Andie chose that minute to come into the great room. She hesitated slightly when she saw them, but walked over to the table to grab a piece of fruit. She avoided their gazes like Riley avoided bathing. Gavin couldn’t keep from looking at her. His eyes drank the sight of her in, from head to toes.
Gabriel stood by witnessing the silent two. Riley ran in towards Andie, breaking the resounding quiet.
“Andie! Andie! Look what I found!”
He ran over to her and showed her a worm. “Riley, that’s a… nice worm,” she said making a face.
Riley giggled. “Andie, it’ll make great bait! Come out with me, Andie! Yer sunburn isna so bad now.”
She laughed. “Alright, we shall go, hmm.” Andie took his hand as he skipped next to her.
Gabriel waited in the deafening silence for his brother to say something. Tired of waiting, Gabriel lashed out with scathing words.
“I canna believe ye took her innocence, Gavin.” He looked at his brother angrily.
Gavin stayed silent, staring after Riley and Andie.
“What were ye thinking, mon? She’s too innocent. She’s lost everything, and ye took advantage of her!”
“What do ye want me to say, Gabriel? She’s pure temptation! I couldna help it.”
“Aye, ye could! Ye’re the mon, the older, wiser mon. And d’ye think she could help it? What would her father say if he were alive?”
“He wouldna say anything. He’d have my hide.” Gavin looked at his brother. “I know that ye’ve wanted me to be with her Gabriel.”
“Aye, as in mon and wife. I admit that, Gavin. She’s good for ye, but for the Lord’s sake, I never wanted ye to take her innocence and cast her aside!”
“I didna cast her aside,” Gavin denied.
Gabriel saw uncertainty and something else in Gavin’s eyes.
“Ye care for her, doona ye?”
Gavin looked away.
“That’s it, isna it?”
“Nay, I doona!”
“Fine then. We canna let her reputation be affected. I will be the gallant one and go to Bryce.”
“For what?” Gavin snapped.
“To offer her my hand in marriage. If the bastard Maitland brother who deflowered her willna be responsible, then the duty falls on the other responsible, respectable brother. I will wed her.” Gabriel eyed his brother.
Gavin slammed his hand down on the table. Again, the table moaned from the strength Gavin exerted. “Ye will not offer her yer hand or any other part of yer body if ye want to keep it!” Gavin’s eyes were glowing, and his voice was octaves deeper “Ye will do no such thing, Gabriel! I forbid it. I will never approve of ye wedding her!”
“Why nay?” Gabriel said, pushing Gavin’s buttons.
Gavin hastily walked over and stood in front of Gabriel. Gabriel stood a couple of inches shorter than Gavin, but nevertheless, their eyes met. Forrest green eyes met pale silver ones. When Gavin was in good humor, his eyes glowed. When Gavin was angry, his eyes still glowed, but they dilated, too. In battle, Gabriel and his men laughed as the enemy warriors crossed themselves when they saw Gavin’s dilating, glowing eyes. Being the one to receive that threatening, glowing glare, Gabriel now understood why.
Gavin’s eyes were dilating rapidly now, as Gabriel studied him. His pupils were wide and black.
“Why nay?”
“Because she’s mine, damn ye!” he roared.
Gabriel smiled widely and stepped back. “I thought ye did.”
“Ye thought I what?”
“Cared for her.”
Gavin was still tense. He understood that his very intelligent and perceptive brother had entrapped him.
Gavin pushed him.
“Hey! Play fair, Gavin.”
“Damn ye,” Gavin said, cracking a smile.
“Wed her, Gavin.”
“I willna wed another, and ye know that. I willna, Gabriel, so doona pursue this.”
“Ye’d be stupid nay to, Gavin. Riley adores her. He fairly follows at her skirts. She’s honest, trustworthy, and beautiful.”
“Nay woman is trustworthy, brother. ‘Tis a lesson I learned and ye’d do well to learn it from me and nay experience it yerself. I have duties to attend to.”
Gavin walked away, leaving his brother smiling after him.
