The Laird's Captive Wife

by Joanna Fulford

  Ban stopped in the act of reaching for his own tunic. ‘A proposition?’

  ‘Aye. Stay here at Dark Mount. I can always use a good man.’

  For a moment there was silence. Iain smiled faintly.

  ‘You don’t have to make up your mind now. Take your time. Think it over.’

  The younger man reddened but recovered himself quickly. ‘You mistake, my lord. My silence was not due to hesitation but surprise. Do you really mean it?’

  The dark eyes met and held his. ‘I should not have said it else. Besides, I would be loath to see you go.’

  ‘I would be loath to go, my lord.’

  ‘That’s settled then.’ The easy smile appeared again. ‘Now I need to speak to Dougal. In the meantime perhaps you should go and tell your sister.’

  * * *

  Ban found Ashlynn in the hall by the hearth. She looked up and smiled as he entered.

  ‘How was the practice?’

  ‘Well enough, but there’s a long way to go yet.’ He flexed the shoulder and winced a little. ‘It still lacks much of its original power.’

  ‘It is like to take some weeks, but there’s no hurry. You can’t leave anyway until the warmer weather comes.’

  ‘I’m not leaving at all.’

  ‘I don’t understand.’

  ‘Iain has asked me to stay. To join him.’

  ‘What…what did you say?’

  ‘I said yes of course.’

  For a moment she was speechless for the feeling of joy and relief was so intense that her throat was too tight for words. Then she was out of her chair and hugging him tightly.

  ‘I’m so glad.’

  ‘To tell you the truth I’m glad too.’

  ‘Are you really?’ She held him at arm’s length for a moment and her blue gaze met his. ‘You’re not just saying that? It’s not just because of me?’

  ‘No. When Iain made the offer to ride with him I was more than happy to accept. He’s a man I respect, a man I could follow.’

  Ashlynn nodded. She had seen his growing admiration for his brother-in-law and had been glad to see the friendship between the two. However, she knew that Iain had not just made the offer because he saw potential in her brother. It had been done to please her. The knowledge warmed her to the core of her being. With that simple gesture he had made her happier than he could ever know.

  Even as she was thinking about him he arrived with Dougal, and the two of them came over to the hearth where she and Ban were standing. Dougal beamed to see them and held out his hand to her brother.

  ‘Lord Iain’s just told me the good news. I’m delighted.’

  Ban reddened a little as he took the proffered hand. ‘It is an honour, believe me, sir.’

  ‘Let us drink to it.’

  Iain called for wine and presently proposed a toast. ‘To friendship and brotherhood.’

  Ban raised his cup solemnly as he repeated the words, a brief and informal version of the oath of fealty he would swear later before his lord and in the sight of his men. Once he looked at Ashlynn and saw her answering smile. When the toast was done the conversation fell into more general topics and she let the men talk, allowing the words to wash over her, having eyes only for Iain. He had done this for her. With a full heart she met her husband’s glance and saw him smile, the familiar easy smile that made her heart leap.

  Seeing Dougal and Ban deep in conversation he came to join Ashlynn. She looked up at him with shining eyes.

  ‘How can I thank you?’

  ‘No thanks are necessary. It was a logical step to take. Ban needs to make his way in the world and I need good men. Two birds with one stone, you see.’

  ‘Three,’ she replied, ‘for you have also made me very happy.’

  ‘If you are happy then I am content.’

  ‘I am happy, Iain, more than I ever dreamed of being again. After Heslingfield was destroyed I could see no future. You made me look beyond that.’

  His throat tightened for he had never thought to hear such words from her. Yet they were heartfelt, of that there could be no doubt.

  ‘We will build a good future, you and I,’ he replied.

  ‘Will we?’

  ‘Can you doubt it?’

  ‘I want so much to believe, Iain, to let go of the past but it lours over us yet.’ Her eyes met his and he saw the quiet anguish there.

  ‘What is it, lass?’

  ‘Fitzurse.’

  For a moment or two the name hung between them. Ashlynn laid a hand on his arm.

  ‘If you really want to build a future let go of your hatred, Iain.’ She paused. ‘Such ancient grudges cast a long shadow and they are corrosive. I do not want our life together to be tainted with the evils of the past.’

