In the morning things would look better, he thought to himself and let sleep swallow him up for the night. Samuel woke up some time during the night and Byron got up and dutifully feed him. “Here you are Samuel. One day you’ll be a big man just like me! I hate to see how much you’ll be able eat when you are older.” He laughed as he grabbed another bottle of milk.
As Samuel got satisfied his little eyes began to close and he fell back to sleep. Byron tried to lie down, but his mind continued to run as he thought of his late wife Priscilla. She had been a normal looking woman, not beautiful, but not ugly by far. However, since it was an arranged marriage between their families there had been no love between them. Samuel had come out of necessity, to carry on the McSim name.
Byron wasn’t a dumb man; he knew that he wouldn’t find love right away. But at least this time around he would be picking his bride. He tried to picture the perfect woman for him, but really couldn’t come up with a good idea.
He would have one of the maids watch Samuel when he went down to the village, then he thought again, perhaps not. If he was finding a mother for him shouldn’t he take him? Bryon wondered which would be best. After all, he wasn’t going to give the woman he picked a choice of whether she was marrying him. However, he didn’t want a woman who would take out her frustrations on the child. That would lead to far too many problems.
Bryon thought about the best way to go about making sure his son would always be safe. “I’ll just decide in a few hours.” He said to himself. He was side tracked in his thoughts by the wars that were going on around them right now. This was another reason he was looking for a mother for Samuel, the wars. If he had to go fight, he wanted someone who truly loved Samuel to take care of him. He knew the maids could watch Samuel, but they didn’t necessarily have the same attachment with the young boy.
He closed his eyes and tried to slow his mind and not think about anything. Past images of the battles he’d been in flashed his mind. It was a gruesome scene to say the least, one that would scar him forever. Byron hoped that Samuel would never have to face a single battle in his life; if he could he would leave behind a peaceful land to his son.
Bryon could imagine it if he got some sort of peace agreement done, and how he would be thought of as a hero. But more than anything was the fact that Samuel wouldn’t have the same kind of experiences and memories as Bryon did. He smiled and sleep took over for the night.
****
His eyes came open unwillingly the next morning. Bryon felt like he barely had rested during the night. Samuel was just stirring in his crib; he smiled down at his boy. He picked up Samuel and said. “So my boy, we’re both going to find a new mother for you today, and a wife for me! Let’s see what shall we dress you in today?” Bryon looked through the choices of outfits he had for Samuel.
Finally, he settled on a beautiful looking emerald green outfit. It made Samuel’s bright little green eyes shine brightly. “You are a handsome little man already!” Bryon cooed down at Samuel. Samuel laughed up at his father. “I love you Samuel!” He kissed Samuel on the cheek.
Samuel really did make his life better, he couldn’t deny that. As he walked to the village with Samuel he smiled at many people and chatted with several for a while. He heard many condolences and compliments about how attractive Samuel looked today.
“Thank you very much.” He said many times.
Then the fun started, as many of the fathers are brought out their daughters once again. Bryon saw plenty of young girls who were attractive, but they just didn’t quite match what he wanted. He was beginning to doubt that he would find a wife today.
Bryon had just turned to walk back up to his castle when he spotted her. She was alone, and had to be a bit older. She didn’t have the young looks of a child who was just coming of age like a lot of the younger girls in the village. The 18 and 19 year olds that he’d been introduced to had looked younger than their ages easily. But this woman, she looked different, and he liked it.
“Hello, what is your name, lass?” He asked her.
She looked at him then looked at Samuel. “My name Lord, I’m Heather McKogel.” She smiled at Samuel again and played with the boy. He began to laugh as she made funny faces at the boy.
Bryon knew right then and there she was the one he wanted. She was great with Samuel, but she also brought out a deep feeling in him. He knew a lot of it was a lust for a beautiful woman, after all her long red hair flowed down against her white skin and it made her look like an angel.
“You’ll do perfect. Lass you are to be my bride. We will get married tomorrow.” Bryon announced.
“I don’t want to marry you Lord.” She said stubbornly. Her blue eyes looked at him; she showed little pleasure in his offer of being the lead woman of this land.
“You don’t have a choice.” Bryon stated. “Now you can come with me peacefully, or I will get my men to bring you along. Which will it be?” He asked her, his voice barely above the level of a whisper.
She looked at him and saw that he was completely serious. Her eyes challenged him anyway. “I’ll come with you, but I won’t be what you think.” She said very lowly.
Bryon felt a flutter of excitement and a slight mixture of fear. He wasn’t afraid of the woman, she was a little wisp of a thing, and would never truly be able to hurt her. “Just as long as you take care of him without hurting him, I can stand a challenge.” He said, stating his challenge to her as well.
“I would never hurt him.” Heather said, and Bryon could tell by the look in her eyes that she was being honest.
“Good let’s go then.” Bryon started to walk away and she fell in line behind him. As they went he heard several voices of shock.
“He picked her; I can’t believe he didn’t pick you.” One father said to his daughter as Bryon walked past.
