The Scotsman Who Saved Me

by Hannah Howell

  Emily had been trying hard to ignore the man standing behind Neddy but Neddy’s announcement had her looking at him in alarm. “Surely he is too small to ride a horse.”

  “Which is why he rode with me, nay alone.”

  “Ah.” She kissed Neddy’s cheek. “Did you have fun then?”

  “Aye. I saw sheeps. Lots of them.”

  Iain watched as she talked with the boy about all he had seen and done. There was such a close affection between the two he would think her his mother if he did not know she was only his aunt. Suddenly he was certain of one of the reasons why she had been dragged to this country with her sister. Her sister had wanted someone to help her care for a child. He might be unfair but he doubted it. Emily had been given the care of the baby probably from the time he was born. That was why Neddy was not suffering from the loss of his parents because as far as the boy was concerned the most important person in his life was by his side.

  Knowing it was almost time for the evening meal Emily nudged Neddy off the bed and carefully stood up. Iain stepped forward to slide his arm around her waist to keep her steady and support her. Despite the things he thought about her, about her kind, he could not help but appreciate the way she felt in his arms. He wanted Neddy to be gone so he could pull her firmly into his grasp. It was a strange fever he had no explanation for and was having a hard time curing himself of.

  “I do not need so much support to walk down to the evening meal,” Emily said quietly as Neddy led the way.

  “Nay? Legs arenae wobbly?”

  “Not at all. I am actually quite steady and need no help.”

  “Oh, I think it would be best if you have a little. Wouldnae want ye to tumble down the stairs. Ye might hit Neddy on the way.”

  She looked up at him and caught the hint of a smile. “I will be very careful. I think I could make certain to fall to the right if I weaken and then he is safe. I do so hate to inconvenience you.”

  “No bother at all.” He pretended not to hear her soft sigh of exasperation.

  Once they reached the kitchen, he helped her to a seat and then took one right next to her. As the food was passed around, she concentrated on helping Neddy and listening to all the talk. She covertly watched each brother as they ate. Mrs. O’Neal had been right. The MacEnroys were a handsome lot. Even Robbie, although he was a little bright with his vividly red hair, freckles, and blue eyes. She suspected that would tone down as he got older. Iain was not only the oldest but clearly the leader. It occurred to her that she had never seen so many shades of red and wondered if both their parents had had red hair.

  Emily carefully worked to figure out where each one stood in the family line. Matthew held the place of the second in command. Nigel, who looked a great deal like Iain but had a softer shade of green eyes, was next, she decided. Then Geordie, she thought, as she studied the shortest one of the brothers. When it came to the other three brothers she only knew that Robbie was the youngest. Lachlan, strangely enough, had very dark hair and what looked to be brown eyes. It was as if he had been the cuckoo in the nest yet no one treated him as anything other than a brother. Duncan was quiet. His dark auburn hair was thick and prone to curls and she knew he was only a year older than Robbie. He was the studious one, she decided.

  If this had been a family from her part of the world and society the doors would have to be barred against the women seeking husbands. She thought it odd that none of them appeared to be calling on anyone and they never spoke of any woman either. She sighed and felt sad for the parents they had lost. It would have been good if they could have seen what their sons had built.

  By the time she finished dessert Emily was ready to retire. Despite wanting to join everyone in the parlor, she excused herself and made her way to her bedroom. Once she was settled in bed, she sighed. She was going to have to tell Iain more about what she and her sister had been fleeing. It was wrong to leave such a family ignorant of what might come kicking down their gates. They had worked hard for all they had and accomplished a lot. It would be horrible if they lost any of it because she made them stand between her and her enemy.

  Chapter Six

  Singing softly to herself Emily brushed flat the cover on her bed. She straightened and looked over the room. Everything was clean now. It had taken almost all day, which she found annoying since it was one of the smallest rooms in the house. Even after two weeks she still tired easily and had needed to sit down too often and rest. She told herself to be patient. What had been done to her required a long period of healing and she needed to accept that with grace.

  She looked at the freshly washed curtains, the completely cleaned and fluffed bed, the clean rugs spread on a swept, washed, and polished floor and decided how long it had taken her did not matter. Although Mrs. O’Neal had polished the floor, Emily had managed the rest. Feeling proud and increasingly confident about her recovery, she started down the stairs.

  Voices filled the dining room and she paused to look in. All seven MacEnroy brothers were gathered around the table, which had what looked to be maps spread over it. They were an amazing array of handsome men. She was still astonished the place was not besieged with women trying to catch their eyes, even young Robbie’s, but she had quickly become aware of the shortage of available women as they had traveled west. Women were not inclined to make such a journey without a man at their side, which left the single men with few choices.

  Mrs. O’Neal was pouring them all glasses of cider. Each one took the time to thank her kindly. What fascinated her, though, was the two somewhat disreputable men who were hunkered on the floor intently inspecting one of Donald’s puppies. It was an adorable black-and-white mix and obviously a breed that was far from pure but young Donald was doing a fine job of espousing all of the dog’s fine points.

  “Hello, dearie,” said Mrs. O’Neal as she started toward the door where Emily stood. “All done with the room?”

