by Lily Harlem
Oh, yeah. They’ve got it bad.
“My stomach thinks my throat’s been cut,” Kendal said gruffly as he took a seat at the table.
Reid chuckled. “This isn’t an inn, you ken.”
“I ken that.” He dragged in his chair, the legs scraping on the hard floor.
“There’s bread and honey, and milk in that jug.” Moira stepped away from Reid and up to the inglenook. She picked up an egg. “And these have just been laid, couldn’t be fresher.”
“Aye, that’ll do.” He nodded and helped himself to milk.
Reid sat opposite and tore a chunk of bread. He gave Kendal a look that said he wasn’t quite sure what was going on.
Kendal frowned. They’d have to talk in private about what Reid’s intentions were with Lady Moira Campbell.
* * *
That private talk came late morning. Kendal was in the stable with Reid, brushing the horses down. They were two strong cobs, quite the prize for killing Red Coats, and they certainly appeared happy with the new arrangement of belonging to Scotsmen.
“So what’s the story with Lady Campbell?” Kendal asked.
“What do you mean?” Reid didn’t pause in dragging a brush over his steed’s hindquarters.
“There’s something between you. I’m not an imbecile.”
“No one said you were.” Reid chuckled.
“And that’s just maddening.” Kendal frowned. “That laugh of yours. What’s funny?”
“Naught, naught,” Reid said. “Only you’re right, there is something. She’s…”
“Beautiful.”
Reid paused, stopped what he was doing and looked at him. “Aye. Very.”
“I can see it, too.”
“You want her?”
“I wouldn’t have male blood in my veins if I didn’t.” Kendal wasn’t about to deny his attraction to the sexy widow.
Reid tipped his head and bit on his bottom lip. A look Kendal always associated with his friend slipping into deep thought.
“I like that you like her,” Reid said eventually.
“What does that mean?” Kendal laughed.
“It will make it easier, going forward.”
“Go on.”
“A woman we both appreciate will make for an easy situation in the future.” He paused. “I want to be with her… marry her.”
“Marry her?” Kendal was surprised, it was the first time Reid had spoken of marrying a woman. And one he’d only just met too.
“I know it’s fast, but I’ve thought about it. She has a good head on her shoulders, laughs easily, and isn’t afraid to work. Not only that, she’s one of us.”
“I agree.” Kendal started on his horse’s tail, which was tangled and contained several leaves and a heap of sticky buds. “Though she has property and land. A home she’s lived in for years. How will you persuade her to leave it?”
“If she becomes my wife, she will do as I instruct.” Reid’s tone was firm. “And if she doesn’t she’ll be over my lap and feel the sting of my palm.”
“I don’t doubt that.”
“I’ll have her obedience, and I’ll have her enjoying giving it.”
Oh, for the love of God. Lady Moira Campbell would be divine on her knees, doing Reid’s bidding, obeying him. He could imagine her now, her soft lips parted, the scent of her arousal, the cries of her pleasure and her pain.
He shifted to the opposite side of the horse to hide the growing wedge of flesh beneath his kilt. Damn it. Lady Moira Campbell would be glorious on her knees doing his bidding. He wanted to see her submit, he wanted to look into her eyes as she gave up the struggle to dispute who was in charge, and then he wanted to see her come. Come so hard she’d cry out in pleasure, cry out his name… and Reid’s.
“Could we really do it?” he asked quietly.
“Do what?” Reid was gently brushing his horse’s face.
“Share her.”
Reid stopped. “Share her? Moira?”
“I don’t know her as well as you, my friend, but what I do know I like. I know my feelings for her will grow as yours have.” He tipped his chin. “If we’re intending to be here for any length of time, with her, it will be hard to leave, for both of us.”
Reid was quiet, then, “We’ve always shared everything.”
“So why not a woman?”
“It might be too much for her.”
“She’s a strong woman, one of gumption. Perhaps it will take two men to control her. We don’t know how feisty she’ll be once out of her environment.”
“True. Though she does appear to have been well disciplined by her husband, God rest his soul.”
“He’s been gone sometime. I’m sure she’s become used to breaking the rules he had for her.”
“Through necessity. For survival.”
“But that’s no longer the case.” Kendal adjusted his sporran. “We’re here now. We’ve found her.”
“Aye, we have that.” Reid glanced at the doorway. Sunlight was pouring in. “Someone’s here.”
“What? Who?”
“I don’t ken.” He set down his brush and sidled to the doorway so he could peek out at the cobbles.
Kendal did the same.
Walking across the courtyard was an elderly woman. She had a bulging sack strapped to her back.
Kendal frowned at Reid.
Reid shrugged. It was clear he hadn’t seen her before.
The woman shuffled over the cobbles slowly and with a stoop. She stared at the ground as though familiar with her surroundings, not needing to take them in.
After heading up the four main steps to the house, she disappeared through the open door.
Kendal jerked his head. “Come on.”
“Aye.”
Swiftly they crossed the yard, their footsteps silent. After slipping into the darkened, empty hallway, they halted.
“Emily! What are you doing here? It’s so good to see you,” Moira’s voice came from the kitchen.
