Tearlach grinned at the suggestion and slid past the horse William and Betty rode.
Lucy shifted unhappily in the saddle. She’d known this was a bad idea from the first. Her original intention had been to slip away on her own, perhaps dressed as a lad and ride to MacAdie to hopefully see Tearlach and find out once and for all whether he cared for her or not.
It was something she wouldn’t have dared do if not for the fact that she was carrying his child. If not for that, her pride surely would have kept her “pining” at Blytheswood until she was old and grey, but she could not force the title “bastard” on her babe. She either had to inform Tearlach and see if he would marry her and claim the child, or she would have to find a husband who would, and quickly. The second option wouldn’t have been difficult. Blytheswood was a rich estate. Many would be happy to claim her child to get their hands on her home. But the child was Tearlach’s, and she loved him and had to give him the choice first.
Unfortunately, Betty had quickly got wind of her intention to make her way into Scotland and insisted she wasn’t to travel alone. She would need a guard, and maid, and...
The next thing Lucy knew, she had a small army traveling with her and William and Betty were insisting that as her brother was no longer there to speak for her, they should do it. She’d resisted the idea, but the closer they’d got to MacAdie, the more cowardly she’d turned, and when they’d spotted MacAdie castle ahead in the day’s dying light, had even suggested they stop for the night rather than try to finish the journey in the encroaching dusk.
Her suggestion had been ignored. Shortly after she’d voiced it, a small party had ridden out to meet them. At first, Lucy had thought the man at the head of the party was Tearlach, but when he’d paused before them, lifting a torch to look them over, she’d realized it wasn’t, but was just someone very similar in looks. She’d been shocked to learn the man was Tearlach’s father, he’d looked far too young for that, but he’d been kind and even welcoming and had escorted them the rest of the way to the keep.
Lucy had spent that last short distance to MacAdie vacillating between excitement at the idea of seeing Tearlach, and fear that he’d reject her. By the time they’d ridden into the bailey, she’d wished she’d never set out on this fool’s journey, and decided it would be best if William and Betty spoke for her.
Now, however, she found herself thoroughly embarrassed, impatient, and wishing she’d not let them interfere.
Lucy was startled from her thoughts when Tearlach suddenly pushed his way past the horse William and Betty rode and approached her own. Before she could decide how to greet him, he was reaching up to grasp the pommel in front of her and then using his hold on that to swing himself up on the mare with her. Eyes wide, she sat stiff before him as he took the reins from her suddenly weak hands and turned them to travel back through her men. Several started to turn their own mounts to follow, but a word from William made them pause.
“Ye’ve elevated William in rank,” Tearlach commented, apparently noting the incident.
“Aye,” Lucy said and then nodded lest he couldn’t hear her over the galloping horse. On taking over the reins of Blytheswood, she’d needed people around her whom she trusted and William and Betty were definitely that. She’d made William her right hand, giving him a great deal of responsibility and—when necessary—making him her voice among the soldiers. The man was a natural leader and had taken to the new position like a duck to water.
“A smart move,” Tearlach praised, as they rode back through the gates she’d just entered and into the dark night. “He’s intelligent and a natural leader.”
Lucy’s only response was a nod, but she also relaxed a little in the saddle despite the fact that he’d ridden them into the woods where the darkness seemed complete. She could see little but darker shapes amid the night surrounding them, but knew from their previous time together that Tearlach could see more and would steer them safely to wherever he was taking them.
Neither of them spoke again until they broke out of the trees. After the dark woods, the moonlit clearing was almost like daylight to Lucy. She could actually see enough to make out separate trees, bushes, and plants. Her gaze slid over the moonlight shining off the water of the loch at the center of the clearing and she smiled faintly.
“Ye came to collect me,” Tearlach said as he eased her mount to a walk as they crossed the clearing, heading for the water’s edge. “Ye love me.”
Lucy blinked at his words and then scowled. There had been a good deal of arrogant male satisfaction in his voice. Before she could get too riled up, he added, “‘Tis good. I love you too.”