A week passed quickly, fluidly, and oh so eventfully. Secret smiles were shared whenever one looked up and caught the other staring. Greedy glances were stolen during busy, crowded moments. Licentious leers were exchanged when they thought no one was looking.
Each night both would unite in a haze of desire, sharing each other’s bodies, reveling in each other’s passion. After her evening story, of course.
Andie was in bliss. Walking on air had a new meaning for her. She was in love, and love, she’d discovered, weighed less than the very air she walked on, and was twice as fragile.
It pained her to admit it, since she knew that Gavin didn’t feel the same about her, but she was in love. Love was blind, but Gavin wasn’t.
Resigned with the fact that time with him was uncertain, since she would have to return soon to her clan, she appreciated every moment with him. With them, she mentally corrected. Her time spent with Riley was lovely and eventful. There was never a boring moment.
“Riley, why doona we go to the castle? We need to eat. Are ye nay hungry? It’s almost midday.”
“Yes!” he responded.
Together they walked back to the castle after their morning together. Riley skipped along, without a care in the world. Food was brought to them and both delved in. It was so delicious, Andie rolled her eyes Heavenward.
Gavin walked in when she did the telling action.
“Is it good?” Gavin asked, a grin on his face. She opened one eye and looked at him. She smiled and swallowed.
“Yer food is the best, Gavin. I’ve never tasted finer.”
He laughed. “Seems like it, for every time ye eat, ye roll yer eyes.”
“The wine tastes odd, though, but it’s still tasty,” she said, sipping a little.
He took the wine, had a little, and made a face. “Aye, it’s more than bad.”
“Nay, I’ve had worse.”
“Papa! Andie and I have been playing with other children. Did ye know that she can sew, too? She helped Aliss make a quilt.”
“Incredible, a woman who can sew. That’s amazing. They canna do much of anything,” Gavin said, waiting for her response to his jab.
She looked at him with her lips pursed and a raised eyebrow. He laughed and Riley’s head perked up from his food.
“Papa, ye laugh a lot now.”
Gavin looked to the side and crinkled his brow as if only just realizing that.
“I think that I’m going to take a nap. I’m feeling tired all of a sudden.”
“It’s probably all the sun ye’ve gotten recently.”
When she looked up, Gavin winked at her. It was so sexy, she melted. She knew what he really meant was that her tiredness was due to long nights and little sleep.
Her cheeks blushed.
“I agree, Papa. Look at her cheeks and how pink they got all of a sudden,” Riley said, licking the stickiness off of his fingers.
Gavin laughed. “Let us go, Riley. Andie needs her sleep.”
Andie watched them leave and her heart skipped beats. They were in her heart and she loved both of them. So quickly these feelings had come upon her. So quickly she had lost her family, and just as swiftly, she fell in love.
She knew that it could never be. Shaking her head, she slowly got up and went upstairs. Maybe she had had too much wine. Two glasses? She didn’t know, but all of a sudden, her legs felt heavy.
She had just made it to her bed, when she collapsed, and went into a deep sleep.
“Where is she? I want to hear how Erik battled the sentry to gain access to the Caves of Kath!” one of the men said.
Everyone was gathered around the great room. Lord, Gavin thought, it looked like a sic
k hall. Men, women, and children gathered around, waiting for the next segment of the story to begin. Their faces were showing a sourness only bad ale would cause, or so he thought.
“It’ll probably be something implausible, like he ate the magic root of Jasper to gain strength,” Harold grumbled.
They all eyed him with barely concealed annoyance.
Gavin looked around for Andie and hadn’t found her. She wasn’t in her room, that much he knew because he’d gone there before coming downstairs. She was never late to anything, much less to her story-telling gathering. She knew how the crowd grumbled at the slightest bit of tardiness. The crowd became cantankerous, making Gavin irritable.
The sun was almost setting and it had been raining for sometime.
Where was she?
“Seems like she may be out wandering, and lost track of time,” one of them complained. The others gasped in incredulity.
“We need to hear about Erik!” one said loudly.
Bryce and Gabriel exchanged amused looks. Gavin, though, felt something was wrong. Something just wasn’t right.
