by Fiona Faris
Rebecca furrowed her brow theatrically as if she had never heard anything so ridiculous. “Oh, we’re marrit? Are ye certain?”
Chris rolled his eyes. “Not this again?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Are my consairns a nuisance to ye?” she clutched some nonexistent pearls at her neck, widening her eyes at Chris.
He sighed tiredly. “I’ll be down in the dining room if you care to join me.” he crossed to the door and opened it, throwing her a look over his shoulder before closing it behind him. Rebecca crossed the room quickly and put a chair against the door. She had been feeling unclean for a while and now that she was alone, she wasn’t about to pass up the opportunity to wash herself. She divested herself of all clothes, rinsing out her shift in the water before washing herself with it, from head to toe, grateful that the inn provided soap. She was also grateful for the fire in the grate because she could spread herself on the rug in front of it to dry off, while she hung her shift up to do the same. It was the most peaceful she had felt since opening her eyes and finding herself in a cell, trapped in her own home.
She let the tears fall from her eyes, thinking forlornly of her brother and how guilty he would feel about not saving her in time. “It’s not your fault...it’s not,” she whispered wetly into the air as her tears trailed across her dripping nose and into her open mouth. Her body felt weak with hopelessness and she wallowed in it until she was completely dry.
Then she got to her feet, crossing to the wash basin to wash off the tears and snot from her face. She dried her face and took a deep breath, thrusting away the hopelessness and clothing herself in a mantle of unflappability even as she put her clothes back on. Her stomach rumbled and she resolved to feed herself because staying hungry helped no one and made her easier to manipulate. She reached for the doorknob, looking back at the room to see if any evidence of her breakdown remained.
Apart from a small puddle by the washstand, everything was as the brigand had left it. She turned, walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. She took her time walking down the stairs, wondering if she could just beg some soup and bread from the kitchens and go back to her rooms. As she was contemplating walking past the dining hall where her so-called husband was busy holding court, Chris caught sight of her.
“Oh Rebecca, you finally came down. Wonderful. I got the lovely Meredith to keep a plate warm for you.”
Meredith, who turned out to be the inn keeper’s wife, proudly walked in a few minutes later, hoisting a tray in front of her and beaming at Rebecca. “Your husband was so thoughtful of you! He had me make you one of my famous cherry pies because he said your favorite food is pie! Now isn’t that just the sweetest?” she asked as she put the tray down in front of Rebecca and then removed the covering with flourish to reveal the promised cherry pie, a bowl of vegetables and a cup of coffee.
Rebecca inhaled deeply and then picked up the spoon, not paying attention to the conversation around her. Not until someone jostled her and she looked up to see a woman dressed in what was clearly a very slovenly manner, hanging off Chris’ arm like she owned him. She narrowed her eyes at the girl, who paid her no mind. Chris was also looking away, seemingly oblivious to her annoyance. His hand was firmly curled around the woman’s behind and she glared at it, as if just the ire of her gaze would move his hand away or else set fire to it. She raised her eyes to find Chis watching her with amusement.
“Is there anything wrong?” he asked.
She ground her teeth together so as not say a word.
“Rebecca?” he prompted again, leaning in towards her.
She turned her head away, focusing on her food. She heard Chris make a sound of contempt and turn his attention to the lass on his lap. Rebecca picked up the knife resting beside her plate and gripped it very hard. She closed her eyes, feeling the anger pulse in her veins.
Why do I even care?
She couldn’t answer that question with any truthfulness and it annoyed her greatly. Chris deserved not one ounce of her energy or emotion. He could do whatever he wanted with whomever. Men always did, anyway. She turned away, resolving not to pay him any more mind, but the giggling from the girl and the fidgeting and shuffling...it was too loud to ignore.
She had a right to feel annoyed because he had announced to everyone that they were newlyweds and now he had a serving girl on his lap like he was a bachelor unencumbered. It was disrespectful. That was why she was annoyed.
Nodding resolutely to herself, glad to have solved that mystery, she turned back to her cherry pie, stabbing at it with her knife and separating off a piece. She stuffed it into her mouth, grinding it down to mush before swallowing. Grabbing at her coffee, she took loudly slurped down some before spooning her vegetables and stuffing them into her mouth. She crunched loudly at them as Chris whispered something else into the girl’s ear, making her giggle, again. Rebecca stabbed at her pie.
Turning in for the night was awkward for both of them as Rebecca was still not speaking to Chris. She got ready silently. Without a change of clothes, all she had to sleep in was a shift. She took off her gown and shook it to clear the dust from it and then washed her face and hands in the washbasin. Then she climbed into bed and tucked the blankets all around her. Chris came in and stood at the foot of the bed, just watching her lie there, pretending to sleep. He took his breeches off, and then his shirt, climbing naked into bed. He reached out, placing his hand on Rebecca’s shoulder.
