by Ashlee Price
She shook her head. The dress was already dirty and she wanted to take it off because it was so heavy feeling and suffocating to her form. It was not a dress of comfort, but she was stuck in it. “It is not something I can take off by myself. All of the buttons are on the back and I can’t reach them.”
Thomas stopped eating and swallowed. Apologizing, he was starting to feel worse as his head banged from the ale. Wiping his hands on his shirt, he moved towards her and told her to stand up. She did as he said and before she could say anything, he had her dress undone and most of her back revealed. His hands paused for just a moment before running down her back and then moving away.
It was a moment before she opened her eyes again and thanked him. She held the top of the dress up while she went to her room and sat down on the bed. Just a slight touch on her skin had made her senses go wild. Callie didn’t come back out for several minutes and he was gone. When he came back out he was wearing the clothes of a guard and she liked the way he looked. He looked handsome and strong. Callie waited for a kiss, something as he left, but he didn’t seem too bothered by any of it. “I get home around dark most nights.”
She just nodded her head and watched him go. Callie had so many questions to ask and wondered if there was that much of a cultural difference. Is that how marriage was there?
Callie decided to go talk to Mariss about it when she had finally gotten herself together, but Mariss was there before she could leave. She seemed as anxious to find out, as Callie was trying to get it off her chest.
“So how did it go? I saw him this morning when he came to get Bertraud and he looked happy, not even hung over.”
“Well he did get plenty of sleep.”
Mariss noticed the way she said it and felt like there was something going on. “Was it not a good night for you?”
“We came in after the ceremony and he went to his room. I saw him again this morning and he helped me out of my dress.” Her cheeks went pink and Callie was sure that it was something that she had done wrong for him to act that way, but she hoped that it was normal. By the look on Mariss’ face, the one of sympathy, it was clear that it was not normal at all.
“You had to sleep in your dress?”
“Yes, you know how many buttons were on the back. It was my mother’s dress and I didn’t want to ruin it. He never came back out. It is not the same in my country, husbands and wives sleep together. There is much anticipation for the first night together…” She trailed off, too embarrassed to say anymore.
Mariss didn’t need to hear anymore, having gotten a big picture of it from the way she described it. She felt bad for her and almost wanted to tell her it was the way of things. She didn’t want to have to tell her the real reason or the real reason Thomas had wanted a wife.
“Thomas is not the romantic type, though I was sure when he seen you, he would find his way.”
Callie had certainly hoped for something more than what had happened. “So it isn’t normal though, to be apart on your wedding night, right?”
She had to admit it wasn’t, but tried to soften the blow. “He just had too much to drink. I am sure he will be better this evening.” They both silently hoped so.
Callie spent her day with the older woman, learning the places to shop and then where to get water and several other crucial new parts to her life. She didn’t feel any different, she didn’t feel married. But at least she was free from Ireland. Callie went to the docks in the evening before she went back home and could see Ireland on the other side. She didn’t miss it there, but she missed her family. Spurgis passed her and she nodded to him, though he wasn’t sure who she was. It took him a minute to remember and realize that it was the woman he had sent with the guard.
“Miss Callie, right?”
She nodded her head. “I thought you were going to walk right by me.”
“How did everything go?”
“Well, I can’t thank you enough.”
“If you ever need anything, you know where to find me.” There was a hint of something else in his eyes and she tried to ignore the way it made her tremble inside. She didn’t want to think about it though and bid him a farewell, telling him that she had to get home to her husband. Callie liked the sound of it, but she would have liked it better if her husband had looked at her in the same way as Spurgis had. Why didn’t he want her in that way?
Chapter 5
She waited up for him for several hours until she finally fell asleep. Callie had made him dinner and it was sitting cold on the plate at the table. By the look of it, she had waited for him to eat as well because her plate was untouched as well. Thomas felt a moment of guilt and went to her room to apologize, but found her sleeping. His hand came out to push a tendril of hair from her face and sighed to himself.
Thomas had tried to forget the fact that she was there at home, waiting for him. He had thought it would be an arrangement where needs and wants didn’t ruin it, but he already knew that he wanted to need her. He still remembered the curve of her back as he had taken her dress off. But he knew that there would be no way to leave afterwards and that was what he was worried about. It wasn’t the moments, Thomas sure they would be good, but it was the lifetime afterwards that he worried about.
He went to his own room and thought of the woman he had that night. It hadn’t taken long to find a woman that was willing, but it had been Callie’s face that he had seen when he looked down. To stop the girl from ruining it, he made her instead turn around so he could take her from behind. Even then the girl’s curves weren’t the same and he found himself unsatisfied as he left. It was Callie that he wanted and it would seem that no one else would do.
It took him a while to go to sleep and he thought he heard her getting up and moving around in the far side of the house, but he didn’t get up. It was a strange way to feel and Thomas still wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. He wanted her, but knew that once he slept with a woman, it all went downhill from there. Why couldn’t he just be happy with what he said he wanted? She cooked, she cleaned, but it was the rest of it that he was interested in now.
