His conscience pricked him, but he vowed he’d make it up to her. He couldn’t believe his good fortune. Valentina could never be described as innocent—she was far too beautiful and had received the randy attentions of a score of men—but she was inexperienced, thank God, and if he taught her skillfully all the mysteries of sex, she would be a ravishing woman indeed. Granted, he had made a bad start, but if he put all his efforts into pleasing her, he knew there wasn’t a woman alive who could resist his Douglas charm.
One thing was certain: He had hurt her, and she could not ride all the way to the borders. Fifty miles was no great distance to his men, but with the wild horses and the supply wagons, they would be in the saddle hours longer than usual. She was almost as stubborn and blood-proud as himself, and he knew that if he offered to take her up before him, she would reject that offer. He must think of something subtler.
Ramsay seemingly ignored her while they rode through the Southern Uplands and the Leadhills, but when they passed from Lanark County into Dumfries, he rode up beside her. His shrewd eyes saw her drawn face and her weariness. “Perhaps I’m mistaken, but yer mare seems tae have a slight limp.”
She had not noticed but felt too tired to argue
“I’ll take a look,” he decided. They drew rein, and he dismounted and lifted Indigo’s hoof. “Mm, just as I thought. Her shoe is loose.”
Tina felt resentful that he cared more for the horse’s discomfort than her own, but she also felt guilt that she had ridden Indigo in such condition. Ram remounted, came alongside her mare, and lifted her before him. She protested, “I have my other mount,” and stared up at him defiantly.
He grinned down at her. “Yer precious Mr. Burque rides yer other animal. Do ye want me tae take him up in my arms before all these rough men?”
She couldn’t suppress her laughter at the picture he painted, and she had to admit to herself it was a relief not to have to ride astride any longer.
At first she held herself stiffly aloof, but once they stopped to water the horses at the River Nith, Ramsay settled his mount into an even, rhythmic, slow gallop Her body started to relax, then her eyelids began to droop
He was acutely aware of her. The delicate scent from her warm body made him become instantly aroused. He shifted in the saddle to ease the pressure of his swollen manhood as it bulged the leather of his breeches, and his movements made Tina open her eyes and sit up straighter Before long, however, she was again lulled to sway back against him, and he slipped an ironlike arm about her to prevent her from falling.
As she slumped against his body he became aware of how small she was Desire pulsed at his groin with a sweet, almost unendurable ache. She was full asleep now, and he half-turned her so that she almost faced him. She lay heavily between his thighs, the heat from her body mingling with his He was marble hard now in an agony of need, and he doubted he’d ever grow soft again in her presence
Her breasts swelled against him, filling his arms and his lap with her loveliness. God, he wanted her in the bed like this, both of them naked He’d never take her in the dark again!
Valentina missed all the beauty of the wild, rugged, often inaccessible land through which they rode As they cut through the range of mountains bordering Kirkcudbright, there were precipices of rock, caverns, and morasses full of deep ruts Then they passed one of Ramsay’s favorite spots on earth It was a waterfall that cascaded in three tiers He had seldom passed it in his life without stripping and bathing there, diving from the second tier into the deep pool at the bottom. Today, however, he realized he would rather be right here in the saddle with his woman asleep between his thighs.
As Ram’s eyes surveyed his beloved borders, he knew them to be a perfect hiding place where thousands of men could remain in safe concealment The men and the horses picked up speed as they neared Castle Douglas. Ram would have known he was near home even if he’d been blindfolded, for the tang of the sea swept up the River Dee almost up to the very foundations of the ancient fortalice.
As Ruffian came to an abrupt halt in the bailey, Tina opened her eyes and gazed upward at the forbidding gray stones of Castle Douglas. Realization dawned that they had arrived and that she must have slept most of the way. She gave Ram a look of disbelief that he had held her between his thighs all the way. As he slowly grinned down at her, her cheeks flamed at the intimacy. He made no effort to hide that he was pleased with himself, and she learned a valuable lesson. If she let him play the dominant, masterful male and she fulfilled the role of helpless female, his mood was almost pleasant.
