He took two very deep breaths, one long low exhale, and then climbed up and off me, down my body, and kneeled there, between my feet. “Och, ye will be mine?”
“Yes, and you will be mine.”
Six - Hayley
I made it back to the castle before Lizbeth. Fraoch accompanied me to the Great Hall and left me there to wait for Lizbeth to arrive. I kind of forgot to pee and needed to, but knew I wasn’t supposed to wander the halls to the garderobe, so I sat and waited, trying to be patient. This was a moment that was trying my patience, though. I was not used to asking people for permission: I was my own woman. I was going to marry Fraoch. But I had to deal with a lot of rules and complications first.
Lizbeth arrived later with Fraoch a few paces behind her. “Madame Hayley, have ye had a good day? I suspect twas verra borin’. Did ye go tae the nursery? Och, nae, twould cause your boredom tae grow worse.” She pulled one of the upholstered chairs to the table and collapsed into it. “I have been tae the village with Madame Greer and around visitin’ in every home. I am verra tired, but we have gotten Madame Morag and Madame Anny tae see that they daena want tae kill each other over the actions of Master Cormac.”
She leaned back in her chair with a good-natured groan. “What have ye done with yourself?”
Fraoch took the chair on the other side of Lizbeth. She looked amused at his joining us and looked back at me waiting for my answer.
“I was very active and really busy.”
Her expression turned confused.
Fraoch said, “Madame Lizbeth, I have come tae ye tae tell ye that I am in love with Madame Hayley and I have a desire tae marry her and...”
Lizbeth looked from my face and back to Fraoch’s.
“I am askin’ for yer help in breakin’ my betrothal contract with the young Elen MacNichol.”
Lizbeth sighed. “I have left ye alone for how many hours? I ken I shouldna but I thought ye would have a better mind about yerselves. Madame Hayley, what say ye on this matter?”
“I love him. That’s why I returned. You made a lot of sense yesterday, when you told me that he would be better off with Elen MacNichol, but today I—”
“Have ye spent the day with him?”
“I have. We went for a ride.”
Lizbeth lowered her voice. “Fraoch, ye are intended for Elen MacNichol. What if her family kens ye were off alone with Madame Hayley?”
Fraoch bowed his head. “Tis why I am askin’ for yer help, Madame Lizbeth, I ken tis a delicate predicament.”
She waved her hand to have a round of ales served to us. She drank from her mug then sighed wearily as she returned it to the table. “There was a great deal of effort put intae the arrangement, Fraoch. Madame Greer and I worked tirelessly tae come tae an agreement with Ian MacNichol and twas nae easily done.”
Fraoch looked crestfallen.
I swigged from my glass and wiped my mouth. “The way I see it is this, I’ve only been gone for three days, tops. Sure it was hard to negotiate for Fraoch, look at him, he’s all a big burly man without much to speak of, but the truth is, the reason why it was so hard is because it was not the right marriage for them.”
“Twas a verra good marriage for him, I saw tae it m’self.”
“True, but when he begged me to marry him I didn’t even have to think about it, I said yes. It wasn’t difficult at all.”
She rolled her eyes. “Still a verra difficult piece of work tae quit a marriage contract once it has been struck.”
I teased. “You formed the difficult contract in only three days. If there was anyone in the history of the world who could unstrike it, it’s you. I know you can do it. I think you can have it done in no time.”
“I would feel better fortified if there were tae be some chocolate involved.”
“Yes!” I dug around in my satchel for a bag of candy and placed a fun-size Almond Joy in front of her. “I have more.”
She turned the wrapper over and over looking at all the writing and then after a few moments of fumbling opened it. She took a very very small nibble of the end. “Och, tis delicious. What is it?”
“There’s chocolate and coconut and so much sugar. That’s an almond on the top.”
She took a bigger bite and while chewing she pressed out the wrapper, flattening it, folding it up and tucking it away in a bag she wore at her waist. Then she leaned back in the chair. “I will set it tae rights, Master Fraoch. I will dissolve the contract with Elen MacNichol and then ye can wed Madame Hayley. When would ye like tae be married?”
