The Perfect Ten Boxed Set

by Dianna Love

  All eyes were upon them as he pulled out her chair. “Good eve, my lady.”

  She said not a word, only lifted a brow when Flora glided into the room and took a seat in the first row, directly before them.

  Beth picked up her white cone, made a show of flapping it out before placing it in her lap. The women mimicked her actions. The men, frowning, followed suit. Not a one, apparently, was of a mind to garner his ladywife’s or his own wife’s disapproval.

  As Rachael served Isaac, Beth ground out between clenched teeth, “May I serve you, my lord?”

  Cautioned by the fierce glint of steel in her eyes, he said, “Thank ye. All smells verra good, my lady.” When the corner of her mouth twitched, he added, “Appears verra good, as well.” Her gaze slid to his lips, but she remained mute as she slung food into his wooden trencher. He scowled when she placed the weeds in it.

  Pouring an oily red sauce over the greenery, she said, “Dandelions, fennel, and crest. Eat it. You’ll like it.”

  He glanced down the table to see Rachael, having finished helping Isaac, now served Angus, who looked none too sure he wanted weeds either.

  After the rotund priest offered grace, every eye came to rest not on him but on Beth. When she smiled and broke her bread, a collective sigh rose and the hall quickly filled with the usual clamor of sixty people trying to talk over each other as they ate. Of all the women he’d known, only the most powerful of dowagers commanded the level of deference he’d just witnessed. And odd that Beth now should.

  Finishing a really delicious joint, Duncan glanced up and caught Kari slapping her husband’s wrist as her man tried to pitch a bone to the floor. Contrite, the soldier placed the bone in the big bowl. Duncan’s gaze shifted around the room to see others doing the same. Ah. The dogs will be sorely disappointed, he thought, placing his bone in the bowl before him.

  And where were the beasts? He glanced around and found his normally boisterous lymers lying at the far end of the room, looking forlorn with heads on paws. At this time of day, he was normally tripping over them. How verra odd.

  Having eaten his fill—even the weeds, which truth to tell tasted verra good with the wee pieces of egg and onion, he pushed back in his chair. “My lady, all,” his hand swept the table and the room, “is well done.”

  “Of course, my lord. It’s what I do, arranging banquets.” She placed her napkin on the table. “Given adequate time and ingredients, I can put on a feast for one hundred that will knock your socks—-hose—off.”

  He recalled her tale of life in the new York. Given he’d just consumed the best meal he’d eaten in years, he murmured, “I dinna doubt ye.” In fact, he could not remember the last time he’d enjoyed such simple fare as much. He studied the room once again. It did look more impressive, as if he were a knight with an income of five and two thousand pounds instead of one with a tally amounting to little more than one thousand. The Bruce will be impressed and think twice before plotting against him. Then again, the bastard just might double his efforts to acquire Blackstone.

  Duncan leaned toward her. “Lass, we need speak of matters that keep us at dagger points.”

  “Nay, my lord.” She stood and smiled at the people who now watched her. Without moving her lips, she whispered, “We’ve said all that needs to be said save this.” She glanced at Flora and color flooded her cheeks. “I’ll not tolerate her presence another day, so you’d best find a place for her outside these walls.”

  He reached for her hand. “But Beth, ye dinna understand...”

  A wane smile formed as she gently touched his lips. “Oh, but I do, you son of a—”

  She spun on her heel and left in a swirl of emerald silk but not before he’d noted the wetness, a bright silver sheen, that coated her eyes.

  To see the depth of her humiliation, and to realize she might still care for him despite it, hit him like a gauntleted fist.

  Chapter 17

  Her heart tripping, Beth clutched the sides of the elongated dinghy with both hands as the two silent clansmen, their heavily-muscled arms bulging and straining, powered them across the choppy water bringing her closer and closer to shore. She couldn’t decide if her agitated heartbeat stemmed from being in a boat for the first time since nearly drowning, from the simple excitement of finally getting to see Drasmoor, or from finally getting away from Duncan’s constant demands that she speak with him.

  Since she’d yet to get through a night without dreaming of him, without seeing him in Flora’s arms, she wasn’t inclined to even give him the time of day. Not that she had a clock.

