The Bride

  He blurted out his explanation before she could ask. “I thought if there was something you needed moved about, I could lend you a hand.”

  She offered him a pretty smile. “How very thoughtful of you, Gavin. Father Murdock already helped me move a chest, though, and there’s now plenty of space for my things when they arrive.”

  “Your things did arrive, milady,” Gavin suddenly remembered. “Early this morning. Should I have the men bring the baggage up from the lower bailey?”

  “If you would, Gavin,” Jamie answered. “Did you see . . . Was there a chair among the items in the wagon?”

  “There wasn’t a wagon’s worth,” Gavin explained. “It isn’t possible for a wagon to make the narrow climb. There were four packhorses,” he continued when he saw how disappointed she was looking. “Packed to the sky, milady, and yes, I did notice a rather odd-looking—”

  “My very own chair,” she interrupted, clasping her hands together. “’Tis odd because of the legs, you’re thinking, but it rocks back and forth, Gavin. It belonged to my mama’s family. Papa liked to sit in it every night and it was most thoughtful of him to send it on to me.”

  “A chair that rocks, milady?”

  “I know,” she said with a sigh. “The novelty will never catch on I fear. Still, it was my mother’s and I will of course keep it until I die. It shall be handed down from generation to generation.”

  Gavin wondered what daft man had fashioned such an illogical chair but wisely kept his thoughts to himself.

  He left Jamie to her dusting. He accompanied her up the stairs just to make certain no one was waiting to catch her unaware. Marcus was just coming inside when Gavin started down the steps. “Marcus, I need have a word with you,” he called out.

  “Aye, Gavin?”

  The second-in-command didn’t explain himself until he had Marcus well inside the great hall. From where they stood, Gavin could keep his eye on the door above the stairs. No one could go in or out without him noticing. “I want two soldiers below the window.”

  “What window?”

  “Jamie’s working in the first room above the stairs,” Gavin explained. “Put two soldiers outside the door and two others below her window.”

  “Do I give them a reason?” Marcus asked, frowning intently.

  “Of course. They protect their mistress,” Gavin snapped out.

  “Gavin, what are you trying to tell me?” Marcus asked, his patience wearing thin.

  “You haven’t heard?”

  “Heard what?”

  Gavin let out a sigh, then explained the near tragedy. “Someone trapped her inside, Marcus. I’m the one who lifted the beam of wood away from the door,” he couldn’t help but boast. “And still I could barely believe it.”

  “Who could have done such a thing?”

  “No one saw anyone near the ridge,” Gavin explained. “And Alec wants you and me to keep our guard up.”

  “He mentioned me specifically?” Marcus asked, looking as though he didn’t believe that.

  “He did. He values your loyalty, Marcus. Do you doubt it?”

  Marcus shook his head. “I’ve not given him reason to doubt my loyalty,” he said. “Still, I made it obvious I wasn’t pleased with his marriage, forced or not.”

  “You insult your laird if you believe—”

  “Nay,” he returned, his voice emphatic. “I’m doing just the opposite. He shows he values me, Gavin, and I’m . . . humbled by his faith in me.”

  Gavin shouted with laughter. “You’ve never spoken so passionately before, and here I am laughing at you. Don’t take offense, good friend, it’s just that your face has heated up to a full blush.”

  Marcus lost his scowl when Gavin whacked him on his shoulder. He even managed a rare smile.

  Both soldiers quit their smiling when their laird joined them. The look on Alec’s face didn’t suggest lighthearted conversation.

  “Where’s my wife?”

  His bellow was so loud Gavin thought the soldiers training in the lower bailey surely heard him.

  “She’s above the stairs, cleaning the far room,” Gavin explained.

  “She’s alone?”

  “I checked the room before she entered,” Gavin rushed out. “No one can go in or out without my watching,” he added.

  Alec nodded. “I want the two of you to stay with her until I return,” he ordered. “She doesn’t take a step without one of you in front of her and the other in back. Do you understand?”

  Gavin and Marcus nodded. “She’s going to wonder why,” Marcus said then. “She’s English, Alec, not stupid.”

