by Sara Logan
She looked down at the neatly turned-back bedspread, avoiding his gaze, and shook her head. "I don't know if I'll ever marry."
He grinned. "Now, I wouldn't bet on that! This time next year you'll look back on that remark and laugh."
She did look at him then, curiously. "What makes you say that?"
He gave her that dazzling smile and pushed her tumbled hair from her forehead. "Didn't you know that we Scots have the second sight? You'll see that I'm right."
To her exasperation, he wouldn't say any more on the subject. She had no idea what had made him say it. Or name a year's time. What could he mean?
"I want you to take those pills and get some rest. You're not to hop out of bed or anything like that. I'll unlock the door between our rooms but leave it shut. If you need anything at all during the night, call me. The doctor was quite clear that you're to stay off that ankle."
She was staring at him in surprise and didn't know quite what to say.
"You'll be quite safe, I assure you. But if you do need any help, I can get in here quickly. Now, you just settle down and go to sleep, and sleep as late as you want in the morning."
"What about the games? Shouldn't you go?"
"I had planned to."
"Oh, Alex, we mustn't miss the worship service and the Kirkin' of the Tartans. It's so beautiful."
"I'm going, but we'll have to see about you, Chris. You shouldn't put much strain on that ankle; I don't think you'd like me to carry you around all day." He grinned at the expression on her face. "No, I didn't think so. We'll wait and see. If you're still sleeping, I might go up for the main events and come back early. I think we caught all the highlights today, though." He poured her a glass of water, set it significantly on the table by the white pills, and moved to the connecting door. "And I'll just leave this shut. If you need anything, you'll call?"
"I will, Alex," she promised. "And thanks again."
He swiftly recrossed the room, bent over the bed, and kissed her firmly and thoroughly. "I've had my reward," he said lightly as he touched her cheek with a gentle hand. "Go to sleep."
The door clicked shut behind him and Christina lay in the darkened room, gazing at the wall. She roused herself to take the pills and then settled back, thinking of Alex and wondering if this trip had been a good idea after all. She was slipping into sleep when a loud hammering sounded on her door. Christina, startled and slightly confused, sat up in bed and stared across the dim room. The noise began again. She considered calling Alex, then hesitated. He might already be asleep, and he had been bothered with her enough for one night. Trying to clear the drowsy mists from her brain, she stumbled out of bed and hopped to the door.
"Who is it?" she asked, keeping her voice low.
"Chrissy! Open this door!"
James! Christina groaned. Not now. Not tonight.
"I'm in bed, James. I'll see you tomorrow."
"You'll see me tonight, Christina! If you don't open the door this minute I'll break it down," he roared, thumping violently on the door once again.
For one idiotic minute Christina was reminded of the children's story of the three little pigs and the wolf who threatened to blow the house down if they didn't open up. For the first time she knew exactly how they felt. James thumped again, louder than ever. She doubted if he could break the door down, but she was afraid he would wake up everyone in the Lodge and she didn't relish being the center of attention again. She glanced swiftly at the connecting door, but no tall, reassuring form stood there. Her hands shaking, Christina opened the door.
James burst in, nearly knocking her down, and slammed the door behind him. He ran an eye over her, his mouth curved in an unpleasant grimace. "Where's the Highland laddie? I thought for sure he'd be in here with you."
"James, you have no right—"
"I have every right! Do you think I'm going to stand idly about and watch while he takes my girl away from me?"
"I'm not your girl! James, get out of here! You're drunk and you're behaving very badly, and—"
"Am I? What about you, my once true love? Taking up with a man like that, coming here with him, flaunting him openly so everyone can see…" His rage got the better of him, leaving him almost incoherent with anger, and suddenly he reached for her. His brutal hands closed on her shoulders, and she shrank away from him. She was terrified at the glitter in his eyes and the cruel curve to his mouth. With a little cry she struggled to pull away from him and only succeeded in hurting herself.
"For a whole year you barely let me kiss you! And I was engaged to you! Then you come up here, shacking up with that high-flown Scottish lord, and expect me to ignore it! Chrissy, if you think—"
"Let me go! James, let me go this minute or I'll scream!"
His mouth curled with grim humor. "Scream for him? No, you won't! You won't want him to find you in here with me. Well, he's had his turn, and now it's mine!"
He seized her in a painful grasp and swung her up into his arms, carrying her across the room.
"Alex!" she cried, struggling, as she was dumped roughly on the bed. "Alex!" she cried again, in desperation.
Then she was silenced by James's mouth and pressed deeply into the mattress by his weight on her. Sobbing and fighting him, trying to pull her face away, she didn't hear the door open. The first she knew of Alex's presence was when James was jerked off her and she lay there, unable to move, fighting for breath. Her blurred, horrified gaze saw Alex drag James from the bed, spin him around, and shove him against the wall with one furious blow. James sagged, dazed, against the wall, and Alex stepped past him to reach the bed. Christina, huddled against the pillows, felt herself pulled into his arms. She gave an agonized gasp and buried her face in his shoulder, sobbing wildly.