  Kari tapped her shoulder and pointing, started naming the various burns and hills before them. In short order Beth found herself gawking like a tourist. She was so distracted by the sights, Kari had to reach out a hand to steady her as the boat ground to an abrupt stop on the gravel beach.

  “Here we be, my lady.”

  The guards jumped out first and stood in knee-deep freezing surf to haul the bow higher on shore, the boat’s wooden hull scraping in loud protest against the rock-strewn beach.

  Beth jumped for dry land but an icy wave caught her feet, reminding her once again why so few at Drasmoor knew how to swim.

  She followed the men through the town. The scent of roasting venison mingled with that of pine and fish drying in the sun. Dodging chickens and small children, the guards hurried them along the wide gravel-and-crushed shell paths, past the village’s stone houses. Anxious to see everything, Beth’s head bobbed and spun like a midway ride as she tried to catch glimpses of the sturdy stone homes’ interiors. Women, their arms loaded with babies—-some swaddled in crisscross fashion, others just settled on cocked hips—bobbed their curtsies as she waved and hurried past.

  “Kari, why are you racing hell bent for leather?” She really wanted to see the village, to seek a possible threshold back to her time.

  When her friend’s expression shifted from a smile to her what the heck are you saying look, Beth panted, “Why do ye make such haste?”

  Kari pointed to the mid-day sun. “‘Tis late.”

  Beth blinked. It wouldn’t be dark for at least six or seven hours. “I’d really like...” She came to an abrupt halt to stare up the nostrils of a shaggy bridled pony. One of the oarsmen held its reins.

  She shook her head. Cute and calm as the beast appeared, Beth’s only experience with horses amounted to patting the velvet muzzles of spit-and-polished police mounts. Examining the cracked and weathered sidesaddle, she asked, “Can’t we walk?”

  “Nay, m’lady.” Kari pointed high into the hills. “There is purpure.”

  Beth looked up at the groundcover tinting the steep hills purple and then at the sidesaddle. “Oh.” She chewed her lower lip. “There’s none lower?”

  Kari laughed, “Nay. Come, my lady, the sumpter willna bite.”

  Beth waved toward Kari’s pony. “You first.” After Kari mounted without difficulty, Beth exhaled and nodded to her guard. He bent at the waist and laced his fingers. She stepped up as Kari had done, only to find herself suddenly flopped over the saddle and clutching the poor animal’s mane for dear life. She heard Kari giggle and flashed a warning look. She then growled at the grinning guards for good measure.

  Once she had her right leg draped over the pummel, the snickering guards mounted and led them single file into the hills. The higher they went the shoddier the homes became, some were merely stone and waddle facades placed across little caves dug into steep slopes. Wandering stonewalls kept grazing cattle from devouring the scattered fields of waving oats and rye. Seeing a painfully thin woman struggling uphill under the weight of a wooden yoke balanced by hide bags full of water, Beth grimaced with guilt. Not two weeks ago she’d been put out because she couldn’t get hot water on demand.

  This Scotland had nothing in common with the splendid manor homes and manicured landscapes she’d become familiar with in her time.

  As they rode higher, Kari murmured, “’Tis our place for the men and women w
ho arrived after fleeing their own septs or have nay clan. The MacDougall provides refuge, protection, and food in exchange for a pledge of fealty. None bear our name.”

  Half way up one steep incline Kari pointed out the tiny stone cottage, saying it had once been Rachael and Isaac’s. How, Beth wondered, did people survive like this? And did Duncan not trust them?

  Within a few hours she and Kari had gathered armloads of heather, thistle, pine boughs and a collection of twisting vines that would substitute nicely for curly willow.

  For Beth, the ride down from the hills proved scarier than the ride up. Though the views were spectacular, full of panoramic seascapes, beautiful water falls—-burns—and an eagle’s view of all she could lay claim to, she could also see exactly where she’d land should her pony stumble on the shifting shale clattering beneath his hooves.

  When they finally reached the stable and dismounted, her legs shook so hard she couldn’t walk.

  Beth kissed the pony’s whiskered muzzle. “Thank you for not plunging over the cliff.”

  She turned for the boat and nearly collided with the priest.