Already annoyed, Lucy couldn’t keep from turning a raised eyebrow his way at this claim. “Then why did you not come to claim me?”
He inspected her doubting expression in silence for a moment, then brought Trinket to a halt and quickly dismounted. When he turned and raised his arms, inviting her to join him on the ground, she hesitated, her unhappy thoughts keeping her in the saddle.
Tearlach made up her mind for her, catching her by the waist and lifting her off the horse. Once he’d set her on her feet, he caught her face in his hands and solemnly met her gaze. “I do love ye, Lucy. And that’s the verra reason I didnae come to claim ye.”
She tsked impatiently and tugged her face free to whirl away. “That makes no sense at all.”
“Aye. It does.” He caught her arm and drew her back around, pulling her forward until she raised her hands to his chest to keep some space between them. “My people ha’e enemies. Ye’ve seen that. And ye’ve seen what they’re willin’ to do to me, to me clansmen. I didnae wish to drag ye into that and put ye in danger. I loved ye enough I wanted to keep ye safe from that.”
Lucy considered his words briefly, and then tilted her head. “And now? Will you send me away to keep me safe?”
“I should,” he admitted grimly. “I should set ye back on yer mare and turn ye to England and tell ye to forget all about me.”
Lucy sucked in a breath at this threat, afraid he might do just that, but instead he hugged her close. Tearlach pressed a kiss to her forehead, then sighed unhappily and admitted, “But I find I’m a much more selfish man than I kenned. I ha’e been miserable lonely without ye, lass. I miss yer sweet smile and constant silly chatter and—”
“Constant silly chatter?” she protested, pulling back as much as he would allow.
Tearlach grinned at her affront, but didn’t apologize. Instead he caught his hands in the hair at the back of her head and tipped her face up for his kiss. Lucy was annoyed enough that she managed to resist his kiss and stay stiff and still in his arms for all of a heartbeat, then she gave it up with a sigh and opened her mouth to him as her hands crept around his neck.
They both moaned as the familiar heat burst to life between them.
“God, I’ve missed ye,” he groaned, breaking the kiss and pressing kisses along her cheek to her throat as his hands began to move over her body, brushing here, caressing there. “Kissing ye, touching ye, holding ye close, and fillin’ ye with me seed. I’ve dreamt o’ nothin’ else.”
“Ohhh.” Lucy groaned as his hand closed over one breast. When he shifted his thigh between hers, she pressed into the caress, her back arching and fingers clenching in his hair as she admitted breathlessly, “I have missed you too and dreamt of the same thing.”
The minute the words left her mouth, he was tugging free of her and turning toward Trinket. “Come.”
“But—” She dug in her heels, confusion clear on her face when he turned to glance at her in question. “Are we not going to...” She blushed, unable to give voice to the lovemaking she’d thought they were heading for. The man had got her all worked up and with so little effort. Surely he didn’t intend to leave her hanging like this? she thought. But much to her dismay, while he grinned, Tearlach shook his head.
“We’re getting married, lass. I can wait until then. ‘Tis no sense anticipating our vows again and ris
king getting with child so others can claim we married fer a bairn.”
Lucy’s eyes widened in alarm at his words, but in the next moment he was hurrying her toward the horse.
“Come, we ha’e to return and assure them all is well. Mother will be fair pleased at the news. Ye’ll like me mother,” he added.
Lucy merely grunted as he caught her up, and lifted her into the saddle and then he’d mounted behind her and was heading Trinket back into the dark woods at a gallop. The speed with which they were traveling made it difficult to speak, but even if it hadn’t, Lucy hadn’t a clue what to say. Obviously she had to tell him she was with child, but it wasn’t something she could just blurt out. She needed to work the conversation around to the topic somehow and then gently announce it.
She considered the matter seriously as they rode, but hadn’t come up with a way to work the subject into a conversation by the time they’d arrived back at the keep. She was nibbling a bit frantically at her lip as Tearlach lifted her down from the horse, then rushed her up the steps and dragged her into the keep.
“We’re gettin’ wed!” he bellowed as the keep door slid closed behind them.