“On the morrow.”
“Och, ye hae got it bad, Master Fraoch. Dost ye feel the same way, Madame Hayley?”
“I do, I want to marry him tomorrow, I know it will be a lot to arrange, but if anyone can do it you can.” I batted my eyes and gestured toward my satchel.
She said, “Fine, I will do m’best, but ye canna get married on the same day, ye will need tae marry the day after.”
“Okay, I agree. Want more chocolate?” I handed her a Snickers bar.
Seven - Hayley
I spent the night in Lizbeth’s rooms again, because we didn’t want word to spread about me and Fraoch until the contract had been dissolved. Fraoch watched us leave the Great Hall, much earlier than the night before, with a lot less drinking. And then I had to wait.
Lizbeth and Madame Greer and Fraoch met with Elen MacNichol’s father and brothers. It took most of the day. This was unfortunate because my nerves were on fucking edge. Everywhere I looked it was the eighteenth century. I caught a woman picking nits out of a child’s hair. We were served blood sausage. One of the men, no one would claim it, pissed in the corner of the Great Hall, on one of the Earl’s best rugs. Another older man was beaten in the courtyard for some offense that no one would speak of.
And Fraoch was so nervous he barely spoke to me. What I really needed was to sit on a couch with him and watch an all day Marvel movie marathon, but guess what? Fraoch didn’t even understand any of the words in that sentence. Except Thor. I sighed.
And truly wondered if I had lost my mind.
Shouldn’t someone intervene if you give away all your possessions and do something this drastic?
Like, where was my best friend?
Having a baby. Stupid excuse.
I needed her to talk me out of this shit.
Because this might be one of those things where I was just doing it because I had said I would.
Was this faulty decision making? I kind of suspected this was exactly what my therapist had been talking about when she warned me that I was making bad life choices.
Was I going to regret it?
But then I thought of Fraoch, clutching my hand to his chest, saying, I wanted tae spend my life with ye.
Tomorrow couldn’t come fast enough.
Fraoch returned to the castle in the evening. “Tis done. I had tae make a payment, and hae given over the rest of the boots as well, and a few other gifts from yer bag.”
He dropped my satchel by my feet. I pulled the top open and peered inside. “Good boy, my chocolate is still here.” I pulled out an Almond Joy, peeled it open, and devoured it happily. “How much of the gold?”
“Nae much, they dinna ken how much ye had. Ye hae a great deal of wealth, Hayley.”
“I wanted to make sure we had a good start.”
“Dost ye want dinner?” He gestured for one of the servers to bring us our plates. The night was a casual meal, the Earl was upstairs entertaining in his rooms and planning to leave the following day. Everyone was sedate and subdued.
The meal consisted of a piece of tough meat in the middle of a flavorless stew. I chewed and chewed and chewed and then swallowed. “What do we do now?”
“We will be married in the morn, Hayley. I wanted tae move ye tae the inn tonight, but Lizbeth argued with me on it and she has won.”
“Well, we’re not allowed to be alone until our wedding night, anyway, right?” We were sitting in two chairs at the corner
of a table. He took another bite of his own meat and finished the whole thing off. Then he leaned back, his knees splayed before him. I was sitting primly, because there was no other way to sit with a bodice constricting my air. My knees were very close to his.
He said, “I was goin’ tae guard ye from the hallway outside the room.”
“As romantic a gesture as that is, I’ll sleep here. No one will think us being immoral before we’re officially married and there will be plenty of time in our future for you to have to sleep outside in the hallway.”
He laughed. “M’wife is tellin’ me she is goin’ tae banish me from our bed?”
“While we aren’t even married yet, it seems likely that I will need to banish you sometimes, you seem like you are a lot.”
“What dost that mean?”
“Like a lot of man, a lot of trouble, a lot of effort, a lot of... all of it.” I took another bite of meat and after chewing and barely swallowing it down, I pushed the plate away, sighed, and dug another candy bar from my satchel. I finished, “A lot lot lot of man.”
