“’Tis my trouble. Ye must nay hold back any plans ye had for it. Besides he is three days away so how much trouble can he be?” Mora asked.
“A lot. He is but a day’s ride from here.”
“He is? But it took us nearly three days to reach here.”
“Ah, weel, we came a circuitous route and were in a cart. We also wanted to go carefully, slowly, because of ye and the boy, and needed to keep a close watch for Robert and his men.”
“Oh. I hadnae realized he was so close to us here.”
Mora began to think of how she could get to her uncle if it was only that far away. She was not sure how much it would take to get to Robert’s father, but it could at least be considered. Then she could get in and speak with her uncle. He had always been a reasonable, friendly, and understanding man. Mora did not think that had all changed. She felt certain she could get him to believe her if she could just talk to him.
Annys got up to leave, breaking into her thoughts. Mora watched as the woman gracefully walked away, stepped out the door, and was grabbed by her hobbling husband. She then listened to the woman scolding Harcourt on walking and carrying something on his broken foot.
“I hope he isnae injuring it,” Mora murmured.
“Nay, he wouldnae do that,” Gybbon said. “He believes in what she says when it comes to healing. And, she is light so I doubt carrying her off somewhere is going to damage him, but he will put her down quickly if he feels it is doing damage. And what are ye doing?”
“Fixing a few of Andrew’s shirts. He can be verra hard on clothes.”
“Aye, my mither used to complain about that with all of us. Freya went up to the bedchamber and Mary told me she let her in. She didnae wish to go out and watch us practice. So, are ye feeling better?”
“Oh, aye. I am nay certain why I got feverish again, but it has passed.”
“Just as long as ye dinnae do too much.”
“Aye,” she replied, and pushed aside the thought of going to face her uncle.
She began to pack up what she had brought into the room and soon had Gybbon escorting her back to her bedchamber. Mora did not know if she was to offer an invitation or leave it until he made some move to join her. Then Andrew skipped up and took her by the hand, ending all debate. Despite his presence, however, she leaned forward and intended to kiss Gybbon on the cheek. Gybbon turned enough to make her kiss land on his mouth, and Andrew made a noise of childish disgust.
Grinning, Gybbon said, “I will see ye later.”
Mora walked off to see where Andrew was sleeping and wondered if she was right in thinking he was saying he would be back in her bed. She would readily accept him, too, for she was determined to enjoy that as much as she could before she attempted to go and speak with her uncle.
Chapter Fourteen
David frowned up at the sky as he and Niall rode into the small village. They had only been gone two, almost three years, but there were visible changes in the village. Riding along easily in the open air was a pleasure, especially after the many times he and Niall had had to hide after fleeing the place where they had been held prisoner. The vast, starlit sky was now just black, the soft light shed by the moon vanquished. He could feel the touch of a damp coolness in the air.
“’Tis going to rain soon,” he muttered to Niall, who rode at his side.
“Aye. We have been wet before. Filthy too,” Niall said, scowling down at his travel-worn clothing.
“True enough, but I would prefer to avoid being so again. We will go to the inn.”
“We could go to Aunt Maggie’s.”
Glancing at the row of the old laird’s leman cottages with the one burned out shell in its midst, David felt his heart clench with a sorrow he had no answer for, although he had cared for Aunt Maggie. “Nay, we cannae.”
Niall looked where David did and cursed with a fluency in three languages that David had to admire. “Sad to say, cottages burn all the time,” Niall said with a slight lilt at the end, which made it less of a statement and more of a question he wanted an answer to.
“Aye, they do,” said David, “but I have a verra bad feeling about this time and this cottage.”
“Ye have had a bad feeling since we left France.”
“I have and it hasnae faded, just grown stronger with each mile we have drawn closer to our home.” David turned toward the stables next to the inn. “Mayhap we can get some news while we are at the inn.”
“Nay sure I want to hear any,” muttered Niall as he reined in next to his brother and let David chat with the lad who would put the horses up in the stable.
Just as they stepped inside the inn the sky opened and let go of the rain the clouds had been holding. David hastily shut the doors. He got a room for them both to share and ordered their meals. The innkeeper would have been someone he could ask, but he was so gregarious and talkative, David decided not to chance it. He then chose a table near to the windows and Niall sat on the small bench across the heavy wooden table from him.
“Now what has ye frowning?” asked Niall as he nodded his thanks for the tankards of cider a girl brought them. “I have learned to worry when ye frown like that.”
“’Tis just that I thought I would be happy and eager to get home, yet I am not. I keep waiting for the feeling but it just doesnae come.”
“It has been two cursed years. Near three.”
“True. Yet, some touch of those feelings should be there when we are so verra close to home.”
“Mayhap it was seeing Aunt Maggie’s house burnt down and nay kenning why or e’en if she got to safety.” Niall smiled widely at the plate brimming with meat and a few vegetables set in front of him by a shy serving maid. “Some food will help.”
“I dinnae think so, but my belly is telling me to cease fretting and eat.” He grinned when Niall laughed.
