by Ashley York
Darragh opened the door. His father’s face was tight and suffused with color. His eyes went from his son, to Tisa, and lastly to Breandan. He was livid. Panic worked its way across Tisa’s chest and her brain searched frantically for the words to placate the man.
“Why are ye here, Tisa, with this,” he jerked his hand between Darragh and Breandan, “going on? Get ye to my house!”
Darragh’s nostrils flared but he held his tongue.
Tisa swallowed before answering. “I am not certain I understand yer question. I had Breandan come here to assist me. He is the one man I ken. If he is not to assist me, I beg forgiveness. I did not realize it was to be so with him.”
Tisa dared not breathe. Darragh squared his shoulders, a smug expression on his face. Aodh narrowed his eyes at her. She schooled her face and prayed there was nothing to see to confirm his suspicions. When he glanced at his son, he smiled. A smile that did not reach his eyes.
“I am glad to see mayhap I have been wrong about ye. I have called a gathering for this night. I need ye with me.” He turned to Breandan. “Methinks ye are needed in the kitchen.”
“Oh, surely he can be of more assistance to my wife.”
Darragh draped his arm around Breandan’s rounded shoulder. Tisa’s stomach dropped.
Aodh glanced at her again. “Is that yer desire, Tisa? To have him close by yer husband... and ye?” His eyes dropped to her body, moving with slow deliberation. Her heart sped up but she held herself stiff against the assault.
“Aye. Breandan is quite capable. I have found him very helpful at home. I had hoped it would be the same here.” Her voice squeezed slightly. She struggled to maintain an unconcerned attitude. “But however ye decide he can best be put to use is yer decision, Aodh. I would never gainsay ye.”
Tisa prayed her acquiescent response would calm the man down. Her husband’s overenthusiastic response to having his lover close had nearly undone him, of that she was certain. Darragh’s reaction had not been uninterested. Not in the least.
“Father, yer choice is one we both will abide by, certainly.” Darragh’s tone had evened out but Tisa would wish the man be struck dumb rather than keep talking and confirm his father’s suspicions. “I thought only to help my wife become more comfortable here. Both Breandan and Caireann are her own people. Their presence would ease the move for her.”
Tisa’s smile blossomed. Her husband had done quite well. Aodh again had that speculative look on his face. Now they waited. He went to the door and stuck his head out.
“Get that mousey girl here immediately!” He glanced back to his son, “Caireann?”
Tisa, Darragh, and Breandan nodded their heads.
“Caireann! Find her and bring her here.”
Aodh moved in closer and smiled at Tisa. “So ye would never gainsay me?”
Tisa gulped. “I would abide by my husband’s wishes. Methinks they would be the same as yers.”
Aodh stroked his finger along her cheek. Her face heated but she said nothing.
“I want ye in my bed.” The old man spoke in a low voice. She held his gaze. His hand dropped toward her bosom but Darragh placed himself in front of the man’s objective.
“Father!” Darragh took her hand in his. “I wanted to speak to ye about that.” He waited until his father turned his gaze to him. “I want there to be no doubt of whose child she carries.”
Aodh frowned. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl. A spider at the top of the door frame danced along its web in the corner. Breandan’s raspy breathing grated on her nerves. Her husband tapped his finger against her hand where he still gripped it.
“I will give ye six months’ time to get her with child. If she does not, I will believe as I always have that yer preference is for boys. If she does,” he winked at her, “I will even step aside as chieftain. Agreed?”
No one dared breathe. Tisa imagined hers was not the only mind frantically searching for a way out of this ultimatum.
“Agreed.” Darragh stuck his hand toward his father. “And ye will keep yer distance from my wife and from our home here.”
Aodh took his son’s hand. “Yer wife, aye. But this will not be yer home, ye will move into the longhouse with me. So I ken ye are well protected.”
“Nae!” Darragh whined, withdrew his arm, and stopped just short of stomping his foot.