  He reached out to steady her. “My lady, I will ride with ye to Blackstone. We need talk about yer conversion.”

  Beth shuddered. “Must we?”

  Scowling, he grasped her arm. “Aye, my lady, we must.”

  ~#~

  As soon as their boat reached Blackstone’s quay, Beth bolted. She’d had her fill of the priest and his edicts. How she managed to hold her tongue as he laid out his plan for her religious enlightenment, she’d never know. She’d rot in hell before she’d spend even one morning on her knees decrying herself for a heathen. Huh! She’d been sorely tempted to tell him if he needed something to do, he should chase down her philandering husband.

  She raced through all she could downstairs to prepare for the Bruce’s arrival, and then climbed the stairs to the solar, where she found a beautiful starfish on the bed.

  Despite her refusal to talk with him, Duncan had been leaving little gifts in the solar all week. She turned the perfect, prickly peace offering in her hand. Where did her husband sleep now? He’d given over the solar to her without so much as a grumble, so she hadn’t a clue. When Flora’s face came to mind and Beth’s stomach clenched, she dropped the starfish onto the mantel next to the bird nest.

  Feeling maudlin and hating herself for it, she picked up her latest project, her boar bristle makeup brush. The donating boar now slowly turned on the roasting spit.

  As she wrapped thread around a few course hairs, she hoped the chalices she’d found in one of the storage rooms had taken a polish. Too, she hoped the women had been able to gather enough greens.

  Beth put down the bristles, too agitated to concentrate. She stood and the singular key hanging from a ribbon around her neck thumped at her waist. She fingered the wrought iron symbol of her power. Duncan had left the key on the bed along with a nosegay of wild flowers. Rachael had to explain its import, that as chatelaine—-mistress of the keep—she had the honor of carrying the keys. Since Duncan only had one lock, she had only one key. The fact that it belonged to the dungeon didn’t detract from the sentiment. He wanted peace between them.

  But the peace he sought was a long way from being won. To Beth’s great annoyance, Flora, though never at meals now, still remained within the keep. Beth had no way of knowing if he went to her at night, but suspected he did, given his appetites and the woman’s blatant sensuality. Thinking about them together, making love, turned her stomach and caused a tightening in her throat. She pushed the thought aside. No easy task since Flora would be joining them for dinner tonight.

  According to Rachael, Miss I’m Too Sexy would serve as a gentle reminder to the Bruce that Blackstone also had close ties to the powerful Campbell clan. Why this was necessary Beth had no clue.

  Beth examined her night’s wardrobe and groaned. Much to her chagrin—and Rachael’s delight-—her ensemble included a gold-and-pearl-encrusted headband with requisite rear veil and two jeweled cauls—-nets—-for holding her hair on either side of her face. Her strapless gown with its row of ornamental amber buttons down the front and back laces had been altered through the bust. It was made of deep blue and green vertical silk panels. She was to wear a jeweled girdle and a three-foot-long golden link necklace with a dangling reliquary. The locket she could have done without after learning the enameled doodad was a priceless heirloom of wife number two and held a relic—-a few hairs or pieces of bone from some dead saint. Just the thought of touching it made her skin crawl.

  To complete her ensemble she had to wear a bliant—-a full-length, highly-prized blue squirrel-fur-lined coat with billowing sleeves. Taken together it had to be the ugliest getup she’d ever seen.

  Struggling into the under dress she fervently hoped she wouldn’t expire from heat prostration before the night was through, but if she did, she’d look good doing it. She now had mascara, shadow, blush, and lip gloss thanks to beeswax, soot, charcoal, wild raspberries and umpteen hours of experimentation.

  As she dropped the gown over her head, someone knocked on the solar door. Thinking it Rachael, she called, “Come in.”

  Duncan cautiously pushed the door open to find his ladywife wiggling frantically within a mound of silk.

  “Rachael, can you please help me get into this before I suffocate?”

  He grinned as he strode to Beth’s side. The woman was a wonder. He silently eased the gown’s opening forward so she could extricate herself.

  As soon as her head popped out she gasped. “Duncan!”

  “My lady, pardon the intrusion. I’d not kenned you’d still be at yer toilet.” Had he, he would have remained below, but then tonight was too important for both of them. As she backed away, her arms finally finding their way out of the gown, he asked, “Will ye come with me? I’ve something of great import to show ye.”