For a while Niall and David quietly enjoyed their meal. David kept looking out the window and he was not sure why. He watched one of the maids hurry by with full tankards, caught Niall doing the same, and they shared a grin. A moment later he was staring out the window again and suddenly he knew why. Four men rode up and dismounted. They stood by while one argued with the stable lad. The torches lighting the front of the inn gave off enough light to show him the man’s face, and David cursed.
“Grab your food and cider,” he told Niall as he collected his own. “We will finish this in our room.”
Niall picked up his plate and drink, then frowned at David. “Why?”
“The Ogilvy brothers have just arrived.”
Niall cursed and gently grabbed the arm of the busy serving maid as she started past them. He asked if there was another way to get to their room and, after she refilled their tankards, she quickly led them to the back stairs the servants often used. Once David and Niall were in their room, they locked the door and settled at the small table there to finish their meal.
“Are ye certain it was them?” Niall asked as he finished his meal and sat back to sip at his cider.
“Oh, aye. It was them.” David carefully stacked their plates, then sat back to savor his own tankard of cider. “Robert was arguing with the stable lad. The other three just stood there watching him and getting wet.”
“Do ye think they are all in it together?”
“If they are, the other three are in it due to fear of Robert. They have always feared that fool.”
“Aye, that is true. Yet, to follow him when he is trying to kill off his own blood kin is rather odd.”
“We dinnae ken how or for how long he has kept his boot on their necks. I do ken that the laird made certain young Murdoch was guarded weel until he learned how to fight with some skill. Also recall often thinking that the three, Duncan, Lachlan, and even Murdoch, should just get together and beat the meanness out of him.”
“How did ye learn that about Murdoch?”
“Heard Maman and Da talking about it once. Something happened that made putting a guard on the boy a necessity. Da said he
was of the opinion one should be put on Robert.” He grinned when Niall laughed, but his expression grew worried. “We should have gone home.”
“Aye, but now we need to ken what happened to Aunt Maggie and why her house was burned.”
“We will despite how strongly my innards tell me I dinnae want to ken.”
“We could just ask one of the people here.”
“And I would if Robert and his brothers were nay here.”
“Ah, weel, best we get some sleep as I feel we will have a lot to do come the morning.”
David stood up and went to the door to set the plates and tankards outside. To his delight one of the serving maids was there collecting other things set outside the doors, and he requested the full breakfast for two in the morning plus a small jug of cider for the night.
She returned with an admirable speed, so he gave her a coin in thanks, and he set the jug and small tankards on the table. Her prompt cheerfulness was quickly explained when she made it clear she thought they were Camerons. David did not correct her because he did not want their real names mentioned where Robert might overhear.
Locking the door securely, he stripped off his clothes, washed up with the water and cloth left out for guests, and then went to the bed. He kicked at Niall, who was taking up more than his share of the bed, and then settled down. It was going to be a long night, he decided. He had too many questions and no answers. David knew they would prey on his mind for most of the night. It was time for them to find out the fate of Aunt Maggie and then get home.
* * *
Mora was just climbing into bed when Gybbon slipped into her room. She just smiled and he began to strip out of his clothing. Although she knew it was bold, she could not stop watching as he undressed. He truly was a fine-looking man. Lean yet well-muscled and all of it covered in smooth, slightly swarthy skin with only a few scars.
When he was naked, and she was trying very hard not to stare at his groin, he reached out and yanked off her shift. Mora squeaked and slid down beneath the covers. Her sudden attack of shyness faded when he grabbed hold of her and held her close.
Leaning into him, she decided she really liked the two of them sharing a bed. He was warm and the sound of his breathing or his heart beating was comforting. She knew what they did was wrong, but she simply could not find the heart to care.
Gybbon doubted she had any idea of how badly he wanted her. He was very pleased that she had not backed away after their last time together, but welcomed him into her arms again. As he smoothed his hands over her slight yet temptingly curvy shape, he kissed her and kept kissing her until she got that faintly dazed look in her eyes that he liked.
Nudging her onto her back, he began to kiss her breasts. Plump and soft, they filled his palms, her nipples growing hard and inviting quickly. He took one into his mouth, teasing it with his tongue and sucking on it. Mora made a noise and arched into him. He kept at her until she began to writhe beneath him, then began to kiss his way down to her stomach.
Mora threaded her fingers in his hair and tried not to pull on it. She pushed away a touch of fear of how much of her he was seeing and concentrated only on how he made her feel. Then he kissed the inside of her thigh and she shuddered. The feel of his hair brushing against her groin was similar to a light caress and she closed her eyes, promising herself that she would not consider what he was doing or seeing but just enjoy what he was making her feel, how his kisses made her blood run hot, and how his touch made her breathing grow shaky. Then he kissed the red curls between her thighs and her body jerked in shock, but before she could react and push him away, he tightened his hold on her thighs slightly and began to torment her with his tongue.
When he kissed her there as if he was kissing her mouth, she felt her body begin to tremble faintly. Mora remembered that from the last time he had bedded her. She knew she was nearing the edge of that fall that had left her panting and weak. She called his name and realized she was whispering, but the way he began to kiss his way back up her body told her he had heard her.
