Aidan (9 page)

“Nay,” said Ian. “It is already injured and
I was tryin’ te help. The hound is all alone. I feel sad fer it. I think it’s only tryin’ te attack becooz it’s scared. And mayhap Onyx’s cat shoulda killed yer squirrel instead.”

“Me cat did
na mean any harm,” said Onyx in his pet’s defense.

“Stop yer bickerin’ ye dunderheids and give me the squir
rel.” Effie stood with her arms outstretched, waiting for Aidan to hand over his pet.

“He’s almost deid,” said Aidan
sadly.

“I can see thet,” she said, pulling
it from his hands. “And if ye three fools keep up yer bickerin’ it’s goin’ te be deid afore we can help it.”

“Do ye ken how
te heal animals?” asked Aidan.

“I told
ye, I am a gypsy. I ken a lot o’ things ye have no idea aboot. Now there are some herbs and things I’m goin’ te need, and I need ye three to get them fer me. Aidan, get some hot water and rags, and Onyx, ye start a fire and cook some food, as I’m famished. And Ian, I’ll tell ye where the herbs are and what they look like, and ye make sure te keep thet damn hound away from here. And if I see that wildcat anywhere near this squirrel again, I swear I’ll be servin’ it roasted on a spit fer our next meal. Now do ye all understand what ye’re te do? If we’re goin’ te save this poor animal’s life we need te move quickly.”

“She
took off at a good clip down the hill toward the cottages with the nearly lifeless, bloody squirrel in her hands, not bothering to wait for an answer.

Aidan and his friends just stood there with their mouths open and stared at each other.

“What the hell jest happened?” asked Ian.

“Get a move on it,” she shouted over her shoulder, “we don’t have all day.”

“Did she jest really tell us what te do?” asked Aidan.

“I think she did,”
said Ian, shaking his head in disbelief.

“And I thought me
bairned wife was moody and demandin’. Aidan, ye got yerself a live one there.” Onyx scratched the back of his neck and watched Effie rushing down the hill.

“I guess so,”
Aidan said.

“What’re ye goin’
te do aboot it?” asked Ian.

“Reid’s life is in danger,” Aidan replied. “Do we really have a choice? Ye heard her, now let’s get movin’.”

Chapter 8

Effie woke the next morning, taking a moment to realize where she was. She looked around and found herself lying on a pallet in a darkened cottage. She saw a small table with a few chairs, several other pallets, and some personal belongings such as trunks and clothing. There was a firepit in the center of the room, but with no fire, as it was summer. Above it, there was a thatched roof that came to a v, with holes in the sides at the top to let out smoke, but yet protected so that rain would not enter.

She felt something on
her chest, and looked down to see Aidan’s squirrel curled up atop her. She’d spent all night holding it outside by the fire, applying her poultices and herbs, and trying to save its life.

She couldn’t have done it without the help of the three
madmen. She’d almost laughed at the way these three big, strong men were jumping and running around collecting the things she needed at her command. She knew now that they all had a side to them that wasn’t as harsh as they sometimes let on.

The last she remembered she was dozing off, leaning back into Aidan’s protective embrace with the squirrel cuddled up on her lap
as they sat under the stars. She realized now that Aidan must have brought her here to sleep, and she’d been so tired that she hadn’t even noticed.

The door
to the cottage opened, and there stood Aidan with a smile on his face and holding something behind his back. In his other hand he held a bowl of food and a spoon.

“Guid mornin’ me bonnie angel,” he said, entering the room.

“Thank ye fer bringin’ me here last night.” She sat up, taking the squirrel in her hands and off her chest. She removed the wrapping of cloth that she’d put around it to hold closed its wounds.

“How is Reid?” he asked, entering the room and closing the door with his foot
extended behind him. The sunshine that had been streaming into the little cottage disappeared.

“He is goin’
te survive, thanks te the help ye and yer friends gave me last night.”

The squirrel shook its head and stretched. Then it licked its wounds,
flicking its tail, and scurried off the pallet to inspect the floor.

“I dinna
ken how I can e’er repay ye fer savin’ me pet’s life.”

“Ye dinna have to. I only did what anyone would.”

He put the bowl of food and spoon on the table and headed over to the pallet. “I brought ye food te break the fast. It is cabbie claw. I made it meself from the rest o’ the fish ye caught.”