“Hello, m’lady. I’ve returned with the mending and the curtains.”
“That was so quick. You must have worked hard and fast.”
“I didn’t want to keep you waiting, m’lady.”
“I appreciate it. Here, let me take that from you.”
A slight scuffle and a thump suggested the sack had been placed on the floor or the table.
“Would you like a drink?” Moira asked.
“No, m’lady, I need to get back. One of the bairns is sick.”
“Oh, dear. You shouldn’t have come. The curtains were not urgent.” There was a pause. “Do you need more work? More mending.”
“It doesn’t sit well with me to have been paid and not having anything to do.”
“But these could have taken you a month.”
“Aye, but they didn’t. The evenings are long and light thanks to God’s beautiful spring.”
“And it’s been warm.”
There was a movement in the kitchen. Kendal slunk backward until he realized it was just a cupboard being opened. “I have these napkins, they belonged to the master’s mother, they’re in need of repair and I’m afraid it’s a rather delicate job.”
“Aye, I can see that.”
“I’d hate to throw them out. Angus always liked to use them on Sundays.”
“I remember, m’lady. And I’ll do my best to fix them.” There was a pause. “You’ve made a lot of food… for yourself.”
“I… er… yes.”
“Pie, bread, broth, eggs, and is that ale you’ve been drinking? Cups and cups of it by the looks of it and…”
“Emily.”
“I’m sorry, m’lady. I couldn’t help notice. I beg your pardon.” She hesitated. “But it looks as if you’ve been feeding strapping big men, giving them refreshments too.”
There was a pause, then Moira sighed. “Can you keep a secret?”
Kendal’s heart lurched. Surely she wasn’t going to give them up to this old woman.
“M�
�lady, I’m forever in your service. You are my mistress.”
“In that case you guessed right. I have two men staying with me. Supporters of the cause. One was injured after a scuffle with Red Coats.”
“And you tended him?”
“Aye, he was in a bad way but gaining strength each day. His friend is also here.”
“Where, m’lady?”
“At the moment I believe they’re in the stables, tending the horses they took from the English.”
Kendal gritted his teeth so hard he feared for their survival. He looked at Reid who was frowning with his fists clenched.
They’d been given up. Their whereabouts were now known. If this old woman opened her mouth, the information could soon land in the wrong hands and they’d have half the English army galloping through that damn archway.
Which would endanger not just them, but Moira too.
“Damn it,” Reid muttered.
“What can we do?” Kendal shook his head. Killing the old woman wasn’t an option. In fact it was an abhorrent idea.
“But you mustn’t tell anyone,” Moira was saying. “The English have been sniffing around, there’s likely to be a bounty on each of their heads.”
“I understand. I won’t utter a word.”
“Thank you, and please, at least have a glass of water before you walk back to the village. You’ll be parched otherwise.”
Kendal stepped into the drawing room while the old woman left the kitchen via the hallway. It was a big room with a large inglenook and the hearth ready for lighting. Above it sat a painting of a stag, and before it a thick sheepskin rug. A long low seat with padded cushions was a little frayed on the arms, but big enough to fit four or five people.
“We need to go and speak to her,” Reid said. “Now.”
“I agree.” A quick glance out of the front door told him the old woman, Emily, had left.
“Hey,” Reid said, stepping into the kitchen.
Moira looked up from stirring a pot on the stove. She smiled at him, her gaze soft and adoring.
Kendal shut the heavy door, trapping them in the kitchen. Anger burned inside him but he kept it simmering rather than allowing it to become a furnace. He had no intention of losing control.
“What’s the matter?” Moira said, glancing at him.
“You just had a visitor,” Kendal said, folding his arms.
“Aye, Emily. She worked for me for many years.”
He nodded. “A trusted friend.”
“Aye, you could say that.”
Reid stepped close, harnessing her attention. He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Do you remember we had a conversation about keeping our presence here a secret?”
“I… I…” Her attention flicked from Reid to Kendal to Reid again. “Yes, I do.” She swallowed and abandoned the spoon in the pot.
“So why did you do it?” Reid asked.
“Do what?”
“You ken what I’m talking about.”
“I don’t.”
“Aye, you do.” Reid stepped up to the table. He began to clear a space, setting mugs and bowls to one side.
“We heard,” Reid said. “We heard you telling her we were here. That you were housing wanted men.”
“But I didn’t mean any harm.” Her tone was tense. “And she can be trusted. She’s been here many times when supporters of the cause were meeting here. McTavish himself even.”
“That might be the case.”
Kendal could hear the frustration in Reid’s tone. He knew as well as he did they’d have to move on now. And it was all because Moira had disobeyed them. She’d done what she’d been told not to.
“But if she tells one other soul, one soul who cannot be trusted, or doesn’t realize the information is sensitive, we’ll be dead men, and you too, Lady Campbell, for sheltering us.”
She swallowed and knotted her fingers together. She glanced at the floor.
Good. She knows she’s done wrong.
“There’s only one thing for it.” Kendal gestured to the table, knowing what had to be done and not afraid to do it. “Bend over, now.”
“What? I don’t ken what you mean?” Her eyes widened.
