by Ruby Duvall
His eyebrows went up. “Ye can read?”
“You can’t?” She was floored when a slash of red appeared on his cheeks.
“No,” he grumbled. His eyebrows twitched. “Ye said ‘neither of the notes’. There was another?” As soon as he said it, the memory of the frightening pair of eyes flashed in her mind. It must have shown on her face because Iain’s expression turned to concern. “What did it say?”
She tried to recall the exact words but she had only seen the poem once and hadn’t dared to look at it again. “It warned me about a wolf. It said the wolf wanted vengeance, that it was watching.”
His voice hardened. “Rossalyn?”
The thought made her pause and for a moment, she wondered. Rossalyn was certainly hateful and had tried to take her locket but somehow it didn’t fit.
“On the note was drawn a pair of eyes—a man’s eyes but I don’t know how I could tell. I can’t think of Rossalyn as a wolf. I thought it would be a MacGregor,” she guessed.
“Show me the note.” He gestured at the locket sitting against the top of her shoulder.
Her heart quivered and she vehemently shook her head. “I don’t want to see it again. Please.”
He squeezed her shoulder. “Ye dinna have to. Just give me the note.”
Her stomach tightened with unease as she reached for her locket. She popped open the clasp. Plucking out the folded note, she held it out to Iain, who took it wearing a grim expression. He sat up, turning away from her and she heard him open up the delicate slip of paper.
“There is nowt here,” he said with confusion.
“What?” Her heart leapt with hope and she sat up, scooting nearer and peering around his arm. He held the note closer to her and it was indeed blank. She leaned her head against his shoulder, tears of relief swimming in her eyes as she took the note back from him. Iain remained silent and for a few seconds, she stared at the blank, delicate paper, fighting to keep her composure, before folding it up and slipping it into the locket.
Just as she released the locket to let it hang free, the moisture that had pooled above her lower lashes spilled over. She tried to wipe the tear away before Iain saw it but the movement was what gave her away.
He twisted toward her, leaning on one hand and sliding his other arm around her waist. “None of that, now. I die a little whenever ye cry.” She gratefully leaned into him, pressing herself against his body. Iain held her close and she slipped her arms around his torso.
She sighed. “I’ve cried more in the last two weeks than in the last two years. I’m not a brave person, I guess.”
“That isna true. Ye’re very brave.”
“But those eyes… When I first saw them, I nearly dropped the note into my bathwater. It felt like they were really looking at me, like they could see me.” She hoped—and prayed—that the blank note was a good omen.
“Ah, so that was it,” Iain said. He pressed a kiss to her temple. “The night I saw ye after yer bath, I thought it was me that scared ye.”
She pulled back to gape at him. “So…so that’s why you didn’t…”
A corner of his mouth curled up. “Did ye want me to?”
“I don’t really know but it was obvious that you wanted to.” She inhaled as Iain caressed her from her hip to her knee and back again. His eyes fell to her lips.
“When I saw ye…” His voice deepened. “Nipples as ripe as raspberries, skin as creamy as milk. Ye tried to hide yerself and it made my cock even harder.” The vivid poetry of his words followed by the almost vulgar admission was a combination that made her vision gray at the edges. His roaming hand cupped her breast and he pinched the stiffened tip. “How could I not want ye?”
Why was it suddenly so hard to breathe? “Well…you’re welcome to…interrupt my bath anytime you like,” she whispered. Iain bore her down, sliding his leg between hers.
“Aye, love. I will.”
Chapter Sixteen
“Emma, ye’ve done nowt but blush and sigh all day,” Aili teased. Emma looked down at the hunk of cabbage she was supposed to be tearing up and realized that she had been spacing out. Across from her, Colin and Beth both giggled, their mouths full of raspberries that had turned their teeth, tongues and lips pink. It was adorable and Emma smiled. Sitting next to her at the table with his arms crossed, Donald was as still and silent as stone.
“I’m sorry, Aili.” She began tearing up the cabbage leaves, dumping the remains into a bowl. “I guess I can’t help it.”
