A Pledge of Passion to the Highlander

by Maddie MacKenna

  “I did not like him at first,” she said slowly, in a voice almost a whisper. “He thought me an English spy and placed me under house arrest…”

  Her mother’s eyes widened. “Why did you not tell us this before? Sweet Lord, you have been in danger!”

  Roseann shook her head vigorously. “You don’t understand. He was just doing his duty towards his people. The bards had not informed him to expect me, you see.” She took a deep breath. “He found out the truth, and he apologized. After that, he treated me very well, indeed…” Her voice drifted away.

  Her mother gazed at her steadily. “And what does the Laird look like?”

  Roseann couldn’t help it. A flush rose up over her chest, staining her neck and face. The heat of it made her lean a little closer towards the fire. Perhaps if her mother noticed her sudden high color, she might be able to blame it on the flames.

  “He is a fine figure of a man,” she said slowly. “He is tall and broad with it. He has strength in him that I have never seen in any man before.” She paused, smiling a little. “His hair is red. He wears it a little long, to shoulder length. And he has the most amazing green eyes…”

  She stopped abruptly, embarrassed. Why had she said that?

  Her mother sipped her drink. “He sounds very fine, indeed. How old do you think he is? Has he told you?”

  Roseann shook her head. “I think that he must be past his twenties. His face no longer has the roundness of youth, yet he is not old, either.” She took a deep, ragged breath. “Why do you ask me such questions, Mother? What does it matter, any longer, what kind of man the Laird is? You and Father have both ordered that I never go to Scotland again…”

  Her mother stared into the fire. “You have changed, daughter,” she said slowly. “I noticed it, from almost the first moment I beheld you again. You have the look of a girl who is finally becoming a woman.”

  Roseann’s flush deepened. It was like her mother was peering into her very soul. How on earth could she know that she had feelings for the Laird? She had been so very careful to hide them.

  It wasn’t something that she could talk about freely with either of them. Her mother had taught her that she must save her maidenhead for her wedding night and that anything done outside of matrimony was wicked. How could she tell her mother that she had already sinned and that she no longer felt guilty about it? That she had enjoyed the Laird’s attentions and was desperately sorry that she would never see him again.

  He will never kiss me again, she thought fiercely. I will never feel his touch upon my skin anymore. He will nevermore hold me in his arms. I will still die without ever knowing the joy of being a woman fulfilled.

  Her mother sighed, draining her goblet. “We all have secrets in our innermost hearts, Roseann. I was young once, too. I know what it is to feel a young woman’s passion.”

  Astonished, she gaped at her mother. Her mouth fell open. What exactly was her mother telling her?

  “It will pass,” said her mother, a little sadly, standing up. “We cannot hold onto such things. Duty calls, as it always does.” She stared at her daughter. “You have tried to help us save Loughton Hall, my dear. But we will ask no more of you now. It is important that we stay together as a family when the worst happens. You understand that, don’t you?”

  Roseann stood up, too. Her heart was so heavy it felt like a stone in her chest.

  “I understand, Mother,” she said slowly. “I have always understood. Why do you think that I insisted on going to Scotland in the first place?” She sighed deeply. “I think that I shall lie down for a little awhile. I find that the mead so early in the day has made me rather weary.”

  Roseann stood awkwardly, watching the men pack the carriage, ready for the return journey back to Scotland. At least the rain had blessedly stopped, for the moment at least. The sky was clear, with only a few grey clouds across it.

  MacCain approached her. “What should I tell the Laird, lady?” he asked quietly. “He was most insistent that we return ye safely to him.”

  Roseann blinked back tears. “Tell him…tell him that I am sorry.” She hung her head. “I must do my duty to my family. They need me here, with them, at this hard time…”

  MacCain nodded. “I understand, lady. But the Laird is going to be sore about it, make no mistake.” He grinned. “I havenae ever seen him so taken with a lassie. He will be walkin’ around like a bear with a sore head for days after we get back without ye.”

  She felt her lip begin to quiver. If they talked much longer, she knew she would start to blubber like a baby. It wasn’t just Domhnall, she realized. She would miss so many at Coirecrag: Cormac, Mairead, even the man who stood in front of her, awkwardly holding his hat.

  I will miss Scotland, she thought sadly. It will forever haunt my dreams, just like the Laird of Greum Dubh will forever hold my heart.

  “Fare thee well,” she said in a loud voice, trying to hide her pain.

  MacCain nodded, turning back to the carriage. He mounted his horse. The carriage driver cracked the whip.

  This is it, she thought. It is really happening. I will never see him again in my life.

  The driver turned the carriage around, while the men waited on horseback to follow. Roseann couldn’t help it. Tears streamed down her face while she watched them ride out of her life forever.

