She spoke since he refused to. “Tell me what happened, husband, for I do not believe you capable of killing your wife… intentionally.”
“That is your first mistake, I am capable of killing for any reason that suits me,” he said, not turning to look at her.
Her body wisely responded to his cold tone and rigid façade, a tingle of fear crawling over, but she refused to give it credence. Was she a fool after all? Should she pay heed to his words? Should she continue to fear her husband?
Her answer came unbidden. “I grow tired of fearing you, husband. I much prefer loving you.”
Warrick turned and looked at her.
“I was so frightened of you on our wedding night, then you touched me gently and continued to do so throughout the night. I had never been touched with such a gentle hand and what I believed was a caring heart. I felt a spark of happiness when I learned it was not you who sent me to your dungeons to be tortured. I wanted to believe that night meant something to us both. I think the fear of discovering that that might not be true kept me from returning to you. I wanted to believe our bairn was conceived out of love. I wanted to believe you cared for me.” She squeezed his hand, she continued to hold, and her other hand she laid against his chest. “I love you and I know, somewhere deep inside, you love me. So, husband, I refuse to fear you any longer. Instead, I will give you all the love I have stored inside me, all the love I have so desperately wanted to give someone. I will love you when you scowl at me. I will love you when you demand things of me. I will love you when you threaten me with punishment. I will love you with my dying breath and far beyond that.”
Warrick turned and with his thumb brushed away the single tear that ran down her cheek. He fought to free the words imprisoned in his heart, never to be felt, never to be spoken.
Adara’s heart ached watching her husband struggle to speak and she smiled and brought her lips close to his and whispered, “Love me.”
He captured her lips in a kiss that said more than any words could and they were soon shedding their garments, their naked bodies coming together and blending as one. Their touches were gentle yet demanding, their kisses tender yet urgent, their love strong and growing ever stronger.
It was their fastest joining ever, Adara’s loving declaration having aroused them more than the most intimate touches, and their shared climax left them blissfully satisfied. They laid wrapped around each other in the aftermath of their lovemaking, a satisfied silence filling the room.
It was not until Adara shivered in his arms that Warrick realized that a chill in the room had settled over their naked bodies. He was quick to tuck a blanket around his wife before slipping out of bed.
“Do not go,” Adara said, her small hands gripping his arm to tug him back in bed.
“A moment,” he assured her and kissed her brow. He went to the hearth and added several logs, stirring the dying fire until it blazed with a strong flame. He returned to her, slipping beneath the warm wool blanket to scoop his wife up in his arms and settle her on his lap after sitting and bracing his back against the headboard. He pulled the blanket over them, tucking it around his wife.
Adara settled comfortably in his arms as she always did. It felt like coming home when his powerful arms slipped around her and held her close, and she cherished that feeling and always would.
“Time to talk, wife,” Warrick said.
Adara looked at him and smiled softly.
Warrick loved her smile, especially when it was directed at him. He also loved the feel of her in his arms. He had felt she belonged there from the first time he had held her, and when she was not in his arms, he felt more empty, more alone than he ever did. He was grateful she belonged to him, grateful she loved him, but then he belonged to her as well and he loved her as well and that would never change.
“King James arranged a marriage for me,” he began. “With all the land and power I was accumulating in the Highlands, he wanted a union of his choice that would prove beneficial to his rule. I agreed and Sondra was sent to me to wed. All I knew of her was that she was the daughter of a clan chieftain from one of the northern isles. We met on our wedding day—”
Adara remained silent as her husband paused in thought, though she rested a comforting hand on his chest his wife’s warm, gentle touch released him from his captured thoughts and he continued. “She did not want to wed me. She made it clear with her first words to me. She told me I should die and rot in hell where I belonged. I told the King’s courier there would be no wedding, but he made it clear that there was no changing what had been agreed upon. The woman had no choice. She would do her duty and wed me and I should do the same since the documents were binding.
“I intended to consummate our vows quickly and let her be.” He shook his head. “She had other intentions. She made it seem that she surrendered to the inevitable and would do her duty when she drew a knife on me suddenly, and without the least provocation. I reacted instinctively. I grabbed her wrist as she lunged the knife at my throat, twisting it away with such a sharp force that the blade caught at her throat slicing part of it.
“I grabbed her neck, trying to stop the blood that poured from it, but I knew it was too late. Her last words were garbled but I managed to make sense of them. It seemed I gave her what she wanted most… death rather than be my wife.”
Adara wondered over the woman’s extreme reaction to the arranged marriage. The woman certainly had not feared Warrick if she turned a knife on him, so why not submit to her husband and be done with it?
“Naturally, gossip spread and tales flourished. Many believed Sondra’s clan would demand I pay for her death with my own. How King James managed to avoid any retribution I do not know, but nothing came of it. I refused to wed after that until the King grew impatient and arranged another marriage for me. Before any documents could be signed—”
“You took me as your wife,” Adara said.