He grinned but then his face went serious. “I winna want tae be too much for ye, Hayley, I want tae be the right man for ye.”
My smile spread. “I was teasing really. But that is something we should talk about probably. You won’t... like, be mean to me, hit me? I mean, it wouldn’t be okay, you’re big and strong and it’s not okay to—”
He scowled. “I winna, Hayley. Tis nae m’way. M’father taught me I would get more labor from a gentled horse than a frightened one.”
I moaned. “More labor?”
“Ye ken what I mean, I daena want tae scare ye or harm ye.”
“And you don’t want to change me? Like I’m kind of sassy and bossy, and I speak my mind. You won’t decide tae beat me?” I fanned my face. It was freaking hot in here. “I’m suddenly really nervous.”
“Ye are havin’ second thoughts on marryin’ me?”
“Not really, I just wonder if I have considered all the implications. I don’t know you as well as I might...”
“Ye ken me. I am Fraoch. I hae been a friend tae Og Maggy, I saved his life, and he trusts me with his family. I have been a son tae Madame Greer, she tires of me but she trusts me with the work of her farm. I hae cared for ye and protected ye and I winna be brutal. I ken ye, Hayley, I ken ye are used tae a more civilized world, I mean tae rise tae yer expectations.”
“I love you.”
“I ken ye do, twas a verra nice thing I just said.” He grinned. “Can I have the rest of yer meat?”
“Of course.” He stabbed my meat and cut and chewed happily.
“So we’re going to do this?”
“Aye.”
“I’m still so nervous, can we run through some scenarios? It will help. Katie would do it for me if she was here.”
He pushed his plate away. “What am I tae do?”
“I ask you things. They might sound outlandish, but you don’t judge me. You just tell me how it will be okay. So I will feel better.”
“Ask me.”
“What if you don’t like me?”
“I like ye plenty—”
“That’s not how you do it. What if you don’t like me? Then you tell me what you’ll do... but make it not bad... it’s hard to explain.”
“If I marry ye and I daena like ye, I will ken that I am married tae ye for m’whole life so I will say, eh, and I will remind m’self every morn that at least ye keep me warm in the night. And I will go fishin’, but tis likely that if I daena like ye that ye winna like me either and so ye will be happy that I fish all the time, and ye will be glad of the warmth as well.”
“Okay, I guess that’s not so bad.”
“But it winna be necessary, Hayley, we like tae see each other. I want tae sit with ye and listen tae ye talk on yer family and yer world and yer thoughts, I like ye enough tae marry ye.”
“Oh.” I tilted my head to the side to take him in. “You like to listen to me talk?”
“Aye.” Our look was long and lingering.
The closest thing to me was his kneecap exposed. I could rub my finger on it, it would be mine soon enough, but it would be scandalous right now. I tried to keep my eyes from looking down.
He smiled and asked, “Dost ye hae another question?”
I did have one. A big one.
“What if I can’t live here?”
He exhaled. “I daena ken. I will do m’verra best tae make it comfortable for ye.”
I chewed my lip.
He said, “Would ye promise me somethin’?”
“What?”
“That ye winna ever just leave? That ye will tell me if ye hae tae? That ye will give me a few days tae talk tae ye on it, a chance tae...” He paused, his expression was worried. “I daena want tae live in fear that one day ye will be gone and I winna be able tae find ye.”
“I promise. If there is ever a reason that I have to leave, you will know. We will have a plan for that. So you won’t worry. Once Katie was gone for months and I was freaking out, it was awful. I won’t ever do that to you.”
“Any more questions?”
“This one is more a statement. I think contractually I am required to say it. I guess. I’m not sure of the protocol. And in my day it’s not really an issue, as a matter of fact, current theory is that it’s basically mythological, not even really a thing and—”
“What are ye speakin’ on, I canna makes sense of it...?
“I’m not a virgin.”
“Och.”
