Was she trying to see that I followed, to make sure that I hadn’t left her?
Cameron gained a good bit of speed, and as he came alongside them, he plucked her out from in front of Keith. He looked back and saw his brother grin.
Cameron ushered the procession forward and nodded to Aidan, as he slowed to a trot.
“Ye’re riding with me.”
Abby studied his eyes seriously, her focus shifting from eye to eye. Her gaze was intent.
“Th-thank y-you,” she said, mouthing the words awkwardly. Her eyebrows crinkled as if she was thinking through the process of speaking.
It looked almost as if her mind’s haze was lifting, Cameron thought to himself.
Cameron was surprised to hear her speak. Her voice was throaty from years of silence, he assumed, but it sounded like he remembered. She hadn’t spoken much then, though. He had only heard her say her name, but her voice had been melodious.
He couldn’t stop himself from raising his hand to her face. He cupped her chin and his thumb stroked her cheek. She closed her eyes and a smile slowly appeared on her face. She sighed in his hand. Her trust in him surprised him, but it pleased him.
“Come, let’s go,” he said gruffly, adjusting her more securely on the warhorse and in his arms. She grabbed his knee out of fear.
“It’s alright, Abby,” he said, as he placed an arm around her waist.
She relaxed against Cameron and looked up at him. He was staring ahead but dropped his gray gaze down to her green ones, and she smiled. He smiled back.
“Ye must be tired, Abby. Rest. We’ll reach my home soon,” he said, and she turned back around to look forward. “Our home.”
He felt the tension leave her body as she slowly fell asleep. He had noticed the dark circles under her eyes.
She must have been in a constant state of tension at home with Haynsworth.
Abby was so petite and thin. His hands could span her waist. She looked so fragile and scared. He could only guess at the abuse she must have suffered at the hands of her father. Emotional abuse was certain and he didn’t doubt the possibility of physical abuse.
It was a year of marriage and no more, unless she carried his bairn. From experience, he knew that she would not get with child. His seed never took root. He always looked longingly at his nephews and nieces. He wanted a bairn of his own, but none of the women he had been intimate with ever got with child. That was when he realized that one woman was just like any other, and for that reason, he took only one woman as his mistress- Gillyanne. They were all the same. None of them conceived and he wanted to blame them, but he knew the fault lay with him.
His thoughts returned to Abby as she moved more into the shelter of his arms. She huddled closer to him, burrowing in his warmth. His arms tightened around her. Cameron remembered how fragile she was and was going to loosen his hold, but then she contentedly sighed.
She likes being held by me.
A profound feeling of protectiveness and possessiveness filled him. She was his.
But only for a year.
Chapter Six
They reached Dìleas Neart Castle, the MacPherson holding. It meant loyal and faithful, and strength and power.
He gently woke her from her sleep.
“Abby…” She didn’t respond. “Abby, we’re here,” he said a little louder.
Keith looked at him with a smile on his face.
“One woman is like another, right, Keith?” Aidan said, laughing.
“Aye. Mark my words, Aidan, he will soon see that error,” Keith said.
Abby stirred awake at the fifth mention of her name.
“Cameron?” she asked, rubbing sleep from her eyes.
“We’re home, Abby. This is home,” he said gently. “It means loyal and faithful, and strength and power.”
She looked at the massive castle, and massive it was. It stood so high it looked as if it touched the clouds. Brown stone showed on the outside. Four towers stood on each of its four corners. Between the four corners was the massive, fortified main structure that adjoined to each of the towers. Numerous guards were posted. The wall outside of the castle also had guards. Fires and torches were lit to provide the light that was now gone from the fallen sun.
“Do ye like it?” he asked, wondering why her answer was important to him.
She nodded her head.
Cameron dismounted and grabbed her by the waist to bring her down. When she looked into his gray eyes, he felt a fierce yearning swell up in him.
She was so beautiful.
He brought her down to her feet, as his mother approached alongside Catherine and Amy.
