The Legend (56 page)

Her mouth opened in outrage.
"It's a bloody lie!"

Colin made a sweeping motion
toward the door. "Take your chances, then. I invite you."

Thia was shaken to the core.
Unfortunately, Colin made sense and she was torn between refusing to help him
abduct Peyton and following through simply to avoid the embarrassment and controversy
that was sure to arise as a result of his libelous blackmail.

She turned away from him, her
mind and soul being ripped in two by her indecision. Thia was not evil; she was
brash, aggressive and rude, but she was not a sinister character. The desperation
resulting from an unwanted betrothal was sucking her deeper and deeper into a
bottomless hole; the further she sank, the harder it was to climb free.

Aye, she wanted to be rid of
Peyton. The fact had already been established. But her conscience was gaining
the upper hand against her will to be done with her brother's wife, even as the
force of self-preservation fought for control.

She did not want her secret to be
known.  As much as she regretted what she must do, she must preserve herself
above all.

Thia was shaking when she turned
to Colin once more. Her gaze was guarded. "I shall do as I agreed as long
as you swear to me that there will be no marriage between us, and that you
shall not leave a trace my brother's wife. He shall never know my part in
this."

Colin smiled faintly, thinking of
simple Paul as he attempted to blackmail him with what he had overheard. He
could easily kill Thia as well; but, somehow, he rather liked the fact that
they would share a dark secret between them. It would make her far more
receptive to his desires in the future, as she would hold the future baron's
ear.

"That is the bargain,"
he said quietly, fixing her in the eye. "Now, my lady. You will get me out
of here."

***

Peyton was so drowsy she could
barely keep her eyes open. Pulled against Alec's warm torso as he conversed
with Edward and Brian, her head resting on his massive shoulder, it was all she
could do to remain lucid. But she was losing the struggle; Alec's delicious
heat combined with his deep, soothing voice had a hypnotic effect on her and
she yawned more than once, trying desperately not to be rude. She did not
realize that Celine was well aware of her plight.

Alec's mother rose from her chair
and made her way to Alec and Peyton. A sharp nail tapped her son on the
shoulder.

"You have been so busy
chattering that you have failed to notice your wife's exhaustion," she
chided softly. "Release her, Alec. I intend to put her to bed
myself."

Appalled at his lack of
consideration, he faced his wife full of concern. "Are you well,
sweetheart? I did not mean to ignore you."

She smiled as Celine frowned.
"You are a rude, insensitive man," his mother admonished. "I
shall deal with you after I have settled your wife."

Peyton laughed softly.
"Truly, my lady, Alec wasn't being rude in the least. I am more
comfortable in his arms than anywhere else."

They smiled tenderly at each
other as Celine practically lifted Peyton to her feet. "Come, dear. You
belong in bed, resting."

"She shall not be resting
after I join her," Alec mumbled into his cup.

Peyton giggled as Celine pinched
her son on his rock-hard bicep. "Enough, Alec. I demand you leave your
wife alone. You have done your duty; now allow her to complete hers
unhindered."

He laughed then; a loud,
obnoxious snort. "Duty, did you say? I would hardly call it a duty. And if
you think I am going to leave my wife alone for the next eight months, you are
out of your...."

Celine slapped him on the
shoulder this time, interrupting the conclusion of his sentence. Ali, seating
on the other side of his wife, heard the statement and chuckled heartily,
lifting his tankard in agreement to Alec's assertion. The two men snickered and
snorted as Celine grew more outraged.

"Louts, the both of you. I
shall not have it," she had Peyton by the arm, pulling her away from the
table. "Come along, Peyton dear. You must be positively ill with
fatigue."

"Hold, Mother," Alec
rumbled, setting his goblet to the table. Wiping his mouth, he rose to his full
height and stepped around his chair. Peyton saw the look in his eye, having
seen it many a time before. Always before he made love to her.

His smile broadened as he
approached his wife. Peyton returned his smile, her heart thumping madly
against her ribs as his massive arms encircled her slim torso. In spite of Lady
Celine's pleas of control, Alec bent his wife over backward and kissed her so
passionately that the entire room went mad with approval.

Alec heard the roar of favor,
lost in the depths of Peyton's honeyed mouth. He could feel his mother slapping
weakly at his arm, demanding he unhand his pregnant wife. But he ignored her,
indulging himself in a kiss seldom used outside of the bedchamber. It was a
farewell, an invitation, a promise until he joined her later.

He was grinning as he released
her. Peyton, flushed and dazed, returned his gesture.

"God's Blood, Alec. No
wonder the woman is pregnant," Edward quipped, joining the laughter at the
table.

Celine spanked her son across his
taut buttocks as she grasped Peyton once more, assisting the blushing woman
from the room. Alec resumed his seat, his warm gaze lingering on the brilliant
red head until the foyer beyond swallowed her.

Christ, how he loved her. Had his
mother not been standing in such close proximity, he would have told her so.
Well... mayhap.

... coward.

By the time Peyton and Celine
reached the stairs, their arms were linked companionably and they were laughing
softly at Alec's display. In truth, Celine wasn't appalled by the lack of
control; she thought it wonderful that Alec had married a woman he was so
entirely smitten with. Soft conversation bounced between them as they mounted
the stairs.

"Mother?" came a soft
voice from behind.

They both turned to see Thia
standing at the base of the stairs, her heavy face amazingly calm. Peyton instinctively
tensed as Lady Celine, well aware of the animosity between her daughter and
Alec's wife, faced her daughter pleasantly.

"What is it, Thia
dear?"

Thia swallowed hard in the first
display of uncertainty Peyton had ever seen from her. She seemed subdued,
repressed somehow.

