“Catriona will not be going for a ride, my laird.”
“Call me James, lass. The lady watches us from the keep. She cannot hear our conversation from this distance, but she looks most sour. You are creating an excellent ruse.” Which, as far as James was concerned, was truly no longer needed. But if Eilis needed to play the game that would allow her to be more intimate with him, he would not deny her.
The lad led the horses to James, his own fine black steed, and a gentler roan for the lady. Rogue poked his muzzle in Eilis’s face. James raised his brows in surprise.
Eilis laughed, and her voice sounded like a bit of fairy magic. “I thought he liked me because I wore your brat and he thought I was you.”
“‘Tis unlikely.” James lifted her onto the roan. “The horse knows me with or without my brat. He would not mistake another wearing mine for me. However, he does recognize a person who has a gift with animals.” He ran his hand over his horse’s flank. “You see, I saved him when he was a colt from a clansman who had beaten him near death.” He swung his leg over his saddle. “I have found ever since Rogue to be a good judge of character.”
Eilis studied his horse. “He is a beautiful animal. I cannot imagine anyone being so cruel.”
“Aye, well, I was but a wee lad but hid Rogue for sometime until my da discovered his hiding place. Before my da could make his clansman pay for the crime against the colt and the violence he did against his wife and wee sons, the man drowned at sea. My da paid the family for the colt, and I raised him for my own.”
“You are a remarkable man, James MacNeill. Any woman would find you a good husband, no doubt.”
Aye, the Lady Eilis, first and foremost. They rode beyond the gate, and five of James’s men on horseback soon followed them.
Eilis glanced back at them while James guided her to the loch. “They are for our protection, although the land is mine for many miles around. We have had problems from time to time with thieves and Dunbarton and his men, although now that the clan chief has captured my brother, I am certain he will not trouble us until I pay the ransom.”
“James.”
Pleased to hear the bonny lass finally speak his name, her voice as sweet as lavender, he asked, “Aye, lass?”
She took a deep breath, and he surmised what she was going to say before she even spoke.
“You have to let me go. You know you do.”
“You cannot ignore what happened between us in the chamber.”
“Naught happened! Besides, my uncle—”
“He cannot force you to marry in your cousin’s place.”
“You do not wish to offer me for ransom to have your brother released?”
Shocked, James stared at her. “Nay, Eilis. Dunbarton is stubborn. He refuses my offer to exchange my brother and Gunnolf for whatever I have to barter. But I have sent a missive concerning his son. I would not hand you over since you are not Agnes, his betrothed. Neither Dougald or Gunnolf would wish it, either, believe me.”
She pursed her lips, and he knew she disagreed with him still. “All right. Then here is another matter. What about this business with Catriona?”
James pulled his horse to a stop before the blue loch, not getting her meaning. “What about Catriona?”
“You are marrying her, remember?”
She sounded so exasperated with him, it made him smile. “Why should I consider her, when we have been so intimately alone together, Eilis? Can we not take pleasure in our time here?” He dismounted and reached up to help her down from her horse.
“Catriona is not here to see this charade. There is no sense in—”
He pulled her down and kissed her lips, silencing her objection. Sweet heavens, the lass was like the purest silk, soft and desirable. She readily accepted his kiss, which spurred him on. With kisses that were gentle against her full lush mouth, he pressed his advantage, his body instantly becoming fully aroused.
His men looked away, small smiles on their faces as Eilis leaned into the kiss, hesitant at first, then seeking his mouth, emboldened. He deepened the onslaught, licking her lips, questing an entrance, wishing again he and the lass were alone where they could take their actions further. Sweet torture was his as he kissed her mouth and desired to touch her breasts, to slip inside her willing body, to pleasure her like she’d never been pleasured before.
With the utmost restraint, he pulled away, leaving her lips swollen, her eyes rounded. Then she narrowed them, scowling. “’Tis only a ruse I am bound to play, my laird.”
But she could no more pretend to enjoy his attentions than he could hers. “Nay, Eilis. You sealed your fate with me when you came into my bed.”