  Gavin was more amazed by Marcus’s jesting tone of voice than Alec appeared to be. “Yes, she will wonder,” he agreed.

  “Then let the woman wonder,” Alec snapped. “Just tell her it is by my order. The woman shouldn’t be doing common chores, damn it all,” he added.

  “She wanted to, Alec,” Gavin said. “And I could see she needed to work off some of her energy. Perhaps she borrowed some of your strength. You look plain tuckered out to me, if I may say so. Do you need a longer nap, milord?”

  “He had a nap?” Marcus interjected, looking quite incredulous.

  “Your amusement displeases me,” Alec stated. “And if you two keep smiling at me like that, I swear to God I’ll flatten both of you. When I’m done, I promise you’ll sleep a hell of a lot longer than I did.”

  That threat gained him just the amount of respect he wanted. “I’m going to speak to Angus,” he called over his shoulder. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  Alec’s mood was as fierce as the rising wind when he made his way to Angus’s cottage. The shouting he heard when he reached his faithful soldier’s home told him Angus wasn’t having a much better time of it.

  Elizabeth opened the door. She gave her laird a wide smile, indicating she wasn’t the least bit upset by her husband’s bellowing. “You look none the worse for wear, Elizabeth, living with a wildman,” Alec told her as he entered their home.

  “Your wife warned me it wouldn’t be easy trying to keep Angus resting. She was right, too, for Angus really has turned into a bear. He’s a most difficult man to love right now,” she added in a raised voice so that her husband would be sure to hear, “but I’m certain that once the threads are pulled out of his chest, he’ll ease up with his constant complaining.”

  “Will you quit talking about me in such a disrespectful manner?” Angus shouted from his bed. “The laird has come to see me, wife. He doesn’t want to listen to a woman’s complaining.”

  Elizabeth gave Alec an exasperated look before she rounded on her husband. “May I offer him a drink of wine?” she asked.

  Angus gave her a disgruntled look, then nodded. “I could use a spot myself.”

  Elizabeth ignored that hint. She poured Alec a fair portion of dark red wine and gave her husband a cup of water. Alec would not have been surprised if Angus had started growling. “I’ll leave you two to your visit,” Elizabeth said. She bowed to Alec and started out the doorway.

  “Elizabeth? Come here before you leave,” Angus instructed.

  Alec leaned against the window ledge and watched Angus’s pretty little wife hurry over to her husband’s side. He’d caught Elizabeth’s blush and understood the reason for her embarrassment when Angus reached up with his good hand, wrapped it around the back of her neck, and dragged her forward. He kissed her long and passionately.

  He whispered something to her when she straightened back up, then patted her backside. Elizabeth fairly flew out the doorway.

  “She’s a good woman,” Angus said with a long sigh. He tossed the water from his cup on the earthen floor, then got out of his bed to search for the jug of wine.

  “She took it with her,” Alec announced with a laugh. “The woman knows you better than you think she does.”

  Angus looked pleased with that statement. He motioned for Alec to share a portion of his drink with him, and when his laird had complied, he to
ok a long swallow. “Lord, that tastes good. Your wife has told Elizabeth I can’t have any wine until the threads come out. Only God knows why she would say such a monstrous thing. Elizabeth obeys every order though. I’m damned to misery with the two of them pecking at me like hens, Alec. You should have let me die, man, and saved me from such—”

  “Angels?”

  Angus nodded. “Did you have something in particular you wanted to discuss with me, or did you just want to see my sorry state?”

  “Close the door, Angus,” Alec directed. “I don’t want anyone to overhear our talk. I need some information, friend, and advice.”

  Angus kicked the door shut. “I can tell it’s serious, Alec. Your expression is grim.”

  Alec explained what had happened to Jamie. He ended the narrative by telling Angus that Jamie didn’t know someone had tried to kill her.

  The two men discussed the added protection that would be needed until the culprit was found. Though Angus wasn’t an old man by any measure, he was still three summers senior to his laird, and in Alec’s mind, three summers the wiser.