Tisa’s mind spun at the very idea of being constantly underfoot of this lecher. Would his word mean anything?
“Then my man, Malcolm, will move in here with ye. To see ye safe.”
“Done!” Her husband gushed his approval and grasped his father’s wrist in a solemn show of agreement.
Aodh turned his face toward Tisa with a smug smile.
“I will apprise Malcolm of the decision but ye need to come with me now. We have much to discuss before Ronan arrives with the Godwin.”
When Darragh would have dropped her hand, Tisa pulled him toward her and kissed him on the mouth. “I will remain here, husband, awaiting yer return.”
CHAPTER NINE
~
Breandan quickly lost interest in helping Tisa arrange the few items around the room.
“I have made a way for ye to stay here. Ye’ll need to show some regard for me for the arrangement to go unquestioned.”
She’d say he remained unconvinced by his lack of expression and listless eyes.
“I ken ye have great desire in ye, Breandan, but it canna be for my husband alone. Do ye enjoy cooking?”
He moved his head in what may have been a nod of agreement.
“Good! And gardening for a fresh supply of vegetables? Perhaps there are some nearby that ye can assist me with. Do ye ken yer herbs?”
He raised his shoulders, held them for effect, and dropped them again.
“Ye make this more difficult than need be.” Tisa was ready to smack the boy.
If he was not of any use, other than to see to her husband’s sexual appetite, he would not be staying. The realization came to her that it was all up to him. Breandan had to want to stay. He had to want to stay enough to want to serve some purpose for her.
She stiffened her back. “Along the slopes to the east is some winter grass. Fetch enough to cover the floors here.”
Breandan wrinkled his nose at her. She held her hand up to stay his refusal.
“If ye wish to remain here, ye will do my bidding or I will have ye removed. Mayhap ye prefer the main shelter? Sleeping with everyone else?”
His jaw dropped. She crossed her arms, tapping her fingers impatiently, and waited.
When he narrowed his eyes at her, she knew she’d won. He did not have to be happy about his chores. He just needed to do them. He left without a backward glance.
Tisa dropped with exhaustion onto the pallet in Darragh’s room. It was soft and smelled clean, as did the thick wool covering she pulled up to her chin. Her husband did demonstrate a propensity for cleanliness. Mayhap that would be something Breandan could see to without objection, the washing of her husband’s clothes and bed linens. It had always been something she’d looked forward to seeing to for Tadhg. Her Tadhg. Her eyes drifted closed.
The aroma of cooked fish surrounded her. She opened her eyes to find she had fallen asleep in the tall grass alongside the fields of oats and barley that grew behind the castle. The sounds of celebration in the distance. Singing. Laughter. A rustling nearby had her flipping over to lean up on an elbow and peer between the thick blades.
“Hah!” Tadhg rushed her, pulling her atop of him. It wasn’t the young Tadhg of her childhood memories but the grown man. His well-honed body solid beneath her while he held her, a hand on each hip, caressing her as he spoke. “Sleeping again when there’s work to do.”
Tisa covered his mouth with her own. Sweet, warm lips that moved against hers with a gentle yearning and parting her own with his persistent tongue. He ignited a deep longing in her. The warmth of the sunlight on her back. The birds singing their joy high in the trees beside them. Tadhg brok
e the kiss and smiled.
“Aye, my bonny lass. I want ye something fierce.” His words moving like heat along her limbs. “When can we see to the bedding?”
She sighed and looked down on him, her hair falling around them. “I am aching to be held by ye, to have ye pressing into me, making me a woman.”
With warm, strong hands he cupped her face and pulled her lips to his again. It intoxicated her. His fingers tracing her arm sending goose bumps along her skin, she moaned into his mouth.
Her eyes flew open and she bolted up in the bed. Darragh’s bed. A tall, dark man with a heavy beard towered over her. He narrowed his eyes at her then broke into a huge grin. He crossed his arms about his chest.
“Aye. Having dreams about yer lovers?”
Tisa’s face grew hot. She swallowed. “What do ye want?”
