by Riley Moreno
‘I haven’t given up on you Tristan Kincaid,’ she murmured as she walked away from Lennox Castle, ‘I will have you back in my bed when your dear Ashley is engrossed with her newborn and unable to fulfill your needs.’
Tristan climbed the stairs to the Birthing Room and stood over the crib watching his son sleep. Then he threw off his ghillies and lay down next to his sleeping wife. Ashley stirred and turned over and Tristan gathered her up against him and kissed her hair and face, rocking her gently as he sang to her -
‘Speed bonnie boat, like a bird on the wing,
Onward the sailors cry
Carry the lad that’s born to be king
Over the sea to Skye
Loud the winds howl, loud the winds roar
Thunderclouds rend the air
Baffled our foes stand by the shore
Follow they will not dare.’
Ashley buried her face in Tristan’s strong, broad chest, her lips in the tangled hair. He stroked her cheek and kissed her lips.
‘Sleep my darling Ashley,’ he murmured gently.
‘Oh Tristan,’Ashley breathed, ‘I love you!’
‘I love you so much my darling,’ Tristan said, holding her tighter, ‘And I won’t let anyone or anything ever come between us.’
‘Is something wrong my love?’ Ashley asked, sensing a note of despair in her husband’s voice.’
‘Nothing my sweet. Nothing that I cannot take care of. You sleep now while I sing to you.’
Ashley dozed off as Tristan rocked her in his arms and sang to her, but Kirk began to cry again and Ashley woke to nurse him.
‘My body hurts,’ Ashley said tiredly to her husband.
‘You’ve just given birth, my darling, of course your body is tired,’ Tristan said, rubbing her shoulders as she nursed their newborn.
The next few days went by in a blur for Ashley. At times Laren had to prop her up in bed while Tristan held Kirk to Ashley’s breast to nurse, because she was so weak.
‘Her face is so warm,’ Tristan remarked one evening while laying Ashley back against her pillows after she had nursed Kirk.
Laren looked worried as she pressed her cheek against Ashley’s forehead. ‘Yes, her skin is really hot,’ she remarked in alarm. ‘I will summon the midwife and see what she has to say.’
‘Will she know anything at all? Should we not call in a Physician?’
‘Yes we should, my laird, but first let me ask the midwife. She might be able to enlighten us about the nature of this fever.’
The midwife arrived minutes before the Physician and pronounced that Ashley was suffering from the milk fever. By the time the Physician arrived the midwife was sponging Ashley with cold towels to bring her fever down. Tristan meanwhile, paced about anxiously; relieved when the Physician reassured him that the medicine he was giving Ashley would cure her symptoms. But he advised him to move his wife to a warmer environment.
‘I cannot leave Lennox Castle and move my household,’ Tristan said in alarm.
‘We could take her to Duffries Castle,’ Bruce suggested. Ashley had it refurbished before her confinement and I do believe she would want to go there to recuperate – if she has to go anywhere at all.’
Ashley awoke while they were conferring in hushed whispers.
‘Tristan darling! What’s the matter? Is everything alright? Where is my beloved Kirk?’
‘Our son sleeps, my love.’
‘Wake him then. Doesn’t he need to be fed?’
‘It’s all been taken care of my lady,’ Laren said, hastening to her side. ‘I held you up while my laird held baby Kirk to your breast to nurse.’
‘Oh,’ Ashley said weakly, ‘Am I not a fit enough mother that I can’t hold my own baby?’
Tristan took her in his arms and stroked her hair. ‘You are just very tired, my love. We have been advised by the good Physician to take you to a warmer place, and perhaps you might do well to go to Duffries Castle with Kirk and stay there awhile.’
‘And you?’ Ashley asked.
‘I am afraid I will have to remain here, but I will ride across to Duffries whenever I can.’
‘I’m doing well enough here,’ Ashley said stubbornly.
‘No, my love. Let us heed the Physician’s advice. I want to see you healthy and strong soon. A change of environment will certainly do you good.’
Ashley turned away, dejected.