  She couldn’t watch anymore. Miserably, she turned away, choking back her sobs. It was too much. She was destined to lose everything, it seemed. Her beloved home and Domhnall. The man who had awakened something deep within her. The man who had finally made her realize what it was to be a woman.

  She headed back up the path. Behind her, she heard the wheels of the carriage slowly start. She couldn’t help it. She turned back, for one last time, to see them ride out of her life forever.

  Suddenly, there was a cry behind her. She turned, astonished, as her mother flew down the path, waving her arms desperately.

  10

  Roseann gaped at her. “Mother? What is wrong?”

  But Lady Croilton didn’t even acknowledge her. She ran past, still waving her arms, shouting. The carriage driver saw her and pulled up, waiting. The men on horseback all stared at her curiously.

  Roseann walked back down the path, still stunned. Why was her mother stopping the carriage?

  “Wait,” she cried panting. “There has been a mistake.” She took a deep, ragged breath. “The lady will be returning with you to the Laird of Greum Dubh. I implore you to wait just five more minutes. Her trunk is coming down…”

  The carriage driver nodded. “As ye wish.”

  Lady Croilton turned back towards Roseann. The relief was evident in her face.

  “Mother…?” Roseann’s voice came out as a squeak. “I do not understand.”

  Her mother smiled, taking both her hands in her own. “My dearest daughter,” she said slowly. “I do not want to part with you again. Your father and I want you by our side during the dark days ahead. But I realize now that we are being selfish.”

  “Mother…?” Roseann frowned. “What do you mean?”

  Lady Croilton’s smile widened. “You are desperately unhappy, my dear. I noticed it as soon as your father said that you could not return to Scotland.” She took a deep breath. “You have put a brave face on it, trying to do your duty, as always. But I do not have to be a mind reader to realize that there might be something else calling you back to Scotland, besides the lure of coin.”

  Roseann stared at her mother. “I…I do not know what to say,” she stammered.

  “Then do not say anything at all,” said her mother. “You should have this time, while you are young, to just be yourself. Duty will call again, as it always does. Do not worry about your father and me.” She paused. “Loughton Hall will either stay in the family, or it will not. It is in the hands of God now.”

  Roseann gasped. She threw her arms around her mother, hugging her tightly. “Is it true? You and Father are agreed that I may return to Scotland?”
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  “It is true,” whispered her mother. “We will miss you. But you need to go.” She smiled. “The Laird of Greum Dubh sounds a fine man, Roseann. I hope that you will enjoy all the adventures that a young heart can bring.”

  Roseann pulled back, staring at her mother with tears in her eyes. “Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you.”

  The next moment, two servants emerged with her trunk, carrying it to the waiting carriage. Her father stepped out of the house, a minute later, walking slowly to where his wife and daughter stood on the path.

  “Godspeed, my girl,” he said, blinking back tears. “Your mother had a hard time persuading me, but I only want your happiness, when all is said and done.” He paused. “Who knows, perhaps we may find another way to keep the creditors at bay. In the meantime, I do not want you to worry.”

  For the second time, tears were streaming down Roseann’s face. She hugged her father, fiercely.

  “My lady,” called MacCain, grinning. “We should be on our way. It looks like rain will start up again, ye ken.”

  The next minute, before she knew it, she was bundled up in the carriage, waving goodbye to her parents. The carriage driver cracked the whip, and they were leaving Loughton Hall behind.

  Roseann waved until her parents were dots in the distance, then fell back into the carriage seat. It had all happened so quickly; she still couldn’t quite believe that she was actually on her way back to Scotland.

  She thought about her mother. Why had she done it? Both her parents had been so adamant, at first, that she stay with them. And her father had admitted that it was his wife who had persuaded him, in the end, to let her go back to Scotland. She had no doubt that all of this was the idea of Lady Croilton.

  She knows. My mother knows that something has happened between the Laird and me. But the strange thing is she approves. She wants me to find happiness with him. But why?

  Suddenly, she remembered the dreamy look that had come into her mother’s eyes as she sipped mead by the fire.

  I know what it is to feel a young woman’s passion.

  Roseann gasped. Her mother, who had always taught her that carnal sin was to be avoided and that she should save herself for marriage, had felt a similar passion when she had been young. She remembered it so well that she wanted her daughter to experience it, too.

  Roseann sighed deeply. Was it with her father, or had it been some other young man, who she remembered fondly? She knew that her parents loved each other; they were very close, doing almost everything together. But she had never seen them touch or kiss in an intimate way. That was to be expected between a noble couple in middle age, of course. She had never known anything different.

  She had seen the villagers frolicking, sometimes. They celebrated Beltane, being so close to the Scottish border, and often lit bonfires and headed into the hills, celebrating. She had seen young couples kissing, with passion, behind haystacks and the like. Even older married couples sometimes partook, after one too many goblets of ale. But her parents never did. They were the lord and lady of the district, after all.

