A Rogue at the Highland Court: An Arranged Marriage Highlander Romance

by Barclay, Celeste

  “Thank you, Laird Gordon. You are correct that much has transpired since we last stood in this chamber. I’ve come to know both of your sons, and I count Eoin as a friend I can trust in all things. But it’s Ewan who I love. I will do all that I can to be a good wife to him and a good lady of the clan to your people. I appreciate your welcome, and I hope you can forgive the inordinate amount of trouble I have caused.”

  “It’s Andrew, lass. We are as good as kin now. And it would seem that the time away from court has made this marriage possible. You don’t look ready to murder my son in his sleep. And he is certainly a better mon for it.”

  “I won’t be doing that, I promise.” Allyson smiled as Ewan wrapped his arm around her and kissed her crown.

  “Lady Allyson, the queen will be happy that you’ve returned.” King Robert had remained silent as he observed the couple along with the father and son. He noticed that Kenneth seemed to float on the outskirts, saying nothing but watching his daughter like a hawk. He wondered what transpired to change the dynamics of these relationships. Allyson swallowed, dreading having to appear before the queen. She didn’t want to avoid the queen so much as she wanted to avoid the other ladies-in-waiting. The king observed her trepidation. “Perhaps you would benefit from some time to refresh yourself. The evening meal should be soon enough to reunite with your friends and for you to greet the queen.”

  Allyson curtseyed while the men bowed and left the Privy Council chamber. Allyson looked about and felt suddenly lost, unsure of whether she should retire to her chamber or if she could slip out to the gardens. She assumed Ewan would have business to discuss with his father, and she doubted her father intended to spend time with her. She wasn’t surprised when Kenneth excused himself and left to make arrangements for his return to Redheugh.

  “Come, Father.” Eoin wrapped his arm around Andrew’s shoulders, guiding him away from the couple. “I will explain all that happened, and we must plan for delivering the sheep to the Elliots.”

  Allyson and Ewan stood watching the two men move further down the passageway before they looked at one another, broad grins breaking across their faces once more. Ewan pulled Allyson closer, whispering in her ear. “Eoin will keep Father occupied until the evening meal, then he will make himself scarce for the night.”

  “Oh?” Allyson glanced at the men’s retreating backs.

  “Ally, you’re my wife now. We have time to make up for from when we traveled with a retinue.”

  “That’s only possible if we—”

  “Aye, mo aingeal. I recall you have roommates, so we are going to the Gordon suite.”

  Allyson glanced around, fearful someone overheard them. As far as anyone was aware at court, they weren’t yet married. She didn’t doubt that word was already circulating about their return, but she didn’t want rumors spreading that not only had she run away, she was allowing Ewan to bed her. She wasn’t certain who was aware that both lairds and Ewan had already signed the contracts.

  “Are you sure that’s wise?” Allyson bit her lower lip. She wanted to retire with Ewan and spend the next week and a half in their chamber, not leaving it until the church service. But she feared the consequences of going with him when everyone at court thought they were only betrothed and loathed one another.

  “Ally, regardless of whether people are aware of what happened, there will be speculation. Wouldn’t you rather we appear as a happy couple in love than have people gossip that our fathers forced the marriage?”

  “I would. I just fear we’re being indiscreet.”

  “If you’d rather go to your chamber and I go to mine, then I’ll take you there.”

  Allyson shook her head. “No, I want to go to yours.”

  “Good, but Ally, that makes it our chamber. I don’t want his and her chambers; I want our chamber.”

  “Truly? I assumed you would keep your space, and one day you would move into the laird’s chamber, and I would move into the lady’s chamber. Until then, I figured you’d give me a chamber when I arrive at Huntley, and you would visit when you wanted us to couple.”

  Ewan’s deep laugh made Allyson shift nervously as she continued to peer around the passageway. “What would be the point of that? I’d be visiting your chamber morn, noon, and eve, and sleeping there each night. I’d much rather we have the space my chamber provides, and when the day comes, we will move again. The laird’s chamber will be ours, and the lady’s chamber can become your solar, if you like.”