“I know. I think if I know anything about history this is a big issue for you.”
“If a man finds out his wife inna a virgin on their weddin’ night, tis a truth that he must reckon with, was she untrue tae him? Has she told him a falsehood? Dost she love another?”
I counted on my fingers. “I have not been untrue. We already established that I lied, now I’m telling the truth. I don’t love another, only you.”
He shrugged. “I was married afore.” He grinned. “And I might have guessed, as ye are verra auld.”
“You better say something romantic, quick. The thing is Fraoch, Katie’s grandmother said this, for every bad thing we say it takes five good things to wash it away. Go.”
“Ye are also wise and funny. Ye can ride a horse and ye daena mind me much.”
“One more.”
“Tomorrow ye will become m’wife and ye will be commandin’ me around.”
I smiled at him.
“I will knock on Lizbeth’s door afore dawn.”
“Oh. That’s early. I should probably head up then, I need to pack.”
Eight - Hayley
That night in Lizbeth’s room she helped me pack up my things, consolidating them into smaller bags. I gave her some more chocolate and a tin of sugar and made sure my gold, the handgun, and a vessel were safely stowed in my satchel. And then I climbed into my tiny bed. I lay there for a moment staring up at the ceiling. Then I sat up and faced her bed. “Lizbeth, help me remember, next time we bring gifts, we need to bring you a mattress in a box.”
“What is this?”
“It’s a fluffy foam, oh so comfortable, bed mattress. It packs up into a box so it will be easy to transport, but when we get it here it will unfold into a cloud. It will make you so comfortable. I should have brought one this time, but someday, next time.”
“I would like that, Liam has a verra sore back. He was injured at the battle at the walls, and I daena think he can sleep well because of it.”
“And he’s sleeping down in the straw pile with the rest of the men?”
“Aye.”
“I’m sorry I’ve caused you so much trouble.”
“Och, ye haena been trouble, I hae enjoyed havin’ ye here. I consider ye a good friend and I believe ye will be a good wife tae Fraoch.”
“You think so?”
“I do. He is nae like other men here, he has a different outlook. Similar tae Magnus, he has kent a world which is different. He
needs a wife who will be able tae talk tae him of what he has seen.” She added, “I ken he has been asked tae remain here and help Magnus. I hae spoken tae Sean, we will speak tae the Earl about offerin’ ye an apartment here. Dost ye think this would be Magnus’s intent?”
“I do. I think he wants Fraoch to stay here with his family to protect you. I have some gold, would it help if I gave some of it to the Earl?”
“Better let Fraoch discuss it. He can go tae plead his case with Sean at his side and twill go a’right. Ye hae tae let the men handle these things.”
“Okay, good, thank you. And please let me know, remind me of this. I am so grateful for your advice. This isn’t what I’m used to and I might make mistakes. But I want to help Fraoch, not hurt him.”
“It will be against yer nature, but a good wife kens when tae step intae the shadows. Tis something ye will learn, but I will be available tae guide ye on it.”
The room was dark, the light of the small fire gently flickering. “How do you manage it, to know so much, but to live under so many rules?”
“Because there are nae older women in the Earl’s family, I have come intae a verra good place. I am neither his wife, nor his daughter, so I am nae expected tae hae power, but I hae it, as I am his niece and old enough tae be relied on tae run things in the house.”
She continued, “The Earl is verra auld and does rely on me for verra many things. His son is married tae Henrietta, but they prefer tae spend their time in Edinburgh, so m’position is verra good. I ken a great many things that are only mine tae ken. But also, if ye are oft in the shadows, ye can hear a great many things that nae one wants ye tae ken.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“It has been a lot of work tae keep Sean and Magnus and now Liam alive and in the good graces of the Earl. Ye will have your work cut out for ye finding favor for Fraoch and keepin’ him safe, but if ye listen and then advise, twill do a great deal of good for him.”
“That’s good to know.” I took a deep breath and lay back on the bed.
Our Shared Horizon (Kaitlyn and the Highlander Book 10) Page 4