“Ma?” the boy moaned as he stared at her, and Ava’s heart broke.
If believing that she was his mother gave him comfort, then Ava would give him that. “My sweet Ferguson,” she whispered as he quieted. “That’s my strong boy.”
“Fergi,” the father murmured. “She called him Fergi.”
Returning to the bed, Ness started trying to clean the wound the best he could. With each touch of the hot cloth, Ferguson moaned and jerked. Turning her head, Ava suppressed her own cry when she saw the sword in the flames.
Instead, she started to sing an old lullaby her nursemaid used to sing to her when she was a child. Ferguson quit moaning and stared at her, and Ness worked quickly.
Ava sang of a fairy maiden lost and dazed in the fields when a man found her. She reacted in fear for she knew how fairies were treated by men, but the man was kind and gentle and helped her find the cave that would lead her back to her home. During the journey they fell deeply in love, and instead of returning home the fairy maiden shed her immortality to become the man’s wife, and their children became the first lairds of the highland clans and strength ran through their veins.
When Ness placed the metal against the wound, the poor boy opened his mouth in a silent scream, but Ava and his father helped hold him down until the boy fell unconscious.
The door opened, and Mack walked in. “Oh, Ferguson,” he breathed. “I am so sorry. I just returned to the keep, and one of the maids told me that there was trouble. I came straight away. Robert, what happened to yer boy?”
Robert never took his eyes off Ferguson. “He’s so stubborn. I told him that he was too young to ride Coal. The stallion has yet to break, and he’s too dangerous, but Ferguson, he wants too badly to make me proud. He climbed up in the saddle when I wasna looking, and the horse bucked him off.” Robert’s voice cracked. “He fell into the fence post, and a nail scored his body.”
“’Tis not yer fault,” Mack said quietly. “Children have a mind of their own. Ness, what do ye think?”
“His shoulder is back in place and should be little more than an ache in the morning. I’ve cauterized the wound, but I am worried about infection. He’ll need that paste that the healer makes and some of the herb tea.”
Slinging his bag on the floor, Mack dug through it until he pulled out some jars. “This is from my own personal stash. It helps to keep it about since the healer travels so often. It should hold us until he returns in the morning. Ness, I cannae thank ye enough for yer help. If ye and the lady return to the keep, I will stay here through the night.”
Ness understood his place and stepped aside as Mack opened the jar and started to tend to the boy. This was his clan and his responsibility. Now that the worst was over, Ava realized that she was exhausted. Her body ached from the tension, and she wanted to just fall to the floor, but she did not want to abandon them. “I can stay if ye like.”
“No.” Robert shook his head. “Ye have a voice of an angel, but I cannae ask an unmarried woman to spend the night with us. Having the laird here will give me strength.”
“And the healer will return with Amelia in the morning,” Mack reminded her.
“Verra well. I would like to visit in the morning as well to check on his progress.” Reaching over, she squeezed Robert’s hand. “Ferguson seems like a strong boy. I imagine in a week’s time, he’ll be back to making more mischief.”
She didn’t think she could tear herself away, but Ness wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her out into the cool night. Weaving on her feet, she leaned against him. Strange feelings swirled inside of her.
“Are ye all right?” he whispered when they were alone. “I know that wasna easy to see.”
“See? All I did was was hold him. What ye did…” her voice failed her as she stared up at him. He had saved that boy’s life. There was no hesitation on his part. Just quick action, and all the while, she felt absolutely useless.
In that second, she knew that if Ness was the laird to his clan as he was to this stranger, then she wanted to be a part of his life. She wanted to watch him rebuild his land. No, she wanted to do it with him. She didn’t want to be useless anymore.
And she didn’t want to deny herself.
“What ye did was incredible.” Reaching up, she brought his face down and pressed his lips to hers.
At first, he didn’t take the initiative, and Ava had no idea what to do. She’d never been kissed, but she knew there must be more. She knew she wanted to be closer. “Ness,” she whispered against his lips. “Ye are going to have to help me.”
“Ava.” Then his hands were moving and pulling her closer to him while he also framed her face and rubbed his lips against hers. “Open yer mouth, sweetie. Let me in.”
Open her mouth? She obeyed even if she didn’t know why, and his tongue slipped in. As he stroked and teased her with his tongue, she melted against him. At his touch, her mind whirled, and she couldn’t remember why she’d resisted this in the first place. He’d been her hero from the very beginning, and she trusted him. She trusted that he was not going to make her feel small or worthless. He wanted a partner by his side, and she could have everything that she wanted with him.
His warmth curled around her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and lifted on her tiptoes to take more of him. Breaking the kiss with a groan, he pressed his lips to her neck. “I want to give ye a pass,” he whispered. “It has been a hard night, and I knew ye arena thinking straight. I want to tell ye that this willna count, but now that I have tasted ye, I doona know if I can let ye go, Ava.”
“I know what I am doing, and I doona need a pass,” Ava murmured. “Now kiss me again before I fall asleep on my feet.”
Softly, he obliged her, and when he pulled away, she regretted choosing sleep over his kisses. As she took a step forward, she nearly pitched to the ground.
“Easy, my sweet. I have ye.”