  Allyson nodded, then grinned. Her gaze slid over Ewan, and a hunger came into her eyes that Ewan shared. They hurried through the passageway toward the Gordon suite. But Allyson drew to an abrupt halt when she spotted Lady Bevan in the distance. Ewan had been looking down at Allyson as they talked, so he was unprepared for her to stop.

  “Ally?”

  Allyson said nothing. The only suite at that end of the passageway was the Gordons’. The only reason for Lady Bevan to be standing there was if she intended to visit one of the Gordon men. Ewan shifted to follow Allyson’s glare. He wanted to sink through the floor when he spotted the woman who sparked the fight that drew them into such a whirlwind month. He squeezed Allyson’s hand as they continued on, Lady Bevan not moving from where she stood at the door to the chambers.

  “Ewan, I’ve been wondering when you would return.” Lady Bevan’s smile was pure seduction as she stepped toward Ewan. She cast a withering glance at Allyson. “I wasn’t sure if it was you or Eoin, but I see you have your betrothed clinging to you. I’ve missed you and your brother.”

  “Good morning, Lady Bevan. My brother and father are together, probably in the lists. My wife and I are headed to our chamber. Excuse us.” Ewan wrapped his arm around Allyson and moved to step around the beautiful widow, but she wasn’t willing to give up.

  “Wife? Last we heard, she ran away, and now you claim she’s your wife. Did I miss an entire liturgical season?” Lady Bevan reached out to trail her fingers over Ewan, but he stepped back. She leaned to whisper none too quietly in his ear. “You know where to find me once you’re free of her. I look forward to reminding you of what I can do with my tongue and your cock.”

  Allyson had heard enough. She stepped between them as Ewan took another step away and opened his mouth to speak. He never got the chance. “My husband’s cock is already being polished. By me. Find Eoin, find Laird Gordon, find anyone, but make such an offer to my husband again, and the only thing your tongue will do is lie on the floor. After I cut it off.”

  “Look! The kitten’s got claws,” Lady Bevan chuckled, but there was no mirth in her voice.

  “Better than the pox you had during winter.” Allyson smirked. “Did you think no one knew about that? Everyone knew. It wasn’t until you bedded Laird MacLeod that anyone was sure you weren’t still infected.”

  “You little bitch.”

  “Aye, and you can call me all the names you want while you stand out here. My husband and I have something more—ahem—pressing to tend to.”

  Ewan led Allyson to their door and rushed to unlock it. He pushed Allyson into the chamber before locking and barring the door behind them. He turned to find Allyson gazing at the large bed in the center of the chamber. She looked nervous, and he wasn’t sure if she feared his reaction to her comments, the bed, or both.

  “Ally?”

  “Are you angry with me?”

  “Nay. Not in the least. She had it coming, and while I might not have said quite what you did, she should understand that I’m not interested.” He took Allyson’s hand and led her toward the bed, but she stopped a few feet short. “If you’d rather retire to your chamber and rest, I know it was a long two days in the saddle.”

  “Hmm?” Allyson looked at Ewan and shook her head. “No. I don’t want to go there.”

  “Then what is it? Why do you look so uneasy?”

  “It’s naught.” Allyson tried to avoid explaining, but Ewan’s questioning expression gave way to one of concern. “It’s just that at Redhe
ugh, I was confident you hadn’t coupled with anyone where we made love. Here—well, after running into Lady Bevan when she made it clear she intended for you to make love to her here, it just is a wee uncomfortable.”

  Ewan led Allyson away from the bed and toward the fireplace. He took a seat and pulled her into his lap. He stroked the hair off her shoulders, glad that she hadn’t begun wearing it up like she would once it became known she was no longer a maiden. He twirled a lock around his finger as he took her hand in his.