  “Oh?” Her eyes grew wide with apprehension. “Is the venison burning or the—”

  As she grabbed up her skirts readying to run for the door, he caught her elbow. “Nay, my lady. The preparations below go well. ‘Tis something else entirely I want to share with ye.”

  “Oh.” She dropped her skirts and craned her neck to silently study him for a moment. She released a hiss of air before saying, “Husband, I haven’t time for conversation right now. I’ve too much yet to do for the banquet.”

  Augh. She still wasn’t inclined to make this easy for him despite all his gifts. “Beth, please. ‘Tis of great import and will only take a wee moment of yer time. Please? ‘Twill please ye, I promise.” He gave her his most beseeching look. As she eyed him warily, he kenned her skepticism. Given all that had transpired between them, he’d be reticent, too, if their roles were reversed.

  She huffed. “Aye, as ye luste, but later. Right now I need to get about my work.”

  He exhaled audibly and smiled. “Ye willna regret agreeing, my lady wife.”

  ~#~

  Heads turned an hour later when he led Beth through the crowded bailey. As he guided her toward the thatch-covered stable, her brow remained furrowed and he urgently prayed this gift—his most prized personal possession—would finally break down her defenses and incline her toward peace.

  As he pushed a pitchfork out of their way, Beth glanced about. “Duncan, if you’re about to show me the kittens, I’ve seen them. They’re bonnie, but—”

  “Nay, dear wife, ‘tis nay a kit I luste to give ye.” He drew her to his side as he rounded a mound of hay and released her hand. “‘Tis this.”

  Beth blinked and stepped forward to examine his pride and joy, to touch the deep green globes hanging off the wee bowed branches. “What is it?”

  “A lemon tree.”

  “A lemon...” She faced him, eyes round and mouth agape. “But how...I mean why is it hidden here? Doesn’t it need sun? And how did you come by it?”

  He couldn’t help but grin at her. Aye, ‘twas good, her wondrous look. “‘Tis brought out at sunrise b
ut kept out of the wind and then returned at gloaming to this barn where the cattle help keep it warm.” He stroked one fruit with a gentle finger. “I’ve been coddling the wee thing for two years, hoping it would finally bear fruit. ‘Tis most precious to have somethin’ so fragile thrive in this harsh place, nay?”

  Beth, fingers to her lips, murmured, “Lemons. I can’t believe it.”

  He took her left hand in his. “‘Tis for you. My gift. I...” When she tried to extricate her soft hand from his calloused one, he held fast and murmured, “Nay, Beth.” He fingered the gold and ruby band that bound them together and swallowed the sudden thickness in his throat. Inexplicable fear had him tripping over his well-rehearsed words.

  “I...I like ye verra much, my lady. Aye, verra and I am most humbly sorry for my brutish treatment of ye in the solar. ‘Tis not my normal way. ‘Twas fear that turned me into a beast, ye ken?” He looked up from her hand to her face and took a deep breath, pleased to find her gaze—-now questioning—firmly locked on his.

  “I have cursed myself far harder and longer than ye could in two lifetimes, lass, once I kenned your true intent for the blade. And ye must ken that what ye saw in the upper hall—-with Flora—‘twas naught of my doing. Nay. I wouldna. ‘Tis not an honorable man’s way.” He dropped her hands and heaved a sigh. “‘Tis all I have to say.”

  Beth took a deep breath, stunned by the sincerity in his voice. Could she believe him? His hands shook as they’d held hers. Apologizing hadn’t come easy for him, and yet he cared enough about her to do it. Now her dilemma was whether or not to believe him. Did she dare hope?

  Her heart cried yes, believe every word, but her brain balked. Hadn’t she been hurt enough? Didn’t every man caught cheating proclaim innocence? Yes. Yet her heart kept insisting, “He said he likes you verra much.”

  She reached up and stroked the brocade jerkin on his chest. Just nights ago his chest, so broad and beautiful by the glow of the solar’s fireplace, had brought her to tears. She heaved a sigh. If only he hadn’t allowed—-wanted—Flora to remain within the keep.