  She smiled, sitting back in the carriage, as the wheels quickened down the road. Let her mother have her secrets. She was just grateful that the memory of them had been so vivid that she was now on her way back to Scotland.

  I will see him again, she thought, with a small stab of excitement. I am coming, Domhnall. I am coming.

  Domhnall glanced down impatiently, staring at the castle courtyard, from the window of the grand hall. From here, he could clearly see the gates of Coirecrag and any cart, carriage, or horse that was entering through them.

  He sighed deeply. He had work to do. Important work. He should be riding out towards the loch that bordered the Greum Dubh lands to check on the progress of some boundary issues with a local clan. There had been skirmishes there in recent weeks, and he had increased the manpower, but he needed to be on hand occasionally, to keep himself up to date with what was happening.

  Abruptly, he turned away from the window, pacing the floor. Yes, he should be at the loch, but instead, he was mooning about the castle like a lovestruck youth. Today was the day that she was coming back. Today was the day that he would see her again, after days apart.

  He sighed deeply, running a distracted hand through his hair. Roseann Gibson had somehow managed to worm her way into his dreams, and his mind, without even intending to do it. She was not a flirtatious woman; she never cast seductive glances at the men or even seemed to realize how beautiful she was. He knew, though, that she was aware of the effect that she had on him. How could she not, when he had kissed and caressed her so passionately?

  They are late, he thought anxiously. Has something happened to them on the road?

  He ran another hand through his hair, his mind swiftly going through all the things that could have occurred. He should have made sure that more men accompanied her from Scotland to England, and back again. He knew how much trouble there was in the borderlands. She had been accosted by a group of renegade English soldiers when she had first come here. And even though he trusted his men, knowing their skill and strength, an ambush could occur, and they could be overpowered.

  If anything happens to her…

  He tensed, breathing deeply. He must not let himself spiral into a panic; he needed to be alert and ready if something had happened. But still, his fists started to clench and unclench, at the very thought.

  I will kill anyone if they have harmed her. I will kill them slowly. They will wish that they had never been born by the time that I am through with them.

  He walked back to the window, gazing out again. And that was when he saw MacCain, thundering through the gates on horseback, with the carriage following at a more sedate pace.

  His heart hammered violently. Without another glance, he tore out of the hall, running down into the courtyard. The carriage had just stopped by the time he got there, catching his breath.

  He couldn’t wait another moment. Impatiently, he stepped forward, peering into the carriage with wild, searching eyes.

  She was sitting there, gathering a small bag that was sitting at the bottom of the carriage. Suddenly, she looked up, straight into his face. He almost reeled back at the first glimpse into the depths of those luminous eyes again.

  “Lady,” he murmured, his eyes devouring her. “You are late.”

  She smiled. “We were delayed starting, my Laird.” She paused. “And we had to pull over when the rain became too much, just before the Scottish border…”

  He nodded, but he was barely listening to her words. All he could see was her lips moving. Those soft, ruby red lips that only a few short days ago he had claimed for himself.

  It felt like months. No, it felt like years since he had last set eyes on her.

  He took a deep breath, as exaltation burst through him. She was back. She was here. And now, it was imperative that he finally make her his, once and for all. He simply couldn’t wait to hold her in his arms.

  She was quiet as he poured two goblets of mead from the jug. He felt his body almost humming with tension as he passed her drink to her, watching her take the first sip of the fermented wine.

  He took a large gulp from his own goblet before placing it on the table.

  “I am glad to hear that yer journey was safe,” he said slowly. “When ye were late, I couldnae stop pacing the floor, thinking of what might be happenin’…”

  She sighed. “All was well, Laird. There was no need to worry.”

  “I did worry,” he said, in a low, pained voice. “If anything had happened to ye, I dinnae ken what I would do…”

  With tears brimming in her eyes, she exhaled. “Hush. There is no need. I am here, right in front of you.”

  “Aye,” he murmured. “Ye are, my lass. And I never want ye to leave my sight again.” He paused. “Will ye come to my chambers, and I can show ye just how much I have missed ye?”

  She blushed furiously. But then, she turned, with a new fire in her eyes.r />
  “Yes,” she murmured. “Yes.”

  He felt a thrill, unlike anything he had ever felt before—a strange thrill that he was about to finally claim this woman, body, and soul.

  But suddenly, he paused. Yes, he wanted her, more than he had ever wanted a woman before. But she must be made aware of everything before that happened. Before she could consent freely. He couldn’t lie with her with the shadow of it hovering between them.

  He glanced at her anxiously. How was she going to react to what he was about to tell her?

  Slowly, he took her hand, staring into her face intently.

  “Roseann,” he said slowly. “There is somethin’ that ye must know. Somethin’ that I need to tell ye before I can finally make ye mine.”