She violently shook it off.
“Rebecca…we spoke about this.”
“Spoke about what?” she sat up in bed, turning to face him, her face gone red with annoyance. “Ye embarrassing me in front of the public? I dinna remember that talk.”
“Embarrassing you? When did I do that?” Chris sat up too, his face like thunder. “I have tried my best to treat you well but you just keep giving me a difficult time.”
“Ha!” Rebecca scoffed. “Ye know nothing about treating people well.”
Chris sneered, flicking a finger in disgust at her. “Oh I see, because you’re the expert eh? Teach me then.”
“If your maither failed to teach you manners I’m no’ the one who’s gang to take it up. She prob’ly tried and failed miserably, ye wretch.”
Chris hand was up and he almost swung at her but then froze as she lifted a hand to shield her face. He sneered again, turning away and jerkily divesting himself of clothing. “You should learn to watch your mouth girlie. You’re in England now, you have to leave your barbarian ways behind in Scotland.”
He stumbled as a weight landed on his back and before he knew it she was hitting him repeatedly over the head with her fist. “Me? A barbarian? How dare ye? Ye are the worst thing-“
He lunged backwards, dropping her on the bed beneath him and landing on top of her. Quick as a snake he turned around and captured her wrists, pinning them above her on the headboard. All she could do was wheeze for a while, the breath completely knocked from her body.
“Now girlie, is that any way to treat your husband?” getting the upper hand had completely restored Chris’ mood, “I don’t think so. You are going to learn today.” He swooped down and covered her lips with his, the kissing bruising and punishing. Rebecca squirmed beneath him, trying to buck him off but he had a strong hold on her. Suddenly her mouth softened, yielded and he made a sound of satisfaction as his tongue plunged inside. He was not expecting the searing pain as she bit his tongue and jerked backwards, his hold on her wrists momentarily loosening.
That was all she needed to break free from him, squirming out from underneath him while pushing him away. She darted to the door where her gown was hanging on a hook but he was on her before she could do more than grab it.
He wrapped his fingers around her arm, breath coming like bellows. “I’m sorry,” he wheezed but his grip was unrelenting, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“No ye shouldna.”
“I won’t do it again. Just…come to bed.”
She loo
ked at him over her shoulder, her eyes narrowed with suspicion. “I’m sorry. I promise you, you’re safe with me.”
She continued to watch him closely for another few minutes before she acceded to be led to the bed. He sat her down and she looked up to see that his mouth was bleeding. She gasped, looking away but refrained from apologizing. She did not want him to think she was sorry for defending herself.
“How about this yeah? You don’t attack me and I won’t attack you. Do we have a bargain?”
She looked up at him with an amused smile, thrusting out her hand to be shaken. “Aye. We have a bargain.”
They shook on it, eyes stuck on each other, before Rebecca got slowly back under the clean but threadbare blankets. It was a cold night and she could not help shivering but stiffened when she felt Chris slide into bed behind her. He moved closer to her and she froze even further.
“I just want to keep you warm. That’s all.” He said snaking an arm about her waist. She waited, fists clenched, to see if he would do anything else but he simply lay quietly along her back, his warmth a welcome addition to her own. Gradually, exhaustion won over anxiety and her eyes were drifting closed.
She even went so far as to relax and fall asleep.
Her eyes popped open the next morning and she looked around her in alarm, not knowing where she was or what she was doing there. The warm length behind her and the mustiness in the air alerted her both to the fact that she wasn’t alone and reminded her where exactly she was. She wiggled, trying to move away from Chris but he grumbled deep in his throat, his hand tightening around her waist. His hips jerked forward and he made another sound in his throat, deeper, and needier than the other one. She stilled, trying to think of how to extract herself without waking him. The bed was wedged against the wall and his body lay between her and the floor. She would either have to wake him up or climb over him.
Slowly, she began to squirm sideways, trying to get out from under his arm. Every time she moved a little he made little protesting sounds and then she would freeze, waiting for him to go back to sleep. It was a slow progression before she could get out from under him, squeezing herself sideways against the wall before getting to her knees and throwing one leg over him, trying not to touch him.
So she was very shocked when he turned onto his back and pulled her down on top of him. “Where you goin?” he murmured into her ear, dragon breath hot and fetid against her skin. She shivered before she could stop herself, trying to lift herself a little so that his manhood was not lying flush between her legs. His hand tightened around her and he groaned in protest as she tried to move.
“I…need tae use the cludgie,” she said.
“Mmm,” he moaned before arching upward and rubbing himself against her, once and then again. He felt as hard and hot as an iron rod and she could not help how her hips jerked in reaction.
“You’re sure you need to go right now?” he asked, his voice wrecked.