‘Are you banishing me for being weak, fat and unwell?’ She asked Tristan.
Tristan was aghast. ‘How can you speak thus, my Ashley? I only tell you what the Physician has advised.’
‘I cannot and will not tire myself further by travelling to Duffries. I will remain here with Kirk and with you, my husband.’ She gave him a keen look. ‘Unless there is some reason why you would wish me to go away.’
Tristan kissed her. ‘If it distresses you so much my darling, then stay you must.’
‘I saw her,’ Ashley said, turning accusing eyes on Tristan. ‘I saw you talk with that woman – Rona. Not minutes after your son was born.’
‘I was merely commanding her to leave the premises.’
‘I was there too, Ashley,’ Bruce interrupted, ‘and Leana. We all drove Rona from the castle so you need have no fear at all.’
But despite Bruce’s reassurances, Ashley struggled to shrug off the sense of foreboding that dogged her whenever Rona crossed her mind.
Tristan waited for Ashley to fall asleep and then he went out for a walk in the grounds. Ashley was still housed in the Birthing Room which, though exquisitely decorated, lacked the intimacy of the bedroom that she shared with Tristan, and she was anxious to return to her own familiar space in the large castle. This, together with the fever, made her so moody and irritable, that even Tristan’s immense patience was wearing thin. He strolled in the grounds, moodily, wondering how to please his wife.
‘Ah, Tristan Kincaid in such a deep reverie! Your wife has surely leeched all the joy from your life!’
Tristan looked up in shock and anger as Rona came into view.
‘What are you doing here?’ Tristan growled, ‘I thought I had successfully removed you from my property. Go now, or I will have the guards drag you from here.’
‘Not so fast, my lover,’ Rona crooned.
‘Do not call me lover. You mean nothing to me,’ Tristan said, moving away from her. ‘Leave!’
‘I can help your wife feel better,’ Rona said.
‘I don’t want you anywhere near Ashley…or me,’ Tristan said brusquely.
‘Give her a mixture of chamomile, eucalyptus and lavender,’ Rona said and walked away.
Tristan looked thoughtful. Then he hurried back to the castle and called out to Laren.
‘Have we any chamomile, eucalyptus and lavender?’
‘Why my laird?’
‘Because I’ve been advised that it will help Ashley.’
‘I will go in search of some immediately,’ Laren said and hurried away. She was back a few hours later.
‘I scoured every hamlet within ten miles from here and I found an old apothecary who gave me some chamomile, eucalyptus and lavender - and said that they would indeed be effective in the treatment of Milk Fever!’ Laren said, excited and hopeful.
She went up to the Birthing Room where Ashley sat propped up against a bank of pillows, nursing Kirk with the assistance of the midwife who had been waiting on her.
‘It won’t harm my beautiful Kirk, will it?’ Ashley asked, apprehensive.
‘No,’ Laren reassured her, ‘All will be well. Come, take some of this.’
Ashley took the mixture without any further questions and then lay down and slept. Tristan pressed his lips to her forehead.
‘Her skin is still so hot,’ he remarked to Laren.
‘Her fever will come down soon my laird,’ Laren said.
Tristan sat by Ashley bed holding Kirk in his arms. The little baby stretched and yawned and Tristan leaned over to kiss his cheeks.
‘Oh, b
ut you are a handsome young laddie,’ Tristan said, ‘With your mother’s fine looks.’
‘Young Kirk does look so comfortable in his father’s strong arms,’ Laren said smiling.
Tristan looked adoringly at his offspring, his heart swelling with pride and joy. When Kirk fell asleep he lowered him gently into his crib and lay down next to Ashley, cradling her in his arms. He stroked her hair and kissed her forehead, noting with dismay that her skin was still hot. Tristan held Ashley closer and fell asleep with his cheek against hers. He wasn’t sure how many hours or minutes had ticked by when Kirk cried out to be fed and Ashley stirred.
‘Tristan! Kirk!’ Ashley called out weakly and Tristan sprang up in bed.
‘I’m sorry my love, I seem to have fallen asleep.’
