by Wine, Mary
*
Hamish let out a roar. He crumpled the paper in his hand and threw it away. “He wed that Lindsey bitch!”
“I am grateful I was no’ there to witness it.” Rory sat on the floor.
It was a rough cottage they’d taken refuge in. One side of the roof allowed the rain in, but the rest of it was sound enough. The remains of the last occupant had been just a pile of bones when they’d arrived, so there wouldn’t be anyone protesting them living there.
None of the inns in the village had been willing to take them once word reached them of their Mackenzie colors being stripped away. But that didn’t mean they didn’t have friends. By midday, there were plenty of Mackenzies clustered inside the cottage. Their brooding filled Hamish with hope.
“They flew the sheet this morning,” one man recounted. “Rumor is, the laird is going to go begging Laird Lindsey to settle accounts.”
There was another round of grumbling.
“We need a strategy.” Hamish held up his hand. “A plan.”
The men looked to him. Hamish knew it was his chance to unseat Buchanan at last. Where bloodline had failed him, wit just might make the difference. In the Highlands, men followed the victor.
Hamish looked at the men. “I’m going to use that Lindsey bitch to put an end to Buchanan.”
Smiles curved the lips of those watching. Hamish felt the challenge warming his blood. The chill in the air added fuel to his determination. Aye, Buchanan had made a fatal error in taking the woman to his bed. An error Hamish would be happy to use to his advantage.
*
“Enough of yer sour mood, Innis.” It was Orla who scolded her. The woman was second in charge of the kitchens. “Ye can go see to the chicken nests, and do nae come back inside until ye have stopped pouting.”
The sun was a scarlet ribbon on the horizon when Innis stepped outside. She enjoyed the fresh air but was smarting over the scolding. It would always be her lot to suffer such reprimands unless she secured herself a man with a high position.
The chickens were settling down for the night. They had stone nesting blocks built up along one side of the inner wall. There was a low doorway and a narrow aisle to walk before another stone wall stood to protect the birds from the weather. A slanted roof was overhead. Inside, it was dark but warm and dry. The birds didn’t like her searching their nests for eggs. They pecked at her, but she persevered because there would be more suffering in the morning if she failed to find any eggs. She carried the few she found back to the door to find that a Retainer had followed her.
“I’ve no time to dally,” she told him firmly.
He didn’t move out of her path. She stopped a few paces from him and propped her hand on her hip. “Ye heard me. Do nae get to scuffling with me. If these eggs are broken, Orla will be very cross with ye for causing waste.”
The eggs were nestled in her apron, which she’d pulled up and tucked into her waistband to form a pouch.
The Retainer lifted his finger to his lips. “I’m here to deliver a letter. I am Egan.”
He looked over his shoulder before he reached inside his doublet and pulled a small, folded parchment out. But he held it just out of her reach. “Hamish believes ye loyal to him. If ye are not, say it now. For if ye read this and betray him, I’ll snap yer neck.”
Loyal or not, she still reached for the letter. Information was the key to her future. The Retainer ducked beneath the entrance of the nesting area and disappeared.
With no light to read by, Innis tucked the note into her bodice and returned to the kitchens. Davina eyed her. She kept her chin lowered as she placed the eggs in a bowl on the long table used for turning bread. Then she went to scrub her hands. Davina lost interest in her, affording her the opportunity to sneak away.
She went down a passageway and looked both ways before pulling the letter out. It seemed as though it crinkled far too loudly when she opened it.
‘Do whatever ye can to cause discontent between the laird and his bride. Loyalty will be rewarded.’
She read it twice before holding it near a flame. The paper caught fire quickly. Innis made sure the entire note was consumed and reduced to ashes before she began to contemplate her options.
Her hope flourished with the idea of having another chance. She might go straight away to Buchanan and tell him of Hamish’s plan. But Buchanan might only thank her and offer naught else. He had never returned her advances.
Hamish, though… Well, he was a man who enjoyed women often. He would never be faithful to her, but so long as she gave him a son, it wouldn’t matter.
Innis smiled, a new plan forming in her mind.
Chapter Six
“’Tis a frightful mess, and I’m ashamed to have ye see it,” Fenella declared as she showed Rhedyn to where the estate account books were kept.
“Ye should not have been burdened with them,” Rhedyn said as she followed her.
Fenella stepped inside the room. There were two long tables, one piled high with notes and letters. It looked unorganized until she looked closer and realized that sealed letters were sorted from the pages of accounts.
“Shona would bring young Cora here often to teach her the duties of the mistress of the house,” Fenella said carefully. “Young Cora has other tutors as well.”
“As it should be,” Rhedyn said.
Fenella nodded approvingly. “I will be in the kitchens if ye need me, mistress.”
And Rhedyn would be here for the better part of the next year by the look of the books and letters waiting to be answered. A large book was sitting on one of the tables. An ink well was nearby, along with a silver-tipped quill. This was the duty of Lady Mackenzie. Poor attention to the accounts might translate into shortages of essential food stuffs during the winter when the roads were piled high with snow and there was no possible way to get more. Shona was needed for other duties.
