“So that council of yours,” Magdalene said, as she put the potted mandrake on the table. “My father had one but they were all old fighting men. Are yours like that?”
“Nae all,” Angus said as his eyes never left her. “Things are a little different here in Scotland. Me council is made of me family’s elders. Two are old soldiers and aye, they dae give me advice on those matters but I have another set, made purely of old soldiers who take control of that.”
“And what do these elders advise you on then?” Magdalene asked as she strayed ever further from him. Angus was getting suspicious. Why was she trying to put space between them? Her head was down and her eyes, shielded by her hair, were fixed on the plant there.
“Mostly on what to do with making alliances with other clans,” Angus said. “See, most of lower Scotland is a prime target for border raiders, and invaders from the north, and even Ireland. For us to survive, we lend our soldiers to other clans when trouble arises on their lands and they do the same to us when it’s our turn.”
Magdalene was still not looking at him and he was getting irritated. “That’s kind of you.”
“Lass,” Angus said calmly as he rounded the table. “What’s troubling ye?”
“Nothing,” she said while moving away to another plant.
“Magdalene,” he warned, while circling a large mint plant as she scurried away. He trailed her slowly, a cautious step by step while Magdalene inched away. His suspicion was getting to a breaking point and as she skirted away from him once more, he leaped into action and grabbed her. She yelped but her bottom was forced on the nearest table and he caged her there with his arms on either side of her.
“Magdalene,” he asked lowly, a bit too gruffly for what he was aiming for. “What is the problem, lass?”
“I don’t have—” she was cut off as Angus propped her head up and brushed her hair from her eyes and immediately her protests stopped.
“What is the problem, Magdalene?” He asked again, this time quietly. “And tell me the truth.”
“I can’t stop thinking about when you kissed me,” she said only to have Angus’ eyebrows rise. “I keep thinking that it might have been a mistake.”
“There is a simple solution for that,” Angus said, smoothing her hair back. Her hitching breath was all the permission he needed. He kissed her and loved when she sighed into his lips. When she opened for him, Magdalene tasted of nettle tea and sweet preserves. Instantly, he felt a craving and the soft tasting they were doing, tongues lapping and twining, birthed a growing lust.
Angus had to hold back from the hard, hot, and demanding kiss he wanted to give her which he knew would scare her off. She clung to his hard shoulders as he explored her mouth luring hers into a primal dance of desire. When he ended the kiss, they were both breathless.
“Does that feel like it was a mistake, too?” Angus said an inch away from her lips.
“No,” Magdalene said, while resting her forehead on Angus’ shoulder. “But I don’t know how I can believe something might grow from this. I am leaving in a few days.”
“Ah,” Angus said while massaging the tiny hairs at the back of her neck. Soft regret was growing inside him. Magdalene had a point—what were they going to do? He wanted to blame himself for kissing her that night but couldn’t. Magdalene had come into his life unexpectedly, but if she chose to leave, he was going to fight to have her stay.
“Ach, sweeting, I ken the only thing we might have to do is ask yer Aunt if she had a problem with ye staying here,” Angus said.
Magdalene pulled away with an audible sigh, “That’s another thing, I’m sure my Aunt is expecting me. If my mother has spoken to her in the last few days, and the chances are she has, I am in a lot of trouble. I should have been there by now.”
“How do yer Aunt and Mother talk?” Angus asked.
“By a trained falcon,” she replied. “But I don’t think we can do that.”
“Perhaps I can send yer Mother a letter to let her know that yer safe and happy where ye are,” Angus suggested again.
“I am not sure about that, either,” she said worriedly. “I don’t know what my mother is going through. I ran away from home and if my Uncle is monitoring my mother’s messages, he might see it and come looking for me.”
“What dae ye want to dae?” Angus asked. “Nae what ye think ye mother would dae or what ye think yer Aunt would want from ye. What dae ye want?”
“I don’t…” she trailed off.
“This is yer life Magdalene,” Angus coaxed gently. “I ken ye want to please yer Mother and go with yer Aunt but ye have a say in how ye live yer life, too. If ye want, I will carry ye to yer Aunt. I won’t be happy about it, but I will take ye to her. It all comes down to what ye want.”
She nibbled her lip before saying, “I…I’d probably make them all angry…but,” she looked up and dared to smile, “I’d like to stay here with you for a longer time, if that’s all right with you, that is.”
Hugging her close, Angus smiled a relieved grin in her hair and kissed the side of her head. “As long as ye want, sweet, as long as ye want.”
Chapter 15
What had I been thinking? I am more responsible than this. I cannot just go making decisions to stay based on how I feel when I know the wisest course to do is to leave.
The self-admonitions came one after another but none managed to stick. Angus was right, this was her life, too. She had never disobeyed her Mother in her life but then, she had never had a reason to. Life back at the barony was an unending routine. As a child, she’d wake up, have breakfast and go to a meeting room with her teachers. Evenings found her saying prayers in the compound’s chapel with her mother, eating supper, and then she was off to bed. Her adolescence had not been much different except a change in her mealtimes and leaving the compound to take a rare trip to the barony’s city.
