about his mistresses.”

“Well, I suppose yer friends wouldna tell ye, if ye really didna want them tae, but I wouldna be surprised if the lady herself spilled the beans.”

“There won’t be any beans to spill.” Colleen’s gaze became riveted.

“But ye just said…ye mean ye’ll tell him he canna have a mistress?”

“Certainly not, but he will sleep in no bed but mine.”

“Why … How?”

“Because I shall see that he doesn’t want to.”

“By gor, ye canna be in love with him!”

“I’ve loved Gavin since I was twelve.” Colleen stared at her unbelieving for several moments. “Why is it so difficult to believe that a wife can love her husband, especially such a husband as Gavin?” Sara asked. “Surely his mistresses must find something attractive about him.”

“Aye, his mistresses, but his wife …”

“Is there any reason why I can’t like the same things? I’m a woman, too.”

“But ye be his
wife.
“

“We’ve established that. The sticking point seems to be that you can’t believe a wife can enjoy the physical side of a relationship as much as the man.”

Colleen’s cup slipped out of her hand unnoticed. “Ye like bedding Gavin?”

Sara tried, but she couldn’t suppress a blush. “I think it’s the other way around, but yes, I like sharing a bed with my husband. Do you plan to turn your husband out of bed?”

“Not if he be a lusty lad,” Colleen said forthrightly.

“Then you can understand how I feel about Gavin.”

“Aye, and that be why I willna give him up. I dinna like ye when I came,” Colleen confided suddenly. “I thought ye were a cold, hard woman, who would demand her man’s faithfulness and then deny him the comfort of her bed. I dinna think ye loved him, no’ like a
real
woman. This be a problem, aye, ‘tis no’ easy tae decide what tae do.”

Sara took a sip of tea to keep the smile from her lips. The more she talked to Colleen, the more she liked her, but that didn’t mean she liked her enough to offer her Gavin.

“I love Gavin,” Colleen stated suddenly, “but ye love him too, even though ye are his wife. So, I will share him with ye.”

“Wha—” Sara had just taken a swallow of tea, and she nearly choked, sending a spray of tea over her gown.

“Aye, we will share him,” Colleen said, as she jumped up and helped Sara mop up the tea. “He won’t mind.”

“But I will,” Sara stated emphatically, when she finally got back the normal use of her throat. “I will not share my husband with anybody.”

Colleen gave her a hard stare. “I will fight ye for him.”

“And I will fight you back,” Sara said, calmly, implacably. “And if you persist in your pursuit of a man who is
my
husband, not yours, I will deny you entrance to this house.”

“Ye must be daft. This be Scotland, not England. No woman tells a man who canna come into his home.”

“I shall, and Gavin shall respect my wishes.”

“He willna!” Colleen declared, outraged. “We will see what Gavin has tae say when he gets back.”

“You can put your case to Gavin if you wish, but you will not do it here.”

“Why not?” Colleen asked suspiciously.

“Because you will not be here. You will leave as soon as you’ve had your tea.”

“I willna go.”

“You may not think so yet, but you will.”

“No, I willna.” Colleen settled back into her chair, determined to show Sara that she could not be bullied, but Sara’s air of calm certainty unsettled her. At last she would stand it no longer. “Why should I go?” she asked defiantly.

“Because if you don’t, I shall scratch your eyes out.

Gavin heard the sound of the harpsichord and violin before he opened the door to the music room, but he was unprepared for the sight that met his eyes. Sara was accompanying a grossly fat man who played the violin badly, at least to Gavin’s unappreciative ears, while a young exquisite Gavin didn’t remember having seen before, was staring at her with a rapt gaze. Watching this group, and apparently amused by what he saw, Ian Fraser lounged at his ease across the room.

“What in thunder is going on?” Gavin demanded of Ian, raising his voice to make it heard over the scraping of the violin.

“Monsieur Frederic is performing a duet with Lady Carlisle. Had ye come earlier, ye would have heard the poem Eric Cameron dedicated tae yer wife’s blue eyes.” Ian’s amused nod indicated the young exquisite.

“I’ll strangle the puppy,” Gavin growled, looking black. “How long has this been going on?”

“Only a few days, but if ye can judge by Lady Carlisle’s effect on the men o’ the district, ‘tis only the beginning.”

“The hell you say,” Gavin said, his voice loud enough to bring a grimace from young Eric and a reproving frown from Monsieur Frederic. “I’ll put a stop to this right now.” He walked over and unceremoniously took the bow out of Monsieur Frederic’s hand. “I must speak with my wife. Ian will show you out.”

“Gavin!” Sara exclaimed, delight at his return mingled with reproof for his abominable treatment of her guests. “I didn’t expect you back so soon.”

“I finished sooner than I expected,” he muttered, nearly swept beyond control by the warm welcome in Sara’s eyes. He still had to confront Ian about those rifles, but he was almost tempted to tell him to go away with the others. “Don’t leave, Ian. I must speak with you.” Ian cast an enigmatic glance at his friend, then ushered the affronted artists out of the room.