  “My father has kept mistresses in this suite when he’s spent extended time at court, but Eoin and I never brought women back here. We had an unspoken agreement that our family chambers were just for family. We preferred having somewhere to retire to that was private. You’re the only woman I’ve ever brought in here, and Eoin has never brought a woman here. I know what it looks like with a woman waiting outside my chamber, but I promise you, she’s never been inside. Even if I weren’t married, or if I still held my old opinions on marriage, I wouldn’t have welcomed her inside.” Allyson smiled and nodded, and Ewan saw the relief on her face. He also guessed what she would wonder next, and as her expression grew solemn once more, he spoke up. “No, I haven’t taken a woman to my bed at home either. I like my privacy, as does Eoin. As twins, we didn’t have much of it growing up. And I’m certain that sounds ridiculous given what you saw all those sennights ago, but he and I both like to retire to our own space. That said, I won’t lie. I’m eager to get you home and into our bed. I like the idea that my privacy now includes you, naked, and ready to make love.”

  “You’re incorrigible.”

  “Would you have me any other way?”

  “I’d have you on that bed, right now.” Allyson hopped off Ewan’s lap and danced away as he playfully reached for her. She backed away as she unfastened her Gordon arisaid and reached down to pull off her riding boots. Ewan watched her with eagle eyes while he stripped off his own boots and stockings. He was undressed before she finished unlacing her kirtle. He twirled her around and ripped the laces from the eyelets before he practically ripped the gown from her. They fell onto the bed, their laughter soon turning into moans as Ewan slid inside Allyson.

  “I love you, and I want no other, Ally. Never doubt that. Especially not while we’re here.”

  “The past is the past,” she responded. “I may have bedded none of the men here, but I flirted with my fair share. I suspect you will see how I just felt when we join the evening meal.”

  “I intend to leave such a lasting impression on ye, lass, that ye’ll never look at one of those Lowlanders again.” Ewan was aware Allyson preferred his brogue, and she reacted instantly. She pulled him in for a fierce kiss as she wrapped her legs over his calves, her arms holding him tightly against her. “I canna get enough of ye, mo ghaol. I want to make ye scream ma name.”

  Ewan thought he would go cross-eyed from the sensation of being buried to the hilt within Allyson. The feel of her soft body beneath him, the taste of her mouth as they kissed, and the way her channel held him in place, he struggled not to spill too soon. He pistoned his hips over and over as she rose to meet each thrust.

  “Keep talking to me with that burr, and it won’t take but a minute,” Allyson purred.

  “But I want to make this last.”

  Those were the last words spoken as they writhed together until they screamed one another’s name. Sated and exhausted, they fell asleep wrapped in one another’s embrace, Allyson’s head resting on Ewan’s chest. They remained locked in their chamber for the rest of the day, making love throughout the afternoon and early evening. They summoned a tray midafternoon when they knew the rest of court would gather, but they refused to emerge until there was no avoiding the evening meal.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Allyson scanned the courtiers gathered in the Great Hall awaiting the evening meal. She spotted the table where her closest friends sat, along with the tables with the other ladies-in-waiting she didn’t care to see. She swept her eyes across the large chamber to where Andrew and Eoin sat with their men. Ewan squeezed her hand and nudged her forward. She’d had one of her court gowns sent to their chamber, and Ewan requested servants to draw a bath. They’d enjoyed soaking in the hot water and making love before helping one another bathe. Allyson wore her hair up for the first time besides when she tended the sick or helped in the Redheugh kitchens. It signaled to one and all that she was a married woman. If that didn’t announce her change in status, entering the Great Hall holding hands with Ewan and wearing a swath of Gordon plaid certainly did. They made their way to the Gordon table, where the men rose as Allyson approached. She slid into a spot between Ewan and Eoin, comfortably wedged between the massive Highlanders. It took a while, but Allyson eased into the conversation with her brother-by-marriage, father-by-marriage, and their retainers. Ewan remained quiet, encouraging Allyson to be part of the clan. She discovered she enjoyed Andrew’s sense of humor and understood where the twins got many of their mannerisms.