Horses headed in their direction, and James turned to see Catriona riding with her own escort to join them.
James smiled. “You see how important it is to play the game always?” Although the game was well over as far as he was concerned.
“You saw her coming?”
“Aye.”
Eilis looked so crestfallen, he knew she felt the same for him as he did for her but still worried about her uncle’s wrath. He would send a missive at once, offering a bride price.
Eilis bit her lip, the twinge of hope that James kissed her because he truly cared for her, slipping away when he said he had seen Catriona coming and that he only wished to continue the ruse.
Nay, ’twas ludicrous to wish any kind of relationship with James. Her uncle would do battle with him. Och, so would Dunbarton. Between the two of them they would crush the MacNeill.
“My uncle will be furious if he discovers me here. I do not want bloodshed between our clans.” Eilis stiffened, wishing Catriona would go back the way she’d come and leave James and her in peace to discuss matters.
James lifted Eilis’s hand to his lips and kissed her so softly, ‘twas like a butterfly’s wing fluttering on her skin.
Catriona looked most dour, which pleased Eilis. At least the ruse was successful. As the woman closed the gap, Catriona smiled broadly at James, the look so faked Eilis wondered if James could tell.
“Why, James, you should have told me you were taking a ride to the loch.” Catriona motioned to him as if she wanted help dismounting.
Eilis glanced up at the burgeoning clouds. “Think you it will rain, my lair…, uhm, James?”
“Aye,” James said, his lips and eyes smiling. “‘Tis time we were returning.” He helped her onto her horse then mounted his own.
“Thank you for the ride, James. It feels good to escape the confines of the castle again.” Eilis figured he couldn’t help but get her meaning.
Catriona glowered at Eilis. “I did not know your uncle, Laird MacBurness, was interested in having ties with the MacNeill clan. I understood he was having trouble with Dunbarton’s men, and I have heard it rumored he was having both Agnes and you married off to Dunbarton and one of his chieftains.
James glanced at Eilis to see her reaction. Her lips had parted in surprise, and she looked a wee bit frightened. He couldn’t believe the lass might be betrothed to one of Dunbarton’s chieftains. But what if she was and had kept it secret?
Or mayhap didn’t remember?
Chapter Sixteen
“My uncle was too intent on making arrangements for Agnes. He had made no betrothal plans for me,” Eilis said to Catriona, her back stiff as they rode back to Craigly.
Did Eilis truly remember this, James wondered.
“But if he were too busy, how did he come to choose James for you?”
Eilis didn’t hesitate to reply. “James had seen me visiting Fia in Glen Affric. Some of Fia’s kin married into the MacNeill line—you know, his seneschal, Eanruig’s. After James saw me, he wished to consider me as a bride choice.”
James offered a small smile. Eilis was perfect in her role. She would make a bonny wife.
Catriona tilted her chin up, her blue eyes growing as dark as the sky. “And Fia?”
“Aye. If it were not for Fia, James would never have noticed me.”
Ca
triona frowned at James. “I am sorry for delaying my journey to be with you. My favorite horse had become lame.”
James noted the tone of her voice, as sweet as the honeyed mead he drank and the definite intimation was she wished to be with him, alone. Aye, a romp in his bed, to renew old acquaintances? To prove she still had what he desired?
“I see.” James didn’t believe she had a favorite horse that was lame. Nevertheless, he realized just how much her delay had bothered him, more than he’d wanted to allow himself to believe. And he realized just how much she was not the one for him. Would she smile at others that visited his abode like she did Keary after she and James were wed? Most likely. Just like his da fawned over other lassies while he was married to his mother.
None of it mattered now.
“When we return to Craigly, will you walk with me in the gardens, James?” Catriona asked.
“He has already asked me,” Eilis said. “Although if it rains, he and I will have to find some other means to entertain ourselves.”
The lass was quick. “A game, Eilis,” James responded. “I have a Norman’s chess game. Have you ever played chess?” Although why he offered was beyond his comprehension. He’d never known a woman who knew how to play.