Finally, he pressed his forehead to hers and eased himself inside her. “Pain?” he asked.
“Nay. None.”
“Ye have no soreness?”
“Nay. None,” she said, and reached down to clasp him by the buttocks and push him toward her.
He chuckled and began to move. Mora wrapped her arms and legs around him and held on tight. Gybbon kissed her even as he began to move harder and faster. Mora decided she loved the feel of him moving inside her, even loved the feel of holding him as they were both naked. It was odd for she was actually very modest, had always been so. Then that feeling that she suspected she could come to want all the time started to sweep over her and she tightened her hold even more, rising to meet him, and he thrust hard a few times until she cried out.
She closed her eyes and enjoyed the strange rush of feeling in her thighs and the release of the tense ache low in her belly. Her grip on him eased as it all slowly slid away leaving her warm and content. Releasing him when he slipped away, she then tensed as he returned to wash her off. Placing her hands over her face, she attempted to just ignore that very practical act after such pleasure.
Gybbon got into bed and pulled her into his arms. “Dinnae fret so, sweetling. ’Tis better to do that than to just lie about in the mess.”
“One shouldnae have to consider mess after such a thing.”
“Few things in life dinnae have some mess,” he said, and nuzzled the side of her neck. “One of those hard facts of life. We are a messy lot, we people.”
“Sad. I dinnae understand any of this anyway, so I shall take your word for it.”
“Thank ye.”
She patted his chest. “Ye are welcome.” She smiled when he laughed, then blushed because she suddenly had a question she was not sure she should ask. “Is what ye did, weel, normal?” She ignored his choked laughter.
“Aye. Why?”
She shrugged and began to lightly stroke his belly. “I was just curious. I also wondered if it is done to men.”
His entire body tensed. “Aye, in a way. Some men with a wife back home try to claim it is nay being unfaithful to have a woman do that instead of making love to them.”
“I doubt the wife thinks so. I saw an army once and I saw the wagons following it. The hard women always follow the army. My mother used to cluck and condemn them, nay because of what they did to make a living but because they did it with husbands. I did wonder at the time if my da was one of the husbands she thought of, but I didnae ask.”
“Probably a good idea.”
“Aye. I dinnae think I really wanted to ken anyway. Then Da would have just been a mon instead of Da, if that makes any sense.”
“It does. Suddenly he has all the faults of any mon, is nay better than the cooper down the road.”
Mora nodded as she gently caressed him down his chest and over his taut belly, inching ever closer to his groin. Then taking a deep breath, she slipped down that little bit more and lightly grasped him in her hand. He jerked but did not pull away.
As she thought of doing what he had done, he kissed her and Mora knew she could do it. She might not do it well, but she could try. The moment his kiss ended she began to kiss her way down his body. She could feel him tensing beneath her and prayed it was not because she was doing something wrong. When she reached her goal she ran her tongue over him and he groaned. Taking that as approval, she continued, even slipping her hand between his legs to caress that other part of him. As curious as she was interested in giving him pleasure.
When she kissed the top he caught her head in his hands and suddenly he was in her mouth. Her shock came and went quickly and she began to imitate his movements in her body. Then she gasped when he grabbed her foot and swung her around so that he could torment her again. When that feeling began to sweep over her again, she gasped, and then he tossed her to her back, plunging into her with no hesitation. Mora sat, then took his hint when he grabbed her by the h
ips and began to move her. She rode him and was soon rising to those strange heights all over again.
Gybbon held her still on him as he felt her release seize her and let his own loose. She slumped into his arms when she was done and he worked up enough strength to pat her on the back. When she slid off he kept his arm around her.
It was several moments before Mora found the strength and breath to speak. “I think we should only do that on special occasions,” she said, and could hear the lingering breathlessness in her voice.
“Good idea,” he answered, and was not surprised at the hint of hoarseness in his voice because he knew he had held back a lot of shouts. “My Saint’s Day, your Saint’s Day, Andrew’s Saint’s Day . . .” He paused. “Michaelmas, Twelfth Night, New Year’s Day, New Year’s Eve . . .” He felt her start to laugh and grinned. “Lammas, All Saint’s Day . . .”
“Hush,” she choked out. “I think some of those might require a hefty penance if we celebrated them that way.”
“I will pay it.”
She snuggled up to his side and wondered if he would be there in the morning. “Hush. I am tired now.”
“Oh, I see. Ye have had your use of me and now ye mean to just rest.”
“Aye.” She patted his chest. “I believe ye have had your use of me as weel, so ye probably need rest, too,” she said as she closed her eyes.
He looked down at her and grinned. She had fallen asleep already. It was pleasant to think he had worn her out with pleasure, he decided, and closed his eyes. He would just have a short rest, he thought, then get dressed and go to his own room.
* * *
The light of the sun shone right into his eyes and Gybbon woke with a groan. He had forgotten to close the curtains. Suddenly realizing he was still in bed with Mora, he groaned again. It was nice to wake up with her, but it was not a particularly smart idea. While he suspected a lot of people had undoubtedly guessed he had taken her as his lover, he did not think she would be comfortable with them seeing the proof of it.
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