  “Yes, finally. What is going on?”

  “The lads are arguing over where the wolves might be and whether they should fence in the sheep. They have that argument every year,” she added softly. “Always ends up with them agreeing the sheep don’t do well all penned in. One spends too much time moving them from pasture to pasture. The Powell brothers are here looking at my boy’s puppy. They think he may be able to be trained to help with the sheep. Their dog is getting old, though not too old he can’t breed puppies with my bitch, and they want another up and trained before the old girl dies. Might need to breed her again.”

  “In England they have very simple fences or hedgerows.”

  “They don’t have wolves.”

  “True. What do the Powell brothers do here?”

  “Sheep herders or shepherds if you prefer.”

  “But there are seven brothers.”

  Mrs. O’Neal nodded. “And guess who they learned about sheep from. The Powell boys are out in the fields during the night now. They really had no other place to go,” she said softly. “I best get started on the food. All this planning and arguing seems to give them a hearty appetite.”

  “They always have a hearty appetite.”

  “True enough. Hey, Owen?” Both Powell men stood up and looked at Mrs. O’Neal. “You and David are staying for a meal.” Even though it was more a command than a request both men nodded.

  “I will give you a hand,” Emily said as she followed Mrs. O’Neal out of the room. “Oh my, something smells very good,” she said as they entered the kitchen.

  “Mutton stew. Got two pots of it cooking. We just need some biscuits and something for a sweet after.”

  “Never had mutton stew.”

  “Fairly common amongst farmer families.” She gave Emily a sideways glance.

  Ignoring the woman’s look that begged for some answers, and with only a little instruction, Emily fell into the work of making biscuits. She was finding work in the kitchen soothing. A little smile touched her mouth as she suddenly recalled the reaction of the head cook at Stanto
n Manor when she had tried to help in the kitchen. Flush with new knowledge she had wanted to hone her skills. Instead she had nearly caused their head cook, Mrs. Paxton, to swoon. Then had come the lecture.

  Not the place for a lady was an often-repeated phrase. It had infuriated her so she had finally stomped out of the kitchens and never gone back. The one good thing that had come out of that confrontation was that one of the kitchen maids had quietly offered to teach her a few things. Between that girl’s help and the lessons with Mrs. Cobb, the tenant’s wife, she felt competent in the kitchens. Making up the meals, with no help when living with her sister, had given her more confidence in her ability. Emily was contemplating asking Mrs. O’Neal if she could cook a meal sometime with the woman helping as much as was needed. In her mind she planned the whole meal out as she helped Mrs. O’Neal with the biscuits and her need to do so grew stronger.

  When everyone started to arrive for the meal, Emily was surprised at how well the Powell brothers cleaned up. They had cast off their somewhat ragged coats and washed up, revealing that they were probably not much older than Iain. They had even taken the time to scrape the scruff off their faces revealing fine features. Both had thick black hair and dark blue eyes. They might have been twins, perfectly matching, except that Owen had a few age lines that David did not as well as a ragged scar that ran from the side of his right eye right down to his neck. Someone had once tried to kill the man, she thought, and then fought back her curiosity about the man’s life.

  She ate her meal surrounded by the accents of Scotland, Wales, and America. Glancing at Neddy she saw only happiness on his face as he ate his meal and listened to the men talk. It hurt her to realize he was not still grieving for his parents, had only done so mildly before settling in with the MacEnroys, even as she accepted that it was probably for the best. What hurt was the knowledge that her sister would not be dearly remembered by many. Emily promised herself that she would tell Neddy about his parents. While it was sadly true that they had not dealt much with their child, they had given him life and died to make sure he stayed alive. For those things alone they should be remembered.

  By the time the meal was done, highly praised by the men, and she and Mrs. O’Neal had cleared up the kitchen Emily was tired yet not ready to go to sleep. Her mind was too full of worries about what she and Neddy would do once she was fully healed. That time was swiftly approaching for even her leg wound was only mildly aching if she worked on her feet too much or it got bumped. It would not be long before her strength fully returned either. Soon there would be no reason for her to stay with the MacEnroys.

  “Is it safe enough to step outside for a while?” she asked Mrs. O’Neal.

  “If you stay within the walls. There is a porch front and back. The back porch has a swing.” Mrs. O’Neal removed her apron and slipped on her coat. “Just stay inside the walls,” she warned again, and hurried out to go to her cabin.

  Emily went upstairs to tuck Neddy into bed and make sure he was asleep. She got her wrap, one of the many things retrieved from the cabin, and then headed back down. Thinking that sitting on a porch swing was a wonderful idea, she stepped out onto the back porch, the cool night air a pleasure after working in the kitchen. She had only taken a few steps when she saw Iain standing at the end of the porch, leaning on the railing and studying his domain.

  “Ye dinnae need to scurry back inside,” he said, and turned to face her.

  “I never scurry,” she said, and watched his lips twitch as if he suppressed a smile.

  “Come to sit on the swing? Matthew made it. We chided him for his fancy but it gets a lot of use.”

  Although a small voice in her head told her it was not a good idea, Emily walked to the swing and sat down. “He does wonderful work,” she said as she ran her hands over the seat.