  His expression grew sombre. ‘You do not know what you ask, Ashlynn.’

  ‘Yes, I do know—more than anyone.’

  ‘I made a sacred promise. Would you have me break it?’

  ‘I demand nothing. I ask only that you think about it.’

  ‘This is not fair, Ashlynn.’

  ‘It was not fair that Fitzurse destroyed Heslingfield and murdered my kin,’ she replied, ‘and I have thought often of revenge. But it will not restore my home or make my family live again. They are gone and nothing will change it.’ She paused. ‘The only way now is forward, to make the most of what we have.’

  ‘With you I have found what I never thought to have again, but I cannot know true peace until Fitzurse is dead.’

  ‘Will you allow him to taint the future as well as the past, Iain? If so, then he really will have won.’

  She turned sadly away, leaving him alone. He sighed, watching her go, torn between wanting and frustration. Did she expect him to break his oath? To be forsworn? Time might have made his memories easier to bear but it did not change the instinct for revenge. His hand tightened around his cup. What Ashlynn asked was impossible. How could he have the kind of future he wanted and know all the time that somewhere his enemy lived and prospered?

  * * *

  Ashlynn did not return to her room but instead left the tower and took a turn about the courtyard, needing the air and the space to clear her mind. At least it had stopped raining now though everything smelled of damp. She glanced up, watching rags of cloud scudding across the sky above the water-darkened stones of the tower, and shivered, drawing her cloak closer. It wasn’t the weather to be out of doors and yet she had no wish to return to the hall just yet. Seeing the stable door just a few yards away she made for it. It was dry within and warmer too, the air sweet and pungent with hay and horses. Letting her eyes adjust to the dimmer light she walked along the stalls until she came to the one that housed Steorra.

  The mare heard her step and turned, whickering softly. Ashlynn smiled, and slipped into the stall, rubbing the horse’s nose affectionately. When the bad weather let up it would be good to get out for a ride. Iain had mentioned a hunt. The prospect was alluring.

  The thought of Iain brought their recent conversation to the fore again and she sighed. She had hoped her arguments might prevail with him but in retrospect wondered if she had done right to raise the topic again. A blood oath could never lightly be forsworn and he had every right to want revenge. Considered dispassionately it was understandable, and yet how hard it was to be dispassionate when considering the possible price of such revenge. Would it take him from her? Was this newfound happiness to be so soon destroyed? She understood then that her request had been in part about her own insecurities. The knowledge did not make her feel any better.

  A footstep behind her made her turn, expecting to see one of the grooms. However, it was a very different figure that stood there. For the space of a dozen heartbeats they faced each other in silence.

  ‘I thought I might find you here,’ he said.

  Ashlynn gave Steorra a final pat and came to join him at the entrance to the stall. ‘Iain, what I said before…I’m sorry. I had no right to ask it.’

  For a moment the
dark eyes registered surprise. Then he sighed. ‘You had the right, lass.’

  ‘No, an oath like that is sacred. I see it now and I apologise.’

  ‘Ach, lass, you’ve nothing to apologise for. Besides, there was much truth in what you said.’

  Now it was her turn to feel surprise but before she could say anything he went on. ‘I have carried the desire for revenge in my heart for so long it has become part of me. Not one of the better parts, I fear. Even now, I’m not sure I can let it go.’

  ‘Iain, I—’

  ‘No, hear me out, I beg.’ He took a deep breath. ‘If ever our paths cross, I will slay Fitzurse, but I’ll not deliberately seek him out any longer.’

  Her heart began to beat a little faster. ‘Do you mean it?’

  ‘I would not have said it otherwise, lass.’ He eyed her keenly. ‘Will that content you?’

  It was so much more than she had ever expected that for a moment it was hard to speak. Then she nodded. ‘Yes.’

  Iain knew that a week ago, a day even, he could not have made that promise, but for the first time he had glimpsed something he wanted more than revenge. At some deep level he understood that a fundamental change had taken place and that it was due to his feelings for Ashlynn. He should have felt angry or resentful but he didn’t. The feeling was liberating, as though a burden had been lifted.

