Raudrich didn’t know if he’d ever been in such pain before. There was no part of him that didn’t ache dreadfully. He didn’t care at all. He would gladly accept such pain forever for the blessing it had brought him.

He could see. Not as well as he once had, but so much better than the day before. The man to his left was more than a blurry blob. If he strained and looked past the swollen knob between his eyes, he could see that it was Maddock.

“What are ye smiling for? Ye really dinna need anything to make ye any uglier. Yer nose was large to begin with. It will be even larger when this heals.”

Raudrich laughed but stopped abruptly at the sharp pain that shot through his side in response.

“I can see ye. Ye canna know how happy that makes me.”

Maddock’s brows pulled together in confusion and Raudrich delighted in the fact that he could see the gesture.

“What do ye mean? Marcus hit ye in the nose, he dinna poke yer eyes out.”

“I’ll tell ye all about it in a bit. First, I need one of ye to explain to me what happened last night. Who is the man that did this to me, and why did he wish to kill me?”

The entire night was a blur to him. It had been one of the happiest night’s sleep of his life. He rarely dreamt of anything, but last night—on his first night home in far too long—he’d dreamt of a woman. Naked and pressed against him, he held her warm breast in his hand as her silky leg rubbed against his manhood, stirring him to arousal. It had all ended much too abruptly as Paton kicked him from the bed. The next thing he knew there was an angry voice in his ear and a fist flying toward his face. Then, everything went dark again.

Maddock shrugged.

“I doona have any idea. Harry willna tell me anything. I doona believe Nicol, Calder, or Paton even know ye are back yet. Harry woke me…”

Raudrich held his hand up to stop him.

“What do ye mean Paton doesna know I’m back yet? Was it not he that I found in my room last night?”

Maddock’s eyes widened in understanding.

“Ach, no wonder he broke yer nose. Ye thought Paton was in yer bed?”

An uncomfortable sense of dread began to creep up his spine.

“Aye, ’tis what I said. ’Twas it not?”

Maddock started to grin.

“And ye crawled in bed with him?”

Raudrich nodded, his frustration growing.

“Aye. I was exhausted from the journey. I knew if I woke him, he’d wake the rest of ye and then I wouldna get to sleep until dawn.”

Maddock shook his head and Raudrich could see he was suppressing laughter.

“Paton wasna in yer room last night.”

“Then who the hell was?”

“Laurel.”

Raudrich’s body flooded with heat and horror. Was it possible that he’d not been dreaming? Had there truly been a lassie in his bed? Surely all that he’d felt—her skin, her breasts—it couldn’t have been real? But if it was…had it been his doing or hers?

“Who is Laurel?”

“What do ye mean, who is Laurel? Ye’ve known her since ye were a child. She came all this way to see ye, though I doona believe she expected the greeting ye gave her.”

He knew no one by the name of Laurel, but there were greater things on his mind.

“Is this Marcus her husband? Is that why he attacked me? He entered to find us asleep next to each other in the bed? I swear I thought ’twas Paton.”

“Marcus is her brother, though not by blood.”

The door to his room slowly creaked open as Harry stepped inside.

“Thank God, Harry. Ye were here last night, were ye not? Tell me what happened. Doona spare me anything.”

Harry leaned over the bed and gave his leg a quick pat.

“Doona worry, Raudrich. All is well. The lass understands what happened and she isna angry with ye. She says that ye dinna touch her. She woke in the night to see ye lying on the other side of the bed and it gave her quite the fright. Ye can thank her for yer broken ribs. I just had Quinn ready a bath for her, but she’d like to speak to ye a bit later if ye doona mind. She’s worried ye might be angry with her.”

Angry with her? Her assumption made no sense to him. It was he who had crawled into bed with a naked woman and given her what must’ve been one of the greatest frights of her life. Accident or not, he owed the lass an apology.

“O’course I doona mind, but tell the lass I’m not angry with her. How could I be?”

Harry shrugged and turned to leave.

“I know. I told her that ’twas she who should be angry, but more than anything, I believe she is embarrassed.”

“And she told ye that she knows me?”

Before answering him, Harry asked Maddock to bring him up some breakfast. The moment Maddock was gone, he leaned in close.

“Aye, though ’tis not true. Calder and I could tell straight away the moment we found her and Marcus out in our stables. She called ye the wrong name twice. She knows of ye, but I doona believe the two of ye have ever met. I thought it best to let the other men believe otherwise. Ye know most of them believe women to be a curse in this castle. If they thought her a stranger, they wouldna let her stay here. Because they believe she knows ye, they permitted it without question.”

His curiosity for this woman grew with each new thing he learned about her.

“Ye found her in the stables? How did she get past the gate?”

“I doona know. It confounds me, though I doona believe she brings ill will. I quite like the lass, actually. Though, she has her secrets to be sure. I thought I would have time to try and learn them, but ’twas only yesterday morning that I found her.”

“And what of Calder? He canna be pleased with this.”

“He’s not. But he willna say anything to the other men. He has his own secret that I keep for him.”

Raudrich knew better than to ask.

“How bad does my face look, Harry?”

“I willna lie to ye. Ye look foul.”

Harry turned to leave but called back to him as he left.

“I canna believe ye had a naked woman in yer bed and dinna know it. That must have been some journey. I doona believe I could ever be so tired.”