“I have,” Catriona said, looking hopeful that he’d ask her instead.
Eilis frowned, and he assumed she didn’t know the rudiments of the game.
“Eilis?”
Although he preferred to best someone who could challenge him, James wished to find any means that he could to spend more time with Eilis before they exchanged vows. “I can teach you, if you have never played, Eilis.” If the word reached his clansmen that he was teaching the lass the game, he’d never live it down.
“Mayhap I could watch you and Catriona,” Eilis said.
Catriona gave a smug smile.
“Nay, I insist.” He just hoped Eilis would catch on quickly as he didn’t wish to embarrass her should she not be able to master the rules.
When they rode into the inner bailey, most of his people had already taken refuge inside the keep, except for a few stalwart men, speaking to each other in the blustery wind. James helped Eilis down from her mount while one of his men helped Catriona.
Eilis gave him an odd look, but she didn’t say a word.
Fia and his mother joined them as soon as they walked inside the keep. Servants scurried to close the shutters over the windows.
“I have asked Father Rivers to stay with us the night. Did you have a nice ride?” his mother asked, looking from Eilis to Catriona then settling her gaze on James.
He knew she intended he and Eilis wed on the morrow. He had every intention of doing so also. “Cut short by the impending storm, my mother. But Eilis and I shall play a game of chess.”
The strange expression Eilis and Fia shared made him again wonder what the matter was.
“Do you play well?” his mother asked Eilis while they walked to the solar. “James usually only engages the very best in the game. Niall and Ian tend to challenge him the most. Although Dougald is the only other I know who has bested him.”
James’s stomach tightened.
Eilis’s expression made her appear as though she was concerned. She looked at James as if waiting for him to release her from her nightmare but didn’t say a word in reply to his mother.
He gave Eilis’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “I am teaching the lady the rudiments.”
His mother failed to hide a smile. Fia still looked as worried as Eilis.
As if the walls had ears, Niall appeared out of nowhere and grinned at James. “You are teaching the lass chess? This I have got to see.”
James was certain the word would soon spread throughout the keep.
Once he and Eilis were seated at the gaming table in his solar, James carefully explained the rules of the game to her. As they played, he surmised she was either really adept at chess or she already knew it beforehand. Every move he made, she countered with speed and decisiveness.
Before long, several of James’s men joined them and a few ladies also, but everyone watched in silence. Eilis captured a significant number of James’s more important chess pieces, and every time she acquired another, several of his men studying their moves nodded. The room stayed quiet, until she grabbed another of his pieces in triumph. Then a murmur of comments rippled through his men.
Either in absolute awe or dumbfounded, the ladies remained silent. He assumed Fia already knew something of Eilis’s skill. Twice he caught Eilis looking up at him with the most woeful of expressions. Did she fear he’d be angry with her for doing so well?
He loved competing with those who had the ability and competitiveness to wish to beat him. Niall and Eanruig came close, but James had never played a lass before, and, therefore, he’d never thought one could come near to besting him. The idea was so novel he wondered if other lasses were just as gifted. But what puzzled him was whether Eilis had picked up the game that quickly or if she’d known all along how to play.
Yet when he was showing her the rules, not once had she told him she already knew the rudiments of the game. Did she not wish to embarrass him?
He couldn’t figure her out. In fact, everything about the lass intrigued him more. He found his desire to learn everything there was about her growing every minute of every day. Catriona no longer garnered his attention in the least.
He tore his gaze away from Eilis, as she concentrated steadily on her next move, her red-gold curls dangling over her shoulders, which were hunched forward. She made her move.
“Checkmate,” Niall said, almost as giddy as a wee lad catching his first fish in the loch.
Eilis looked up slowly at James as if she were afraid he’d be angry.
He smiled at his good fortune to find so skillful an adversary, and he had every intention of besting her the next time. He bowed his head in acknowledgement of her prowess. “‘Tis not oft anyone can beat me, Eilis.”
