by John Ryan
“Ah, Thayer. Good, I’m glad ye are here,” Lady Fiona whispered.
Gesturing toward her daughter, now busy silently packing some provisions from the cupboard, she explained, “I have just told Elspeth that I believe the burgh may become unsafe. We have packed a few essentials should our flight become necessary.”
“’Tis surely a wise plan, m’lady,” Thayer concurred. “Is there anything I can do to be of aid?”
“Aye, my daughter needs ye now. Go to her,” Lady Fiona asked sadly. “I must take me leave now to help secure Muirne and Asilin.”
“Of course,” Thayer murmured as he bowed to Lady Fiona.
Her composure seemed to crumble as her smile faded. Thayer felt the weight of her concern as he watched her stride away, wringing her hands in dismay.
Redirecting his attention to Elspeth, Thayer’s heart broke. Gazing upon her reddened cheeks, he could clearly distinguish the tracks of her tears. The rivulets caught glints of the crackling fire in the hearth.
“Please, dinna submit to fear or worry, m’love,” Thayer soothed as he slid his hands around her waist and drew her close.
Burying her head in his chest, Elspeth began to weep anew. Thayer could feel the warm contours of her bosom as it heaved against his.
“Thayer, take me to your chambers. I dinna wish to leave your side tonight.”
“Elspeth, every fiber of me being aches to share my bed with ye. But I dinna want to receive that most precious gift whilst ye are so distressed.”
“I assure ye, me heart is settled. I have come to this decision freely and wholly. Come, Thayer,” she bid as she grasped his hand firmly and gently tugged him towards the door.
Silently, they slid out of the Manor and into the night. Though the stars were alight, the route to the cottage was dim, shrouded by a canopy of arching hedge rows. As they carefully tread along the stone path, Elspeth clutched Thayer’s forearm with such earnestness that her nails drew a trickle of blood.
“Elspeth, m’love, I can sense that ye are withholding something from me. Pray, what vexes ye so? Your pain is my pain. Unburden your heart to me,” Thayer bespoke gently.
“Shh,” she admonished tenderly, pressing her finger to his lips. “Dinna speak, just walk.”
Nestled amid rows of neatly trimmed hedges, the cottage emerged like a specter from the shadows. Its pale yellow door, adorned with sprigs of multi-hued wild flowers, welcomed them warmly. The servants had done a fine job preparing it. It seemed, however, that they were remiss to leave any candles burning as the structure’s interior loomed eerily black.
“Well, are ye going to open the door or not, Thayer?” Elspeth whispered coyly as she beheld the door to the cottage.
In one graceful arc, Thayer swept Elspeth off her feet and into his arms.
“What the devil are ye doing?” Elspeth huffed with feigned displeasure.
“‘Tis practice, m’love,” Thayer said. “One day soon, I shall carry ye across the threshold of our home as me wife. ‘Tis high time I had a dry run.”
“Your wife, I like the sound of that,” Elspeth muttered softly.
Thayer shifted Elspeth’s lithe body as he fumbled with the knob. Though she teetered unsteadily in his arms, there was no way he was going to drop her.
“Shall I help ye?” Elspeth bid sweetly.
“Worry not, I’ve nigh got it,” Thayer said between gritted teeth as he thrust his hand forward, searched blindly for the knob.
At last, Thayer unlatched the door and gently pushed it open with his doe skin boot. With a flourish, he swept Elspeth into the cottage. A single candle dimly cast its glow, perched upon a small table in the center of the room. Thayer carried her toward the large day bed in the far end of the cottage, stumbling over an oaken chest in the process. Catching his step, he winced before mumbling a flood of oaths. His big toe, already starting to swell, stung from the collision.
“Aye, ye see what it is like to be blind, eh, Thayer?”
“Aye, blindly in love, Elspeth.”
Gently laying Elspeth upon the bed, Thayer turned to fetch some peat bricks from the creel for kindling. Snatching the candle from the sconce, he carefully traversed the dimly lit cottage, unbuttoning his tunic as he walked. Kneeling in front of the hearth, Thayer slowly peeled off his tunic, tossed it aside and set the candle to the kindling. When the fire seemed hesitant to take life, Thayer stoked the budding flames until a gentle crackle wafted about the room. Confidant that the fire had been caught; he rose and perused his handiwork with satisfaction.