“We’ll get her settled in, Cameron. We’ll place her in the east tower, as we said before,” Alice said, watching him closely. She hoped he had changed his mind.
Cameron hesitated and Alice saw it, but he finally nodded and they led Abby away. She frequently looked back at him. He watched her until they finally disappeared into the holding.
Cameron had the stable master tend to his horse and entered the castle. He sat in the great room and Patrick caught him up on the day’s events.
The great room was large. Chairs were by the hearth and the dinner table was big enough to seat thirty. At the head of the table, there was one chair that stood out. It had a high back and was very ornate, meant for the laird. A fire burned in the hearth. Above the mantle, there were swords and shields passed down from generation to generation.
Cameron looked to the numerous chairs in front of the hearth. He had often believed that his children would be there playing, while their mother sat watching them.
That dream was long gone now. It would never be. It could never be.
He cleared his mind from old wishes and dreams, and concentrated on the present.
“She’s been asking about ye,” Patrick said.
Cameron nodded and let out a long breath.
“She doesna know, does she? She wondered why everyone was gone,” Patrick said.
“It wasna important and it still isna. ‘Tis none of her concern.” Cameron tapped the tabletop.
Patrick laughed, as did Aidan and Keith.
“Knowing Gillyanne, I would say that she would think it was her concern,” Keith said.
Cameron shrugged.
“Will yer bride stay in the east tower as ye’d planned or nearer to ye?” Patrick asked.
“She will be staying in the east tower,” Cameron said after a long pause. He wanted her to stay near him but perhaps she did not want the same. He wasn’t going to force her to do anything she didn’t want to do. In the year that he had her, he would do everything he could to ease her worries.
In the one year he had her, he repeated to himself.
One brief year.
If she wanted to stay in her own room, all the more better, even if his attraction to her was strong. He needed to remain distant from her. Abby was too fragile, and furthermore, no heirs would result from any coupling.
Would they?
“Are ye nay going to attempt to get her with child? I saw her from afar. She’s bonny. I am sorely tempted myself,” Patrick jested.
Everyone laughed but Cameron. They all took note of his serious demeanor and quieted. Annoyance flared in his eyes.
“‘Tis late. I will be retiring to my chambers. Until tomorrow.” Cameron stood, dismissing them.
“Are ye nay going to consummate the marriage, Cameron?” Patrick’s intonation rose in unison with his eyebrows. “I apologize for jesting about that, but in all seriousness, ye must consummate the marriage.”
“There’s no purpose. The marriage will be annulled regardless once she doesna get with child.” His tone was clipped.
“Still, Cameron, with a body like hers!”
Cameron glared at Aidan.
“No, Cameron, give it some thought. Ye leave the marriage open to be contested. ‘Tis dangerous. Ye need to bed her. Ye know how desperate Haynsworth is to annul this.”
Cameron sta
yed quiet for the moment. He’d give Keith’s point more consideration later. He nodded.
“Goodnight,” he said and left.
“Give him time. He canna deny himself that long,” Keith said after Cameron left. “He has to consider many issues in his head.”
“Like what?” Aidan asked.
“Like his attraction for Abby, and the protective and possessive feelings towards her. I know that throughout these years he has often thought about her. He willna easily forget about her now that she lives here,” Keith said smiling.
They all shared a laugh.
When Cameron entered into his room, Gillyanne was waiting on his bed.
“Hello, Cameron, I’ve missed ye.”
She wore a thin nightgown. Her dark blond, shiny hair curled around her in long, loose tresses. Her blue eyes were fixed on him and her lips curved into a seductive smile.
“Did ye miss me?” she asked, stretching languidly like a cat. She was reed thin. She was even thinner than Abby, he thought, only he knew she didn’t have an abusive father to blame for her thinness.
“I was verra busy, Gillyanne, and I’ve only been gone a day,” he said, loosening his tunic as he strode into the room. He hated possessive, needy women. Why he’d suffered it from her for so long was anyone’s guess.
“A day too long, Cameron.” She displayed her carefully practiced pout.
