A Laird for All Time by Angeline Fortin Page A

husband since Heather was the elder daughter and there were nae other heirs.  Dory was his responsibility at that point so, naturally, she came here to live.”
    Another dependent here to live off the earl.  Emmy had much she wished to say about relatives who came to Duart to sponge off Connor but kept her opinions to herself.  “So she came here, met you and you married,” she summed it up.
    “Aye, that’s about it.”
    “What did Connor think of that?” she couldn’t resist asking.
    “He was nae here when she arrived,” Ian confessed, looking a bit regretful.  “He had gone to London searching for… regardless, he was nae here.  By the time he returned, I had already asked Dorcas to be my wife.”  He stared pensively off over the waters, shoving his hands deep in his pockets.  “Ye should ha’ seen him when he returned and first saw her here.  He naturally thought her to be Heather and his rage was terrible.  It was years before he would… could address her directly.  I confess they ha’ ne’er got along well as I am sure you can tell, but Dorcas…” he trailed off with a little sigh.
    “You love her,” Emmy confirmed with some amazement, for it seemed he loved her dearly despite her prickly manner.
    “ Verea much,” he grinned sheepishly.  “She is nae as stern on the inside as she portrays in public.  She is softhearted, if somewhat proper.  She believes deeply in the rules of our society.  She simply likes things to be as they should.”
    “We call that anal and neurotic where I come from,” Emmy muttered to herself.  “So you love her and she’s pregnant now,” she went on aloud, and then paused as Ian blushed. Obviously such talk wasn’t only taboo among the women of Duart. “But it seems that Dory has been risking her health and that of your child in an attempt to keep herself from appearing unattractive to you.”
    “What?” he questioned in surprise.  “I dinnae understand.”
    “You haven’t had sex since she found out she was pregnant,” Emmy said , matter-of-factly and had trouble hiding her amusement as Ian stammered and blushed.
    “Connor said ye were more forthright!” he choked in understatement, unable to meet her gaze directly.
    “Yea h, well,” Emmy shrugged, “I’ve never really seen the point of beating around the bush.”  Plus it was sort of amusing to watch the shocked faces of those around her when she said something like that.  “The point is, Dory feels that you don’t find her attractive in her pregnancy. She thinks that she needs to camouflage it as much as possible by still wearing her corset. But she’s not doing the baby any favors.”
    “That woman!” Ian shook his head ruefully.  “I had nae idea she felt that way.  She’s ne’er been one to… well, she’s ne’er been as forthright as ye are.  That maddening woman!” He ran a hand through his hair.  “Naturally I feel the same attraction toward her as ever.  But she’s already lost three bairns…”
    “I ’m not saying that you’re not justified in your fears, Ian,” she went on as he trailed off, patting his arm.  “Given her history, you do need to be careful.  You are right to be cautious.  Without having examined her, I cannot say to what extent.  But I am pretty sure you’re a creative enough man to realize there are a whole load of activities that can take place in a bedroom that don’t involve actual intercourse.”  She shot him a wink and dimpled her cheek in a suggestive smile. 
    He blushed and blustered again in a way she had never seen on a grown man and she laughed out loud.  “Oh!  You should see your face!”
    “ Yer mouth, woman!  ‘Tis almost too much to contend wi’!” he complained.
    “Alright, alright!”  Emmy lifted her hands playfully to ward him off.  “I’ll try to lay off the shock factor with you .  Seriously though, I think I can get her to lay off the corset but her stress over this whole situation between