“What in the name of hell was that about?” Gavin demanded the moment the door closed. “I turn my back for one minute, and I find you alone with three men, one of them a besotted puppy, staring at you like you were frosting on a cake.”

“First, you turned your back on me for three
days.
Secondly, would you have preferred that I be with one man only?”

“No! You shouldn’t be with any man when I’m not about.”

“Were you never with a woman when I wasn’t about?” Sara was delighted with this show of jealousy, and she decided it was the perfect time to tell him about Colleen.

“None,” he said quietly.

“Not even Clarice?” Why was she always asking dangerous questions? Wasn’t it much better to let the past remain in the past?

“No,” he replied, and the tension between them seemed to evaporate. “My father assumed I went straight to Clarice, but I wanted to be alone. She only came to tell me of mother’s death.”

Sara had no idea how heavily that burden had weighed on her heart until it was lifted. Gavin had never been with anyone since he married her! She might not have captured his heart, but her hold was strong enough to keep him coming back to her even when he tried to stay away. She felt so happy she almost considered allowing Colleen back in the castle. Almost.

Sara took a deep breath and replied, “That’s what I told Colleen.” Gavin looked at her inquiringly. “She said she was quite fond of you and didn’t want to give you up.”

Sara would have been willing to bet that Gavin had never blushed in his whole life, but he did so now, and it did her heart almost as much good as it did to know he had not gone to Clarice. No matter what Gavin may have wanted to do or had done in the past, if he blushed Uke this, he was too ashamed ever to do it again.

“She actually told you that?”

“We had a very frank discussion,” Sara said, pleased to see the incredulity in his eyes. “I told her I was also quite fond of you, and that since you were my husband, I felt I had the stronger claim. She was rather stunned to find that a wife would actually enjoy her husband’s embraces, but once she had comprehended that notion—”

“You told her that?” Gavin asked in disbelief.

“I told you, we were quite candid.”

“My god, if my father were only here now,” Gavin said, starting toward the table where he snatched up a brandy decanter and poured himself out a large shot. “He thought you were practically a nun.”

“I see no reason for a girl of restricted upbringing to be incapable to adjusting to the world,” Sara said grandly. “But you’ve made me wander from the point.”

“There’s more?”

“Certainly. Colleen decided she couldn’t give you up until she found someone as good …”

“Someone as good!” Gavin choked.

“…but since she was forced to recognize the legitimacy of my claim, she offered to share you with me.”

“Share me!”

“Gavin, dear, you’re beginning to sound like an echo.”

“My god, woman, I’m not a pie to be cut into slices and passed around.”

“Colleen seems to think you’ve been passed around quite a bit already.”

Gavin didn’t know whether to be embarrassed or break out laughing. He compromised and poured himself another shot of brandy.

“Anyway, I told her I couldn’t agree to share you. At that, she declared she would fight me for you.”

Gavin couldn’t help it. He went into a shout of laughter. He was still doubled up when Ian returned.

“Maybe I shouldna left. Yer two gentlemen were no’ half as much fun.”

“It’s your cousin,” Gavin told him when he could control his voice. “She offered to share me with my wife, and when Sara declined, she said she’d fight her for me just like I was a meat pie to be haggled over.”

“So that’s what Colleen meant when she said ye wouldna have her here again.” Ian watched Gavin’s changing expression with hopeful heart.

“What do you mean, Sara won’t have her here?”

Sara couldn’t help but be a little irritated with Ian. She had planned to tell Gavin herself, but she had wanted to prepare him a little first. “I told her she could not come here if she intended to embarrass you by her determined pursuit. I can’t have my husband made the object of a determined pursuit in my own home.”

“It would add considerably to the entertainment of the evening,” Ian said, pure deviltry in his eyes.

“You stay out of this. I’ve got something to say to you later anyway.” Gavin turned back to his wife. “Are you trying to make a fool out of me? What do you think people will say, when they learn my wife has to protect me from other women?”

“I don’t imagine they will learn of it, and if not, they can’t say anything.”

“Aye, but they will. Colleen is already broadcasting it about tae all who will listen.”

“Damn the bitch!” Gavin exploded, heedless of Sara’s ears. “Why can’t she keep her mouth shut for once. I’ll be the laughingstock of the county.”

“I didn’t tell her she couldn’t come here at all,” Sara explained, “only that I wouldn’t have her pursuing you under my nose.”

“And what’s to stop her?” Gavin demanded.

“I told her I’d scratch her eyes out.”

“Aye,” Ian added, “and she believed you.”

Gavin’s anger was stopped in its tracks. He didn’t know if Sara would really throw Colleen out of the castle, but if she had made Colleen believe it,
Colleen Fraser,
a girl who had ridden bareback since she was two and wrestled anything in breeches since she was three, then she must have meant it. It was difficult for Gavin to picture Sara throwing Colleen out of any place she wanted to be—he found it impossible to imagine Sara losing her calm composure—but then he remembered the two nights they had been together, and realized there was much more to Sara than he knew. If she could talk openly with Colleen about sleeping with him, what couldn’t she do?