“Aye,” he said with a nod. “I wanted someone who was accustomed to obedience.”
“Who better than a servant, though from the King’s message it would seem he will not sanction our union unless,” —she paused, her brow wrinkling— “the man in the woods, your mission, that is what the King eluded to in his message. Unless that mission proves successful, he will not sanction our marriage.”
Adara’s shiver of fear trickled across his skin and he hugged her tighter against him. “I will let no one, not even the King, take you from me.”
“I believe you. I also believe you would die trying, if the King should send troops against you, and what good would that do if we could not be together?”
“You will not worry over this. I will make certain the mission is successful.”
Adara nodded, praying it would prove so. “I am sorry about Sondra. I feared being wed to you at first, but she had to have been filled with tremendous hate for you to prefer death to being your wife. How could she hate you when she did not know you?”
“Reputation I suppose.”
“Then should it not be fear she felt for you? Where did her hate come from?”
“I never gave it thought,” he admitted. “It was over and done. There was nothing to think on.”
Adara could understand that. There was harshness she experienced that was better left buried. Though something as horrible as what Warrick had dealt with, she could not imagine being buried so easily.
A knock sounded at the door.
“Who disturbs me?” Warrick called out gruffly.
“Come away from that door, Callie,” Roark ordered.
“No. I want to make sure Adara is all right,” Callie argued.
“Did I not forbid you to disturb Warrick,” Roark snapped.
“Forbid? Wrong word, husband,” Callie snapped back.
Adara laughed softly at the couple arguing on the other side of the door.
“You find it amusing, wife?” Warrick asked and found himself unable to stop from smiling.
“Aye, I do. Your sis
“She should know I would never harm you.”
“She was not worried you would harm me. She was concerned how I would feel after speaking with you about Sondra. She is a good friend to me.”
“I am not leaving here until I talk to Adara,” Callie said, though more shouted.
“Aye, you are,” Roark said.
“Put me down! Put me down now!” Callie shouted.
Adara and Warrick both laughed, and Adara called out. “I am fine, Callie. Worry not.”
“I am pleased to hear that. We will talk later. Now put me down, Roark,” Callie demanded.
“No, not until I punish you for disobeying me,” Roark said.
Callie gasped. “That is not fair, husband, I much prefer when I feel your hand slap my naked backside.”
“Get her out of here, Roark!” Warrick shouted out with a roar and shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. “I do not need to hear what he does to my sister.”
Adara laughed, her stomach gurgled in hunger, and the bairn gave a kick.
Warrick’s hand went to her rounded stomach as he shouted out, “Send a servant, Roark.” He caressed her stomach, the bairn moving beneath his hand. “I should have known hunger would strike you. It always does after we make love.”
“I think the bairn demands more nourishment as well. He is growing more active with each day.”
“You mentioned something about secrets,” he said, leaving the rest for her to say.
“Not so much secrets as thoughts that linger and make me question,” Adara said.
“Question what?”
“Why my mum and da decided to journey to the north Highlands, a rugged place for sure. It was something Burchard said that got me thinking. He told me that my da said something about the far Highlands being a place where men go to disappear. He was a crofter. Why go someplace where the land was not welcoming for planting? I wondered if my da wanted to disappear and if so, why?”
“When crops fail, crofts fail. There may have been nothing left here for your da.”
“But my uncle sent my mum to a titled family in hopes she would make a good marriage. How did a woman living with a family of influence end up marrying a crofter?”
Chapter 28
A light snow greeted the onset of winter and Adara enjoyed an early morning walk through the village. With the bairn active, moving and kicking inside her, she decided a walk was needed to calm him. Often his da’s firm touch would settle him, but she had found herself alone in bed this morning when she woke.
The last two months had been pure joy. There had been no more attempts on Warrick or her life and no sign of Maia or cohorts. She and Warrick spent much time together and when she was not with him, she was with Callie and, not one to sit idle, she kept Adara busy. Her friendly nature had her speaking to everyone and soon Adara found herself knowing those in her clan better than she ever had.
She felt something she never thought she would feel… blessed.
Her hand had healed nicely, though certain chores or movements did bring pain, as did the colder weather. At least it was healed enough where it would not pain her to hold the bairn when he was born. A time not far off.
She had rounded considerably, though she still was not as large as when she last saw Espy only about three weeks ago. It had been one of many visits in the weeks before winter had set in. Espy had made quick friends with Callie and had offered advice on improving her chances of getting with child.
As blessed as she felt, Adara could not help but worry something would come along and steal it all away from her. She tried to ignore the feeling of doom that drifted over her like a gray cloud, hovering for a time before drifting away again. Then there was the lingering question of why her mum and da chose to go so far north. She feared she would never learn the answer since she knew of no one who could tell her.
She had spoken to Wynn time and again, but the woman offered little that would help. More so than anything, she had painted a better picture of Adara’s mum. Young, vibrant, curious, and so beautiful she had a bevy of fine young men after her.
