The Chief Read online

  She noticed the open folio on the desk and was about to close it when her eye caught a recent entry that happened to be for the receipt she’d just stacked on top.

  She frowned and reread the note, just to make sure she hadn’t made a mistake. Her eyes went back to the ledger. Nay, it was entered wrong. The one hundred quarters of barley had been entered as five hundred.

  A quick perusal of a handful of other receipts turned up another transcription error—instead of ten silver ducats, the amount received had been entered as sixteen.

  Tor was fortunate that MacDougall had not taken him up on his offer to review the books—they were a mess.

  She chewed on her lip, trying to decide what to do. Whoever was responsible would be in danger of losing his position if she revealed her discovery. She didn’t want to get Brother John in trouble—he’d been so overworked and tired lately, it was no wonder he made a few mistakes. Nor did she want to give the seneschal more reason not to like her.

  All of a sudden, a kernel of an idea formed. She sat down behind the table, pulled the ledger toward her, and studied it a little closer. The same gift that had enabled her to learn languages early also seemed to apply to numbers. She could do most calculations, even complicated ones, in her head. Father Stephen had said he’d seen the same thing only once before. Adding the columns on the right in her head, she found errors in calculations as well.

  This was it! She’d found the way to help. It wouldn’t take her long at all—a few days, perhaps a week—to have all these accounts organized and sorted. It was the perfect way not only to tell her husband about her unusual skills but show him how she could help at the same time. He didn’t need to be alone.

  Excitement bubbled inside her. Wouldn’t he be surprised? Her efforts before to prove her usefulness had largely been in vain, but this was something important—something he could not ignore. This would have to impress him.

  She couldn’t wait to see his face. First the surprise, then gratitude, and then maybe even pride. Her heart beat a little faster. Would he finally see her not as the cowardly girl who’d tricked him into marriage, but as the woman who could stand by his side? A confidante? She could be a part of his life, not just in the bedroom.

  An image of her father flashed in her mind. She’d thought to impress him, too…

  Nonsense. She pushed the errant thought away. Tor was nothing like her father. Nothing. He was honorable to the core, fair, and even when angered always in control. He might have a blunt tongue, but he would never lift a hand to her. He’d been furious to discover her in the tree and more so when she’d foolishly taunted him about Lachlan MacRuairi. She’d wanted to make him jealous like she was. If his reaction was any indication, it had worked. Yet no matter how angry, he would never hurt her physically.

  It wasn’t cruelty that prevented him from seeing her but blindness. She just needed to open his eyes a little.

  Course set, Christina left the solar with a decided spring in her step. She couldn’t wait to get started, but she would have to wait until late at night if she didn’t want to be discovered. A raucous roar went up in the Great Hall behind her.

  Her heart jumped. Tor must be back!

  She hurried her step, coming around the back entry to the Hall from the corridor, and stopped in her tracks, utterly paralyzed.

  Horror washed over her in a cold, sickening blast. Her stomach knifed, bile rising up in the back of her throat.

  A soft sound emerged from her strangled throat, like that of a wounded animal.

  Standing at the dais with his back toward her was her husband—locked in a passionate embrace with a tall, blond-haired woman.

  Christina stood there motionless—numb—unable to move.

  The kiss went on and on, growing wilder as the crowd egged them on with their cheering and hollering. Stop. Please stop. Her heart twisted tighter and tighter. Tears blurred her eyes.

  How could he do this to her? And how could his clansmen encourage it? She thought they’d begun to like her.

  Her throat closed and her chest burned. She felt a crack from deep inside that started to splinter like ice on a frozen pond. She trembled, knowing she was about to shatter.

  Her husband and Lady Janet broke apart, laughing, and Christina stilled.

  Something was wrong…different. He didn’t stand like a king surveying his kingdom and he was wearing far more ornate clothing than she’d ever seen him wear before. The easy, relaxed stance, the unfamiliar clothing, the hair streaked with too much gold. His shoulders were just as wide but the well-muscled build was leaner, not quite as heavily muscled.

  She blinked. Was it only wishful thinking? Nay. She knew it in her heart. The man standing at the dais was not her husband.

  When he slid his hand around the woman’s waist and turned to address the crowd, she knew it for certain. The profile was eerily similar, but the jaw was not quite as formidable and his nose didn’t have the slight crook at the bridge. He also had a thin scar down his right cheek and smile lines around his eyes that Tor did not.

  And if she had any doubt, it was gone when the woman came into view. It wasn’t Lady Janet, but a young woman probably not much older than herself. She was pretty—with slim, delicate features and big, laughing green eyes—not in the stately, serene beauty of Lady Janet, but in a carefree, lively fashion. A wildflower in spring, not a rose in winter.

  The girl caught sight of Christina and smiled. Tugging on the man’s arm, she stood on her toes to whisper in his ear and he turned in Christina’s direction.

  Seeing the broad smile spread across a face so similar to her husband’s took her breath away. He should look like this…happy.

  The man strode toward her. He stopped and bowed so gallantly she had to smile. “My lady, forgive me, I did not see you arrive.” He gave her a roguish grin and took her hand to lead her to the table. “I fear I got a wee bit carried away introducing my bride to the clan. I’m Torquil, and you must be Lady Christina.” He shook his head ruefully. “My brother is certainly full of surprises.”

  Her lips quirked. “He certainly is. You’re twins.”

  He arched a well-formed brow, the wry expression looking so much like his brother’s it took her aback. “He didn’t tell you?”

  She shook her head.

  His gaze filled with concern. “I’m sorry, what you saw…it must have been something of a shock.” She nodded—that was an understatement. By then they’d reached the table. “My lady, I wish to present my wife, Lady Margaret.”

  The girl rushed forward and clasped her hands. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, my lady. May I call you Christina? And you must call me Meg. I just know we are going to be great friends, married to brothers—twin brothers, that is. We shall have so much to talk about”—she gave her husband a sly look—“and compare.”

  Christina could only nod and return her smile, feeling as if she’d just been caught up in a whirlwind.

  “Naughty wench.” Torquil dragged his young bride back into his arms and feigned outrage. “Mind your tongue or I’ll have to put it to other uses.”

  Meg’s eyes twinkled. “What other uses did you have in mind?”

  He reached his finger down and stroked the side of her face with such love and adoration in his gaze that it made Christina’s heart squeeze with longing. Bending down, he whispered in her ear. Whatever he said caused his pretty bride to blush to her roots, but there was no mistaking the look of sensual anticipation in her gaze.

  What do you want from me?

  Tor’s strangely intense question, uttered right before he’d kissed her, had haunted her. But now she knew the answer: This was what she wanted.

  Perhaps she should be happy with what she had. Tor had done so much for her. He’d rescued her from a horrible situation and given her his name, a home, and most importantly a sense of safety and security. He’d given her passion, and she knew that eventually he’d give her children. He’d protect her with his life—as he would any of his clan