And the letters… Well, there was another important matter.
A lady’s education included learning at least three languages. French, Latin, English, and in the Highlands, Gaelic. Rhedyn sat down, avoiding thinking about Cora for the moment. First, she needed to work through some of the piles of goods traded for rent.
“I suppose I should be slightly ashamed to have ye taking this over.” Cora appeared in the doorway. “At least in its current state.” She stared at Rhedyn, contemplating her.
“It was no’ terrible,” Rhedyn said. “Me wedding night.”
Cora drew in a startled breath. But a moment later, she was looking over her shoulder, checking both directions before she came all the way into the chamber and firmly shut the door.
“And yer brother offered to take me home the night before.”
Cora skidded to a halt. She blinked a couple of times before her lips curved up into a smile.
“So, stop arguing with him,” Rhedyn instructed Cora.
“Taking ye was worthy of argument,” Cora insisted. “He truly offered to take ye home?”
“Snuck into me chamber in the dark of night to do it.”
“And left ye a maiden?”
“Yer brother is no’ a villain.”
Cora considered her for a long moment. “Nae, he is not. But do ye truly have faith in this union being a good one?”
“I know me duty. Just as ye understand yers. But it’s important to remember that yer brother has a duty as well. Yer kin wanted me father’s blood the day he took me. He managed to avoid giving it to them.”
“He did,” Cora remarked softly.
“And he has wed me now. I plan to give my marriage a good effort.”
“Ye truly do nae wish to escape?”
“The time to do so was before yesterday,” Rhedyn said. She felt a touch of guilt, for she was not being fully truthful. The brew Shona had delivered to her would make it possible to leave still.
But there was something surprising about it. Rhedyn discovered herself feeling free for the first time in her life. The future was hers to explore
and decide upon.
Was she making a mockery of her wedding vows?
Perhaps.
But it seemed far more of a sin to bring a child into a marriage where there was hatred.
So, Buchanan is yer lover…
She supposed that was true enough. She wasn’t going to think about the fact that she was a captive just ten days ago.
No, far better to center her attention on the way Buchanan had treated her last night.
Far, far, better.
*
“This way, mistress.”
Rhedyn recognized the maid. “Innis?”
The girl lowered herself. “I’ll escort ye to the north tower. Yer chamber is ready.”
Rhedyn felt her belly knot. The happiness she had carried around all day disappeared.
Innis was already leading the way. Not a hint of concern for taking Rhedyn away from her new husband.
The north tower.
She drew in a stiff breath. Pain was slicing through her, threatening to crush her composure. She hurried to catch up with the maid before the despair swallowed her up.
“Ye missed supper, so I brought ye some,” Innis spoke kindly before she lowered herself and left the chamber.
There were candles lit, but Rhedyn felt like it was icy cold in the room. The chill came from inside her.
It wasn’t an uncommon arrangement.
No, in fact, to have shared the laird’s chamber would have been a deviation from the normal living conditions she’d been raised to expect.
Suddenly drinking the morning brew seemed very shortsighted, for without a child, she might have just condemned herself to a lifetime of loneliness.
Ye made yer choice…
She had, but freedom suddenly didn’t seem so very promising.
She drew in another deep breath and forced herself to walk toward the table where her supper waited. Innis had laid the table with fine ware. A covered dish held a warm stew that was thick and likely tasty. Beneath a clean cloth, there was fresh bread. There was even some cheese to complete the meal.
A fine supper. She could find no fault with it.
The stinging in her eyes frustrated her. Was she accepting the situation so easily? Was she going to cry while the memory of her wedding night was so very fresh in her mind?
Truthfully, she should have been counting her blessings for having such a fine memory of her wedding night. Rhedyn wasn’t an innocent. In spite of how her father had given orders that she be guarded against hearing the harsher side of life, there had still been times when she’d been in the kitchens and the maids had thought themselves alone and spoke freely.
More than one bride had been thrown out of her new husband’s bed less than an hour after she’d been escorted into it. She should be grateful Buchanan had arrived sober instead of so deep in his cups that he’d have cheerfully deflowered her while his captains watched.
Rhedyn knew all of it. Those ugly details of the life of a mistress of a stronghold such as the Mackenzie one. Wed with purpose in mind, not affection.
Yet, there had been warmth in their bed the night before. She had not imagined it.
Logic was failing to hold back her misery. The chamber was lonely and silent compared to the way her husband had so tenderly introduced her to passion.
All she felt was the emptiness around her.
“Why are ye here, Rhedyn?”
Perhaps because she’d been so deep in thought about him, Buchanan had appeared.
He closed the door. It hit hard, jolting her. She drew in a startled breath.
“Ye’re real,” she muttered.
He crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head to one side. “Have ye been drinking?”
Rhedyn shook her head. “I was thinking.”
He nodded. “Ah…thinking…good. Since that’s the case, ye can tell me what ye are doing here? Did ye forget where me chamber was?”
It took a moment for her mind to grasp the meaning of his words. His expression tightened as the silence stretched out between them. But he looked past her at the supper waiting on the table.