***
“Good morning Callie.”
She didn’t answer him and instead set down his plate. A few bits of it were burnt, but he didn’t mind. Callie was not smiling that morning and she didn’t ask him for help with anything. Instead she just ignored him and he finally had to ask her what the matter was and why she was so quiet.
“You didn’t come home last night and you smell of a woman and ale.”
He wasn’t going to argue with either point, but he found himself shrugging off. “I suppose so. Sometimes I go out afterwards.”
“Why did you marry me?”
“I needed a wife to help out with the cooking and women chores.”
“Is that all?”
No. “Yes. That is all I need you for. We can be good friends.”
She didn’t like the answer and Callie wished that she had stayed home. At least then she wouldn’t have any falsehoods to believe in. She would have known exactly what she was. “And I am to not say anything about the other women? Is this something normal here?”
He almost laughed at the question, but he knew she was being serious. “Just think of it as one less thing that you have to do.”
Callie looked down and then turned her back to him. It was not what she wanted to hear and it made her feel like she must be hideous to not even arouse her own husband. She fought back tears and questioned what she was thinking coming all the way to Scotland. It would seem that she was worth much of the same there as she was back home, which wasn’t much at all.
Callie felt a hand on her arm and she looked back at him when he said her name in such a way. “I don’t want you to be mad at me Callie.”
She pushed the wetness from her eyes and told him that she wasn’t. “I just expected more is all. I know what it is now.”
Thomas should have liked the idea of her understanding how everything was, but he didn’t.
Thomas wanted to be able to change his mind. He stopped her from walking away. “What did you expect?”
Callie found it hard to meet his gaze. “I was hoping for love.”
***
Spurgis was in Ireland, finding his next round of women to sell the dream to. He made Scotland out to be the land of plenty and in need of good women. He didn’t care what they thought or expected, all he cared about was the money in his pockets. It was almost time to go back and he was in the last pub he planned to stop in. It had a few rooms that were rented out on the top and he stayed there sometimes when he had time.
This trip hadn’t gone so well though and he only had a few that were willing to make the trek across to the new country. Spurgis just needed a few more women to go with. He stopped as he made it into the interior and saw a drawing of a woman that he had seen before. It took a minute before he realized that it was the one that he had married off the week before. She was the one that had been a fright when she got off the boat, but then looked like the picture when he had seen her on the docks. Callie Winguard is what the paper said. There was a reward and his eyes went to the amount. Someone wanted the woman badly and Spurgis had just found a way to make some more money.
He looked to the address written on the bottom of the flyer and smiled to himself. After a moment he pulled it from the wall and walked back out the pub without a drink. He had more things on his mind and as he made his way to the man’s house listed on the flyer, he hoped that the girl hadn’t been found yet. Spurgis didn’t care what she was wanted for. All he cared about was how he was going to spend the money once he got it.
After a short knock, the door was answered by an old man with white hair and devilish black eyes answered. Spurgis was taken aback for a moment, but he finally got himself together enough to hold the piece of paper with the drawing of Callie.
“Do you know where she is?”
Spurgis nodded and was pulled into the stately house. He was sure that his luck had finally changed. The man was obviously wealthy and he hoped that he could get the price written. Spurgis was happy to share a drink with the man and tell him what he knew. He even promised to bring her to him, but the man declined, saying that he planned to get her himself.
“Well if you don’t mind me asking, what do you want her for?”
He shrugged and set the drink down. “It is my business why I want her, your job is to make sure she is where you say she is. That is what I am paying for.”
Spurgis nodded that he understood, but he failed to mention the bit about her being married off. If he had told him the why, maybe he would have given him all of the information. Instead he took his money, not as much as advertised and went on about his way. He didn’t think once more about the girl or the guard that he had sold her to. It seemed that everyone wanted Callie.
Chapter 6
Chris looked down at the picture and smile to himself. She was the one that got away and it had kept him up at night. Now he was going to find her. The boat that he was on was a lot bigger than the one that she had traversed the distance from. He was there early the next morning. Chris didn’t know about her husband and was quite surprised when it was a large guard that answered the door instead of the curved raven-haired beauty that had ran away.
“What?”
Chris took a step back from the door. “I am here to take Callie back.”
“Callie back?”
Chris was not sure why the man was looking at him in such a way, but Thomas didn’t like the few words that he had caught. Callie wasn’t going anywhere.
“Yes, I own her and she ran off, so now I am here to pick her up.”
“You own her?”
The other man nodded and put out a piece of paper that Thomas was to look at. “As you can see, the paperwork is all right here. She is my property and I am here to pick her up. I was given this address and I am here to collect her.
“You don’t own her. I don’t care what your papers say. This is Scotland and you are not taking her anywhere.”
Chris was still not sure why the tall guard was upset. It was like he knew her personally, but he knew that she had been gone less than a week. Surely she had not made connection so quickly. He pulled his coin purse out and handed Thomas some money. “Here, for your help.”