Bryon knew that Heather must be newer to the village, and he looked forward to hearing a bit about her. He scanned his memory for any idea of who she might be, but couldn’t come up with it. He looked over at her several times as they were walking to the castle.
She could feel his eyes on her and finally stopped and asked, “Why do you keep looking at me?”
“I’m just trying to put a story with you, are you new to the village?” He asked.
“No my Lord, I’ve lived here my whole life, but you would remember me as Heather McDonnell. I was married for a bit to Kaiden McKogel, but he was killed in battle last year.” She explained.
“I haven’t seen you in years, but yes I remember you now. Your father and mother were good people, I was very sad to see them pass.” Bryon said. “I’m sorry to hear about your husband as well.” He added. Although, if he would be honest he wasn’t sad about that at all, if Kaiden McKogel were still alive, Bryon wouldn’t be getting this woman for his wife.
“Thank you Lord.” She said and looked away from him.
“I know you see this as a bad thing, but really I’m not a bad man. I honestly need a mother for little Samuel, and I would like some companionship as well.” Bryon tried to explain to her his situation.
He watched as her shoulders moved up as she sighed. “I realize that my Lord. I just really don’t know if marriage is right for me.” Heather said.
“But you were married once before, so it must have been right for you. I’m just offering you another chance to have a man in your life, and maybe even a child of your own.” Bryon stated.
“Aye, I know my Lord. That is one thing that I wished I would have had with Kaiden. But he was a mean man, and I’m worried that you will be much the same as him. I don’t want to go through that again, and I don’t want to be controlled by any man. I am my own woman; I should be allowed to make my own choices. But alas, you’ve taken my choice from me again, just like he did on many occasions in the past.” Heather said, she talked fast and her face got red as her anger built up. “Why is it you men always think you know what is right for us? Why can’t you just let me decide whether or not I would like you
and let me get to know you better? No instead you tell me I will be your new wife and new maid for your son. Don’t get me wrong I think he’s adorable, but you on the other hand are just a bully.” She stated.
Bryon held up his hands and tried to get her to calm down.
“No you said I didn’t have a choice. I could go easy or go the hard way. Now that you’ve picked me you have to listen to me.” Heather said.
“Go ahead I’ll listen.” Bryon said.
“You don’t have a choice; you do understand that, right?” Heather asked.
“Yes I do have a choice; if I didn’t want to listen to you I would walk away. I am choosing to let you talk. I however feel that I should be allowed to answer back and defend myself after you are done.” Bryon answered.
Heather looked at him and studied him for a minute. “Fine, if you must.” She looked at Samuel who was looking confused in his father’s arms. “Actually, I don’t need to talk about this now. I don’t want it to upset him.” She said and pointed down at Samuel.
Bryon looked at his son, and nodded. “I think that would be a good idea. We can talk when he takes his nap.”
“Alright this will be fine. Do you mind if I carry him for a bit though, he’s a darling.” Heather asked.
He looked at her for a second, somewhat unsure about whether he should trust her or not. But all he saw in her eyes when she looked at the young boy was love. “Sure, just be careful a make sure you support his head.” Bryon said as he handed Samuel over to her.
“Look at you, aren’t you the most handsome little boy ever! Yes you are, oh look at that adorable smile. Oh there you go!” She talked to Samuel.
Bryon watched her as she held and talked to the little boy. They started to walk again. She continued to look down and talk to Samuel the rest of the way. Bryon heard the little boy laugh more than one time, and smiled to himself.
After they got back to the castle, Heather continued to play with Samuel for a while and even fed him. Byron watched her, she seemed to be a natural at caring for the little boy, and Samuel obviously loved her. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her bright red hair the whole time, and played with her hair a few times as she was feeding him his milk.
“Oh look who’s tired.” Heather cooed at Samuel as he let out a huge yawn.
Byron grabbed Samuel from her and put him in the crib. Heather watched as Bryon did this and had to smile. The big man was so gentle with his small son. She wondered what it would be like to be touched gently like that by him. It made her think back to how badly Kaiden had treated her, he had never once touched her in a gentle manner. For Kaiden it had been about the control he had over her, not only her body, but her mind at times. He had played games with her many times, and often Heather would wonder if she was going crazy.
She shivered thinking of the many times he had forced himself on her and made her have sex. She was thankful that he had never gotten her pregnant. The thought of bringing a baby into a household with Kaiden scared her. Heather would admit to herself, but no one else, that she didn’t miss Kaiden at all. She had been happy to have him die in battle that meant no more pain in her life. Of course, she had acted like the grieving widow for a while after he had died, but inside she was happy.
Now she looked at Byron he wanted her to be his wife, and it scared her. He was already trying to control her, and the only thing she could associate with that was Kaiden. Heather thought she might actual feel a bit of hate towards Byron for forcing this on her. But now that she looked at him with his small son, she felt her heart warm a little towards him. She wasn’t sure if she liked that though, so she pushed those emotions down by thinking more about Kaiden and her past marriage.
****
“Your job is to cook, clean and have sex with me.” Kaiden had yelled at her in this way more than one time.