He did. Yawning, she leaned against him as they walked back to the keep. He did have her, and she wasn’t unhappy about it.
10
Ava was practically asleep by the time Ness escorted her to her chamber. Opening the door, he walked her inside. “We’re here, Ava,” he murmured. “Should I send for yer maid?”
“Nay,” she mumbled. “I just want to close my eyes.”
As they drifted shut, she started to sway, but Ness never took his arm away from her. Instead, he walked her slowly to her bed. Picking her up gently, he laid her down. After removing her shoes, he considered removing her stockings, but she was half asleep, and he didn’t feel right with the two of them alone. They weren’t married yet.
But he had won her over, and he was not even sure how he did it. All he’d done was help a child, but for some reason, that had made him a hero in her eyes. Such a small and simple thing, but to her it was everything. He'd thought her sheltered and bratty. Spoiled. He was certainly right about one of those things. How was she going to survive in a world that was fraught with danger? Especially if she threw herself into it? Ava wanted action and that would be very dangerous for her.
And he couldn’t even begin to explain how that weighed on him. Her need for adventure and to experience life seemed so frivolous to him, but one simple act of doing the right thing had astounded her. He’d won his gamble in ways that he’d never expected.
The consequences were staggering. She’d return to Fenton lands with him, she wanted to now, but she’d throw herself at every problem that she saw, and his problems weren’t just injured children. What had he been thinking?
Well, he knew what he'd been thinking. That she would stay inside the keep and plan the dinners and organize the servants. This woman would never do that. She'd want to get her hands dirty. To help.
God help him.
“I need ye, Ava. I need everything that yer cousin has promised me. My people need it, but if it were not for them, I would leave ye here where I knew that ye would be safe.”
After studying her for a moment, he felt
guilt. Blowing out the candle, he left her to sleep.
* * *
The next morning, there was a pounding on his door. Groaning, he opened his eyes. The light coming through his window was dim, and he knew that he’d only gotten a few hours of sleep. “Enter,” he called out as he pushed his blanket off and swung his feet to the edge of the bed.
The door opened, and Mack walked in. “Ness. I owe ye my gratitude fer how ye stepped in last night.”
Ness rubbed his face and glared at the McClure laird. “A start of showing yer gratitude would have been to let me sleep a few more hours.”
“Then ye would have missed yer own wedding.”
That got his attention. He knew Ava had agreed to marry him, but their wedding should still have been days away. “Right now?” he said roughly. “Seems a bit early. Must I start getting ready at this very hour?”
Mack chuckled. “’Tis much worse than that, my friend. Yer bride is requesting yer presence so she can discuss wearing yer colors at the wedding. We havena had the heart to tell her that it will take several days to make a tartan in yer colors. We will leave that up to ye.”
“She is awake? And planning a wedding? She only agreed to marry me several hours ago.”
With a frown, Mack shut the door and crossed his arms. “The whole point of having ye stay here was so ye can convince Ava to marry ye and then return with ye. Ye have done that. Why do ye look like ye are regretting that?”
“Not regretting it,” Ness said as he stood quickly and glanced out the window. The flurry of activity caught his attention, and he whipped his head around and stared. People were streaming toward the church with fabrics and flowers and items that glinted in the rising sun. “I thought ye were kidding when ye said I would miss my wedding. I doona understand.”
“So I see, but yer bride is excited and wishes to marry ye today. Is that a problem?”
“I just helped a lad,” Ness muttered. “It was late, and she was terrified. I was impressed because she held her own, but Mack, this is life in the Highlands. ’Tis a dangerous place, and she romanticized it. She thinks I am a hero.”
“Ye doona think ye are a hero?”
“I think she has no idea what she is getting herself into. She was talking about helping me rebuild my land. She thinks it will be an adventure. She has no business being anywhere near my disaster of a clan. ’Twill not be an adventure. ’Twill be a disaster. She ought to stay here. Most of my clan believe I will turn into Errol. The small portion that is plotting to overthrow me, might be a danger for her.”
“Yes, but these are things that have not changed since ye made yer little gamble. One kiss is all it took to change yer mind,” Mack said softly. “Must have been some kiss.”
It had been some kiss, and Ness wasn’t about to discuss it. Instead, he threw on his clothes and hurried out of the chamber to find Ava. On his way, he ran into Amelia who took one look at him and glared at her husband behind him. “Ye are supposed to be helping him get ready, not letting him traipse around in last night’s clothes that still have blood on them,” she accused Mack.
“I need to speak to Ava,” he said quietly. “There is no reason to rush the wedding.”
“Ye were going to be married the day after tomorrow anyway. What are ye complaining about?” With a smile, she stepped toward him and placed her hands on his shoulders. “Ness, I like ye. I like ye much more after what ye did last night, but ye are acting like a fool right now, and I doona like fools. Ye have swept Ava off her feet. Be grateful. She wants to help you with all the work that needs to be done.”
Swept Ava off her feet. Wanting to do the work. That was hardly his intentions. Driven by his need to hold Ava in his arms, he’d thought only of winning. Now that he’d won, he could only think of the destruction that lay ahead of her. He’d thought her spoiled and bratty but never so warm-hearted or bloody naive. If she goes with him with her head filled with romance and heroics, she’d be shattered.