  ‘Then let the matter rest there,’ he said.

  ‘Thank you. In truth I did not expect so much.’

  ‘I want that future we spoke of.’

  ‘And I also. I want your children, Iain, and I want them to grow up knowing their father, not hearing about him at second hand.’

  He smiled wryly. ‘They’ll come to know me well enough. More perhaps than they’ll like.’

  ‘I doubt that. It’s my belief you’ll make an excellent father.’

  ‘Is it so? And what put that thought in your head?’

  ‘Watching you with your little niece. You have a talent there.’

  ‘Well, I’ve been practising, ye ken, for the real thing.’

  ‘God willing, you’ll have the real thing soon enough.’

  She stepped closer and reaching up drew his face down to hers for a lingering kiss. When at length they came up for air he saw her gaze move beyond him towards the far end of the building. Instinctively his own turned to follow it and came to rest at the rear on the ladder that led up to the hayloft. Then he gave her a quizzical look.

  ‘When first I came here you took me on a tour of Dark Mount,’ she said.

  ‘So I did, lass.’

  ‘But you never did show me what lies up there, my lord.’

  Iain felt his heart miss a beat. Then he grinned. ‘That can soon be rectified.’

  They made the ascent and he drew the ladder up after them, before leading her deeper into the loft space. There he spread his cloak on the hay under the eaves. For a moment they faced each other. Then he knelt, drawing her down with him, closing his arms around her. He felt her mouth open to his letting him taste the sweetness beyond while her body moulded itself to his. He withdrew just long enough to unfasten his belt and tunic and discard them. Then he rejoined her, his lips grazing her cheek, moving thence to her neck and throat while his hands raised the skirts of her gown. Ashlynn moved to accommodate him and felt him lift the fabric clear and then the warmth of his hands on her skin. Her flesh tingled in response. She slid her arms around him, running her tongue along his throat, tasting its salt warmth, breathing in the erotic musky scent of the man, letting her hands explore and caress the hard muscled flesh of his back beneath the shirt. The kiss grew deeper. Her hands slid to the fastenings of his breeches and loosened them, stroking the flesh beneath, feeling the hardening response. She heard him draw in a sharp breath, then pushed him back on the cloak and sat astride him, feeling him slide into her, taking the full length of him.

  Iain had fantasised about making love to her in different ways and places but the reality far exceeded the dream. Moreover, there was an expression in her eyes that he had not seen before. It was both teasing and mischievous and it sent a wave of heat through his loins. He wanted her, reached for her hips, drawing her down on him, arching into her, thrusting deeper, desperate to answer that mounting fire. Ashlynn smiled, refusing to be hurried, making him wait.

  ‘Ashlynn, I beg you…’

  ‘All in good time, my lord.’

  Bending forward she brought her mouth down on his, taking the kiss at leisure before resuming where she’d left off before, moving against him with deliberate and teasing slowness, fanning the flames. Iain’s breath caught in his throat as another wave of pleasure hit him.

  ‘Have mercy, lass.’

  She heard him groan and smiled again, a very wicked and provocative smile that did not go unnoticed. Iain gritted his teeth.

  ‘I warn you, my sweet, I intend to have my own back for this.’

  ‘Revenge again, my lord?’

  ‘Don’t be in any doubt about it.’

  He moved deeper into her and this time she made no reply save for a long and shuddering intake of breath. Then she was moving with him, building the tempo until it ended a little later in a mutual protracted climax.

  Afterwards, they lay together beneath her cloak, sharing their warmth. Ashlynn snuggled close drowsing, her head against his shoulder. He bent to kiss her forehead and tightened his arms about her, still finding it hard to believe what had passed or the extent of the pleasure he had experienced. In truth he had not thought to find this again with any woman; had not thought to feel this way again about any woman. Yet somehow it had happened and he could no longer deny it. Nor could he deny the fascination she held for him. Each time he thought he was nearer to knowing her she surprised him anew. If this was a foretaste of what was to come…It led his mind along new and delightful paths and he felt his groin grow warm again.

  Ashlynn was roused from her doze a short time later by a kiss, gentle and lingering at first but becoming deeper as she roused to consciousness. His hands drew her skirt and shift upwards. Ashlynn opened her eyes, regarding him quizzically.