“Perhaps I should have made things clear between us last night,” he informed her in a low tone. “I expect ye to share me chamber.”
“Ye do?” She bit her lower lip.
“I do.” There was a firm edge of authority in his voice. “So, ye will not be instructing the staff to set yer supper here again.”
She didn’t know what to say. She was afraid that if she spoke, she’d shatter the image of him standing there.
“Do ye really want to live apart?” Buchanan demanded in frustration. “Ye prefer it here? Was last night so terrible?”
“No.” She jumped. “I just…did not think ye’d want me…in yer chamber every night.”
His expression eased. He drew in a breath before moving toward her. “I suppose it’s fair enough of ye to think I would no’ want ye near.” He nodded. “That’s my fault. I have no’ courted ye.”
“Courted?” Rhedyn asked in astonishment. “I certainly did not expect such.”
“Rolfe Munro courted ye.”
She looked at Buchanan, wondering if what she heard in his voice was actual jealousy. “What does it matter if he did?”
“I see, lass.”
“Ye see…what precisely?” Something flashed in his eyes. It was a warning, but the reaction she had to it wasn’t one of foreboding.
No, a little tingle of anticipation went down her spine.
“I see ye would like to be impressed, lass.” He closed the distance between them.
His intense stare made her back away. “And just how do ye plan to do that?”
He paused before taking another step toward her. “I’ve a few ideas.”
He reached out and caressed her lips. The contact was jarring, making her gasp as his lips curled up into a smug grin.
“Ideas that make me happy to be in the north tower, far away from the rest of me kin.”
“What do ye mean?” Her voice came out breathless.
Buchanan slid his hand up and across one side of her face, sending little ripples of sensation across her skin. He kept going until he’d threaded his hands into her hair. Stepping closer, he began to pull the pins from her tresses.
She shuddered as her hair was released. There was something very intimate about it.
“I never held any affection for linen caps on lasses until now,” he said as he combed his fingers through her tresses. He leaned down so that his breath hit the delicate surface of her lips. “I want ye to hide this from every other man. Keeping it for me, and the moments when I can take it down for ye.”
He captured the gasp that escaped her with his mouth as he pressed a kiss against her lips. It was a hard kiss, one that stirred that need which had driven her half mad the night before. She knew it now, understood the intensity of the impulse. The knowledge seemed to have the effect of making her impatient for her yearning to be soothed. She reached for his clothing, pulling at his doublet and pushing it down his arms.
The garment hit the floor as he twisted to pull his arms free and renew his hold on her. They were moving around one another, their mouths still fused as they tried to satisfy their cravings. Clothing was something neither of them were willing to tolerate. Stripping it away was essential.
“I can nae wait,” he rasped against her lips.
“Do not!” she encouraged him. Having almost been denied his touch, she was frantic to indulge now that it was hers to take.
She gasped as he cupped her hips while moving up behind her.
He chuckled. “There is one of those sounds I want to keep all to meself, lass.” He bent her over the footboard, rubbing her back and all the way down to her bottom. “I want to make ye scream.”
She’d flattened her hands on the surface of the bed. He drew his hands over her hips and across her belly to her mons. He threaded through the curls before pressing a fingertip between the folds that guarded her clitoris while his body
was flush with her back.
“There is yer little pearl,” he whispered next to her ear. “Ye enjoyed having it toyed with last night.”
Tonight was no different, but her cheeks burned as she heard him say such a thing out loud. “Ye should no’…”
He pressed down, sending a surge of intense pleasure through her belly.
“Touch ye here?” he finished for her.
She was shaking and grateful for the bed to press her hands against because her knees felt weak. He was rubbing harder across her pearl, intensifying the need burning inside her.
“Ye shouldn’t speak of such things,” she said.
“How else will I know what ye like, wife?”
She was nearing that point again, the one which would end with a burst of pleasure. She could feel everything tightening inside her, her hips thrusting forward to add more pressure. He pressed his lips against the column of her neck as she began to peak, nipping her delicate skin.
She cried out as everything burst. Buchanan gripped her hips, holding her as she drew in deep breaths.
“It is shameless,” she rasped as she straightened up.
“Ye are me wife.” His hands rested on her shoulders for a moment. “I am the only man ye might indulge in such brazenness with.”
“But…”
He cupped her breasts.
“Is it wrong?” he asked earnestly. “Wrong to enjoy touching ye, lass? I have pledged to be faithful to ye for the rest of me life. And ye would label it shameless?”
He scooped her up and carried her to the bed.
He looked at her, waiting for her to finish. When she bit her lip, he flattened his hands on either side of her, crawling up the mattress.
“Well, lass?”
She lifted her hands, touching his face. Somehow, she’d never thought very much beyond the rights her husband had over her body, but now, she was enticed by being able to initiate the contact she craved.
“Rhedyn?”
She pressed her fingertip over his lips. “Shh. I am thinking about what I would like to do to you.”
He growled, and it filled her with desire. She pushed him until he rolled onto his back so she might be the one on top. Then she boldly straddled him. She’d never contemplated exciting him on purpose.