“‘Tis luck, my laird,” she quickly said.
“Aye, luck.” But he didn’t believe it at all.
Niall laughed. “If only I had that kind of beginner’s luck.”
Blinking her hardened blue eyes, Catriona crossed her arms. “I thought you did not know how to play.”
Fia stood taller. “She beats all of our clansmen.”
Aye, the truth of the matter then. “Why did you let me think you could not play, Eilis?” James asked, his voice gentle.
Fia supplied the answer. “The men do not like it that she can best them.” She shrugged. “But they insist she play again and again when she visits Glen Affric just to see who can until my da makes them stop.”
“I want to match my wits against you next, Eilis,” Niall said, grinning broadly.
“The lady needs her rest; ‘tis late,” James countermanded.
Eilis relaxed her tense shoulders. It seemed James had rescued her from his cousin. Besides, James had it in mind that he, not his cousin, would play the nymph again. His pride would not allow otherwise.
James signaled to his people. “Please, leave us. I wish a moment alone with the lady.”
The rest of his people took their leave while his mother said, “Remember the priest.” She gave him a pointed look then quit the solar.
Catriona glowered at Eilis, turned on her heel, and stalked out of the chamber.
“Think you I would be angry, Eilis, if you beat me at the game?” James asked.
“All the men I have ever played, except for my da, became angry with me.”
“You played with your da?”
“Aye, he taught me the game.”
“Did you beat him also?”
“Once, but—”
“You could have feigned the inability to play.” James leaned back in his chair.
“No more than you could, my laird.” She sighed. “In all seriousness, I see not how your actions will capture Catriona’s heart. You should pursue her instead of me.”
“Nay. You heard m
y mother. She has invited the priest to stay. We will be wed on the morrow.”
“I must leave here. When my uncle learns I am here—”
“Do not speak further on the subject.”
“I will, my laird. You do not seem to understand how dangerous my uncle can be.”
“He has not promised you but Agnes to Dunbarton.” James waved aside her concern. “He does not frighten me, lass.”
Eilis’s eyes were round and her voice soft when she spoke. “He frightens me.”
James reached over and took Eilis’s hand, wishing she could understand he would let no harm come to her. “You are safe with me.”
She jerked her hand away. “Catriona is not here to see this, and I must insist you make some effort to court her.”
Unable to fathom why the lass could not see that he would protect her and she had naught to worry about, he narrowed his eyes. “You insist.”
She clenched her hands and glowered back at him. “Aye.”
“You will not dictate to me, lass. You will be mine on the morrow.”
“Your stubbornness will earn you a battle on two fronts, my laird.”
“So be it, Eilis. I would not be honorable if I were to turn you over to either Dunbarton or your uncle. We have an agreement, you and I. And that is what I will honor.”
Eilis eyes filled with tears, and she gave her head a little shake. Without another word, she stood, whipped around, and stormed out of the solar.
Wondering how it happened, James had the distinct impression he’d lost more than a chess game with the lady this eve.
****
Mulling over the conversation he’d had with Eilis during the evening meal, James sat with Eanruig before the fire in his solar following the chess game.
James took a swig of his mead. “If Eilis was offered to Dunbarton as his betrothed, it seems the precious cargo that went down with the ship Dunbarton was waiting on was our very own Lady Eilis.”
“Aye. And as your seneschal, I must advise that offering the lady for your brother and Gunnolf’s release may be enough to earn their freedom.”
James downed the rest of his drink and shook his head. “The lady is not truly Dunbarton’s betrothed. So no, I will not give her up in exchange for my brother. If Dunbarton learned her uncle had deceived him, no telling what he might do to her.” On the other hand, James was concerned Dunbarton would want the lass anyway, as lovely as she was. But more so than that, because James wanted her also. Would Dunbarton demand concessions from her uncle—for his attempted swindle—in regards to allying against the MacNeills in battle? Most likely. The question then: would her uncle agree to Dunbarton’s terms?