“Yes!” she jerked herself out of his grip, tripping as she tried to walk away from him before she quite had her balance. Even worse than his morning wood was the sprouting wetness between her legs.
I don’t want this!
Chapter Ten
They resumed their journey to Dun Alba in silence.
“May I ask ye something?” Rebecca ventured just as the sun was peaking in the sky. She was starting to feel hunger pangs as breakfast had been hours ago, consisting of bannocks and ale.
“Of course. You may ask me anything.”
She stared suspiciously at him after that declaration but he seemed sincere. “Alright. I wanted tae ken why we are going back to Dun Alba. Surely ye ken that that is the first place my brother will look for me?”
“Of course I know. I want him to find us. You and me are fait accompli. What can he do about it now?”
He sounded way too smug for Rebecca’s liking. “He can kill ye.”
“And then what? You’re already ruined-”
“No. I shall be a widow. Perfectly respectable.”
Chris snorted. “Well…maybe he kills me. Or maybe I kill him. We shall just have to see.”
Rebecca gave him a sharp look. “Alright then, if no’ killing, then what? He will never accept ye as kin.”
“You give up too easily. We haven’t even tried. Why, he might find that I make excellent kin.”
Rebecca just shook her head slowly. In truth she was dreading any meeting between her brother and this man who was now her husband. She saw no way for it to go well. However, she did not know if she wanted that meeting to be delayed for as long as possible or to happen as fast as possible. She was inclined to think that a delay might be better for cooler heads to prevail but it would also give Chris sufficient time to entrench himself in their lives.
She wished there was somebody she could discuss matters with who could give her good advice. They would be in Dun Alba by evening if they continued at their current rate of travel. It would be good to be home but also stressful. She did not know how she would face the people who had been under her care.
“Are my men alive?” she was ashamed that it had taken her this long to ask.
“Very much so. In fact, we set them free.”
“What does that mean? What did ye do wi’ them?”
“Nothing. I promise you. They are alive and well. But they are no longer at Dun Alba so don’t think for a minute that you can use them against me.”
Rebecca’s heart quickened with fear at the thought of what the brigands might have done with Alexander’s men. Bad enough that Chris had married her, if he had harmed her brother’s comrades in any way, there was only one way their encounter would end; death.
That thought stopped her short. If it had occurred to her, then very likely, it had occurred to Chris as well. He was likely telling the truth that he had not killed them. There was still a whole world of pain that he could have put them through instead, and so she did not relax. However, being in pain was definitely better than dead.
“Ye assure me that they are alright?” she pressed.
“I do.”
Rebecca nodded, deciding to shelve that conversation for now. No doubt she would learn more once they arrived. Her stomach rumbled and she blushed in embarrassment.
“Are you hungry?” Chris was bringing his horse to a stop even as he asked the question and Rebecca did the same although she wondered why they were stopping. “I have some provisions in my bags,” he answered her unasked question, “This is as good a spot as any to partake.”
He alighted from his horse and tied it to a tree and so she followed his example. They sat beneath the tree as Chris spread out a not inconsiderable amount of food. Bottles of ale from the inn and bread stuffed with cheese and pickle. There was even a flagon of stew. An embarrassment of riches indeed.
“When did you get all this?” she asked.
“I asked the innkeeper’s wife to pack it for us yesterday. You were somewhere sulking at the time and that’s probably why you didn’t know.”
She made a face at him and turned her attention to her food. They ate in silence, with Chris stealing glances at her now and then. She wondered why but refrained from asking, choosing to focus on food and assuaging her hunger. After the meal, she packed up the leftovers and placed them back in his bag before getting up on her horse, ready to continue. Chris went off deeper into the glen beside the road and she watched him go, wondering for a moment whether she should try and escape.
But there was nowhere to go really that she could escape him now. She was his wife, by law, which meant that he owned her. Even if she went to her brother for help, nothing could stop Chris from coming to claim her. Lord help her if she was with child…
The thought of bringing a child into this mess had her paling. There really seemed no end to the ways her situation could get worse!
Before she could spiral downward into further megrims, he was striding out of the glen and getting smoothly on his horse with a vague smile in her direction.
“Good girl. I thought I might have to chase you down,” he commented as he spurred his horse into a trot. She said nothing, still caught up in her horrifying fantasies of spitting out child after child, every one of them a spitting image of their da.
He looked over at her with narrowed eyes, trying to discern her thoughts but she kept her face turned away, not wanting him to witness her despair.
“Is everything alright?” he asked eventually as she continued to bite her lip to keep from crying.
She shook her head.
“What’s the matter?”
She glared at him, with narrowed eyes. “What d’ye think?”
An eyebrow rose in surprise as hazel eyes went from concerned to sardonic. “It is my experience that life very rarely goes the way we want. The sooner you can accept your current circumstances, the happier you’ll be. We plan and God laughs, right?”