Lord Keeper by Tarah Scott Page A

Lily was untrue—”
    “Nay.” Maude straightened from her restful position and wagged a finger at Victoria. “She was my friend, and I will not have you say she was unfaithful.”
    Victoria angled her head. “Yet you have no compunctions about believing I would lie?”
    Maude shook her head. “You misunderstand, Lily did not lie, nor was she unfaithful. She was betrothed to Iain’s father, but ’twas not Eric she loved, but Liam Fraser.”
    “Fraser?”
    “Aye. He leads the Fraser clan. He is the man Iain will deal with concerning the men who…well, you know.”
    Victoria stared. Sweet God in heaven. What sort of lunatics had she fallen in with? “You say Lily loved Liam. Why, then, did she not marry him?”
    Maude’s clear green eyes darkened. “Because, that bloody bastard Eric forced her to honor their betrothal, then never forgave her for loving another man.”
    Victoria gaped. “Lord MacPherson’s mother was kidnapped by another man, yet his father forced her to marry him?”
    Maude blinked, then said, “There is no likeness between that situation and this one. Iain is a different man. Eric’s lust for vengeance fueled the hatred between us and the Frasers. Three bloody decades it lasted.” She shook her head. “But Iain, well…making peace was not easy, even for the mighty Clan Chatten. No one knows that better than Iain.”
    “Clan Chatten?” Victoria repeated.
    “Aye, The MacPherson clan is one of three clans that form the confederation known as Clan Chatten. Well, they and their close relatives.” She winked. “Highlanders tend to have a lot of relatives, but ’tis the Chatten we depend on. Many’s the time they lent a welcome hand in dealing with the Frasers.”
    “If Liam Fraser is so terrible, how was it possible to make peace with him?”
    Maude’s face softened. “I do not think it was any easier for him than for Iain. He loved Lily. Still, it was no easy task for Iain to break through the barrier the feud created.”
    “The will to see no more of his kinsmen lying dead in the dirt,” Rachel added.
    Everyone nodded in agreement.
    “So you see,” Maude went on, “you have a good man in Iain MacPherson.”
    “I have—he is not my man!” Victoria whirled toward the sanctuary of her cottage, but halted and turned to face the women. “Who says they saw him leaving my cottage?”
    Maude shifted uncomfortably, and Victoria read in the housekeeper’s eyes that it was she who had spread the lie.
     
    * * *
     
    Victoria caught sight of Thomas as he emerged from the stairway leading down from the front wall and crossed the courtyard toward him. When they met at the well, Thomas flashed a smile.
    “Good afternoon, my lady. What brings you out into the afternoon heat?”
    Victoria glanced at the midday sun. “It is not so hot.”
    “Mid-August. The warmest time of the year.”
    “I do not envy your winters.” Victoria shivered at the thought of Fauldun Castle covered in snow. “How do you stay warm?”
    Thomas glanced at her, a strange look on his face. “Iain will teach you soon enough.”
    Victoria ignored the warmth that rippled through her cheeks. “When will he return?” she asked.
    Thomas’s eyes danced. “You need not worry, chérie. Your lord will return soon enough.”
    She lifted a calculated brow. “You assume too much, sir. ’Tis not personal concern that prompts my question.” She turned her gaze ahead. “You know Father Brennan is here?”
    “Indeed.”
    “You rule in your lord’s absence, do you not?”
    “Aye.”
    “I mean to return to Montrose Abbey. Father Brennan will take me.”
    “Most kind of him.”
    “He came with two monks, for protection, you understand, on the ride home.” Victoria managed to keep a level tone despite the desire to pummel him when she glimpsed the smile hovering on the edge of his mouth. “Though he says no one would dare accost a priest. It is unheard of. Still—”
    “I cannot allow it,” Thomas