“I’m going to go find her.”
Bryce and Charlie looked up. “Is there something wrong?”
“I doona like that she has nay been seen in a long while.”
Everyone immediately began to talk. Now they were worried about Andie, thinking about something other than Erik and their damned story.
It was storming when Gavin stepped out of the castle. He was immediately soaked. Running to the stables, he reached and mounted his large steed. The massive beast snorted and Gavin stayed him with a strong command. The beast whinnied and calmed, letting his master guide him.
The search began.
Lightning streaked the sky and thunder rolled loudly. Many of the clan had dispersed to their cottages, but some remained wanting to help search for Andie. The rain continued its hard, cold, and unrelenting assault on them.
Gavin’s heart was in his throat. Something was amiss. It was very unlike Andie to disappear without anyone knowing. She wouldn’t leave the crowd waiting for her, most assuredly.
He spurned his steed into a faster run. He searched from the east boundary back in, fearing he would find her in the woods, dead. He knew it was unreasonable to feel that way, but something kept gnawing at him. No one could get onto his land without him knowing. He had guards stationed all around.
So where was she?
The search lasted all night, and yielded no results. Gavin’s irritation grew at the same rate of his worry. Standing in the great room, the water forming puddles at their feet, they began discussing Andie’s disappearance.
“I doona know where she could be.” It was Bryce who spoke. The creases on his forehead rolled in a unified frown.
Gavin remained quiet, refusing to voice the knot of fear he felt in his stomach.
“Bryce! Gavin! This just came.”
Gavin looked up to see Charlie running towards them.
“It’s a message,” Charlie said.
“Where’s the messenger,” Gavin asked, his pale eyes studied Charlie unwaveringly.
“I tried to stop him, Laird, but he ran away. The rain was falling too harshly for me to get a good look at him. He left, heading east.”
Gavin took the message and read it. He reread it as long moments passed. After the men stared at him for what seemed like an eternity, he crumbled the parchment and immediately left the great room, striding towards the stables. Bryce picked up the message, and he and Gabriel read it. The men immediately ran behind to catch up with Gavin.
Gabriel tried to calm the fury he saw Gavin wearing like a mask. “Gavin, ye doona know if it’s true.”
“We’ll find out now,” he said, never taking his gaze away from the stable, or breaking his stride. The rain went unnoticed by him, although it felt harsher now than before.
Gavin headed for the last stall, all the way in the back of the structure. The stables were huge, one of many that Gavin had on his land.
When he reached the back of the stables, he saw her. She was lying on the hay. Her breasts were bared, and her skirt was hiked up. Her cheeks were flushed, and her mouth was swollen.
Gavin’s temper spiked and remained there.
“Andie!” he roared. He blinked twice rapidly, believing he saw Sarah there lying upon the hay. The action quickly cleared the repulsive apparition, restoring Andie’s sleeping form.
She began to stir slowly awake. Gabriel, Bryce, and Charlie finally caught up to him. As soon as he heard them approach, he leaned down and covered Andie’s breasts.
“Andie!” he roared again.
She slowly opened her eyes and brought her hand to her ears. “Doona scream, Gavin, my head hurts,” she whispered.
“Get up!” he bellowed.
His blood at a boil and in a hot searing rage, his eyes changed to the lightest shade of silver, with wide dilated pupils.
“Why are ye yelling at me?” she whispered. Her lip began to quiver. Tears formed in her eyes when she looked down at herself, seeing her clothes in disarray.
“What happened?” Her eyes met his.
“Ye tell me, Andie.” His voice was cold.
“I doona remember!” She brought her hand slowly to her face. “My arms feel heavy…my head is so foggy.” Staring at her clothes, she asked, “Did someone violate me?” Her lips quivered and tears began to fall.
“Who did ye lie with, Andie?”
“I didna lie with anyone!” she yelled tearfully. She tried to stand up, but was so shaken, she had to hold onto the stable wall. Her head spun in a fierce acrobatic circle. Failing many times to stand, she cowered against the wall, sobbing.