“I think you do,” Reid said. “Your husband would have spanked you for such a grave misdemeanour, wouldn’t he?”
“Well, aye, probably.” She stepped backward, toward the window. “But he is not here.”
“So we will do the job for him,” Kendal said. And she wasn’t going to get out of it, he’d make sure of it. Besides seeing her ass would please him, a lot. Seeing it reddened too, now that would brighten an otherwise dull day.
“No, no, you’re not my bloody husband.” Her cheeks reddened.
“We’re here in his place. He would thank us for this.” Reid grabbed her wrists and tugged her close. “And an extra swat for bad language.”
Kendal pressed his lips together to hold in a smile. Reid hated bad language and Moira would certainly feel Reid’s palms on her rump if she forgot that going forward.
She flattened her hands on Reid’s chest and looked up at him. “No.”
The defiance in her eyes had Kendal’s cock stirring. She was a feisty one, that was for sure—a woman with strength and a sense of independence. He liked that, a lot. Seeing her take a punishment, submit, would be all the sweeter because of it.
“Aye. It has to be done.” With little effort Reid stepped Moira up to the table.
But once there she wriggled to free herself from his grip. “Get off me.” She attempted to peel his fingers from her arm.
“Stop that.” Kendal also reached for her. It was time to get this underway. No more complaining and protesting. “Objecting will earn you extra swats of my hand.”
“You can’t do this. You’re guests in this house.”
“We are more than that,” Reid said. “And you ken it.”
She was breathing fast. “I demand you”
“We demand your obedience.” Kendal tipped her slight body forward, not roughly but enough to know she’d bend double with her ass offered up.
She cried out, a sound that contained anger, humiliation, and frustration.
“You’ll ken from this point on,” Kendal said, a bolt of excitement going through him as he looked at her offered ass. “That we’re serious about you following our instructions, and we’re serious about you.”
Chapter Nine
Moira’s heart was racing and her skin prickled with heat. Mortification was rushing through her veins. The indignity of being spread over the table by two men, neither of whom she was wed to, was too much.
And they want to spank me?
“Get the hell off. You have no right.” She tried to straighten, but Kendal had his hand set in the centre of her back, keeping her still and in place.
She knew it was Kendal because Reid was now on the opposite side of the table. He had his arms crossed, biceps bulging, and his attention was set firmly on her face.
He was set in to watch the show and would not be her rescuer; that much was clear.
And there was something even more shameful at having Kendal deliver a spanking. She barely knew him.
“I will pay you back for this,” she said, twisting her head left and right.
“That’s not how it works, and you ken that.”
She was shifted forward, fast, as her skirts were drawn up.
“Oh, please… no.” Not her bare ass. Not that.
“You wear such thick skirts, Moira, you would not feel my hand over all of this fabric.”
Cool air washed over her naked buttocks.
“And is it my problem you chose not to wear panties?” He chuckled.
“Oh…” She stared up at Reid as Kendal rubbed over first her left then her right ass cheek.
“I don’t think she wears panties very often,” Reid said. “For future reference, my friend.”
“Good to ken.”
“Future!” she shouted. “There is no future. I want
you both to leave.”
“You will get your wish, after this.” A hard swat hit down on the buttock nearest to the side he stood.
She jerked forward and yelped.
“And what’s more,” Kendal said, pinning her harder to the table. “You’ll be coming with us.”
“What? I… ouch!”
Another spank landed hard. The opposite buttock this time. It had male muscle behind it and the heat spread fast.
“Keep still,” he said.
She hadn’t noticed she’d been scrabbling to escape.
“I mean it. Keep still or I’ll tie you down.”
He wouldn’t.
Another set of hard thwacks rained down, covering each ass cheek and the tops of her thighs. She arched her back, clawed the table top, and went up onto her toes.
“Ah, you’re already turning such a pretty rosy shade,” Kendal said, pausing and rubbing his palms over her buttocks again. “You take punishment well.”
“That’s it, no more.” She squeezed her eyes closed. They were moist and a tear trickled from her left one.
“You’re doing well, not long to go.”
The air moved from her right buttock seconds before his firm swat connected with her flesh. She jerked forward as white-hot heat shot through her flesh.
“Keep still.” Reid was in front of her, holding her hands. “Don’t make him tie you down.”
“But… oh, it hurts.”
“That’s the idea. Next time you’ll think twice about disobeying us.”
“Next time it will be the birch,” Kendal said.
“Oh, God,” she moaned. She hated the birch. It didn’t take much muscle behind it to make it bite like a wolfhound.
The spanking continued. Kendal had lied, it wasn’t nearly over. He worked her flesh, making sure no part of her ass was unmarked. She was a writhing mass of searing heat and glad of Reid’s hold on her for she couldn’t keep still. This punishment was more severe than any of Angus’s. She knew she’d done wrong, she really did, but such harsh treatment. Had she been so bad?
Eventually the slaps slowed, to one every breath or two, as if he were ensuring she stayed in a state of unease, not quite knowing if it was over.
“No more,” she sobbed, realizing tears were coming freely.
“That’s it, you’ve done it,” Reid said, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. “You’ve learned your lesson.”