"Oh, Alex," she moaned, clutching him with terrified hands. "He tried to… to…"
He smoothed back her tumbled hair and pulled the covers around her and held her tightly, and in that moment Christina gave her heart away. She knew that she loved Alex more than she had ever loved anyone else, loved him more than she had believed possible.
"It's all right, Chris. Stop crying and tell me what happened. I heard you call and came right that instant. I wasn't prepared for what I saw, I must say, so tell me how the devil he got in here."
"He b-beat on the door and I told him to go a-away. He was making a lot of noise and I f-felt sure you would hear it."
"I was in the shower," he explained, and she noticed then that his hair was damp.
"He said if I didn't open the door he'd break it down, and he was going to. I—I couldn't bear another scene, Alex, and I felt sure you would come. So I opened the door to shut him up and to tell him to go away and he burst in here and… !"
"I've figured out that part of it," he said, his voice tight with anger. "Why didn't you call me as soon as he got here? With the water running in the shower, I didn't hear him… and, I guess," he admitted, getting control of his temper, "that I wouldn't have heard you call. Still, Chris, you shouldn't have opened that door. If he'd broken it down, which I doubt, someone would have come. Well, it's all right now. I'll make sure he gets back to his own room. He's undoubtedly still quite drunk and will have to sleep it off." Alex looked briefly over her head at James, who was shaking his head and trying to sit up. "Get into bed and I'll get rid of him."
Still shivering, Christina obeyed him, knowing that Alex was still very angry and that some of his anger, at least, was directed at her. She realized that she had behaved very foolishly, but James had taken her by surprise and she hadn't had time to think rationally. She watched Alex hoist the confused and dazed James up on his shoulder and disappear with him. After a few minutes he returned, closing and locking the door behind him. Her wide, anxious gaze took in the dark pajamas under the velour robe, the lines of anger around his mouth, the tousled dark hair. She swallowed hard, knowing he probably wasn't finished scolding her. He came and sat down on the side of the bed and looked intently down at her.
"Chris,
that was a close shave. I don't know if he'd have gone through with it or not, but he might have. He was just angry and drunk enough to do so. Tell me what he said."
She hesitated, hating to draw his name into the unsavory business, but when he demanded again to know, she had no choice. In faltering tones she told him. She didn't dare look at him while she was talking, and after she finished there was a long silence. At last she could stand it no longer. She glanced up furtively and saw that his dark eyes were narrowed in fury and a tight muscle twitched at the corner of his mouth.
"It's quite clear what put the idea for this into his head, Chris," began Alex. "He believes that you and I are sharing this room and he resents it. I gather the reason he resents it so bitterly is that he was never allowed that privilege. So he thought he would take what you weren't willing to give. Blast! I should have foreseen something like this. Chris, I'm sorry. You've had quite a fright, I know, but you don't have to worry about James MacDonald trying this again. I'll deal with him!"
"What will you do?" she asked, her violet eyes wide and frightened.
"Make it clear to him that you're no longer his property—and that if he so much as attempts to speak to you again, he'll answer to me! I shouldn't worry, Chris. He'll be ashamed of himself in the morning, I'm sure. He will also," Alex added, grinning, "find that he will have a few bruises that may make walking up and down mountains inadvisable. Now, you just settle down and try to rest. It's what the doctor ordered; remember?"
Christina nodded, wondering if she would be able to get that much-needed rest. She had become painfully aware of Alex, sitting so closely against her, his arm still loosely around her. She took a deep breath, willing herself not to betray the sudden emotion that was coursing through her. Never had a man's nearness affected her in such a way, not even James's when she thought she had been in love with him. For one impetuous moment she thought of telling Alex how much she loved him. Then she remembered that moment in the rose garden when he told her he wasn't interested in getting married, and she knew herself well enough to know that she wouldn't be willing to settle for anything else.
"Rest now," he was saying, with a warm smile. "I won't even demand a reward this time. You've put up with enough tonight without that."
She knew what he was trying to do, to tease her, to cheer her up and lighten the mood before he left her, She cleared her throat and attempted to match his mood. "I do thank you, Alex. You always seem to be rescuing me from my own folly. And you deserve more than just thanks," she said quickly. Then, without thinking at all, she leaned forward and kissed him. He sat perfectly still under her touch, not moving his body or the hands that rested warmly on her back. His lips were warm and gentle but passive, not taking advantage of her gesture. He let her draw back and looked down at her, an intent but satisfied gleam in his dark eyes.
"I appreciate the generosity, Chris," he said hoarsely, "but I think, under the circumstances"—he gave a swift glance down at the high-necked but clinging nightgown—"it's more than time I removed myself and left you in peace. Otherwise…" Abruptly, he let her go and got up, still holding her gaze in that intent, probing way.
"Tomorrow, when you're fully clothed, you can reward me all you like!"
She flushed at his implication and heard him chuckle. He moved to the door and then turned around. "If, however, you have to dream of someone, make sure it's me."
Christina didn't trust herself to speak. She was utterly confused, but she managed a wan smile and watched him go to his room and shut the door firmly behind him. She knew now that she was in more danger from this devastating Scotsman than she had ever been in from James. She would have fought James to the last breath and never surrendered to him. But Alex! She was helpless to resist him. In his arms she seemed to have no will of her own. She reminded herself that she must be very careful not to let him know what an effect he was having on her.