  Angus sat down in a chair and propped his feet up on the bed. His scowl was as deep as Alec’s by the time they’d finished making their plans.

  When Alec started pacing the length of the room, Angus knew there was more to be discussed. He patiently waited for his laird to continue.

  Long, silent minutes passed before Alec turned back to Angus. “Angus, I want you to tell me everything you remember about Helena. You were here, with Marcus and Gavin, during the short time I was married to her. Since I was away—”

  “Aye, you were doing the king’s business most of that time,” Angus agreed. “Do you realize, Alec, this is the first time you’ve said her name since the burying day?”

  “I wanted to put it behind me,” Alec announced. “Yet I’ve always . . .” He stopped mid-sentence, shook his head, and then commanded once again that Angus tell him what he knew about Helena.

  The Kincaid spent a good half-hour questioning his trusted friend. His mood wasn’t much improved when he left Angus. Elizabeth had been hovering outside the door. Alec winked at her before leaving, causing yet another blush.

  Alec had just reached the top of the hill when he saw Jamie in the window above the first story. If she’d just turned a little to the left, she would have seen him. Jamie’s attention, however, was centered on the two soldiers lounging against the stone wall below her.

  She was smiling. His mood immediately lightened. Lord, she was enchanting. He thought she was a bonny lass indeed with her hair tied up on top of her head. Long curly strands had already worked their way down the sides of her face. There were smudges of dirt on her nose and forehead. She would need yet another bath before nightfall, he decided with a grin.

  Something one of the soldiers was saying to the other drew her full attention.

  While Alec watched, Jamie braced her elbows on the ledge and leaned farther out. He could tell she was vastly amused by the story one soldier was relating to his friend.

  Alec moved closer, then came to a sudden stop when he realized his men were speaking in Gaelic.

  And she understood every damn word.

  He was too surprised to be angry with her. Then he heard the last of an old jest the soldier was telling his friend, about a Scottish warrior finding an unclothed woman stretched out on the roadside. As was the man’s natural inclination, the warrior immediately fell upon her and had his way with her.

  The younger soldier let out a good snort of appreciation before his friend continued the telling. He explained then that another Scottish warrior came upon the scene and immediately shamed his friend by telling him the woman was obviously dead, for God Almighty’s sake, and only a vile infidel would want to mate with a dead woman.

  Jamie’s hands had covered her mouth, probably to keep her laughter contained. Her eyes were sparkling with pleasure, too. She waited in anticipation for the punch line of the jest.

  Alec waited to see her reaction.

  “Dead?” the soldier shouted. “I thought she was English.”

  Jamie lost her smile then. She disappeared from the window while the two unsuspecting soldiers continued to laugh with merriment. She was back in his vision quickly, though, balancing a large bucket of water in her hands. Alec held his laughter as he watched her struggle with the awkward weight. He didn’t bother to warn his men. Jamie took careful aim, then smiled with the joy of victory when the soapy water poured over her victims.

  “Pray, do forgive me,” she called down when they’d finished their litany of curses and turned to look up at her. “I had no idea you were standing there,” she lied, ever so sweetly.

  “It’s Lady Kincaid,” the one soldier gasped out to the other.

  Both men were immediately contrite for having yelled. They apologized profusely. As they rushed past Alec, he heard one remark that it was a blessing their mistress didn’t understand Gaelic, else she surely would have been offended by their crude remarks.

  But she had understood. Alec did laugh then, a full booming sound that drew his wife’s attention.

  She smiled down at him. “You’re in a fine mood, husband,” she called out. “Are you feeling rested, then?”

  She would have to bring up his nap. Alec quit his laughing. He decided two could play this foolish game of deception, and his mind was already thinking of the remarks he was going to make—all in Gaelic, of course—just to goad her temper. She wouldn’t be able to retaliate, for to do so would prove she understood what he’d said.

  He would beat her at her own game. Alec looked forward to the insults he planned to hurl at her. She was such a little temptress when she was riled. And he was just the man to rile her.