  ‘My lord?’

  The dark eyes gleamed and he smiled, a deeply disturbing smile that sent a thrill of excitement the length of her body.

  ‘I did warn you, lass.’

  ‘About what?’

  ‘That I intended to get my own back.’

  * * *

  By the time they returned to the tower it was dark and the smells from the kitchen indicated that the evening meal was about to be served.

  ‘Now that was good timing,’ he observed with a grin.

  ‘Is food all you men think of?’ she replied.

  ‘Not all.’ He drew her hard against him for another kiss.

  ‘No more, my lord. I must go and change. Anyone seeing me now would think I’d been for a tryst in a hayloft.’

  He shook his head. ‘Shocking how people always think the worst. Heaven knows where they get such scandalous ideas.’

  She smiled. ‘I cannot imagine.’

  They made their way up the stairs and, by sheer good fortune, reached the top floor unnoticed. There she left him and went to her own chamber to bathe and change her attire. Her body still burned with his love-making and every limb ached from that delicious and protracted revenge. Recalling the details she smiled to herself. Then, having hastily stripped off her clothing, she washed and donned a fresh shift and gown. With Morag’s help she combed and braided her hair with matching gold ribbons. By the time she had finished no vestige remained of the tousled wanton and in her place was the elegant and gracious hostess.

  * * *

  Iain noted the change and grinned as she took her place beside him at table. For a moment or two he let his gaze linger on the curvy figure beneath the golden gown, letting his memory dwell on what lay beneath. It also recalled what had passed that afternoon. When in the early days of their marriage he had dreamed of her surrender he could never have guessed that her passion would equal
his own, or that she would have the power to arouse him so far.

  Aware of that penetrating gaze Ashlynn kept her attention first on the food and then on her guests lest with one glance she revealed the thoughts going through her mind. However, much of the talk that evening was about hunting and, since it had actually stopped raining outside, the tone was optimistic.

  ‘If the cloud breaks up we might get a day yet,’ said Duncan.

  ‘Aye, we might.’ Iain looked at Ashlynn. ‘Do you still wish to come?’

  ‘I wouldn’t miss it,’ she replied. ‘Besides, I think some fresh venison would be most welcome among our guests.’

  He turned to his brother-in-law. ‘What say you to some hunting, Ban?’

  ‘I’d like nothing better, my lord.’

  ‘That's settled then.’ Iain smiled. ‘We’re due for some sport.’

  ‘A hart of ten?’

  ‘With any luck. If the weather holds up we’ll send Sim out early with his lymer and see what it can find for us. There’s not a dog with a keener nose for miles around.’

  Knowing the risk now of an endless male discussion about the minutiae of hunting, Ashlynn caught Jeannie’s eye and saw an answering sympathy.

  ‘I am sure we all look forward to some good sport tomorrow, brother. However, for now shall we have some music?’

  Ashlynn recognised her cue. ‘What an excellent idea.’

  At her speaking look the suggestion was picked up and endorsed by several other ladies.

  Iain smiled and submitted graciously. ‘Very well. What would you have?’

  Some called for music and others a song. Much to her surprise Ashlynn saw a servant hand her husband a lute and she watched him move to a stool nearby. Then he began to tune the instrument. She had not known he possessed any musical skill. Others evidently did for his acquiescence drew applause. Then he turned to Duncan.

  ‘Will you favour us with a song, brother?’

  Another chorus of approval greeted this, intensifying as Duncan got to his feet. It seemed the audience had a song in mind for they called out their choice most emphatically. With a laugh he inclined his head in consent. Listening attentively Ashlynn discovered that he had a good voice and he sang well to general acclaim. Then Jeannie was called upon for a rendition. Her protests availed her naught and at last she capitulated. The song was a ballad as near as Ashlynn could tell for the words were in Gaelic. The voice was strangely beautiful and arresting with an elusive quality that tugged at the heart for it seemed to her to be filled with heartache and loss. Unbidden and unheeded tears sprang to her eyes. The tune held her to the end and she joined in the thunderous applause. Glancing at Ban she could see that he too had been moved.