Ram was amazed that on the ride his young brother and cousins had looked to the horses and his men had smoothed the way for the supply wagons, mending wheels and pushing the carts out of endless ruts and foxholes so that he could get on with the serious business of wooing his woman. Now that they had arrived at their destination, all was taken care of, so that he was free to show her his favorite castle and tend to her needs.
Ram dismounted and held up his arms. Tina looked down at him with hesitation in her eyes. Then she made a decision: She would take the first tentative steps to bind him to her irrevocably. She went down into his arms softly, sweetly, in a flurry of petticoats, and he lifted her to the ground. They stood with their bodies almost touching, and she made no effort to draw away from him.
Then he swung her into his arms again and carried her into Castle Douglas. Her face was warmed by the hard flesh beneath his leather jack. He set her on her feet and offered her his cast-iron arm—but not before he caught her with an intimate look. He found her golden eyes intrigued him. They invited him to wickedness, yet at the same time they held him at a distance. He captured her hand, and she allowed him to keep it. “This time ye won’t be able to accuse me of not showing ye my chamber—our chamber,” he amended boldly, gauging her reaction.
She remained silent at his invitation, yet did not say him no. A protective hand went to the small of her back as he guided her up the winding staircase designed in the ancient style to free the sword arm against invaders.
Tina expected a replica of his other rooms, but she was most pleasantly surprised. The chamber was magnificent. One whole wall consisted of a huge fireplace. From floor to ceiling was polished-pink granite, almost as beautiful as pink marble. The floor was carpeted with black sheepskins, and the massive bed was covered by a luxurious lynx fur that was so large, it spilled to the floor.
He bestowed his first compliment upon her. “This pink and black chamber enhances yer own lovely coloring.”
“You silver-tongued devil,” she bantered. “Have you been taking lessons from Angus?” His laughter rolled about the chamber, and they said in unison, “At least you have a sense of humor.” Because they said the same thing at the same moment, they both went off into peals of laughter.
He took her through a door that led out onto the ramparts of Castle Douglas, where they stood together looking out toward the mouth of the River Dee and the sea beyond. As black and white terns glided and screamed above their heads, he said low, “Will ye share this chamber wi’ me if I promise not tae ravish ye again?”
She did not ignore him, but she made him wait a few minutes before she answered: “Are you truly promising to be civilized?”
He grinned. “Never that, but next time I’ll try tae seduce ye.”
“Seduction sounds most wicked and inviting, yet I’ve never succumbed to it before.”
“That’s because ye weren’t seduced by Black Ram Douglas,” he promised arrogantly.
She turned to him and said quite frankly, “This first night I want only to sleep, my lord.”
He looked into her eyes. “So be it,” he said solemnly, then his pewter eyes crinkled in amusement. “That will give ye a fighting chance against me tomorrow night.”
She sank down before him in an acquiescent curtsy, and he raised her and took her hands to his lips before he departed. She gazed after him. After a good night’s rest, she’d be more than a match for him. She was learning ho
w to handle him. Tomorrow night, with Mr. Burque’s tempting dishes laid before him, she would see who would do the seducing.
Down in the great entrance hall she found Ada talking with the castle steward, while Nell sat atop one of her ten trunks. “To which chamber shall I tell the servants to take your trunks?” Ada asked.
“Why, the master bedchamber, of course.” She glanced at the Douglas steward and said, “I am the mistress here.”
Ada rolled her eyes heavenward, knowing she’d get scant help from that direction.
Tina asked the steward to show her about the castle, and she complimented him on its general upkeep, since she could see that a firmer hand was on the tiller here than at the castle they had just left.