Gazing upon the broad, bare expanse of Thayer’s rippling muscular shoulders and back, Elspeth’s breath caught in her throat. Her mouth went dry, enticing her to run her tongue over her lips. She watched in awe as the kindling nurtured the flames to life, framing Thayer’s form in a warm ethereal amber glow. As the flames grew, so did her ardor. She watched in rapt attention as Thayer turned slowly about to face her. His chest glistened with each respiration and his eyes burned bright blue. Their eyes were locked in a passionate embrace long before their bodies were.
Sweeping her eyes over his stunningly chiseled body, Elspeth’s heart leapt in her chest. For a moment it felt as if it had stopped altogether. Never before had she felt every fiber of her being come alive, burning with a welling, maddening desire. Every inch of her body craved his touch. Thayer was everything she had ever wanted in a man: he was honorable, considerate, passionate, tender, and strong. He would die for her and she knew it.
“M’love,” Thayer whispered as he approached the bed,”are ye comfortable?”
“Aye, Thayer. But I’d be much more comfortable with ye beside me.” She said, patting the mattress aside her.
Thayer slowly uncoiled his plaid and let it slip to the floor in a heap. Now, as he stood before her in his naked splendor, the rest of the room faded behind him. Elspeth felt every sense heighten, tingling with anticipation.
My God, he is impossibly gorgeous! Elspeth mused as he slowly sank into the mattress beside her.
Hypnotically, her eyes were drawn to his glistening, muscular chest as it rose and fell with each anticipatory breath. His bronze skin gleamed as it reflected the glints of flame from the luminescence of the hearth fire. His ice-blue crystalline eyes blazed with a burning passion, his gaze caressing every inch of her in sweet repose.
Elspeth swallowed hard as her eyes swept the length of his taut, muscular body. His broad chest, tapered waist, and athletic thighs would render Adonis covetous. Spying his swelling manhood, Elspeth’s eyes widened in anticipation. She felt her heart thump loudly in her chest, her pulse pounding in her ears.
There would be no need for words now.
Slowly unlacing her gunna, she drew it over her head to wriggle free of its confines. She watched as Thayer’s eyes widened and swept his hungry gaze over the curves of her full, ripe breasts. Pulling the bodice over her head, she sent her crimson tresses cascading over her shoulders and tumble across her chest, barely concealing her pink-crested, milky breasts. She peeled her hose back slowly to unveil the sensuous curve of her hips. Gradually, she pared them all the way down over her legs and kicked them from her feet.
Thayer felt the hunger in his loins rise into a crestless wave at the vision of her exquisite bare body. To him, Elspeth was beyond compare. In body and soul, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid his eyes upon. It was as if he had never desired another. He knew there would be just one woman in his life from this day hence. Drawing his body closer to Elspeth, Thayer laced his fingers in hers, He then gently drew her slender arms above her head and, agonizingly slowly, drew his lips to hers.
Their first kiss was gentle.
His lips brushing hers, the warmth effused her entire body, heating her blood. Her every sense was heightened, her every nerve afire. Arching her head back, Elspeth shuttered her eyes in ecstasy as she savored the sweet taste of Thayer’s kiss. As he slowly withdrew his mouth, his lips clung warmly to hers. They seemed loathed to part. He hovered j
ust above her, his gaze lovingly upon her. Though she ached to make love to him, she wanted to relish every second, every breath, every kiss, every touch. Elspeth could feel the muscles in his firm body tighten as his hunger grew.
If the first kiss was the kindling, then the next kiss was a raging inferno.
Her lips parted readily, eager to yield to his. Fiery ardor must have consumed him, for he hungrily devoured her lips, wrestling his tongue with hers in mind-numbing pleasure. As he gently caressed her silken crimson locks, he slipped his hand behind her nape and drew her closer. Elspeth felt utterly alive. Her skin tingled. Her head swam, dizzied by an overwhelming wave of searing passion as he thrust his silken tongue ever deeper into her willing mouth. He kissed her lips. He kissed her neck. He kissed her ears.
He utterly consumed her.
As Thayer lips traced a searing path of fire slowly down her neck, Elspeth drew a deep breath, inhaling Thayer’s earthy, masculine scent.
