Callum’s Vow: The Victorian Highlanders

by St. Clair, Ellie

  His father would be furious. Duncan McDougall was a good man, and would have approved of a loving marriage for any of his children — except for his firstborn. He had plans for the son that would become chieftain, and those plans did not involve an Englishwoman he had met across the ocean.

  Victoria would be miserable leaving her aunt and this town. He would have to do his best to make things up to both of them. If he had to do it all over again, however, he knew he would have done the exact same thing.

  “Well, Mrs. McDougall,” said Callum, taking her hand, bringing it to his lips and bestowing a kiss upon it. “We’re alone at last. Where would ye like to go now, wife?”

  Victoria looked up, her face unsure. “Callum… I appreciate all you have done for me — truly I do. But I have to ask you, is this actually what you really want? I know we’re married now, but as my stepfather said, we likely could find a way out, as this is really a lifelong commitment that perhaps we should think more clearly about and—”

  He cut off her words by pulling her close and kissing her deeply. He held her tightly in his strong arms as he swept his mouth over hers, teasing her lips with the tip of his tongue.

  “’Tis enough of that talk,” he said gently as he pulled his head away from her. “I would not have asked to begin with if I didn’t mean it. Besides,” he shrugged and winked at her, “now I no longer have to feel so guilty about my thoughts of you. Come, let’s go.”

  He cupped her bare foot and boosted her back onto the horse, then hoisted himself up behind her. He turned Ansgar toward home.

  Qu'Appelle wasn’t far, but when it came within their sights, Callum slowed the horse.

  “Victoria,” he said softly, “I do not want to take you back to the boarding house, and as much as I like your aunt, I’m not sure that I want to spend my wedding night under her roof. I have a pallet packed on my horse. What do you say we make camp out here?”

  “Here?” she repeated him, looking around her. “In the fields?”

  “Well, I thought perhaps further down under a few trees, but if you prefer out in the open, that’s fine too,” he replied with a glint in his eye.

  “Oh, um… of course, whatever you’d like.” She kept her gaze straight ahead at the valley below. If she felt slightly awkward before, now she was entirely all nerves.

  “What’s this, my outspoken wife is suddenly shy?” He took her chin and gently turned her face toward his.

  “It’s just, I’m not exactly sure … what comes next. That is to say, I know the general idea and what actually happens, just not, perhaps, all the details. My mother certainly… participated in these activities, but she never took the time to tell me what to expect or what to do. I just… I don’t want to disappoint you.”

  “Victoria.” He looked deep into her eyes, cupping his face in his strong hands, completely serious for once. “You could never disappoint me.” He offered a crooked smile and angled his head. “Certainly not with a body like that or a mouth that moves like yours does.” With a laugh, he jumped back to avoid her smack, dismounted his horse, and held a hand up to her. “Now, come.”

  * * *

  As Victoria put her hand in Callum’s, her heart raced. She was excited, but so scared at the same time. She knew in this she would be rather inept — and what if Callum wasn’t happy with her in this way? Would it give him more reason to leave their hurried marriage? She turned and looked at this man — her husband — and his easy grin reached up and warmed her, dissolving any fears. She couldn't deny that she did want to be with him, and know even more of him.

  Callum took her hand, leading Victoria and the horse over to a grove of trees. As Callum tied Ansgar to a branch and found water for him, Victoria opened the saddlebags. Callum didn’t have much with him, but he did have a bedroll. Her cheeks warmed at the sight of the blanket she had wrapped around her body after being pushed into the water, remembering their stolen kisses in the woods that day. She stared at it, draped over her hands, until he took it from her and spread it on the soft, fresh spring grass.

  “Victoria,” he said softly, taking her face in his hands then slowly running one hand along the curls that bordered her face. “I want you to know that you are absolutely beautiful — inside and out. I don’t expect anything from you tonight that you don’t wish for.”

  “I’m nervous, Callum, I can’t lie about that, but I do want you — please?”

  A slow grin spread over his face before he lowered his head to hers and took her mouth. His lips were soft, and he was slow and gentle as he kissed her. Her passion for him began to bloom and soon overrode her fear. She relaxed into him, and he teased her lips open and dove into her mouth. His kisses and embrace became stronger and more passionate.

  She gasped as one of his arms came under her knees and he swooped her up before gently laying her back on the blanket. He wrapped them both inside of it, then held himself above her on his elbows. He ran his gaze over her face and along her body, then followed with his fingers before finally planting quick kisses across her face.

  She instinctively arched up to him, and he responded to her, his hands running down her neck to cup one breast and tease the nipple through her thin dress. Her eyes flew open in shock, only to meet his gaze of intense satisfaction. Relaxing once more, her mouth soon curled in pleasure.

  “Is all well, lass?” he asked, his voice strained.

  “Oh yes,” she responded, lifting a hand to encourage him to return to her. He did, stroking her, cupping her, loving her, causing sensation she never would have thought possible.

  He slowly, gently, slid one hand down her side and then began a soft climb up her leg to her center. When he came close to her sweet spot, she drew back and carefully watched his movements, somewhat nervous but intrigued. He pushed her skirts up ever so slowly as he inched closer toward her. He spanned his hand over her, then slowly began to rub circles around her most tender area.

