and was about to enter when James’s voice stopped her before she left the shadows of the corridor.
‘She certainly doesn’t kiss as I expected the daughter of the Robertson Harlot to kiss.’
Chapter Nine
C iara’s world shattered in that moment. She stumbled back against the wall.
‘Blood will out, James, and you will be a lucky man to have that woman warming your bed if her hunger for bedplay is anything like her mother’s was.’ There was a pause before Lord Murray delivered a most-scathing insult to her mother’s reputation. ‘’Twas said she took three, nay, four men to bed on the night her father found her. Noblemen all, so at least the daughter is of noble blood, even if none would claim her after such a scandal.’
Ciara sucked in a breath so quickly she nearly coughed. She covered her mouth to hide her presence just outside the room.
‘The old laird found her naked and wine-soaked, cavorting in his own keep. He could have done worse, but he shaved her head, tossed her out of the keep and banished her for years. Only when the girl was born and raised did the new laird let her back.’
Could they be speaking about her mother? It was unthinkable, of course, but they spoke with such authority. Was this the truth? She roughly rubbed the tears away from her cheeks as she listened to discover more so she could tell the truth from the lies. Surely, they lied?
‘I had hoped for more than a whore’s daughter for a wife, Father,’ James replied to the crude comment made by Lord Murray that had her shaking so badly she nearly lost her balance. ‘Not a wife who will cuckold me with any man when I am not there.’
‘We need the dowry, James. You know that,’ Lord Murray explained. ‘And the connections to her uncle and her stepfather.’
‘Aye, Father. I know it. It will be the difference between complete failure and success.’
‘Virgin or not matters not in this. The daughter of a whore or a saint matters not. The laird promised she is an innocent, but I doubt it with the way that guard sniffs around her. But even that matters not,’ Lord Murray explained calmly.
They believed her so dishonourable and yet accepted her for marriage into their family? His next words made his priority clear.
‘So take the benefits you gain from this marriage and enjoy them. A young man like you will find many uses for a woman like that one. May you and your cock be strong enough to survive the nights with her in your bed!’
Goblets clinked as though touched in a toast and Ciara heard the chairs scrape along the stone floor. They were leaving. Ciara glanced around and found a small alcove set back in the wall, so she pressed herself into it and waited for them to walk past her.
It felt like forever as she tried to unravel what was truth and what was deceit in the words she had heard. Ciara stood silent in the darkness a good while after the sound of their footsteps passed and moved off to their chambers. She was undone by it all. Shocked past action or clear thought, she simply waited to see if it made sense if she allowed a few minutes to fade away.
And another few minutes.
And another.
Was this why her parents had avoided accompanying her here? Was it more than simply trying to give more credence to a possible betrothal than they wanted to? Did they worry that their presence would stir up such talk from a rumoured past?
Thoughts and old memories swirled inside her mind until she wanted to scream. If it were daytime, she would ride, for it always cleared her thoughts and helped her to think. Mayhap she should ask Elizabeth, nay, Cora, about the truth of it? But how could she bring up such matters as the ones she’d heard spoken of by James and his father? Elizabeth was her age and would not remember discussions or mention of such things. Cora had been the laird’s wife’s servant for many years and would not reveal something she’d been ordered not to tell.
That left only one person whom she could
‘She certainly doesn’t kiss as I expected the daughter of the Robertson Harlot to kiss.’
Chapter Nine
C iara’s world shattered in that moment. She stumbled back against the wall.
‘Blood will out, James, and you will be a lucky man to have that woman warming your bed if her hunger for bedplay is anything like her mother’s was.’ There was a pause before Lord Murray delivered a most-scathing insult to her mother’s reputation. ‘’Twas said she took three, nay, four men to bed on the night her father found her. Noblemen all, so at least the daughter is of noble blood, even if none would claim her after such a scandal.’
Ciara sucked in a breath so quickly she nearly coughed. She covered her mouth to hide her presence just outside the room.
‘The old laird found her naked and wine-soaked, cavorting in his own keep. He could have done worse, but he shaved her head, tossed her out of the keep and banished her for years. Only when the girl was born and raised did the new laird let her back.’
Could they be speaking about her mother? It was unthinkable, of course, but they spoke with such authority. Was this the truth? She roughly rubbed the tears away from her cheeks as she listened to discover more so she could tell the truth from the lies. Surely, they lied?
‘I had hoped for more than a whore’s daughter for a wife, Father,’ James replied to the crude comment made by Lord Murray that had her shaking so badly she nearly lost her balance. ‘Not a wife who will cuckold me with any man when I am not there.’
‘We need the dowry, James. You know that,’ Lord Murray explained. ‘And the connections to her uncle and her stepfather.’
‘Aye, Father. I know it. It will be the difference between complete failure and success.’
‘Virgin or not matters not in this. The daughter of a whore or a saint matters not. The laird promised she is an innocent, but I doubt it with the way that guard sniffs around her. But even that matters not,’ Lord Murray explained calmly.
They believed her so dishonourable and yet accepted her for marriage into their family? His next words made his priority clear.
‘So take the benefits you gain from this marriage and enjoy them. A young man like you will find many uses for a woman like that one. May you and your cock be strong enough to survive the nights with her in your bed!’
Goblets clinked as though touched in a toast and Ciara heard the chairs scrape along the stone floor. They were leaving. Ciara glanced around and found a small alcove set back in the wall, so she pressed herself into it and waited for them to walk past her.
It felt like forever as she tried to unravel what was truth and what was deceit in the words she had heard. Ciara stood silent in the darkness a good while after the sound of their footsteps passed and moved off to their chambers. She was undone by it all. Shocked past action or clear thought, she simply waited to see if it made sense if she allowed a few minutes to fade away.
And another few minutes.
And another.
Was this why her parents had avoided accompanying her here? Was it more than simply trying to give more credence to a possible betrothal than they wanted to? Did they worry that their presence would stir up such talk from a rumoured past?
Thoughts and old memories swirled inside her mind until she wanted to scream. If it were daytime, she would ride, for it always cleared her thoughts and helped her to think. Mayhap she should ask Elizabeth, nay, Cora, about the truth of it? But how could she bring up such matters as the ones she’d heard spoken of by James and his father? Elizabeth was her age and would not remember discussions or mention of such things. Cora had been the laird’s wife’s servant for many years and would not reveal something she’d been ordered not to tell.
That left only one person whom she could
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