Now, however, Angus was proving to be a tenacious distraction. Being near him sent an unfamiliar yet tantalizing effect on her senses. Her belly quivered and her breath shortened to quick, short breaths when he was near. When Angus touched her, her skin sang and when he kissed her, she swore her heart hiccupped.
The Laird had been called away again and she was back with Ailsa for her companion. They had opted to take a walk around the inner grounds for some fresh air. Magdalene observed her surroundings while the younger woman chatted away on any topic at hand. Magdalene tuned most of it out until the topic spun to Angus.
Then her ears sharpened, especially when Ailsa mentioned something that seemed to tie in with what Lady Isobel had mentioned the day before.
“We never saw her again and Angus changed from then,” Ailsa said nonchalantly, as they went back to the doorway they had left from and stood under the eave.
“I’m sorry, what?” Magdalene asked. “Who is this ‘she’?”
“A daughter of Laird MacTavish,” Ailsa said. “Angus was sweet on her and the two clans had a marriage contract drawn up and everythin’ when suddenly she left. We still dinnae ken why.”
He’s tight-lipped about it to anyone who is nae me and I cannae betray his confidence. I ken if ye asked him that yerself he’d tell ye.
“When was this?” Magdalene asked, trying to not sound worried. If this woman—a daughter of a Laird—was still around, what chance did Magdalene have of making a relationship with Angus? She was still an outsider, after all.
Ailsa eyed her closely but shrugged. “About three years ago. Angus was all on a ‘find me a wife’ stint and Mother made a connection with Ithel MacTavish. She had blonde hair like yers but way lighter and her skin was snow-white. Foolish me thought she was sick, but Mother told me that it was because of where she lives. It’s very cold up there.”
Lady Isobel had said that no one knew the reason but her, however, Magdalene still wanted to ask, “And no one knows why?”
“Well, none of us except Mother, and even then, I suspect that Angus dinnae tell her the whole story. Whenever her name comes up
, he goes flint-faced and hard-eyed. Malcolm used to tease him about it until Angus broke his jaw. He learned quickly enough to nae dae it again,” Ailsa snickered.
“He reacted that strongly?” Magdalene gasped.
“Malcolm would have had a broken arm, too, if Mother had not intervened,” Ailsa said with a wry tilt of her lips. “Mother tried again with a lady from the Maxwell Clan but he was nae interested. I cannae ken what Ithel did to make him be off women.”
“Lady Isobel said that if I asked him, he might tell me,” Magdalene mused out loud.
That gained her Ailsa’s undivided attention. “Would ye? That would be so good. I’m dying to ken what it is.”
“Even if I got the answer, I could not tell you without his permission,” Magdalene said regretfully. Ailsa had been nothing but nice to her but that did not mean she could go sharing secrets willy-nilly.
“Ugh,” Ailsa huffed. “I understand. Ye have that noble, upright, principled, Christian look about ye. Have ye ever broken a rule in yer life?”
“Aside from wearing Angus’ clothes, I cannot think so,” Magdalene said. The day was waning to evening and her mind was intermittently flitting to Angus. “Say, Ailsa, what is this witch I heard Angus referring to? Do you really have a witch here?”
The youngest Williamson sat up, her face a bit graver. “Aye. She showed up out of nowhere. We thought it was nonsense at first but when she began harming our people, we realized we were wrong. Very wrong. This woman shoots fire out of her hands and burns people who get near her home—fishermen, hunters, even normal villagers.”
“That’s horrible,” Magdalene said aghast. “How many had she killed?”
“Too many for yer innocent sensibilities,” Angus said from the entrance doorway. “Ailsa, Mother needs ye. Magdalene, we’ll be dining in me rooms, and shut it, Ailsa.”
The girl’s mouth clicked shut but she shot daggers at her brother as he straightened to let her pass. “Fine.”
She stomped off while Angus looked over his shoulder with a tired smile. “So, tell me, lass, what dae ye want to ken first, about the witch or about me failing love life and failure to get married?”
Mortification curled Magdalene’s stomach. “You heard about that?”
“Aye,” Angus said, while coming closer to help her into the doorway. “I can tell ye if ye want.”
His words were gracious but the flicker of pain across his face told her differently. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I can see it still pains you, Angus. If your heart is not healed, what good will it do to rip it open again?”
A lock of his wild hair fell over Angus’ now darkened eye and he reached out to pull her into him, “Yer so caring, sweet. I’ll promise to tell ye all of what happened but…” he paused and winced a little, “…nae tonight.”
“I can handle that,” Magdalene said, feeling her skin redden. “Are you sure it’s right to eat in your room so early? I’ve been here for almost three days, and I am sure the whole castle knows about me by now, so why not the great hall?”
“Because I am a selfish bastard and I want ye to meself,” Angus grinned unrepentantly while tugging her even closer. Her face went to the crook of his neck and he held her there by holding her hips. “But yer wisdom shines again. However, are ye ready to deal with all the eyes on ye? Ye tend to get flustered when eyes are on ye. The problem is that I dinnae want that blush for anyone but meself.”