It intoxicated her.
His deft fingers inched along the skin of her neck, trailing his kisses. He slid them down her chest, tracing the generous curve of her breasts. Her breath was snatched inwardly at the first touch upon her bosom. As he gently kneaded her left breast, his tongue traced a warm path to her right. Her taut buds stood erect as he flicked his hot tongue in seemingly endless circles of pleasure around them. Elspeth arched her back in rapture as the searing path of Thayer’s tongue lingered upon her creamy skin. She thought she would truly die from need!
As Thayer tongue nibbled and teased at Elspeth’s breasts, his fingers traced a burning path down her thighs.
Elspeth gasped as they found their destination.
She was slick with desire, and his finger slid into her gently. A warm, wonderful sensation welled in her loins as first one, and then two of Thayer’s fingers magically stroked her. She writhed in pleasure against his hand.
She was ready for him now.
Elspeth shuddered as she sensed the first sweet sting of his throbbing manhood enter her. Wincing slightly, her breath was snatched as her maidenhood was breeched. It quickly passed, and she smiled. The pain was not as bad as she had anticipated. Now all that followed was pure delight!
Slowly, skillfully, he rhythmically thrust inside of her, prompting her to arch her back in need. Every fiber of Elspeth’s being was alive now with a fire she had never dreamed was possible! With each deeper, more urgent thrust, she felt a welling flood of pleasure teasing her, lingering just beyond the precipice of rapture. They writhed as one body now, Elspeth answering his thrusts by tilting her hips to grind against his.
Breathlessly, Elspeth gazed upon Thayer as his eyes widened in pure bliss.
His cry signaled that he could hold the deluge back no longer. As Elspeth felt Thayer convulse in spasms of ecstasy, she cried aloud as an unfamiliar, wondrous torrent of fire burst forth from her loins. It was a wave of pleasure she had never experienced, and one she would never forget! Elspeth collapsed, utterly spent, into Thayer’s strapping arms. Protectively, he held her close, laying gentle kisses upon her crown. In unison, they sighed as the tide of pleasure slowly ebbed.
Brushing an errant ringlet from the front of her eyes, Thayer whispered, “Elspeth, ye have made me the very happiest man on the face of the earth. I am not sure what I have done to deserve such an honor. Ye are me life’s blood. I would be utterly lost without ye. I want to spend the rest of me life with ye.”
Feeling the glow of love, Elspeth exclaimed, “Thayer, ye have me heart and my soul. No matter what happens hence, I will ever love ye.”
Thayer drew his lips to hers and kissed her softly. The sweet silence was broken by the gentle patter of raindrops which fell against the window.
“Sleep now, m’love,” he said softly. “Sleep with the assurance that on the morrow’s eve, I will join Uncle John’s men. Together, we will deliver your father and brother from the castle.” Smiling broadly, he added, “I just hope your father will be happy to see me.”
Elspeth’s raised her brows quizzically as she peered deep into Thayer’s eyes for an intimation of his implication.
A sly smile twisting his lips, Thayer quipped, “Aye, your father will be gaining his freedom. But he is soon to lose his daughter--to me.”
With a sweet sigh, Elspeth snuggled deeply into the crook of Thayer’s arm and drifted off to sleep.
***
Thayer watched as Elspeth’s breaths slowed as she gradually surrendered to a blissful slumber. Tenderly brushing her soft cheeks, pink with contentment, Thayer gazed lovingly upon Elspeth’s exquisite face. His heart swelled with joy, his soul had found its forever partner. Until he met Elspeth, he hadn’t devoted much thought to the possibility of a higher love. Yet, as he gazed upon her nestled in his arms with a sweet smile of contentment curling her lips, Thayer not only knew of its existence, but precisely where it resided. It was flesh and blood, and it was asleep in his arms. Before meeting Elspeth, Thayer suspected that the notion of finding one’s soul mate was the wistful longings of naïve young lasses and melancholy old maids. Now, as he gazed upon her in sweet repose, he knew it was within his grasp. He could truly envision growing old with her. In fact, he treasured the thought.