“I’m weary, Gillyanne. I will be sleeping alone this evening. Goodnight.”
She gasped and her mouth stood open in surprise. She rushed over to him and threw herself in his arms.
“Oh, Cameron, I need ye. Doona turn me away,” she said pleadingly. “I’m so eager for ye.”
“Go to yer chambers, Gillyanne.”
“They’re too small, Cameron. Truthfully, giving me the chambers in the east tower would be better, doona ye think? Well, I would even settle for sleeping in here with ye.” She passed her finger down his chest.
Cameron looked upwards. This one was a handful, but she had been his mistress for years, much longer than any other. It was second nature to tolerate her histrionic personality. He knew what she wanted. She certainly dropped suggestions like fire-lit arrows on a rebellious mob.
She wanted to be Lady MacPherson.
Too late.
“Ye have three chambers in yer grand bedchamber, Gillyanne. I doona see how those are small accommodations. The grand bedchamber in east tower only has two rooms.”
“Yes, but they are quite lush and ravishing.” She silently added that the east tower was where all of the Lady MacPhersons had slept. Well, except for Alice.
Gillyanne had set her eyes on that title long ago.
Cameron exhaled sharply. She recognized the tells of his impatience and decided to acquiesce.
“Well, Cameron, I shall leave, but I will miss yer warm, hard body next to mine. My body always cries out for yers.” As she passed him, she rubbed up against him.
Weary from the day, he lowered himself in a chair with a healthy pour of spirits. He was in a contemplative mood.
He now had a wife and a beautiful one at that. Unfortunately, she also had a broken mind and was mute. To further complicate matters, she was the daughter of an enemy. A much despised enemy.
His smile was bitter.
Life had many twists and turns. He was thankful, though, that she wasn’t as haughty and demanding as Gillyanne, or evil like her father. She was pure without guile.
Cameron needed to stay away from Abby. Her state of mind was one that forced him to be cautious near her. He had to be careful around her and he needed to speak to his staff. Even if she would be present here for only a year, it would be a year that she would be at peace and free from her father’s harmful whims. He would give her the security he knew she’d never had.
The door opened suddenly without any announcement, and Patrick hurriedly strode in.
“What is it?” Cameron rose from his chair.
“Gillyanne went to the east tower.” Patrick inhaled deeply, catching his breath.
“Damn it.”
In two strides, he was out of his chamber marching towards the east tower. It was a lengthy walk, considering that Cameron’s rooms were located in the north tower. He knew how unpleasant Gillyanne could be and that made his steps all the more hurried.
“Who are ye? Did ye hear me, wench? Who are ye?” Gillyanne yelled close to Abby’s ears while she grabbed and pulled at Abby’s arm.
When Cameron heard Gillyanne, he cringed at her rudeness. His anger took hold when he entered the room.
Abby was covering her ears with her hands and Gillyanne was close, yelling into them. Abby was shaking her head, tears falling from her eyes.
“Get away from her!”
Gillyanne jumped back, but her surprise at Cameron’s presence didn’t dampen her anger.
“What is the meaning of this?” Her hand swept the space in front of Abby. “Who is this daft girl and why is she in the east tower, reserved only for the laird’s wife?”
Abby was frightened, there was no doubt about it. He hated weaknesses in women, specifically quick-to-come tears, but Abby was different. She had experienced much in her young life. It was odd, but rather than loathe her weaknesses, he wanted to protect her even more because of them.
“Well, Cameron, who is she?” She tapped her foot in practiced impatience. “Stop yer crying, girl,” Gillyanne snapped at Abby.
“Why doona ye speculate, Gillyanne,” Patrick said, impatient and annoyed. He never liked her, which was something he, Aidan, and Keith all had in common. The women, too.
Gillyanne looked back and forth from Abby to Cameron until it dawned on her.
“Tell me ye didna marry, Cameron! Tell me the truth!”
Abby held her ears tighter with her hands. Her sobs broke the silence in the room.
“This is Lady MacPherson, Gillyanne. She is my wife.”
Gillyanne ran across to Abby and pulled her hands from her ears.