Aili cackled, which got Beth going again. “’Tis expected. Ye’re in love.”
Hearing the word “love” warmed Emma’s cheeks. “How long ago did your husband…”
“Oh, a long while, at least ten years but seeing ye these last few days… I had almost forgotten how much I miss him.” Aili wore a small, sad smile.
“I didn’t mean—I’m sorry if I made you sad.”
Aili reached over and patted the back of her hand. “I dinna want to forget, dear. I like being reminded.”
She wasn’t sure if Aili saw it but she smiled at the old woman. Concentrating on her task, she continued to tear up the cabbage leaves and even had some help from the children, who greatly enjoyed ripping apart the vegetable.
Emma had lost count by now of how many days she had been in this place but it felt as long as a month. She and Iain hadn’t yet discussed a wedding but she could feel that it was expected—and soon. Of course Aili brought it up at every meal, telling them to wait until after the next new moon and promising to have a wedding dress ready for her. Emma didn’t understand the reason for half of the strange wedding customs that Aili warned her of and she was especially leery of any mention of people being in the room when she and Iain were “put to bed” on their first night.
As far as Emma was concerned, though, their honeymoon had already started. Iain was not overtly affectionate in front of his family but in private… It seemed that every moment they were alone, he was seducing her anew. Only yesterday, he had followed through on his promise to interrupt her bath. The area around the tub was still drying and Iain was planning on having a larger tub built, saying that it would be less work to prepare only one bath a night.
“Emma,” Aili gently chided. Coming out of her reverie with a blink, she looked down at her unmoving hands. Crap.
“Why dinna ye fetch some more water?” Aili reached over and gathered up the remaining cabbage. “I’ll finish these.”
“Ow-w-w,” Colin groaned. Rubbing his midsection, he leaned over until his chin touched the table. Donald finally moved, unfolding his arms and half-standing.
Beth gripped the arm of Colin’s tunic. “What is it?”
“Och, ye ate too many berries,” Aili said. Emma stood up from the table and walked around to Colin. Donald went to the boy’s other side. Gently pulling back his shoulders to make him sit straight, she laid her palm across his forehead. No fever.
“Your stomach hurts?” she asked. Colin nodded. “The uh…the top of your stomach or the bottom?” She wasn’t sure if he would understand the difference between stomach and intestines.
“I dinna know,” he answered. Emma chewed on her lower lip in thought. Half of an aspirin would do the trick if it were just a stomachache. She reached for the water jug to pour a cup for Colin but as soon as she picked it up, she recalled that Aili had just asked her to fetch more. The jug was empty.
“I’ll need to get some water but I have something that will settle his stomach.”
Donald shook his head. “I should return him to the castle. The laird’s physician—”
“I dinna want to go yet,” Colin complained. “We just got here!”
Aili clucked her tongue. “’Tis nae so serious as that. The young master just needs to take a walk. I’ve found that berries sometimes give me such wind!” Emma had to press her lips together to keep from laughing. Ah, the miracle of fiber. “Why dinna ye go with Emma to the river?” the old woman suggested to Colin.
“I’ll need to come as we
ll,” Donald insisted.
Still fighting off laughter, Emma opened her lips only long enough to say, “That’s fine.”
“I want to come too!” Beth piped up.
“No, ye need to help me with this cabbage. They’ll be back in no time. Ye’ll see,” Aili said.
Beth pouted a little but made no protest. Donald plucked the boy up from his seat and set him on his feet. Smiling at Puck, who was dozing by the door again, Emma led the way out.
—
“Is that her then?” Shamus asked. “Please tell me that’s her.”
“It is,” Craig said after briefly glancing around the tree trunk. “She’s getting water.”
“Is that right?” Shamus rubbed his hands together and his leg began twitching with impatience. “The man behind her—is he the one who killed Gordon?”
“No, the crofter has black hair.”
“Then who is he?
“Is it nae clear enough for ye?” Allan said in a harsh whisper. “He’s huge and carries a sword. I dinna like this.”