‘It’s alright, you are weary too.’
Tristan lifted Kirk up into his arms and brought him to Ashley. As he placed the baby against her breast, he touched her forehead.
‘Your fever!’ Tristan exclaimed.
‘What of it?’ Ashley asked.
‘It seems to have gone!’ Tristan was excited.
‘The pain in my body is far less too,’ Ashley remarked in some surprise. ‘So whatever Laren administered to me must have been really effective.’
‘Yes,’ Tristan said. He left the room and went in search of Laren.
‘My laird! How is my lady?’ Laren asked anxiously.
‘By some miracle, her fever has gone!’ Tristan answered, shaking his head in wonder. ‘Listen, Laren,’ Tristan said, ‘It is vital that my Ashley not think that the remedy has come from anyone other than you. You will not lead her away from believing that you had this wonder remedy up your sleeve, or that a helpful relative told you of it not hours before you gave it to her.’
‘I will do as you say my laird,’ Laren replied, ‘But where did the remedy come from? How came you by such an efficacious cure?’
Tristan shook his head. ‘I cannot reveal the source of the remedy, Laren. And neither must you persist in asking me, because I cannot tell you. I am merely grateful that it has worked.’ With that he returned rapidly to his wife’s side.
Hours later Tristan returned to the grounds of the castle to take a walk. Rona found him there, as she had anticipated she would. ‘Will you shoo me away now that I have cured your wife?’ she asked, batting her eyelashes at Tristan.
‘I will request you to leave, but I will also thank you for the remedy. It has worked very well indeed and my wife is so much better, and most certainly free of the debilitating fever.’
‘Does curing your wife put you in my debt?’ Rona asked.
‘No. The remedy that you were kind enough to pass on to me, is your way of setting the score straight between us. I will pardon you for trying to say your illegitimate child was born of my seed…since you helped restore my wife’s health. But now, go, and never return to this place.’
‘I choose not to leave,’ Rona taunted.
‘Go quietly and do not let me resort to violence again.’
‘I will stay here as long as I like and I will talk with you and walk with you in the privacy of these gardens and you will comply with my wishes.’
‘Why should I?’ Tristan asked, incensed.
‘Because if you don’t I will reveal to your dear wife, the source of the remedy that cured her fever. And I wonder what she would think if she knew that you had not only been talking with me but also listening to my advice.’
‘Pay heed,’ Tristan said, struggling to keep his hands off Rona’s throat. ‘I will give you anything you want if you would but leave me and my family alone.’
‘Ok. Let’s start with Lennox Castle,’ Rona said nonchalantly.
‘Are you mad?’ Tristan shouted.
‘Sssh,’ Rona cautioned, ‘You wouldn’t want to attract the attention of the guards, now would you?’
‘You are an evil woman, Rona. Would that the fates had never let our paths cross in the first place.’ Tristan turned on his heel and left. Rona watched him lope away, satisfied that she had caused him so much alarm. To see the fear in his eyes when she mentioned revealing secrets to Ashley, was gratifying.
When Tristan ran up to the Birthing Room he found it empty. Laren came up behind him as he looked around for Ashley and Kirk.
‘My laird, my lady has returned to her bedroom as she feels much better now. She said the Birthing Room makes her melancholy.’
Tristan hurried to the bedroom that he shared with Ashley and found her there, rocking Kirk.
‘Where have you been?’ Ashley asked Tristan.
‘Attending to some urgent business,’ Tristan answered, more than a little guiltily.
‘I moved here because the windows of the Birthing Room afford me some disturbing views,’ Ashley said. She put Kirk down in his crib and turned to face her husband.
‘Will you deny that you have been out walking in the grounds, where you chanced upon that woman who once warmed your bed?’
Tristan shrugged. ‘Yes, Rona was there. It would appear that she lies in wait for me and torments me each time I go outside.’
‘Is she still tormenting you about her child?’
‘Ashley my love,’ Tristan said, going over to her and pulling her into his arms. ‘You must know that you and Kirk are everything to me and I would never do anything to hurt you both. That woman – Rona – means nothing to me.’