  “Callum!” she gasped.

  “How is that, love?”

  “It feels… like nothing I’ve ever felt before. So, so…”

  “Good?” He softly laughed as he continued.

  He slid his fingers back down her leg to her ankle. His mouth replaced his hand, and he started to trail kisses back up her leg. This time it was his soft lips that reached her most sensitive area, and Victoria jumped at the sensations he created within her. It seemed as though she were about to leave her body and float through the air, but he brought her back, and as he circled her with his tongue something began building inside of her. Just when she thought she couldn’t take it anymore, explosive heat radiated outward from her center and she fell over the edge.

  When she finally returned to herself, she shyly peeked at Callum, rewarded with his smug smile of satisfaction as he looked up at her, before he bent and pressed a kiss on her inner thigh then lifted himself off her. He gently lifted her onto her side and began untying the dress. In one motion, he slid it over her head along with her chemise, and then looked down at her naked body, his eyes dark with desire.

  She reached up and, with trembling fingers, undid his pants and began to unbutton his shirt. Her fingers felt thick and clumsy, though he seemed to be patient at her awkward attempts. When she was done, he ripped the shirt off and chucked away his pants.

  Victoria stared up at his magnificent body, all hard, sinewy muscle. She reached up to stroke the abdominal muscles etched into his stomach before trailing her fingers down lower.

  He drew a sharp breath and pushed her back down. His knees wedged her legs apart, and he lifted himself and hovered over her.

  “What are you waiting for?” demanded Victoria.

  Holding her gaze, Callum began nudging himself inside her. He was cautious, but Victoria lifted her hips to meet his. Sharp pain, though expected, caught her unaware. When she gasped, he stilled himself, but she gripped his hips and kept moving. It was all the encouragement Callum seemed to need, and he began to thrust inside of her.

  They f
it together perfectly, and it wasn’t long before Callum found his own release, leaving Victoria with no doubt that this, at the very least, he had certainly wanted. He kissed her eyes, her cheeks, and her mouth, then lowered himself down beside her.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  “Perfectly,” she responded, lifting her hand to his cheekbone. “It did hurt a little, but I expected it. And a little pain was certainly worth what came both before and after.”

  He took her fingers in his and kissed her knuckles. “It’s been a long day, love,” he said. “Sleep now. Good night.”

  She turned her back to him and his body came around hers, his arm holding her close. Victoria wondered how, after the most tumultuous day of her entire life, she would ever find sleep. But before she knew it, her eyes drifted shut, her lips curled into a smile as she slept better than she had in months, with the stars twinkling above her and Callum’s arms wrapped tightly around her.

  26

  Victoria woke to the sounds of birds chirping. The light was too bright to open her eyes the moment she woke, which was odd — had she not closed the drapes before bed? The ground was hard underneath her, and her back was pressed up against something warm. What in the…? It almost seemed as though she was outside, but— oh. Oh, yes.

  As she finally opened her eyes to the clear blue sky above her, it all came flooding back to her. The duke. Her stepfather. The wedding. The wedding night. Callum.

  Her cheeks flushed as she relived the previous night. It had been so much more than she’d ever expected. Despite her inexperience, Callum hadn’t made her feel clumsy or awkward, but… well, he made her feel beautiful. She looked over at her sleeping husband — husband! — with a smile on her face, and suddenly found herself staring into his deep blue eyes.

  “Good morning,” he said with a lazy smile that warmed her through all over again.

  “Morning,” she said, her lips curling into an answering grin.

  “Sleep well?” he asked, sending her into what she knew must be an even deeper blush.

  “Yes, actually,” she responded, surprised at the truth of her words. “I did.”

  His fingers flitted over her stomach. “How do ye feel?”

  “I feel fine.”

  “Not sore?”

  “No, I don’t … I don’t think so.”

  “Want to try again?” he asked, his fingers playing even lower.

  “Here? In the daylight?”

  He winged one eyebrow upward.

  “I’m game if you are.”

  She swallowed hard, and answered by pressing her lips against his.

  * * *

  As they had dressed and then prepared the horse, Victoria’s stomach began to growl something fierce. She clasped her hands over it as Callum looked over and laughed. He tossed her a roll from his bag but it wasn’t enough to appease her growling stomach.

  Callum hoisted her onto the horse. “Well milady, where to?”

  “Oh, Callum, I don’t know,” Victoria said, biting her lip. Everything had happened so fast that there was really no future, no plans set in place. “Where should we go? What do we do now? In all the stories I’ve read once they reach this part it’s just happily ever after, but we don’t even have a home — at least on this side of the Atlantic. I suppose it’s either the boarding house or Aunt Sarah’s.”

  “Why don’t we try your Aunt Sarah’s first,” he suggested. “She’s probably going to be wanting a chat with ye anyway, what with your stepfather and the duke invading her living room and you sneaking off like ye did. And then the marriage part may be something to mention as well.”