“What happened last night was hard on her. So hard on her that it made her change her entire mind about her future,” he said quietly. “I am still struggling to undo the damage that Fenton did. My clan is disloyal and filled with fear. I have no right to bring someone like Ava with me. I know that now. She ought to stay here after the wedding. I need ye to convince her.”
Amelia looked at him steadily and shook her head. “Ness, no one can convince Ava of anything. She may be naive about the world, but she is stubborn about what she wants, and she wants to go home with her husband. I doona think there is anything any of us can say to change her mind. If ye leave her here, she will simply find a way to follow ye and get herself into even more trouble. Doona fear, though. Ye should give her more credit. I think she will surprise ye. Go bathe and change. I must see to Ava, but ye are to be wed at noon, and then we will have a feast to celebrate!”
With a trace of amusement, Ness realized he’d been dismissed. He wanted to hope that Amelia was right, but he thought about the problems in his clan.The frustration of the people and their attitude. It wasn’t something that Ava could sing to soothe. If she threw her heart into helping him, her hope would waste away to nothing by the end of the month.
It could crush her spirit.
Ava wore midnight blue dress with gold ribbon. She was astonishing. It was the kind of dress that the McClures would be talking about all year. Ava knew it was a ridiculous expenditure. She’d never have an occasion to wear such a dress again, but Ness had only seen her in rags and trousers, and she wanted to show him a different side of her. The side that was pretty and feminine. She wanted this image in his head when he took her to bed tonight.
The thought sent butterflies to her stomach. She’d accidentally come across more than one set of servants during their friskier moments and learned a little bit about what happened between a woman and a man. Grace added a few more clinical details, so she knew what to expect tonight, and after the way that kiss made her toes curl and left her wanting more, even in her exhausted state, she was looking forward to tonight.
What she would lack in inexperience, she would make up for with this dress. Afterward, she’d planned to leave it with Amelia so other women could have use of it.
The crowd had already gathered outside the church. It looked like the McClures valued wedding ceremonies, which made sense. Their laird and lady were wed out of love and encouraged others to do the same, and they believed in celebrating that love. A path was marked by unwed girls, married matrons, and crones holding up ribbon and a river of flower petals leading to her groom. It was so simple and so moving.
Father Michaels stood at the door with a wide grin on his face. As she was getting ready, Ava learned that the father was a romantic and adored weddings. He was an elderly man who leaned heavily on a walking stick while he held a large round black stone on his hand.
As she walked toward him, she only had eyes for Ness. He didn’t wear the same smile as the father or even look triumphant that he’d won his bet. Instead, there was a shadow over his face and something that looked like regret in his eyes.
The nervous butterflies died away, and in its place a feeling as hard as the stone the priest held in his hand.
Last night had changed her whole perspective of Ness. Maybe their marriage would be the adventures and challenges she was looking for! Perhaps it had done the same for him, but not in the way that she’d imagined.
Finally, she reached him and took her place by his side. “Blessings on this special day,” Michaels began as he address this crowd. “For this is the day that we bind two souls together while on this earth and in the afterlife, bind them with love and hope of a marriage filled with joy. Today we stand witness to the union of the Fenton clan and the kin of our beloved King. Please place your hand on the oathing stone.”
Ava reached out and touched it without any hesitation, and Ness slowly placed his hand above hers. There was a warmth in his touch, a strange current of energy that made both of them widen their eyes. �
�Ava,” the father said gently.
“Upon this oathing stone, I swear my love, fidelity, obedience, respect, and loyalty to ye, Ness Fenton, laird of the Fentons, and to the clan that stands at yer side in spirit,” she said softly.
“And ye, Ness?”
There was a moment of silence that seemed to stretch into an eternity, and Ava’s mouth dried. He’d changed his mind. He no longer wanted to marry. Her hope started to crack before he finally opened his mouth. “Upon this oathing stone, I swear my love, fidelity, protection, respect, and loyalty to ye, Ava and to yer kin that stands at yer side in spirit,” he said finally.
Michaels wound a ribbon around their wrists. “With this handfasting, I bind ye to this oathing stone where ye have sworn before God so that he will bless ye.” Taking the walking stick, he slowly moved in a circle as he dragged the stick with him. “In this circle, I bind ye to each other so that God will look upon yer marriage with favor and bless ye with fruitfulness.”
Returning, he smiled. “Ye may seal yer union with a kiss.”
Ness leaned down and, to Ava’s disappointment, pecked her gently on the lips. She supposed it was the proper thing to do with a large crowd of people cheering them on, but when she pulled back, she didn’t see a trace of the man she’d witnessed last night in Ness’s face.
11
The feast and celebrations began right after the wedding and went well past sundown, and Ava made sure that she was right in the middle of everything. She ate and danced and drank and talked until her legs threatened to give out. Everyone seemed delighted with her, and she thrived on the exhilaration coursing through her. If she had known that a wedding would be this fun, she might never have decided to run in the first place.
Highlander's Untamed Lass (Highlander's Seductive Lasses Book 3) Page 7