‘But?’ Ashley pulled away and looked searchingly at Tristan’s face.
‘But there’s something I need you to know, because Rona is blackmailing me with the information.’
Ashley looked alarmed. ‘Is it something that will upset me?’
Tristan took her face in his hands. ‘No, my love. It’s just that when your fever would not subside, I was besides myself …and when I was out walking in the grounds, Rona came up to me and gave me the remedy that made you well.’
‘Oh,’ Ashley said, turning away.
‘And she told me that she would let you know I had talked with her if I didn’t allow her to spend time with me whenever she wanted.’
‘I see,’ Ashley said in a monotone.
‘I told her I would give her anything she asked for if she would only leave us alone, and she asked for this castle.’
‘And?’
‘And I told her she was mad. Then I decided I would tell you of my conversation with her so that she would have nothing to blackmail me with.’
‘You did well to tell me,’ Ashley said, sitting down on the bed, her expression inscrutable. ‘I warned you, that woman is out to destroy us.’
Ashley rose and went over to Kirk’s crib and drew a curtain around it. Then she took Tristan’s hand and led him over to the bed. ‘Come here,’ she said, sitting down at the edge of the bed so that he was directly in front of her. She raised his kilt and ran her hands over the hardness of his thighs. ‘I’ve missed you,’ she whispered, her caresses gathering intensity. Tristan looked down at her, his breathing uneven. ‘I’ve missed you too my love,’ he said, and sank his fingers into her lustrous red locks as Ashley kissed his aroused manhood and ran her tongue along its considerable length. She teased the turgid purplish red tip with an animated tongue, her fingers probing and exploring every inch of the area below his firm belly. Tristan gasped and arched his pelvis, pushing his member between Ashley’s eager lips. She welcomed him in slowly, playfully, drawing out the ecstasy of his arousal, and then pulling away until he begged for more. His climax was intense and the release copious – violent jets that momentarily choked her as she moved her lips over, around and along his achingly large shaft. Tristan groaned and fell to his knees, drawing Ashley into his arms, his hands under her skirt, fingers plunging into her wetness. ‘I know we’re not supposed to…that I’m not supposed to…do anything…’
‘I know my darling. Just a few more weeks…and until then…we can do what we did just now,’ Ashley replied, her voice thick with passion.
‘I want you…all of you,’ Tristan whispered aga
inst her lips, kissing her with unrestrained passion.
‘I want you too,’ Ashley said, ‘but we must be patient.’
Tristan pulled at the neck of her blouse, drawing it down over her engorged breasts. He cupped each luscious globe in turn, his large hands yet too small to contain them. He sucked one beautifully distended tip; surprised by a sudden spurt of sweet milk against his tongue and face. ‘Oh!’ Tristan gasped and fell away.
Ashley laughed. ‘Sorry my darling,’ she said, kissing him, ‘I should have warned you!’ Tristan tumbled her down onto the bed and lay on top of her, his arousal searing into her. But suddenly Kirk began to cry and Tristan jumped up and away from his wife, as she rushed to the crib and picked up their baby.
‘Tristan,’ Ashley said, as she rocked Kirk, ‘I think I will go with Kirk to Duffries Castle after all… but I want you to come with me.’
‘And who will remain here?’
‘I will ask Bruce and Leana…and there will be the Kincaid clansmen to stand guard, won’t there?’
‘Is this what you truly desire?’ Tristan asked, looking intently at her.
‘Yes,’ Ashley said.
‘But why? It will be quite a long journey.’
‘You were willing to send me on that long journey alone, remember? But now I am willing to undertake it because you will be with me.’
Tristan gave her a searching look. ‘Does this have anything to do with Rona? Because you need never have any concern over her.’
‘It has to do with us, my husband. I think it will make a nice change for us to get away for a while. We can take Laren, and a few other members of our household to help us.’
Tristan looked grave. ‘Can we at least go after Hogmanay? I would like Kirk to enter the New Year here at Lennox.’