“I canna stand up.”
Her knees wobbled when she managed to squat, then she fell back onto her knees again. Andie leaned to one side and hurled the contents of her stomach. Once she finished retching, she looked back up at them, still trying to cover her disheveled appearance. Gavin took off his wet shirt and gave it to her.
“It’s wet, but it’s more than ye have on.” His voice held none of the warmth she was used to.
Andie could barely open her eyes.
“I’m scared.”
Again, she turned to the side and heaved. She tried to stand on wobbly legs but couldn’t, falling to her knees yet again.
“What’s wrong with me?” Andie tried to blink open her eyes.
Bryce came forward and sunk down to his knee. “Andie, do ye remember anything, sweetheart?” The concern she heard in his voice comforted her like a freshly sun-dried plaid wrapped around her shoulders.
Andie shook her head. “Nay, Bryce. My head hurts and my eyes hurt from the brightness in here.”
“Andie, it’s the middle of the night,” Bryce said, concerned.
She cocked up her head at him in confusion. “But I went to go take a nap upstairs. It canna be this late.”
“Bring the torch forward! Now!” Bryce commanded. Charlie brought it closer to Andie’s face. “This will hurt, Andie, but open yer eyes.”
She complied, but a gush of tears came forward from the strain. Even the light of the torch proved to be too harsh for her sensitive eyes.
“Her pupils are enlarged.” Bryce looked up to Gavin.
Gavin expelled a harsh breath.
“What does that mean?” Charlie asked.
“It means that she was given something in her food,” Bryce responded angrily. “Someone wanted her to lose her senses,” Bryce said, looking at Gavin. “They gave her too much of it, it looks like. Look at her! She’s deathly pale and shaking. Why would they do this to her? Did they violate her?”
Gavin felt repentant. He had suspected the worse from her, but then again, he’d seen Sarah’s form there instead of hers, and he’d been filled with loath. At hearing Bryce’s question, a seething rage bubbled beneath the surface. Violate Andie? Never. Not live to tell about it, anyways.
“I will find out, and I will make him pay with his life,” Gavin growle
d.
Andie began to cough and turned to hurl again. Bryce went to pick her up, but Gavin did before he got the chance.
Gavin cradled her closely to him. How could he suspect her of lying with another man? He closed his eyes, so angry at himself for doubting her.
“Her wine tasted bitter this afternoon.” Gavin strode towards the castle. Andie clutched him closer to her.
“My stomach hurts, Gavin,” she whispered against his shoulder. Andie whimpered.
“It’s going to be alright, sweeting, just be calm.”
Gavin entered into the great room.
“Gabriel, find Greida.” He marched upwards to Andie’s room and placed Andie on her bed.
Greida came in minutes after. Gavin had placed a cool cloth against Andie’s forhead.
“What happened?”
“She’s been retching and she canna stand up on her legs. Her body is trembling fiercely. Her eyes are dilated and her head pounds.” He paused for a second and expelled a breath. “She may have been violated.”
Greida looked down at Andie contemplatively, and then turned to the men.
“Laird, I will need everyone out of the room to examine her,” she said. They didn’t move, and true to her nature, she clucked and shooed everyone out.
Once left alone with Andie, she asked her questions.
“Does yer head pound, lass?” she asked softly.
“Aye, Greida, something fierce. And I can barely open my eyes, for the light burns them.”
“And yer stomach?”
Andie made a face. “It feels awful. It feels like it’s burning. Oh! And my head willna stop spinning!” She looked into Greida’s brown eyes through the slit of her eyes. “I’m frightened, Greida. What if I was violated or poisoned?”
“When did ye last eat?”
“Earlier this day, before midday. My wine tasted awfully sour, but I didna think anything of it.”
“Let’s change ye into yer night shift,” Greida said, reaching for it and helping Andie into it. After the chore was completed, which caused Andie great effort, Greida said “Ye werena poisoned, Andie, for if ye were, ye would’ve been dead by now.”
To Have and to Trust (Heart of a Highlander Collection Book 1) Page 11