  Victoria’s hands flew to her throat as her stomach twisted. “Oh, Callum, how could I have done that to her? Sarah must be worried sick, if she’s not already out looking for me. We’d best hurry.”

  “’Tis all right, lass, word travels fast around these parts. She’ll know you’re fine. Now, away we go.”

  Their ride down through the valley and into the town was short and uneventful. As they neared Qu’Appelle, however, the dream that had been the past night settled into an uncomfortable reality for Victoria. Of course, it had been a wonderful interlude and Callum had said he was interested in marriage to her, but what else was he supposed to say?

  He was the kind of man who, once he made a commitment, wouldn’t back away from it, even if it killed him. Now that it was done, he wouldn’t hurt her by telling her he had any regrets — even though, beforehand he had told her time and again that he had a life to return to and no interest in taking a wife — particularly an English wife — back with him. He might be kind and generous toward her, but he didn’t love her. And as much as her heart ached at the thought, did she really want to be married to someone who didn’t love her in return? She would cherish their night together forever, but she wouldn’t hold him to his vows. He had helped her out of this mess, but she wouldn’t make him live in it for the rest of his days.

  Victoria’s pulse raced a little faster when they neared the doctor’s office and Aunt Sarah’s house. Before Callum could even bring the horse to a halt, Sarah was flying out of the door and running down the roadway.

  “Victoria! Oh, I was so worried. But then we saw Edward and the duke being escorted to the train station by Sergeant McLaren and he informed us that all was well. What happened? Where have you been? And Callum, thank you so much for helping her. Not that Victoria cannot help herself, but it was such a relief when I heard you were together.”

  Victoria had dismounted, and she stopped Sarah’s flow of words by wrapping her in a hug. “I’m fine, Sarah, but thank you so much. I am sorry to have left you worried for so long.”

  “But what happened?”

  Callum began leading the horse down the street to the small stable next to the inn. “We’ll meet you inside, Sarah, and tell ye everything.”

  Once in the house, they arranged themselves on the sofa and the chesterfield. Charlie was with them, sitting close to Sarah in what seemed to be a gesture of support.

  Victoria and Callum looked at one another. He took her hand, noting Sarah watched them carefully, and told Victoria to go ahead.

  Victoria began the tale from the arrival of the duke and Edward and her foray out the window — “and Sarah, I must say, you should really add some trellises or something of the sort” — and involuntarily shivered as she relived their sudden arrival. She shook off what could have been her future and continued.

  Sarah let her finish the story through, though her face turned to one of shock when they came to their time in the church.

  “So… you are married, then?”

  “Aye,” Callum answered.

  “I… I suppose,” Victoria said, stumbling over the words.

  “What do you mean by that?” Sarah asked, frowning.

  “Well, I mean, we haven’t talked about… the future,” said Victoria, cursing her cowardice as she stared at her hands, carefully avoiding Callum’s intense gaze. “Callum, I know must return to Scotland, and I— well, I don’t know if Callum’s going to be wanting me to come or stay, or what the arrangement is. We didn’t quite discuss our next steps. He was helping me avoid marriage to the duke and we didn’t think far beyond that. We just acted in the moment.”

  She peeked up at Callum. His eyebrows were knit together and he looked down at her frostily, letting go of her hand to clasp his own together.

  “Victoria,” he said, his words clipped, “to me, marriage is marriage. Did I not make that clear? Or does that not suit ye? Apparently we see this quite differently.”

  “No, Callum, that’s not what I meant, I just didn’t want you to feel trapped…”

  “Now listen, the two of you—” Sarah started, but then Charlie interrupted her.

  “Sarah, perhaps we should let the two of them discuss this,” Charlie said quietly but firmly. “Why don’t we walk down to my place?”

  Sarah looked like she was about to argue, but Charlie took her hand, helped her rise,
and then steered her out the door, though she craned her neck around to look back at the two of them.

  Victoria and Callum sat in silence for a moment after their departure.

  “Callum,” Victoria began imploringly, “I didn’t mean to make you angry. I simply do not want you to feel obligated to me. You have a whole life somewhere else, and I don’t want you to give it all up for me.”

  He leaned forward, his brows furrowed low. “Victoria, did you not understand when I told you what my vows meant? Did last night not mean anything to you? Do you think I would allow us both to move on without another thought toward that?”

  “No, but…”

  “Victoria. When I give my word, I keep it. Please, do not question that. Now, we best determine where we’ll be staying for the time being. I wish I had a place of my own for us to sleep tonight, but alas, it’s the boarding house or your room here. I’d think staying with Sarah may be best but we’ll discuss it with her.”

  Victoria kept her gaze to the ground.

  “And how long do we stay here?” she asked quietly. “What follows this?”

  Callum sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. “I do not quite know yet, Victoria. I really do not know. What I do know is that I’ve made a promise to you, but I made one to my father as well. Before anything else, I must find my cousin, and then determine where we go from there.”

  “Of course,” said Victoria quietly. He’d saved her from a life she’d dreaded with all her being, and now she loved him more than she’d ever loved another. Yes, she longed to stay here in this new country. She had made a vow too, however, and she would go where he went. All she could do now was help him as she could, and wait to see what happened next.