“What if I don’t want to have sex?” She had asked him one time. That had been the first time he had hit her and forced her to have sex. Heather knew that no one would think it was a big deal. The wife of the marriage should listen to her husband. She would have been seen as the person who was in the wrong. She was honestly worried that Byron would also force her to have sex with him.
But she looked at him again as he rocked little Samuel to sleep and couldn’t picture him being mean to her. Not hitting her like Kaiden had, this man seemed far too gentle. “He’s with his son; he won’t treat you the same way.” A warning voice yelled out in her mind.
She tried to shake the bad thoughts of her head. The fact was that she knew she would have to marry him; he was the Lord after all. Well honestly, it scared her into feeling and thinking that he was far worse than Kaiden might have ever been. “No look at him with little Samuel, he can’t be as bad as Kaiden, never.” She thought.
Byron looked back at her and smiled. “Okay, if you want we can talk now.”
Heather honestly hadn’t believed him when he had told her that they would talk about what she wanted later on. She had figured that he would simply forget and put it off all the time.
“I don’t like marriage. My first husband was not a nice man; he controlled me all the time. I had to do anything and everything he said. If I was too slow at something, he would hit me. If I didn’t feel like having sex, he would hit me, and then force me to have sex. I’m scared that you will force me to do things that I don’t want as well. Look you told me, that I was going to be your wife. How should I act with this type of control? I don’t want it again. I’m happy since he’s gone, but now you want to put me into the same type of relationship, why?” Heather said, but wasn’t sure if she was explaining her feelings well enough.
“Well, I’m not going to change my mind about marrying you, or making you do it. I’m sorry, you may not understand it, but there is just something about you that attracts me. I won’t ever hit you or force you to have sex with me though. Just so you know I’m not a mean person. I don’t know how to explain to you my process of thinking of why I picked you. You’re a bit older, and more mature than the other lasses in the village. Plus the fact that you were married, it means you know what marriage means, well maybe not though now that I know how your husband was to you. I’m truly sorry that he was like that to you.” Byron stated.
Heather looked at him. He talked a good game, and said he wouldn’t hit her or force her to have sex, but he could be lying. She didn’t know him well enough to figure it out. “I’ll marry you, because I have no choice. But I can’t promise you anything else from there. I don’t think its fair that to me. I know nothing of you, besides the obvious that everyone knows around here. You’re the Lord of the land and your wife died just a few weeks ago now, you have a son, and you’re a decent man. But just because everyone sees that side of you, it doesn’t mean you are like that behind closed doors. I know all too well how appearances can fool a person.” She stated.
“I’m not him am I?” Byron challenged her.
“No but you could be just as mean, if not meaner than he was to me.” Heather could feel the tears start to slip down her face. She paused a moment and closed her eyes, she could almost feel the punch of his fist on her skin. “I really didn’t do anything wrong to him either. All I wanted was to not be told what to do all the time. To be made to do things I didn’t choose. That isn’t a life, that’s a prison. I can’t help but feel you are putting me in another type of prison.” Heather said.
Byron walked over to her and touched under her chin lightly, and made her look up at him. He could see the tears flowing freely down her cheeks. He wiped one of them as it trailed down her cheek. He felt her tense up. Bryon took his hand down and walked away from her.
Heather watched as he left the room and wondered what he was doing. His touch had been so gentle on her skin. She had seen pain reflecting back from his eyes as he looked at her. She wanted him to come back now, to comfort her again as he just had. Heather felt a chip of ice melt off of her heart as she thought of Byron.
She thought of how her
parents had always talked about how good Byron’s parents were and that they felt he would be a good ruler. Heather thought back to when she was younger and she had first met Byron. She had been about 16 years old and he was 18. He had been an obnoxious boy who felt that girls were not near as good as boys. Could he have grown out of that opinion? She wasn’t sure if that was true or not. This memory worried her about his ability to not want to control her like Kaiden did, by using his fists and words.
She went over to look down at Samuel as he slept. He was such a handsome little boy already. He looked a lot like what she would imagine Byron did as a boy. She was sure that as he grew up he would be a spitting image of Byron. She smiled down at him. “You’re a lucky little boy if you look like your father when you get older. He’s a very handsome man.” She said to Samuel.
Heather wasn’t aware that Byron had opened the door behind her and heard those words. He silently walked back out of the room.
***
Byron walked a bit more around the castle after he had heard what Heather had said to Samuel. He really did find Heather quite attractive. When he had looked into her eyes he had seen the pain and fear in them. It had made him hurt inside too. He had felt upset about the man who had made her feel this way, “If he was alive I would kill him with my bare hands.” Bryon swore under his breath.
She was so much different from Priscilla, in so many ways. For one she had a nice figure. She wasn’t super skinny like Priscilla had been. Honestly it had been one thing he had never liked about Priscilla, and that was only the beginning of the list.
No one but Byron knew how bad it had been in this castle. Well some of the staff he was sure had heard her on more than one occasion yelling and complaining about things.
“I want to have a son to carry on my name.” He had told her one night.
ROMANCE: HIGHLANDER ROMANCE: Seduced by highlander (Historical Mail Order Bride Time Travel Romance) (Military Fantasy Romance Short Stories) Page 122