  “He has a gift.”

  “Has he thought to make anything to sell?”

  “Now and then for, when he has the wood, he wants to make something but we dinnae always need it. His skill is helpful in bargaining for what we need, too.”

  Iain sat down next to her, draping his arm over the back of the seat. Emily immediately tensed but she realized it was not a tension caused by wariness or fear. It was born of anticipation, that she wanted him to put his arm around her. She inwardly cursed herself for being an idiot. She complained about the man not knowing his own mind but it appeared she did not know hers, either.

  “He is good enough to make a business of it,” she said.

  “Perhaps, if we lived in a city, or near one. We live out here and there just isnae the market he needs. There isnae the money here to give him a good living.”

  “Ah, probably not. A bit of a shame.”

  “Aye. He did much of the finishing off of the house. I recognize his skill and it would bring good money elsewhere but he has no wish to move.”

  “I cannot blame him for that. It is quite lovely here, at least, from what little I have seen of it and the problem of wolves eating lambs aside. And he has no great needs as you seem to do well enough here.”

  “It serves.” He moved his hand so that he could stroke her hair. “Did your sister and her man do well where they were?”

  “We were not there long enough to find out.” She sighed. “They had such hopes.” The main one being that they had found peace and safety, she thought.

  “Aye, it is sad that they were killed before they could attain them. This is a fine land but it can also be cruel. There are a lot of desperate men and not enough law.”

  “That is because it is so new, is it not? They have not had hundreds of years, thousands even, to set in their rules and laws. Although a judge we stayed with for a few days in Boston said it is those laws and legal customs they follow somewhat.”

  Iain just grunted. After what had happened to his family he did not feel anything good about English systems and laws. He had not yet decided this country did it any better. For most of the time he had been in this country he had either lived outside towns or been traveling to someplace. The threat of violence was always with them as well.

  Shaking aside that thought, he looked at the woman sitting beside him as he moved his arm so that it lightly encircled her shoulders. She sat looking out at the yard which, he thought, was not the best view. She had relaxed even though he had changed his hold on her and he took that as a positive sign.

  “It is very nice out here but I think a chill is rolling in.”

  “Could be. Getting that time of the year.” He turned her so she was facing him.

  “I am not sure this is a good idea and it is certainly not what I came out here for.” Emily was pleased with her calm tone for her insides were leaping with what she could only call anticipation.

  “I just came out for a smoke.”

  “A bad habit.”

  Iain decided he had lost all interest in a smoke. Emily looked lovely in the soft light of the moon. He thought of her sprawled out on the swing beneath him and his whole body hardened. A dangerous thought, he mused, but one that now crowded his dreams. He just had to catch a glimpse of her in the distance and he grew hard. It was becoming embarrassing. Reminding himself that she was gentry, even if she would not say so, no longer cooled the heat of wanting and that troubled him more than the almost consistent want did.

  He put his hand under her chin and tilted her face up to his. Studying her face for a moment, he saw no rejection. If anyone asked, he would have to say it was indecision mixed with a hint of curiosity. He did not blame her for the indecision but he would ignore it. He bent his head and kissed her.

  Emily placed her hands on his chest to push him away but the moment his mouth covered hers, she clutched at his shirt. She opened to the gentle prod of his tongue. His kiss clouded her mind even as it heated her body. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight, pressing her body up close against his. It was scandalous of her but she enjoyed it.

  Desire was not something she had any knowledge of but Emily was su
re that was what was flooding her body as he moved his kisses to her neck. She shivered as the feel of the heat of his mouth ran through her body. When he returned to her mouth, taking it a bit roughly, she was as eager as he seemed to be. Then he slid his hand over her breast and the surprise of the touch brought a hint of sanity. Slowly she pulled her arms from around his neck and pressed her hands against his chest, this time giving a very gentle push.

  Iain lifted his head and stared at the hand he had put on her breast. Reluctantly he moved it but could still feel the hard tip of her breast nudging his palm. That he could feel it even through the material of her clothes told him that she was as stirred by their kisses as he was. Sighing softly, he met her gaze and the look in her eyes told him he had gone too far too fast. Emily Stanton was not some woman who worked at the Trading Post.

  “I will see ye in the morning.” He turned and walked away, knowing that distance was what he needed now.

  Emily stared after him and shook her head. She hurried back inside and slipped into her room then began to change into her nightdress. The man was confusing. He had not even apologized for touching her so, just walked away.

  As she climbed into bed she decided the look on her face must have told him that he had gone too far. Kisses could be allowed but anything else was forbidden. Or it should be since she was an unwed lady and she knew that rule held in this country as it did in England. Emily was not sure she had the strength to refuse if he put his mind to having her, however.

  The very thought of being touched by him, made love to by him, made her tremble and she was not even completely sure how that was done. She was in trouble. There was definitely a part of her that welcomed the idea of him showing her how that was done. Shaking her head, she closed her eyes and told herself to go to sleep. It might be time to start planning what she and Neddy should do once she was completely healed. There was no doubt in her mind that, if she stayed here too long, she would give in to the man and since he offered no hint of having feelings for her that would be a tragic mistake.