“This daft simpleton is yer wife? She’s spineless, Cameron. A pathetic child,” she yelled.
Abby’s face was red and her breathing shallow. Her eyes were bright with the shedding of tears.
“Pathetic.”
Gillyanne’s sneer managed to snap Abby out of her spell. Her spine straightened. She fisted her hand and broke out of Gillyanne’s hold.
Taken aback, Gillyanne looked over at Abby and scoffed.
“So the meek mouse has teeth.”
Abby’s breaths became deeper and slower as the irritation she felt overpowered her fear. Her eyes reflected anger, and it was only surpassed by Cameron’s.
Cameron’s temper soared. He walked over to Gillyanne.
“Doona ye touch her again!” he said in a harsh, scalding whisper.
Gillyanne regrouped and realized how jealous and petty she probably seemed.
“I apologize, Cameron, for my actions.” Her voice was calm as she smoothed her skirts.
“I am nay the one meriting the apology, Gillyanne, my wife is.” His tone was clipped. He walked to Abby and rested his hand on the small of her back.
Gillyanne took several moments before she spoke again.
“I apologize, Lady MacPherson, for my behavior.”
Gillyanne’s tone was artificially sweet, and belied the cold steel in her blue eyes.
“Leave now,” Cameron growled and dismissed her from his mind when he turned to Abby.
“Are ye all right?” He wiped her tears away with his thumb.
Abby nodded. Cameron noted the anger in her eyes.
That was telling, no? Perhaps all hope was not lost with her regaining her mental faculties.
She suddenly hugged him. For being such a tiny thing, he thought, she certainly gave a tight hug. Cameron placed his arms around her, kneading her neck.
She felt so good in his arms.
Gillyanne stood at the door, watchful. She clenched her teeth in direct proportion to her fists. She saw the mouse in Cameron’s arms shudd
er when they locked eyes.
“Ye must be cold. Why doona ye get into bed,” he told Abby.
Gillyanne gave Abby one last hard stare before sauntering off in a puff of anger.
Abby’s face was red and her eyes were luminous emeralds. He placed his warm palm on her shoulder and guided her to the bed. She refused to let go of his hand. The panic in her eyes made him pause.
“I’ll stay with ye awhile, Abby, but then I must leave.” His voice was soft in the quiet room. His eyes remained steadily on hers. The temptation of her body was too great, and too much of a lure if he stayed.
Cameron sat on the bed next to her, leaning back. He looked down at her peaceful face, now calm and asleep. Her breathing was even and her long eyelashes fanned her porcelain-rose cheeks. Her petite hand was engulfed by his. He slowly laced his fingers with hers, and felt his heart seize at the sight. His skin was darker compared to hers since he spent nigh every day outside. His hands were rough and callused. Old scars marred his skin. Hers were soft, smooth, and creamy. He brought their joined hands up and rubbed his nose on her knuckles. She smelled wonderfully, and he found himself breathing deeply, wanting to memorize her flowery scent.
Cameron’s eyes glided over the face that had haunted his every thought and dream for the last six years.
He couldn’t help himself when he reached out and smoothed her blond hair away from her face. He touched her cheek, relishing in its smoothness and softness. She sighed in her sleep and he smiled. She certainly felt comfortable with him.
Abby was so beautiful and so innocent. Her lips were full and were the kind that men fantasized about kissing. Cameron wondered what they tasted like. He hadn’t been able to kiss her after they married since she had seen his plaid and had become frightened.
His thumb rubbed over her bottom, plump lip.
“Ye willna be able to stay away from her long, Cameron,” Patrick said standing at the door.
“I have to,” Cameron whispered, not taking his eyes off her.
His nostrils flared and his teeth clenched. He was peeved that someone had witnessed his tender exploration of his beautiful wife’s features. Admittedly, he also hated that he would force himself to stay away from the angel who haunted his dreams, and who now calmed his soul.
Forget Me Not, My Scottish Love (Heart of a Highlander Collection Book 3) Page 5