  When the meal ended, a page approached and whispered in Allyson’s ear that the queen wanted to speak with her. Allyson excused herself, prepared to make the walk on her own, but Ewan wrapped her arm around his and rested her hand on his forearm. When they neared the royal table, the queen surprised Allyson with a welcoming smile.

  “Lady Allyson, you look well this eve,” Queen Elizabeth stated as a greeting.

  “Thank you, Your Grace. I’m very well.” Allyson responded.

  “The king informed me that not only have you both come to accept the prospect of marriage, you’ve decided not to wait for Easter to enter wedded bliss, taking it upon yourselves to speed things along.”

  “It is as you say, Your Grace,” Allyson demurred.

  “Then I offer you my felicitations. I’m pleased to see Ewan rose to the occasion and has earned your hand in marriage.”

  Allyson’s fingers pressed against Ewan’s arm as she thought of exactly how he’d risen to the occasion—several times.

  “Thank you, Your Grace,” Ewan spoke up when he suspected Allyson struggled not to giggle. “We look forward to our church ceremony, but I won’t deny that I am enjoying a state of wedded bliss. Your Majesty,” Ewan turned his attention toward King Robert. “I can only offer my heartfelt gratitude that you chose me to marry Allyson. I don’t know your reasons, but I will always be grateful for your decision. Thank you, Your Majesty.”

  Ewan and Allyson backed away once the king and queen accepted their thanks, and they returned to the Gordons.

  “Lady Allyson,” a masculine voice carried from over Allyson’s shoulder, and she wanted to squirm when she recognized it. “It is a relief to see you safely returned to court. We have missed you and been deeply concerned.”

  Allyson turned to greet Allistair MacDonald, a young man she’d danced with on several occasions and kissed more than once. He was tall and ruggedly handsome, with jet-black hair and deep blue eyes. She’d once considered him the handsomest man ever to visit court. She now realized she hadn’t given Ewan enough consideration. There was no man more handsome than her husband. She sensed Ewan tense as the man approached and reached out his hand. Allyson had little choice but to place hers on his, but she pulled it away as soon as he finished proffering a light kiss over the back of it.

  “Allistair, thank you for your kind words. This is but a brief stop and not really a return to court. I’m eager to make my way home to Huntley and Gordon territory.”

  “Home to Huntley? I thought you just returned from your home, your real home.” Allistair sounded confused on purpose, and Ewan wanted to choke the man.

  “My real home is Huntley, or rather wherever Ewan is.”

  “How quaint,” Allistair’s smile looked painful, as though he fought not to curl his nose in disgust.

  “Thank you for stopping to say hello. I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening.” Allyson nodded and turned her back to Allistair.

  Ewan was forced to sit through four more s
imilar exchanges as men approached Allyson, one going so far as to request a dance the day after Easter. Allyson tittered and explained that would be impossible, since she’d already saved every dance for Ewan. Allyson was charming, but she was clear that she had no interest in continuing any flirtations with men from her past. Ewan ground his teeth and forced himself not to lash out at the men who he felt were leering at Allyson. He had never been possessive, having shared everything with Eoin their entire lives, but he found that Allyson brought that side out of him. His snarl kept women from approaching, and he was relieved not to have any more specters from his past appear while he was with Allyson. He suspected, just as Allyson wasn’t fond of reminders from his past, he would never grow accustomed to men flirting with his wife.

  When the meal ended, Allyson found herself swallowed in a gaggle of ladies-in-waiting who peppered her with questions and false concern. She knew they merely wanted information to turn into gossip. Her father, Ewan, Eoin, and she had agreed they would not speak of what happened at Chillingham to anyone, not even the king unless pressed to. So Allyson steered the conversation toward the time she and Ewan were at Redheugh, gliding over her mad dash to Culcreuch and Glasgow. She spoke of their walks and the time spent reading together, playing games, and dancing. She knew news that there had been dancing so close to the beginning of Lent would be enough to distract many of them. That it had only been a few nights just before Shrove Tuesday wasn’t what the women focused upon. Allyson slipped free and embraced Cairren Kennedy, delighted to see her best friend.