“Aye, well, we’ll be havin’ a bairn or two soon enough, and I thought that an extra two or three rooms would not go amiss.”

Her eyebrows rose at that. “Two or three rooms?”

He shifted uncomfortably. “I thought a room fer yer mother would be nice so she might visit as long as she liked. And then, one can never have too many guest rooms.”

“A room for my mother?” Her eyebrows rose slightly at the thoughtfulness of the gesture, then dropped just as abruptly in displeasure. “So you do recall that my poor, battered, ailing mother is lying just beyond that door, trying to get some much-needed rest while you and all of your men are out here making the devil’s own racket!”

The hallway fell into dead silence around them, all eyes turning with some surprise to Duncan and Iliana. But Duncan was oblivious to that. His gaze was fastened on his wife as she roared, drinking in her heaving chest, the glorious color of fury in her flushed cheeks, and the fire in her eyes. Lord almighty, he could recall this same flush of passion about her on the afternoon before, but then it had been from desire. He could also recall her softness afterward, the dreamy look she had worn as she lay pressed against him, her body warm and sated. Feeling his own body responding to those memories, he muttered suddenly and caught one of her clenched hands in his own, then headed abruptly for the end of the hall.

“What are you doing?” Iliana snapped, trying to tug her hand free.

“Ye are obviously overset, wife. I would take ye somewhere where we can discuss this in private so that yer screamin’ doesn’t awaken yer poor ailin’ mother. To work, men!” he ordered as he moved.

“My screaming?” She gaped at the back of his head as he dragged her along, her ears ringing as the men set back to work, and pounding and sawing filled the air around them. Tugging free, she propped both hands on her hips and glared at him as he paused and turned toward her. “Do you not see that that is why I am out here? All this racket is sure to wake my mother. She needs her rest, Duncan. I—”

“Aye. Yer right. She does. And so she’ll have it. Work as quietly as ye can, men. No shoutin’ or the like,” he instructed, then grabbed up her hand and started out again. This time he got as far as the stairs and halfway down them before Iliana managed to free her hand again. “Duncan! They cannot be pounding and hammering in the hallway while my mother tries to rest. She will wake—”

“Nay, my lady.”

Ebba’s voice drew both Iliana’s and Duncan’s eyes to the bottom of the stairs where the other woman now stood looking up at them.