  She was filled with surprises, pretending ignorance whenever Gaelic was spoken in her presence. Hell, he’d ordered his men to strengthen their skills in her language just to make her adjustment easier. Why, she’d have them all strutting around in English garb by winter if he wasn’t more careful, Alec decided. That thought gave him a chill.

  “Well, Alec? Why were you laughing?” Jamie asked again, leaning farther out on the ledge.

  “Will you watch what you’re doing?” he shouted up at her. “You’re going to fall on your head, you daft woman.”

  She moved back a pace. “Thank you for being so concerned, husband. Now will you tell me why you were laughing?”

  Alec recounted the tale he’d overheard, just to goad her.

  Jamie didn’t let him finish the jest, though. “I’ve heard that old jest, Alec,” she called out. “The woman wasn’t dead,” she added. “She was Scottish, and that’s that.”

  She left the window before Alec could argue with her.

  She met him at the bottom of the steps. “What’s all this clutter?” he asked in a growl. The distance between them was filled with bundles. A rather odd-looking chair, the seat as wide as two good-sized men, topped the pile.

  “My possessions,” Jamie announced. “Some will go into our bedroom, Alec, and the rest belong in the hall.”

  “I don’t like clutter,” Alec stated. He reached down, grabbed a tapestry, and held it up so that he could see the design. Jamie skirted her way around her things and snatched the tapestry out of Alec’s hands.

  “Don’t frown so, husband,” she whispered, for both Gavin and Marcus were observing the scene. “I thought we’d place this tapestry above your mantel,” she continued.

  “What the hell is it?” he growled. “I can’t make . . .”

  “You were looking at the wrong side,” Jamie returned. She hurried over to Gavin, handed the tapestry to him. “Please hang this—as straight as a lance, if you please. And try not to look at it while you’re hanging it, Gavin. I want you to be surprised.”

  “Did you do this with your own hands, milady?” Gavin asked, smiling over her enthusiasm.

  “Oh, heavens, no,” Jamie told him. “Agnes and Alice did all the work. It was their birthday surprise for me.
” She gave both Gavin and Marcus a long look then, and turned back to Alec. “Do you know, we must conspire to have my twin sisters meet Gavin and Marcus. I do believe they’d—”

  “You aren’t going to arrange any marriages, Jamie,” Alec interjected.

  “Are the twins like you, Jamie?” Gavin asked.

  “No, no, both are much prettier.”

  Gavin’s eyes widened. “Then I must meet these ladies,” he announced.

  “Their personalities are just like Mary’s,” Alec murmured.

  “Never mind,” Gavin rushed out. He turned and hurried to the fireplace to hang the tapestry. Alec’s laughter trailed behind him. “Gavin, if you ever tell anyone your laird slept during the day, I’ll make certain you meet both sisters.”

  “What nap?” Gavin called out.

  Even Marcus joined in their laughter. Jamie had never seen the dark-haired soldier smile before. She instinctively smiled back. “Why are you all so amused?” she asked.

  “Never mind, Jamie,” Alec said.

  She gave her husband a suspicious look. “Were you just suggesting to your men that my sisters might not be worthy of them?” Her hands settled on her hips and she took a step toward him in obvious challenge.

  “I wouldn’t saddle a goat with the pair of them.”

  She let out a loud gasp. He couldn’t resist. He took a step forward, then added in a lazy voice, “I don’t believe in being cruel to animals, wife. Surely you’ve noticed that fact by now. I don’t use a crop on my steed and I—”

  “Are you insulting my family?”

  He didn’t answer her, just gave her that irresistible lopsided grin she liked so much. She couldn’t help but laugh. The man was completely hopeless. “You’re as shameful as they come, Kincaid. I now realize you simply don’t know my family well enough to make a correct evaluation. I shall, of course, take care of that matter as soon as possible.”

  His grin faltered. She sweetened her smile. “I shall ask them to pay us a visit, husband. A nice, long visit.”

  “What’s this supposed to be?” Gavin called out, drawing her attention. The soldier was climbing down from the stool on which he had stood to hang the tapestry.