A Pirate's Wife for Me Read Online Free PDF

her most acerbic tone, Cate said, "I knew all the lads in the MacLean clan, and from what I've observed, when men gather in a group, they become collectively stupid."
    Sibeol laughed, and as if the sound of her own merriment startled her, she laughed again. "I've had a husband, and I've got a son, and I must agree with you."
    For the first time since Taran had left, Cate relaxed. Funny, but even after she shot him, she had feared he couldn't be stopped. The boy she had known had grown into a man steeled in ruthlessness, and the danger of the mission paled in contrast with the danger he exuded.
    Sibeol brushed some more. "How old were you when Taran seduced you?"
    Cate refused to lie, or hide her face in shame. Lifting her chin, she said, "He didn't seduce me. I took advantage of his unhappiness and seduced him."
    Sibeol caught a tangle in the brush, apologized, then asked, "Why was he unhappy?"
    "I don't know." But his unhappiness had made Cate's heart ache, and she had thought she could cure him. "We shared a tutor and we raced to see who could learn more quickly. We were always neck-and-neck. My brother praised him as a great warrior, and the other lads admired him. But I think he missed his home."
    "So you seduced him." Sibeol brushed some more. "He didn't have to take advantage of your offer."
    Cate held her head carefully erect, letting Sibeol do her job. "As afterwards, my brother pointed out to me repeatedly."
    "Hm. Aye. So Taran left, and you paid the price."
    "Left, with promises to return. He never did." Even now, the knowledge that he had willfully lied made Cate want to find him … and shoot him again. Lower, and toward the middle of his body. "I learned a lot from Taran."
    "Nine years ago?"
    Swinging around, Cate snatched the brush out of Sibeol's hand. "Are you pretending ignorance, then? Do you already know the whole, sordid story?"
    "No. I only know Taran's story." Sibeol's voice was tender and sad. "You see, I'm his mother."
     
     

 
     
     
    CHAPTER FIVE
     
     
    "His … mother?" Cate searched Sibeol's face , searching frantically for a resemblance. "You don't look… I mean, he doesn't look…"
    "Taran looks like my father, except for his square jaw. That he got from my husband, his father. Except — his father was never shot by a woman." Sibeol put her wrinkled hand to her cheek. "Although I am a very good shot, and there were times Tonio certainly deserved it."
    "Men," Cate said.
    "Precisely."
    Cate felt funny about meeting Taran’s mother. Well, of course she did. She'd talked with Sibeol about the fact she and Taran had … had …
    Cate made it a policy not to blush. Pink cheeks clashed with her red hair. But she blushed now, cleared her throat, and deftly avoided the one subject guaranteed to make her blush yet more. "If you are his mother, then you can tell me who he is, and why you sent him to Scotland to be fostered, and how he came to be a pirate."
    Sibeol cocked her head and studied Cate as carefully as Cate had studied her. "Actually, I can't. The information is his alone to disclose, and he has good reasons to conceal his past. But I can tell you this, my dear. No matter what passed between you in the past, no matter what happens in the future … he can never be yours."
    "I don't want him."
    Cate's assurance did not deter Sibeol. "He is betrothed to another."
    Cate groped for her throat. Betrayed. Again. She had known Taran was a lying swine, but this … this fresh evidence choked her.
    Then the choking sensation became a laugh, short and sharp and loud. "Betrothed? That's rich!"
    "I know he broke your heart and took your virtue —"
    "You know nothing." Cate rose and paced away to the window. She pretended to stare out into the dark.
    Sibeol picked her words carefully. "His betrothed is a woman of good character."
    Cate swung to face Sibeol. "And a virgin?"
    Now Sibeol looked concerned, as if she feared Cate would faint or shout or … behave in an unseemly manner. "She is