“What’s a leuchd-crios doing out here?” Shamus asked.
“Watching the boy, ye damn fool,” Allan answered. “Ye think a farmer’s son would be wearing clothes like that? Taking the girl is one thing, Craig, but the Campbell laird’s son is another.”
“He’s only one man—we’ve three. The boy and girl count for nowt,” Craig said.
“He’s certain to raise the alarm and the one who killed Gordon isna far,” Allan said. “Ye have my sympathies, Craig, but ’tis too dangerous. We canna help yer brother if—”
“If my brother’s dead, then what better way is there to repay the laird than by killing his seed?” Craig growled. “If he’s still alive, the son will make a better ransom. This is our only chance and if ye think ye can walk away, ye had better grow another pair o’ eyes in the back o’ yer head.”
“They’re almost to the river. I’m going,” Shamus said, licking his lips and leaving their cover. Craig frowned at Allan as he followed the redhead.
“Damn it,” Allan hissed. He drew his sword.
—
“I feel better now,” Colin announced. Emma looked over her shoulder at him as she stood, now weighed down by a full water jug.
“Then why are ye still holding yer stomach?” Donald asked.
Colin paused, a frown on his face, and put his hands down. “I dinna like the things the fisi—fuhzee…the things the doctor gives me. They taste bad.”
“If ye want to feel better, ye’ll have to take the physician’s medicine,” Donald explained with some exasperation.
“You know, I think he just needs to um…relieve himself,” Emma said. Thankfully, an abundance of underbrush and tall summer grass lined the river. The young heir would have somewhere to do his business. She wasn’t so sure the “physician” would have a real remedy for Colin anyway.
Donald glanced at her before looking back at Colin. “Well, do ye?”
“I dinna want anyone to see,” he whined. Emma had to stifle another giggle.
“No, ye’ve slipped away too many times. I’m keeping my eyes on ye,” Donald affirmed.
“I can just turn that way and give you some privacy,” she offered.
Colin looked at her with a strangely desperate confusion. “What’s prahy-vuh-see?”
“Uh, it means that I won’t peek,” she said haltingly. “I promise.”
The young boy hesitated a few seconds but then nodded. “All right.”
Emma walked a few paces away, grinning with amusement. She looked forward to Iain’s reaction when she told him of Colin’s predicament. Iain’s dimples would come out and she would just have to kiss them.
She wondered if his parents and siblings had also had dimples—if perhaps her own children with Iain might have them, for he had already mentioned having a family with her, though not in the manner she might have expected.
“I wish I still had some of my makeup. I hate these freckles,” she had lamented last night as she closed her compact mirror and shoved it back into her purse. Iain lowered the bar after closing the door, locking them in. She lifted the lid of the trunk at the foot of the bed and set her bag inside.
“What I need is some bleach,” she mumbled, closing the trunk lid. She made a noise of surprise when Iain’s arms snaked around her waist and pulled her back against him. How was someone his size so quiet?
“Never say that again,” he said. “I adore yer freckles and I hope that our children are blessed with them.” Her cheeks flushed with emotion, both the hope that she could still have children and the thought of a child with her freckles and Iain’s dimples. “Come to bed.” He kissed her neck and his hands began to roam. “Ye’re expected to be with child by the harvest festival and I intend to make it happen.”
“Now I really feel better!” Colin said. Realizing that she had been daydreaming again, Emma took in a steadying breath and pressed her hand against her heated cheeks. She turned around.
The water jug fell from her grip and she sucked in a loud gasp. Three men, mostly hidden in the tall grass, were swiftly advancing toward them from upstream.
“Look out!” The water jug smashed into the ground.
Donald didn’t hesitate and wheeled around, tossing Colin back. The boy cried out. The three men made a beeline for them, now sprinting.
“Get him out of here!” Donald yelled as he drew his sword. For an agonizing second, Emma couldn’t move. Her entire body was shaking. “Emma, now!”