In the kitchens the male chef was having an altercation with Mr. Burque, and it had unfortunately degenerated into personal insults. The thick-tongued Scot had already hurled degenerate, queer, and prancin’ pansy at the Frenchman, who had a much more subtle revenge in mind. The chef’s first assistant was his wife, a dark, plump little woman with rosy cheeks. She couldn’t keep her eyes from Mr. Burque. Admittedly he was bonnier than any lass, but the way his eyes had caressed her curves and winked at her over her husband’s head indicated clearly he had a taste for the opposite sex. The next time the Frenchman lowered his eyelid, she winked back. A feeling of excitement was bubbling inside of her When Mr. Burque kissed her hand, she went all wobbly inside. Her husband would never suspect her of knocking it off with the pretty laddie.
The steward told Tina the chefs name was Burns, and she hoped it wasn’t too apt. “Mr. Burns,” she said firmly, “name-calling will not keep your position secure. Only the quality of the dishes you prepare can do that. The superior chef will naturally hold the position of superiority in the castle kitchens. Instead of frittering your time away hurling epithets, I suggest you channel your energy into the evening meal. If my palate is pleased, who knows? I may even keep you on in the kitchens.”
When she walked off, Mr. Burns looked baffled and needed Mrs. Burns to interpret. “If she dinna like what ye cook, she’ll stick it up yer kilt,” she told him graphically.
Tina asked the steward to select especially nice rooms for Ada and Nell, then took herself off to the stables. She reprimanded her groom for not checking Indigo’s shoes before their journey to the borders, but he insisted the mare’s horseshoes were all firmly intact and showed Tina that it was so. Mildly surprised, she wondered if Ram Douglas had taken her up before him for her sake or for his own, and she smiled her secret smile.
She wandered around the outbuildings, saw the vast dairy-still room, the forge, the men-at-arms’ quarters built into the thick curtain wall, and the washhouse, where all the castle linens were washed. There were storage sheds for the sheared wool from the thousands of Douglas sheep, and a tannery where cowhides and deerhides were cured before they were shipped away across the Channel.
The afternoon shadows lengthened on what had been a glorious summer day, and she wandered toward the banks of the River Dee which lay to the west of Castle Douglas. She was startled by a man, naked to the waist, standing in the river where a great pool had formed. He turned when he heard her approach, and she saw that it was Ramsay Douglas and that he was fishing. She hoped he didn’t think she had followed him or that she had been looking for him. “I didn’t mean to disturb you, Douglas.”
He thought, Ye disturb me whether ye are near or far, and even when I sleep—I’ve begun tae dream of ye. He said, “Come, I’ll teach ye how tae fish. ‘Tis the most pleasant, soothing thing a man can do.”
“I’m a woman,” she said, coming to the very edge of the river.
“I’ve noticed,” he said. “Ye likely wouldn’t be good at it. Women don’t care for hooking worms and such.”
Tina enjoyed doing men’s things. It gave her a perverse pleasure. “I’ll try anything once,” she called.
He waded to the bank. “More than once, I hope,” he said low, and she took his meaning and blushed. “Ye can take my rod and sit on the bank. I’ll fashion myself another,” he said, wading from the water and reaching for his knife. He had soon selected and cut a straight branch, then attached a fine piece of black cord.
“Where’s your worm?” she asked.
He shook his head. “They prefer flies. They come tae the surface of this still pool, where the insects hover over the water’s surface, then snap—they jump right out to catch the fly.”
He held out the end of the black cord, and she was amazed that his deft fingers had fashioned what looked exactly like a dragonfly. “I’ll teach ye how to fish.”
She shook her head. “No, I’ll watch you, and once I learn the secret, I’ll be as good at it as you.”
His dark eyes held hers for a long time “There’s a secret to everything… I’ve always known that, but most people don’t Yer a perceptive lass Perhaps we have more in common than we know.”
Her cheeks warmed again. Bugger the brute, she thought—he enjoys keeping me in a perpetual blush.
He waded out to the middle of the pool and cast his line so that the dragonfly flitted across the surface of the water, then quietly and patiently he did it over and over again Tina turned her back upon him while she removed her shoes and stockings. If he thought she would sit on the riverbank like a ninny, he could think again. She hesitated, but only for a split-second, before she removed her gown entirely. Then she kilted up her petticoat and waded into the river.