Thomas still didn’t move to take the money. “I am not going to help you. You need to leave now.”
He went to shut the door and he was stopped by a hand on it. Thomas was not even fully awake, but he knew that whoever the man was, it didn’t matter. No piece of paper was going to make him lose his wife. She may be a little hard to understand and deal with, but he had fallen for her and she made everything smoother in his life.
Chris tried to reason with him, but in the end he threatened to get help from Lord Farish, the landlord. It wasn’t something he wanted to do, admitting that he had lost her, but he would if he had to. His revenge was fueled and burned far hotter than anything else in his life at the time. He couldn’t just let her and her family get away with it. She had offended him and he could not let it go. He meant to have the guard fired as well, maybe even hung for daring to stand in his way. When Chris left the small house, he was in no mood. What he had thought would be so easy was getting more and more complicated by the minute. He didn’t know what to say, but he knew that his revenge wasn’t going to happen that day. He would have to get the Lord Farish to agree to see him and then ultimately help him get her back.
Callie had been woken up from the loud noises in the front. When Thomas shut the door, shaking his head, he stopped when he saw Callie sitting there. “I take it you know him?”
She shook her head that she did, but didn’t say anything else. He was there a lot quicker than she thought he would be and Callie had to wonder how he found her.
“So are you going to tell me what is going on and why he thinks he owns you?”
Callie was still wearing her night gown, yet she had forgotten. Her mind was on other things besides clothing. He noticed though, watching her move around the room as if she wasn’t sure what she was doing. “He bought me, if a person is really meant to be bought and I didn’t want to give him what he wanted, so I left.”
Thomas didn’t have to think hard to know what the man wanted. It was what any man would want from such a beautiful woman. It was hard to want anything else but that. He couldn’t even say it out loud in his head, afraid that he wouldn’t be able to stop the need that welled up inside of him. He needed her badly and the idea of another man laying claim to her made him even more upset. There was innocence about her that most men would give their right eye for the chance to pluck from her. Thomas was just as guilty as all the rest. All he had wanted to do since meeting her was pull her down underneath him so he had ravage her.
She was getting red faced and looking away before Thomas realized that he was staring. It was really hard not to, considering. “How can you be sold?”
Callie sighed and shrugged. “It’s a long story.”
“So you didn’t want a husband to take care of you?”
“Well, yes. I didn’t think he would find me here. I don’t know how he did honestly.”
Thomas wasn’t prepared for that and he worried about leaving her there while he patrolled. The idea of something happening to her was not something he was prepared to think about. He had to feel like he was set up in a way though, like she knew what was going to come. Even he didn’t know how much of the man’s threat he was going to go through with.
“I won’t let anything happen to you, Callie. This I promise.”
He left her to think about all of it and she hoped he was right. Chris had wanted her and when he had offered such an insane price to her father, he had taken it. She would wonder if there was drunkenness involved, but it didn’t matter. In the end she was sold like she was livestock and woken up in the middle of the night to go with her new owner. Callie had been scared and instead of going with the man, she had run for her life, only going back
to her mother to get a plan of where to go. That was where she learned about Spurgis and getting married. At least she wouldn’t be owned, she had reasoned to herself and Thomas had ended up being even better than she could have imagined.
***
Callie had thought about it all day. She didn’t answer the door when someone knocked later, afraid that it was Chris coming back to take her away. She wasn’t sure if everything in her marriage was perfect, but she knew that she needed Thomas to want her to stay. There was one thing that she could think of to endear him to her and she made plans for when he came home later that evening. Callie just hoped that he wouldn’t stay out again. The idea of him with someone else was not something that she was prepared to live with though, so she knew that she had to fulfill all of his needs, even the more basic ones.
When he got home later, the house was cleaned and there was food on the table. He had become accustomed to it and there was a fear that it was all going to change if she was taken away from him. It was the last thing that he wanted to happen and Thomas knew that he was going to have to fight for her. It was all he could think about until he saw Callie come out of her bedroom. She was wearing a blue dress that made her eyes sparkle and she had a look in his eyes that he had seen from the most erotic women. His wife had never looked at him like that and Thomas was finding it increasingly hard to keep his needs separate.
Chapter 7
He sat down at the table and his eyes took in the rise and fall of her chest. She was giving him the eye, but it was Thomas that finally said something.
“Something is different about you Callie. Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I think we should become a real married couple Thomas.”
He knew what it meant, but it still didn’t register in his mind. “Don’t you want me?”
Thomas nodded that he did before he really even thought about it. He didn’t have to think about it because it had been on his mind since meeting her. Every night he had come home to yearn for her and after she had showed her displeasure of him having another woman, Thomas had just been letting it build up. His last try at satisfaction had not been enough and he knew that it was because of the woman across from him, seated at the table. It was Callie that he wanted in every way and he had recently figured that it was worth the risk. A stranger coming to take his wife back was enough to prompt him into really thinking about it all.