This wasn’t how Lucy had imagined him making the announcement. Not that she’d really had a chance to think about it, of course, but if she had, she’d have expected it to be at the sup, and he would have stood and made the announcement then raised a drink to cheer the occasion. Not walking in and bellowing it at the top of his lungs.
“Oh! Lovely!”
Lucy glanced toward Tearlach’s mother as the woman rushed toward them.
“Welcome to the family, dear.” Eva MacAdie hugged her tightly, then turned to her son and hugged him too, burbling on excitedly, “We can have a summer wedding. That would be lovely. We can have all the family there and Lucy’s family too, of course, and—”
Lucy’s eyes were widening in horror at the thought of her standing before the priest with a distended belly when Tearlach interrupted his mother.
“Summer is a long way off, Mother. A little sooner would suit me better.”
Lucy was just sighing her relief at his words when an older woman she thought must be his grandmother crossed the hall to join them followed by Connall MacAdie and a man of an age with the unknown woman.
“I understand yer eagerness, Tearlach,” the woman said gently. “But we have to give everyone time to make arrangements and travel here and we’ll need to prepare a feast and so on.”
“Lucy, this is me Aunt Aileen and me Uncle Ewan,” Tearlach said, introducing the newcomers.
Lucy managed not to look shocked to learn that the older couple were an aunt and uncle rather than grandparents and smiled pleasantly as she offered a greeting.
“Early spring,” Lady MacAdie said thoughtfully, drawing all eyes her way. “We may be able to manage early spring.”
“Aye,” Aileen agreed. “I will help. We can manage it all by spring.”
“Verra well,” Tearlach said on a sigh. “Spring then.”
“Nay!”
That word was screaming through Lucy’s head so it took her a moment to realize that it wasn’t she who’d protested in such a panicked shriek, but Betty. Her gaze slid to the little redhead as she hurried to her side.
“Did you not tell him?” she asked, her eyes wide with amazement.
“Tell me what?” Tearlach asked with a frown.
“Spring is much too far away, my lord,” Betty told him firmly. “Earlier is better. Tomorrow even would be best.”
“Tomorrow?” Connall MacAdie asked with amazement, but Lucy couldn’t help but notice that Lady MacAdie had gone stone still and was now appraising her with thoughtful eyes.
“Tomorrow would be all right,” Tearlach said agreeably. “I really wasnae expecting tae ha’e to wait until spring or summer. A week mayhap, but—”
“Tearlach, we cannae manage a proper wedding by the morrow, or even in a week,” Aunt Aileen said with an amused shake of the head. “And there’s no need to marry with undue haste.”
“Undue haste is good,” Betty countered.
Lucy closed her eyes briefly as Betty and the aunt began to argue the point, but blinked them open when Lady Eva said softly, “You are with child.”
The woman was peering at her with soft, tear-filled eyes.
“Are you not?” she asked hopefully.
Lucy bit her lip, terribly aware that the great hall had suddenly gone silent and all eyes were now focused on her.
“Lass?” Tearlach took her arm and used his hold to turn her toward him. “Are we with child?”
A small laugh slipped from her lips at the question. Are we with child? She hadn’t noticed him kneeling beside her getting sick of a morning.
A nudge in her side from Betty recalled her to the situation at hand and Lucy sighed and nodded her head.
“Oh, Lucy!” Eva cried, pulling her away from Tearlach and into a fierce hug. “This is wonderful. Connall, did you hear? We’re to be grandparents.”
“Aye,” the man said with amusement. “I’m guessin’ spring is oot then and I’d best be fetchin’ the priest?”
“Oh, aye!” Eva released her suddenly and whirled to her husband. “Go quickly, find him.” She shooed the man out the door and then turned to her sister-in-law. “Aileen?”
It was all she had to say. The other woman straightened and announced, “I’ll go talk to Cook. I am sure she can whip up something special if we gi’e her until the morrow.”
“Aye, the morrow,” Eva agreed. “We still need to send news to the MacNachtons. Some of them can attend at least.”