Ram glanced up in astonishment when he heard the splash of water. He opened his mouth to comment, but she quickly placed her finger to her lips, demanding silence. She was taking this business of fishing most seriously. He had thought her excessively vain in her elegant gowns, but now he saw Tina Kennedy had another side to her. She was a hoyden, a tomboy, ready for any dare. He could clearly see she’d be off and running at any madcap suggestion, and that explained her unearned reputation. He found it difficult to withdraw his eyes from her exquisite undergarments. The smart gray riding habit had hidden the sauciest scarlet petticoat and corselette, from which the swell of her breasts now rose temptingly.
With difficulty he concentrated upon casting his lure. The pool’s dark surface was rippled by the rings of a rising fish; then suddenly a streak of silver flashed from the water, then took off until all his line was used up. “I have to play him and try tae get him upstream where the rocks make the water shallow before he slips the hook!” he shouted. Ramsay succeeded in getting the fish to swim up among the stones, but suddenly it was off the line, and he was after it in a flash.
“I’ll help you,” Tina cried, lunging after the silvery creature with gusto. She fell full-length into the water, but the slippery thing slid out of her hands with mercurial magic
Ramsay at last captured it, swooped it from the water, and held it aloft triumphantly.
“It’s a salmon!” she cried happily.
“Of course it’s a bloody salmon—did ye imagine I was after sticklebacks?” When he realized how bedraggled and muddied she was, he apologized. “We’d better get ye back tae the castle before ye catch cold”
“Like hell!” she cried mutinously. “Not until I’ve bagged my salmon.”
“Well, we’d better wade down tae that quiet pool beneath the larch trees Ye’ll catch nothing here after floundering about like a demented mermaid”
“Me? What about you, Douglas?” she demanded.
“I blend into the shadows, while yer hair and deshabille scream so loudly, the only way you’ll catch anything is by fright!”
She smiled a secret smile. She was almost certain she had Black Ram Douglas hooked. All she needed to do now was land him, then before she was finished, she’d bone and fillet him.
As the pair of them entered the castle with the two large salmon, both were sober in dress and countenance Only the water streaming from sodden garments beneath her severe gray riding dress, leaving puddles wherever she trod, hinted at any impropriety
The great hall at Castle
Douglas bulged at the seams. Every man, woman, and child crowded in to get a glimpse of Lady Valentina Kennedy, who was hand-fasted to their lord. Even the high windowsills were filled with squires and scullions The women’s eyes went from her face to her belly to see if he’d gotten her with child. The men’s eyes went from her face to her breasts, then undressed her with their eyes
Tina, in elegant yellow silk, made quite an entrance, and with head high she walked a direct path to Lord Douglas, who sat on the raised dais, his dark, shoulder-length hair contrasting vividly with the Bleeding Heart of Douglas on the banner behind him
Ah, my fine lord, your device is an omen, if you but knew it, she told herself
He arose the moment he saw her and came to meet her with all courtesy. As he helped her mount the step and held her carved chair, he murmured, “I would apologize that ye must be on display tonight if it weren’t fer the fact that I know ye relish being center stage.”
She smiled sweetly. “You enjoy the spot so much, it must gall you to be knocked from your pedestal.”
“Ye have a fine conceit o’ yerself,” he parried.
She gave him back his own words. “Aye, the Scots are like that. Perhaps we have more in common than we know.”
When the flagons were filled, he again stood and raised his arms for quiet. He did not use her title, nor even her Kennedy name, but there was not one soul there who did not know exactly who she was. “A toast. This is Valentina, my new lady. If she proves as fertile as she is beautiful, I may just keep her.”
Angry sparks flew from her golden eyes. She said low, “You swine, Douglas! I’ll propose my own toast and tell them that if you prove impotent, I may not keep you!”
“If ye dare stand and say that, I shall strike ye.” His words came at her like steel-tipped arrows, and his black eyes blazed their fury.
She stood and lifted her goblet. “A toast.”
Ramsay’s jaw clenched like a lump of iron.
“This is Douglas, my new lord. If he proves as chivalrous as he is valiant, I may just keep him.”