“Me? Nothing. I heard ye groaning.”
Her gasp got stuck in her throat. That’s what had awoken her from the dream. The sound of her own longing. She yanked the bed covering up tight to her neck.
“Then leave.”
The burly man shrugged and turned about, the heavy material falling down behind him. Tisa leaned back on the pallet. Tears sprang to her eyes. Her dream had been so real. She could still feel Tadhg’s warm body beneath her, his tender hands on her face, his firm lips. She buried her face into the coarse material to muffle her sobs. ‘Twas all so wrong now. How could she go on without having any of her dreams fulfilled?
“I wait on ye, lady.”
Tisa yanked the covers from her face. “Who are ye and what are ye waiting on me for?”
She sounded livid. A glint of satisfaction lifted her spirits. Good. Let him be intimidated by her.
But he didn’t even respond.
Slowly, she got up from the bed and threw the covers back into place. With great stealth, she snuck toward the heavy curtain separating her from the central room. She shifted to the smallest slit of an opening where the edge of the material hung along the supporting beam. The man just stood there looking straight ahead. His hands folded in front of him. He was huge. Massive. His dark beard covered half of his face. He resembled a bear. He wore a long leine that was hiked up at the sides and tucked into the embroidered belt at his waist, exposing thick, hairy thighs. Legs as big as tree trunks.
He turned his face to look right at her. She gasped. A tolerant look crossed his face but he said nothing. She pushed the curtain aside and came into the room.
“Did ye not hear my questions?” she asked.
“Aye. I heard ye.”
She raised her brows in that arrogant way her father used when laying on the guilt. The man refused to respond.
Tisa shoved her shoulders back. “Who. Are. Ye?”
“I am Malcolm.”
The man Aodh was sending? The heat that had just begun to recede, rushed back into her face. This man would be living with them?
“Have ye come to make yerself known to me?”
“I’ve come because the Meic Lochlainn sent me.”
“So ye just come in without my leave and watch me while I sleep?”
“I did knock. Ye dinna answer. I heard a noise behind the curtain so I went in to see if all was well. It was ye who was sneaking a look at me.”
The heat spread down her neck as the embarrassment overtook her.
“I dunna think my husband would want ye in here without him present.”
Malcolm quirked a brow. “And ye allow yer husband whatever he wants?”
Tisa heard the double meaning in his question. She took a deep, cleansing breath. “Who are ye to Aodh? Will he not miss yer overbearing presence?”
“I go where he tells me to go. I do as he tells me to do.”
“Well, I prefer ye leave now. If ye must, wait outside for Aodh. Darragh assured me that none entered this place—for any reason—without his permission.”
The man held her gaze as if he could see right into her soul. She swallowed. His gaze dipped to her neck then back to her face.
“If I make ye uncomfortable, I will wait outside. If ye want anything, ye need only call me.”
“Want anything? What could I want from ye?”
Malcolm had started toward the door then stopped. He covered the distance between them in three steps. Not near enough to alarm, just near enough to ensure he had her total attention. “Ye’ll ken when ye want it.”
He crossed to the door, closing it behind him.
Tisa blew out a breath and covered her mouth. He’d heard her moaning in her sleep! It had been quite a dream. Tadhg was so handsome and his arms were so strong surrounding her. She’d melted against him and wanted so much more. She ran her fingers along her lips and formed a pucker. A total waste of her time.
Smoothing the material over the pallet, she again marveled at how clean it all was. The rushes here were showing wear. Where was Breandan? Her stomach growled. The light outside was fading. She had no idea where they took their meals. Darragh claimed he saw to her comfort surrounding her with people from home but thought nothing of leaving her here to starve. Now who was being a grouch?
She opened the door to find the bear of man sitting on the ground to the left, leaning against the thatched wall of the building. He didn’t look at her. His legs were tucked up. His hands dangled casually over his massive knees. Since she didn’t know what he was doing here, she didn’t know what she could bother him with.