His words made blood rush to her face, so strongly she felt the heat in her ears. Angus’ laughter was not making it easier as not only did she hear it, she felt it rumbling through his chest. “You’re horrible.”
“But yer still here,” Angus said in her ear. “Aren’t ye?”
Pulling away from him as some distance between them was best to allow her to think, Magdalene nodded. “I did decide that, so yes. I am anxious, yes, but you cannot hide me forever.”
“I’d like to,” Angus said, too petulantly for a man his age.
Taking his hand for a change, Magdalene led him out of the corridor and took the half-memorized route to the large great hall. Hallways away, she could hear the laughter and chatter of the people dining inside and swallowed over her fear. Angus stepped in front of her to take the lead.
His hand was on the small of her back now and he had angled his body to partially shield her from direct eye contact. The happy chatter almost screeched to a halt with their entrance.
Magdalene almost stopped walking but grit her teeth and continued following Angus to a table set apart from the rest. It was even mounted on a platform and Magdalene realized if she sat there, many eyes would be on her. That nearly stopped her cold. “Angus…”
“Ye’ll be fine,” Angus assured her, as he stepped onto the platform and helped her up. Lady Isobel stood with a smile on her face as she hugged Magdalene. Ailsa was there, too, but she was already munching her food and only greeted her with a puffed-cheek nod.
“Welcome, Magdalene,” Lady Isobel smiled before her voice dropped. “Amassed some courage, eh?”
Nodding with her cheeks red, Magdalene sat in the chair Angus had pulled out for her. This high she was tempted to look down on her plate and not at the eyes she could feel trying to burrow under her skin, but once again, she forced herself to not cower. She had made a vow to stay and that meant being in the open. Hiding away like a dirty little secret would only make the rumors about her that she was sure were swirling around the castle that much worse. So, she looked.
It felt like the whole room was looking at her with—and here she feared—judgment, in their eyes. The closest look she met did not look judgmental but mostly curious and a bit timid. However, the moment their eyes met hers, they were gone, shifting away. But why? Was she so different?
Skimming over the gathering, where the chatter was being picked up again, she counted no less than fifteen people who had blond hair. The majority had brown, and shades of red. There were lots of black-haired people between them. Was she all that different from these people? Or were they staring because of the still visible bruises on her face?
A trencher was laid before her while a goblet, made of aged gold, was filled with sweet-smelling mead. “Don’t mind them,” Lady Isobel said in her ear. “They’ll move on soon enough.”
Angus was on the other side of Lady Isobel and the small separation felt scary. Staying close to him all the time was not healthy. Logically, she knew it was best to set some boundaries as the whole castle did not need to know about their close connection, but logic had been a bit absent lately. A thick stew was ladled on her trencher and she was given a bread roll.
“Here ye go, Magdalene.”
Using the bread, she ate carefully, trying to not let the stew’s gravy stain her gown. The meat was soft enough to tear with her teeth and tasted delicious. Soon enough, she focused on her meal instead of the eyes she could still feel on her skin but the sensation would not go away.
While reaching for the roll, she saw a man glaring at her from a table nearly at the back. She almost dropped her food and swallowed hard over the lump in her throat. Leaning into Lady Isobel’s ear she asked, “Who is that man glaring at me?”
Looking quickly into the same direction as Magdalene, Lady Isobel snorted, “That is Elder Sinead Hallagan. He swears by the rule of pure bloodlines and in no fan of outsiders. Ignore him most of all.”
She wanted to look again but felt it best to listen to Lady Isobel. At some level she should have expected this but not so soon. She finished her meal with her eyes down to the table, grasped the goblet of mead, and sipped the honeyed drink.
“I applaud ye for coming out,” Lady Isobel said in her ear. “But ye dinnae have to stay for longer than ye need. By all means, the meal is finished.”
Her words made Magdalene look over to where Angus was leaning into his chair, sipping at his goblet and surveying the room. His eyes met hers and he must have guessed about her desire to leave, so he nodded. Placing down his goblet, he stopped as Ailsa
said something in his ear. He rolled his eyes, stood and reached over to knuckle his sister on the top of her head, leaving Ailsa scowling.
Angus came to her and leaned down, “Ready to go, lass?”
Nodding, she stood as Angus pulled her chair away. She took his hand and grasping it with one and her skirts with the other, she came down from the platform. She kept her head up high as Angus walked them out of the room and three corridors away, she gasped in a deep breath over her burning lungs. She sagged against Angus who chucked knowingly.
“Care to take a walk, lass?” He asked.
“Yes, please,” Magdalene grasped the chance to be with him alone with gratitude. “I feel as if I’m suffocating.”
“Good, because I need to tell ye something,” Angus said. His tone was neutral, no hinting of anything painful but why did her stomach just twist itself into knots?
The Highlander's Fiery Bride: A Steamy Scottish Historical Romance Novel Page 13