After a bewildered moment she snuggled down under the covers and turned off the light. She was sure she would never be able to sleep, but physical and mental exhaustion plus the little white pills the doctor had left had a quick effect on her, and in a few minutes she slid off to sleep and did exactly as Alex had teasingly suggested.
Chapter Eight
Christina woke early and slid carefully out of bed. Holding her breath, she put her foot to the floor and stood up, testing the injured ankle gingerly. With a sigh of relief, she slowly walked across the floor to the bathroom, letting the injured ankle take its share of her weight, and realized that there was almost no pain. When she moved it in a circle, pulled muscles protested, but, she decided as she ran a hot bath, if she walked slowly and carefully, she could get about on it with almost no discomfort. Wondering at her unexpectedly lighthearted mood, Christina bathed and considered what to wear. She finally chose a medium blue silky dress with hand-painted butterflies on it. It would do fine for the church services and was versatile enough to wear for whatever else they decided to do today. She applied her makeup carefully, slipped her slender feet into pale blue sandals, and was humming when she left her room.
When Alex walked into the dining room a short time later, he found Christina waiting for him at the table, She smiled at his surprised face as he quickly made his way across the room to her. "Good morning," she said.
He frowned. "Chris, what are you doing? You were under strict orders to stay in bed this morning!"
"I feel wonderful and I want to go with you. I hate to miss the church service and the Kirkin' of the Tartans, Alex."
He looked at her seriously. "I think you should rest that ankle. You can't walk up there…"
"I don't have to. There's usually far less problem parking on the mountain on Sunday morning, so we can drive right up. Then I can sit down the whole time. Oh, Alex, I do want to go and I promise to be careful."
Alex found himself giving in but extracting a promise from her that she wouldn't walk around but would stay put once they found seats for the service.
He drove the car up the twisting mountain road and found that she had been right. The parking area on the mountain was not nearly as jammed with cars as it had been on the day before, but it was far from empty, either. He managed to find a place fairly near the festivities and slid the car into it. Holding Christina's arm firmly, Alex escorted her up the narrow path to the spreading meadow and found her a seat near the front. As she sat down she caught a glimpse of Lorna and Rory a good distance away and she sent up a fervent little prayer that they would not see her and Alex.
Promptly at ten o'clock the worship service, held in the natural amphitheater, began. Although Alex was not unaccustomed to splendor and pageantry, he found this experience unique. A lump formed in his throat as, accompanied by the pipes, hundreds of voices joined in the singing of the hymns.
The voices rang out, resounding over the mountain-side, and Christina thought for the dozenth time that this was the most moving worship service she had ever attended. It was a beautifully clear day and the air was warm and heavily scented with pine. The natural beauty of the surroundings complemented the simple service, and Christina noticed that Alex's voice was husky with unexpected emotion.
During the sermon, Christina found her mind wandering. She was thinking of Alex, and as she glanced at him he looked at her with a smile and took her hand briefly. She thought back to the variety of experiences they had shared during the last couple of days and how unexpectedly close they had become. But, she told herself honestly, it was more than closeness she felt toward him. She was deeply in love with him. She returned to her surroundings with a start and realized that she had daydreamed herself through another psalm and that the minister was well into his benediction. Christina listened as the quaint old blessing flowed over her.
After the service, the Kirkin' of the Tartans began. One man from each clan carried his banner, Alex bearing the Stewart flag, and they marched to the podium, where they were blessed, one and all, by the chaplain of the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.
Directly after that people milled around and chatted, and then the men regathered and began the Parade of Tartans. Alex and Christina consulted their program and found that over eighty clans were represented in this parade. All the men marched behind their clan banner, led by a single piper. After that, all the bands joined together and passed in review. There were at least a hundred pipers and the haunting music echoed over the mountain, breaking the still air.
When it was over, Christina rose and found Rory and Lorna approaching. So they had found them after all. She sighed. Then Rory was beside her, telling her how much he had enjoyed the games and saying his goodbye. Lorna, by this time, had edged Alex aside, and Christina couldn't quite catch the low-voiced conversation that they were having. While she said all that was proper to his cousin, she couldn't help but notice the gathering frown on Alex's face and wondered what Lorna could be saying to him to cause it. Then Rory turned to his cousin and Lorna was forced to break off whatever she had been saying to Alex.
"Alex, I've been saying goodbye to Christina, but I know," he added, with a roguish twinkle at her, "that we'll certainly see her again soon. When do you get home, Alex?"
Alex moved to Christina's side and slid an arm around her waist. "I'm not sure. I'm not in a hurry to leave," he admitted, smiling down at her.
Christina blushed, heard Rory's chuckle, and glanced at Lorna. She met that glittering gaze for a long moment and then forced herself to look away, shocked at the fury and hatred she read there.
"I can't say I blame you," Rory said, beaming at them both. "Well, Christina, we've enjoyed it, and we'll be seeing you, Alex, when you get home."
Before Lorna could say anything, even a polite goodbye, Alex had moved Christina away and was steering her carefully down the path to the parking lot.