“Can ye tell me where the meals are taken?”
In an amazingly graceful leap for such a large man, he stood and faced her. “Most pleased to bring ye there.”
He offered his arm. It felt a betrayal to Darragh somehow if she actually accepted this deferential treatment. Glancing around, no one else was about. She took his arm.
Rather than heading the way to the longhouse which she knew the location of, Malcolm weaved around the outside of the village. This gave her a good view of the backs of the houses. Some had openings she could see inside, others did not.
He led her up a small hill where two smaller roundhouses stood. One tiny house had a flat side facing the sea with a door that could be closed off. Hanging on the walls were iron implements that looked more like they belonged in the cooking area. She questioned him with a look.
“They hang the meat inside and stoke up a smoky fire then close up all the holes. The small opening betwixt the stones keeps it from bursting into flames.”
“How much meat do ye eat?”
“Meat fills yer belly.”
“As do the grains of the field.”
“‘Twas the Norsemen that showed us the importance of meat.”
Her eyes widened. “The Norsemen? There are ruthless plunderers to the north.”
“Our allies.”
“Are those in yer clan ruthless plunderers as well?”
“If need be.”
Her mouth hung open. That is not what she wanted to hear. This man looked like a trained killer. Like he could squeeze the life out of a man full grown and not even breathe heavy from the exertion.
“What are ye thinking now?” Malcolm asked.
The man may act like he didn’t care what she thought but clearly he did.
“That I hoped it was no longer so. Our clan has been at peace for several generations.”
“Because they had huge warriors ready to do battle for them at any time.”
Tadhg! Her heart squeezed. He was a huge warrior that even this mountain of a man knew of. Her brave Tadhg.
How I miss ye.
“And what of this other building?” A larger, round building sat mostly obscured by overgrown trees and climbing plants.
“Our chapel.”
Tisa gasped. “Why would yer chapel be in such a condition?”
Malcolm again shrugged. “Aodh is chieftain. He decides how things will be. We dunna use the building now.”
“Who was the chieftain before him?”
“Eirnin. When he was chieftain, we used the chapel regularly.”
; Involved with the Norsemen. No regular Christian worship. What type of clan was this? Tisa feared she knew the answer.
“The food?” she asked.
“‘Tis important for ye to understand the lay of the village.” He indicated all the buildings around them. “Beyond the people that live in these buildings are outcasts that live in the woods.”
“Outcasts? Are they lepers?”
“Nae. Aodh has exiled many. He would prefer they see to themselves rather than take away from what the rest of us have, what the rest of us have earned.”
“Can they see to themselves?”
“Not always. But they are not able to contribute so they are cast out. Only the strong remain here within the village.”
The weak could be children, sick, and older members. “Are there none that are weak that he deems worthy of his help?”
“The strongest children that can help with the meals. His mother until she passed but that was because she came to him when she was widowed.” Malcolm shrugged. “It makes the clan stronger.”
“By casting off the weak? That I do not like.”
“That matters not.” His eyes never wavered. “Aodh will have things as he wants them.”
A rock landed at her feet. Malcolm was quicker than she was in retrieving it. He searched the darkening forest beside them as if seeking the source.
“It could have rolled toward us on its own.” Tisa shrugged her shoulder.
Malcolm made a call with his mouth that sounded just like a baby puffin’s cry. A response came. He turned toward her, his eyes wide in the gloaming. “I can see ye to the meal. They’ll be waiting on ye.”
Tisa frowned. “Did ye not get an answer from yer call?”
“Ye need not concern yerself.”
His nervousness mounted and he began to pull her away.
“Malcolm.” A child’s voice called to him.
Tisa turned toward the sound then back at him. “Are ye not going to answer?”
He blew a breath. “Nae!”
“Please.” The child was moving closer.
Tisa resisted his pulling. “Please, Malcolm. Someone is calling to ye. A child.”
“Aye.” Malcolm snorted his objection before turning as well. “Show yerself, little one.”