Why wed a crofter?” Adara had asked Wynn.
“Your mum loved your da and your da worshiped your mum. I believe they were made for each other,” Wynn had said.
Their love seemed to be established and Adara was pleased to know that. She only wished she could have seen it for herself.
“More snow will be coming our way today, my lady.”
Adara turned with a smile. “How do you know that, Langdon.”
“The crispness of the air and the scent warns one to prepare,” he said. “May I offer my arm, my lady? There is ice in spots and you would not want to slip and fall.”
Adara reached out and took his arm. “You are most gracious, Langdon, though I wish you would call me Adara as you once did.”
“It is not proper, my lady.”
“Perhaps when we are alone like now, so that I feel I speak with a friend not a servant.” It was not until she had made an effort to talk more with clansmen that she realized she had failed to recognize many in the clan who had befriended her.
Langdon gave a quick look around and seeing the few people about were at a distance, he conceded. “Adara, I am pleased you call me a friend.”
“I believe I felt a camaraderie with you upon meeting since you were as new to the Clan MacVarish as I was and though I did little to encourage friendship, you always had a kind word for me.”
“A new place, new people, it takes time to come to know one another.”
“Even more so when one barely utters a word,” Adara said with a hint of laughter.
“Wise ones know it is better to hold the tongue and listen than rattle on senselessly. I rattle on senselessly,” he said with a grin and a nod.
“There were many times I enjoyed your rattling and still do.”
“That is good to know, Adara.”
“You address my wife disrespectfully?”
Warrick’s sharp tone had both of them turning.
“And how dare you lay a hand upon her,” Warrick said, taking quick strides toward Langdon.
Adara let go of Langdon’s arm and stepped in front of him. “He did nothing wrong. He offered his arm to me so that I would not slip on the ice and snow, and he called me by my name by my request. Something he had done before I became your wife and something I have missed hearing.”
“He should know better and so should you,” Warrick said, his tongue scolding both like disobedient bairns.
Langdon stepped to Adara’s side. “Please forgive my improper behavior, my lord. I meant no disrespect.”
Warrick stared at the man, the deep lines between his eyes a mark of his angry scowl. That she found pleasure talking with the man annoyed him and had since the first time he had discovered they had talked often. He did not care if his wife spoke with other women, but it irritated him when she spoke more than a few words to another man. Or was it that Langdon continued to irritate him since learning he had given his wife the two stones?
He had spoken to the old man about it, feeling foolish upon seeing him. There had been nothing to be jealous and yet here he was again annoyed and jealous at finding the old man talking to Adara.
Warrick was quick to wrap his hand around his wife’s when she reached out to him and just as hasty to tuck her snugly in the crook of his arm. “Langdon is a good man and serves you well.”
“He would serve me better if he kept his hands off my wife,” Warrick said, looking to the man with a threatening glint in his eye.
“Langdon—”
“The man can speak for himself, Adara,” Warrick snapped.
“Aye, my lord, and I shall not be so disrespectful again,” Langdon said and bobbed his head.
“Leave us,” Warrick ordered and with a nod to both Adara and Warrick, Langdon took his leave.
“Not a word,” Warrick warned. “You were wrong and so was he. Do not get him in trouble again.”
Adara glared at him. “So it was all my fault?”
“Of course it was,” Warrick said, keeping hold of her arm as he began walking. “You should not have been walking alone through the village when snow and ice cover the ground and you were wrong for telling him to refer to you by your name. If I had thought it was his fault, he would have felt my fist to his face.”
Adara stopped abruptly, forcing Warrick to do the same. She turned a smile on him. “You are jealous.”
“I am not jealous,” he argued.
“You are jealous? Why are you jealous?”
Warrick rolled his eyes, hearing his sister behind him and grew more annoyed when he heard his wife’s soft laughter. He turned, Adara turning along with him, to face his sister. “I am not jealous.”
Callie stared at him, a wide grin on her full face, and her arms crossed over her chest.
Warrick snapped his finger at his sister. “Your husband needs to take a firmer hand with you.”
“He did last night and I quite enjoyed it,” Callie said, her smile never wavering.
Warrick shook his head. “I have heard enough. Both of you into the keep now and stay there until I give you permission to leave.”
Callie hooked her arm around Adara’s. “You read my thoughts, Warrick. It is far too cold to be outside today. We will see you later.”
Callie tugged Adara along with her and after a few steps, she turned her head to see her husband staring after them, his dark eyes still smoldering with anger. She slipped her arm out of Callie’s, turned and hurried back to her husband. She raised herself on her toes once she was in front of him and before kissing his tightly closed lips, whispered, “I love you, husband.”
Her words settled around his heart and squeezed tight just like they always did. He would never grow tired of hearing her say that to him, and his lips responded of their own accord. They loosened and his tongue slipped out to run across her closed ones, urging them to open for him, and they did.
Adara loved her husband’s kisses. Whether gentle or firm, slow or eager, they never failed to tingle her senses and arouse her.
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