The man’s plea penetrated her terror and she darted forward to grab Colin’s wrist. Hoping she didn’t dislocate his shoulder, she jerked him into her arms and turned to run.
“Get her!” one of the men barked. Colin was crying loudly in her ear, his little hands gripping the shoulders of her dress.
Emma didn’t look back, even when the clang of swords met her ears, and just ran her heart out. She couldn’t lead the men to the house—Beth and Aili were there—so she ran toward the barn farther away, where Iain was.
She heard Donald yell and chanced a quick look over her shoulder, just in time to see him crumple to the ground. The redheaded man was hot on her heels and the other two were leaving Donald to come after her.
This couldn’t happen. Oh God please don’t let this happen!
Air sawed in and out of her lungs. Her legs were both burning with strain and shaky with adrenaline. She sucked in a big breath, knowing that her last chance would be to scream at the top of her lungs and hope that someone heard her.
A body slammed into her. Colin’s arms clamped around her neck. The redheaded man’s momentum twisted her around and she landed on her side. The man shoved her onto her back and roughly grabbed Colin’s thin arms.
“No!” she begged breathlessly. “Please!” She held onto Colin as tightly as she could. The redheaded man pulled hard, drawing her up to a sitting position and then forward onto her knees. The two other men came upon them then and wrenched the frightened child away from her. Before Colin could even gather a breath to start wailing, the tallest of them laid his hand across Colin’s mouth. Looking up at the other two, she realized that her vision was blurry and her cheeks were wet.
The redheaded man grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. She looked to the third man, meeting his eyes just as he forced a gag into her mouth. Her scream was muffled when she realized who she was looking at.
The wolf.
“Let’s get out of here. We could be seen any moment,” the tallest man said.
The redheaded man smiled at Emma as he bound her wrists. “I like blondes.” Her eyes widened with dread. He took hold of her arm again and pulled her behind him as the three men all turned to escape. Emma did the last thing she could and refused to walk, falling to the ground and nearly pulling down the redheaded man.
“Damn!” he cursed.
“Carry her,” the wolf ordered. Emma kicked at her assailant, trying to buy even just a few more seconds and hoping that by some miracle, someone wou
ld venture outside and see them. “Pick her up!”
The redheaded man was no longer smiling. He held her down, pushing her bound wrists against her chest. She saw him raise his fist, saw it coming toward her face but didn’t see what happened next.
—
“God knows that Aili brings it up whenever she can but have ye talked to Emma about marriage?” Kenneth asked. He was leaning against the wall of a pen, watching Iain dump piles of the grass in front of their cattle.
“Not yet.” Iain stood up straight, patting the side of a cow chewing contentedly. “I’m preparing a gift for her and I want to wait until it’s ready.”
Kenneth looked impressed. “Ye’ve taken my advice to heart, I see.”
Iain laughed. “And what advice was this?”
“Action over words, especially in yer case,” the redhead said as he gestured vaguely at him.
“I’ll still have to ask for her hand. I think about it whenever she isna there to distract me.”
Kenneth snorted with amusement. “The words will come easily when the moment is upon ye, or at least…I would think they will.”
“That is my hope.” Iain turned to grab up more handfuls of the harvested grass.
“I have to admit that I am a wee bit jealous,” Kenneth said. Iain distractedly dropped the grass in front of another cow.
“What’s this? Always pushing me to marry and now ye’re jealous?” A very faint, high-pitched noise met his ears just before Kenneth answered. His body went as still as a stag sensing a hunter.
“Seeing ye and Emma…” Iain’s heart tightened and he strained his ears, wondering if the noise had been merely his imagination. “I think about Gwen and how happy we were before she passed.” Donald was at the house though. Emma was not alone by any means. “I mean, of course I think about her every day—every time I see Beth—but…”
Iain tried to get his mind back on the conversation. “Any of the girls around here would be glad to fast hands with ye.”
“It’s nae that,” Kenneth said with mild exasperation. The redhead dropped his eyes to the ground. “I just…dinna feel right taking another wife. It would feel as though I were betraying her.”