"I was... was wondering if
you would allow me a moment's privacy with Peyton," she said quietly.
"I... I would like to speak with her."

Her question was entirely
respectful and Peyton's natural defenses faltered slightly. She sounded utterly
sincere and Peyton wanted desperately to believe that, mayhap, she was
attempting to extend a measure of reconciliation.

Celine glanced at Peyton. "I
do not think so, dear. Peyton is very tired and was just about to retire.
Mayhap tomorrow would be a better time."

The Thia that gazed up at them
looked nothing like the brash, belligerent woman Peyton had become acquainted
with. Her expression was almost pleading.

"I was hoping to speak with
her tonight," she said, clearing her throat loudly. "You see, Lady
Peyton and I have not been on good terms since her arrival and I have had time
to think.... I would like to speak with her for a few minutes, mother. Please?
I shan't keep her overlong. Just time enough to say what I must."

Celine and Peyton exchanged
glances. "Are you up to it, my lady?" Celine asked her gently.

Peyton wanted nothing more than
to be at peace with all of Alec's family. She wasn't suspicious of Thia's
motives in the least; if the woman was willing to talk out their differences,
then she would stay up all night if that was what it would take. She was more
than eager to forgive and forget their rocky beginning.

She smiled at Thia. "Of
course. I would be delighted."

Celine smiled as well. She knew
that the two women could mend their shortcomings and was thrilled that Thia was
making a peace overture. She knew her daughter well enough to know that she was
a reasonable, honorable person.

Or so she thought.

"Very well, Thia," she
moved away from Peyton and descended the stairs. "I shall leave you ladies
alone."

With a lingering smile, she
turned for the dining hall until a call from Thia stopped her.

"Do not mention our talk to
Alec, mother," she said with as much innocence as she could muster. She
was terrified that somehow she would betray her true motives, still reeling
with surprise to have come across Peyton without her husband tailing her. It
would make what she had to do far easier. "He knows we haven't gotten
along and I fear He shall try to interrupt us."

Celine did not hesitate. "I
understand."

Peyton and Thia watched Celine
disappear into the dining hall. When the woman was gone from view, they faced
each other with a degree of uncertainty.

"Where would you like to
go?" Peyton asked softly.

Thia cleared her throat again,
nervously. Her palms were sweating profusely. "I... I thought someplace
private. Like the stables."

"The stables?" Peyton
repeated. "The solar is private. And closer."

"And someone can interrupt
us, like my meddlesome brother. If he comes looking, I want him to search for
awhile and allow us our time together."

Peyton grinned, slowly descending
the stairs towards her sister-in-law. "He is meddlesome, isn't he? Pushy,
too."

In spite of her nerves, Thia
couldn't help but grin. "And arrogant. And loud."

Peyton laughed, feeling better
than she had in weeks. She was absolutely positive that she and Thia would grow
to be very chummy if they could only spend a few moments together, getting to
know one another.

"And he has the manners of a
goat. Do you know that he and Edward had a competition to see who could belch
the loudest the very first night the king arrived at St. Cloven?"

This time, Thia laughed.
"That's nothing. He and Ali and my father used to sit in front of the
hearth on cold winter nights and attempt to out-fart each other. The solar
would smell of rotting bodies for days afterward."

Peyton laughed uproariously,
moving for the door that led to the bailey. "Disgusting. And your mother
allowed this?"

Thia opened the door to allow
Peyton to pass through. "Better. She would bolt the door from the outside
and not let them out until morning. They very nearly suffocated."

Peyton convulsed with laughter
the entire walk across the bailey. When they reached the nearly-deserted stable
yard, Thia silently led her into the same bank of stalls where Alec had first
made love to her. She entered the warm stable, reliving the sweetest of
memories as Thia drew her deep inside.

"I hope you Do not mind that
I insisted on such privacy," she said quietly. "I thought it would be
better this way."

"And you are correct. I
agreed with everything you said about Alec. And more." She settled herself
on a large bale of pressed hay.

Expectant silence filled the dim
livery. Peyton gazed at her sister-in-law, waiting for the woman to begin speaking.
But Thia seemed very ill at ease, not at all comfortable. Peyton took the
silence for natural nervousness.

"I am glad you suggested
that we talk," she said after a moment. "You and I have not exactly
been on pleasant terms and I have always been sorry. Alec thinks so much of
you."

Thia felt as if Peyton had driven
a dagger into her heart. She wanted to curse and reject the woman in one breath
and declare her apologies with the next. Her inner turmoil bubbled like a
simmering cauldron, simply waiting for the heat to increase and induce an
explosion. She was positive Peyton would be able to sense her treachery.

"He is my only living
brother," she whispered lamely. "I think... I love him a great
deal."

"As do I," Peyton
agreed fervently. "Which is why I want things to be right between us,
Thia. I do not want to live the rest of my life at odds with you."

"I know," Thia nodded,
fidgeting with her skirt. "I... I suppose I was envious of you when you
first came to Blackstone, because I could see the way Alec was looking at you
and I thought mayhap he would forget about me. He is always been my dearest
friend."

"I realize that. But you
were so terribly hostile that I naturally reacted in the same manner simply to
protect myself. I never meant for it to go as far as it did."

Thia cocked an eyebrow, much in
the same fashion as her older brother did. "You mean when I nearly beat
you senseless? I can honestly say that I wanted to kill you, Peyton. Mayhap I
would have if Toby hadn't come along when he did."

Peyton wasn't uncomfortable with
the declaration; she had suspected as much. "You fight fairly well. As it
is, I have had ample practice against my own sister and was able to defend
myself," when Thia cracked a thin smile, she continued. "I will be
completely honest and tell you that I wasn't spying on you. I was looking for
Alec and got lost. It was never my intention to invade your privacy."