Chapter Nineteen
As Thayer gradually drifted into a rapturous slumber, Elspeth stirred from her feigned sleep. It had taken all her inner strength to lie still while her mind raced and her heart skittered frantically in her chest. For Elspeth, there was no time to savor the sweet pleasure of sleeping alongside the love of her life. There was barely enough time to plan her escape. She stared pensively outside as the pattering raindrops rapped out an incessant staccato against the dusty window panes.
Och! Blasted rain! A far off rumble of thunder rent the still night air. ‘Twill surely make the journey more arduous.
Silently, Elspeth slid from the bed and made her way about the chambers on her tip-toes. Plucking her rumpled shift and gunna from the floor, she hastily dressed. Spying her long velvet cape draped over a chaise in the corner of the room, she hurriedly coiled it around herself. Returning to the foot of the bed, she lingered to gaze upon Thayer’s splayed form. She smiled sadly as her eyes swept his blissful repose, utterly unaware of her fateful decision to return to Dirleton alone.
Heeding her father’s mentoring, Elspeth constrained herself to stifle her tears. Although the thought of never seeing Thayer again was shredding her heart, she knew that any further delay would further risk the lives of her father and brother.
He will surely come after me when he discovers that I’m gone, she postulated with a heavy heart. I just pray that Lord Devlin will accept me as barter for Father, Graham, and Faolin ‘afore Thayer wakes.
Spying Thayer’s feather pen and parchment on a nearby desk, Elspeth perched herself upon the stool and hastily composed a brief missive. Her lips mouthing the words, she wrote the words she prayed would be less painful for him than herself.
Thayer, my love. Please, forgive me. I must do this. I know not if my life will be forfeit, but I cannot live with the thought that Father, Graham, and Faolin could have been saved and I did naught.
Ye must not come after me.
I will offer myself as barter for their freedom. But this I vow: If Lord Devlin does not honor his word, he will not live to see the morrow. If their lives are not spared, I will avenge my family and yours.
Thayer, please do not allow this to taint your happiness.
Ye will find love again.
Ever remember that I love ye with all of me heart.
Last night was me farewell gift to ye.
Love always,
Elspeth
As she penned the final words, a tear slipped from her eye, trickling onto the parchment and smudging some of the ink. Carefully correcting the inky smear with a dab of her finger, Elspeth carefully spread the letter down upon the pillow aside Thayer. Reaching into her vestment, she pulled a neatly folded, heavily-worn swatch of plaid and laid it aside the letter. With that final
act of farewell, her heart broke in two. Wave upon wave of grief washed over her as she fought to stay the tears which welled in her eyes.
“Goodbye, my love,” Elspeth whispered between gentle sobs.
Summoning her waning reticence, Elspeth pivoted on her heels and crept from the cottage. A sigh fled her as she gingerly closed the door behind her. Straightening her back and tilting her chin into the air, she stole away into the dreary blackness.
Navigating the dark, winding path to the stables without the benefit of a lantern, Elspeth made slow progress. The dewy stones were smooth and slick and provided a challenge in the gloom. How she longed to have Thayer by her side to cling to! How she longed to feel the comforting warmth of his arm around her waist!
Lost in her musings, Elspeth missed one of the stones and nearly tumbled to the ground. Recovering her splayed limbs, a pensive smile played about her lips as she mused of her mother. How her ears would ring if she heard some of the oaths she had just uttered! Arriving at the stables at last, Elspeth carefully slid the heavy bolt on the door, easing it from the hasp. She opened the barn door slowly, ever mindful of startling the horses. Slipping in, she was met with the wary stare of Ethelion in the first stall.
“There, there, easy, boy,” she coaxed as the great steed whinnied.
Snatching a lantern from the wall, she lifted it to illuminate her face. Instantly recognizing her, the immense stallion quickly calmed. After offering Ethelion a few cubes of sugar, Elspeth made her way to the last carrel, which housed her dappled gray mare.
“Well, hello there, Destiny,” Elspeth whispered.
The mare narrowed its warm brown pupils upon her. She acknowledged Elspeth with a snort, the mist of its breath illuminated by the glow of the lantern. Elspeth gently set the lantern down and began securing the saddle upon Destiny’s back.
Suddenly, the sound of the barn door creaking whirled her round..
Elspeth froze in her tracks as icy fingers of dread traveled up her spine. She held her breath as a slight rustling of hay signaled the approach of the intruder.