“I’ll take the news to MacNachton,” Uncle Ewan announced and seemed happy to make his escape from the pandemonium that was about to settle on MacAdie.
“Thank you, Ewan,” Eva called after him, and then turned in a circle, muttering, “where is my maid? I need to make a list. So much to do, so much to do.”
Lucy watched wide-eyed as the women rushed off, then glanced to Tearlach in question when he suddenly began to draw her toward the door.
“What—?” she began as he led her outside and then gasped as he suddenly swept her off her feet and jogged lightly down the steps to her mare.
“Where are we going?” Lucy asked with a laugh once they were both settled on Trinket and he was directing the mare back out of the bailey they’d only recently returned to.
“Back to the loch,” Tearlach answered in a growl. “I’ve a mind to anticipate those wedding vows after all.”
Lucy turned her blushing face up to him with surprise.
“You do?” she asked, her body beginning to tingle at the very suggestion.
“Aye. Well, ‘tis no’ like we need fear getting ye with child,” he pointed out, his hand slipping around her waist to cover the babe they’d created. “And I ha’e missed ye, love. We’ve a lot o’ time apart to make up fer.”
“It has only been two months, Tearlach,” she protested on a laugh.
“Aye,” he agreed and then added solemnly, “a lifetime.”
Lucy’s smile softened and she leaned into him with a sigh. They rode the rest of the way in silence. Once at the loch, Tearlach brought Trinket to a halt, then slid off the mare, and reached up to lift Lucy down. He didn’t embrace her right away as she expected, but instead peered down at her solemnly and said, “The news we received up here was that Wymon is on the run. Does it bother ye that he’s free? If so, I’ll hunt him down meself and—”
“Nay,” Lucy interrupted, raising a hand to press it against his chest as she shook her head. “He will be found in time, or meet the end he deserves in some way. I will not lose any more precious time with you by having you take the time to hunt him down.” She then smiled and added, “Besides, if not for the fact that he killed my brother, I might wish to thank Wymon for capturing me and locking me in his dungeon with you. Else we might never have met.”
“Aye,” Tearlach said with a smile, and then added more solemnly, “but while he may h
a’e captured me body, you captured me heart, Lucy Blytheswood. And with one of my kind, that’s a forever kind o’ love.”
“So is mine, Tearlach,” she promised just before his mouth covered hers. Lucy knew what she said was true. She would love this man all of her life and beyond.
Epilogue
“My Lord!”
Tearlach lowered his sword and stepped back from the man he’d been training. Turning, he saw William rushing across the dark practice field toward him, a wide smile splitting his lips. Tearlach found himself smiling in response and thought, not for the first time that Lucy had made a smart move in promoting the stable master to first here at Blytheswood. William was a clever and likeable fellow. He’d been a great aid in helping Tearlach step into the roll of Lord of Blytheswood. The man had helped to smooth the way with Lucy’s people, who easily might have resented finding themselves serving a Scot and one of the dreaded MacAdies.
The fact that Tearlach only came out at night and remained indoors during the day had caused some speculation and uncertainty at first, but William had somehow managed to soothe concerns and ease worries so that now, a month after he had married Lucy and traveled to Blytheswood, things were running smoothly.
“Riders are approaching,” William announced as he entered the circle of torch light to join him.
Tearlach was just stiffening at this news when the man added, “A small party. Scots; three men and a woman with a dog running beside them. I think it might be your cousin.”
“Aye. ‘Twill be Heming and Brona with that dog o’ hers,” Tearlach said, his smile returning. “Lucy will be pleased.”
“As will my Betty,” William admitted with a wry grin. “The three women got on like a stables afire.”
Tearlach grunted in agreement as the two men started across the bailey toward the keep doors. It was the truth. Their party had stopped in at Rosscurrach on their journey home after the wedding at MacAdie. His cousins’ new home had been on the way and Tearlach had wanted to see for himself how Heming fared. He’d also wanted to meet his cousin’s new bride as well as introduce Lucy to the man she’d heard so much about, but never met.
Highland Thirst Page 28