Effie was familiar with the dish, which
was cod fillets covered by an egg sauce and topped off with horseradish. “Well, that sounds wonderful, but I could join the rest o’ ye at the fire. I dinna need me food brought te me.”

“Happy Birthday, me angel.” He whipped
out a large bouquet of wildflowers from behind his back and handed it to her. It consisted of purple heather, pink foxglove, and even a large lilac-colored thistle sticking up from the center.

“
Och,” she gasped in delighted surprise, taking it from him but being careful not to touch the prickly thistle. “They’re beautiful.” She started to get up, but he sat down on the pallet next to her instead. He took her hands in his, and raised them up so she could smell the flowers. She took a sniff and then let out her breath. “No one has e’er given me flowers fer me birthday,” she said with a tear in her eye.

“I told
ye I want te fill thet empty void in yer life. And since ye have no one left from yer family or yer clan o’ gypsies, I am goin’ te be the one te take care o’ ye today.”

“Oh, ye really dinna have
te do thet.” She felt horrible now for lying to him, and she didn’t deserve any of this. She tried to get up, but he took the flowers, placing them down, and held her on the pallet. He reached over and kissed her. She found herself lost in his kiss. Lost in the kindness of someone caring for her and making her feel special.

“I want
te take care o’ ye, Effie. Ye saved me squirrel, and I am e’er so grateful.”

“Well, ye saved me life, twice now, so I guess we are even.”

“I have a present fer ye, too.”

“A present? O
ch, no, I couldna accept it.”

“Aye, ye can.” He rea
ched over to the foot of the pallet and opened a trunk. He pulled out a woman’s long white leine with billowing sleeves and a sleeveless kirtle. The skirt was brown but bodice was made from the same beautiful purple and greed tartan that he wore.

Her hands reached out
instinctively, and she took them. “What is this?” she asked.

“Yer own clothes are soiled and ripped. Ye need somethin’ clean and nice
te wear on yer birthday, lass.”

“But . . . these are the clothes of someone from yer own clan.”
The thought of it warmed her heart and scared her at the same time.

“
They are only clothes, lass.”

“But . . . it is the
same purple and green tartan that ye wear, as well as the rest o’ the MacKeefes.”

“Our auld weaver only kens how
te make one type. Thet’s why the MacKeefes all have the same plaid.”

“But the dyes for the wool alone must be so expensive.”

“Nay, our weaver dyes them herself. She uses things such as nettle and bracken fer the green and her favorite is makin’ the purple dye from bilberries, whortleberries and even seaslugs, believe it or no’.”

“
Seaslugs?” she asked, laughing.

“Come on, Effie, jest put them on.”

“But . . . I am no’ part o’ yer clan, Aidan.”

“But y
e will be part o’ the clan as soon as I talk te our chieftain when he returns, and ask him if ye can join the MacKeefes.” He smiled and looked so happy that she thought she was going to die.

“Aidan . . . I dinna think I could.”

“O’ course ye can, me angel.”

“Where did you get them?”

“They are extra clothes o’ me sister, Kyla, but she willna mind, I assure ye.”

She looked down to the clothes, thinking how much she wanted to belong to a family again.
To his family – his clan. She missed that sense of belonging somewhere. But she couldn’t take them and wear them. Not when she was about to deceive him, and be a traitor to Scotland as well.

“I’d rather no’ wear them.” She pushed them back into his hands.

“Then I will dress ye meself,” he said, reaching out to touch her. She was going to object, until she felt his hot breath on the side of her cheek as he placed sensual kisses on the back of her neck and then around and down to her collar bone.

She squeezed her eyes closed and held her breath. It felt good. Too damned good, and it scared her.

“What’s the matter, lassie, dinna ye want me te do this?”

“I . . . I’m fine,” she said with a deep sigh. She looked into his eyes
, seeing that he trusted her. That he had feelings for her as well. She felt the same way about him. If only she could tell him about her sister and what she had to do to save her. But if word got out, her sister’s life would be endangered.

Besides, if Aidan knew the truth, he was just mad enough
to go with his friends to Liddel Castle and try to save her sister himself, and in the process he would most likely be killed. She couldn’t have that. These men didn’t deserve to lose their lives, especially for someone they didn’t even know.

No, she decided. She’d keep her secret and just go forward with the plan. Once her sister
was free, she’d be able to tell Aidan everything. Only, by then, sadly, it might be too late to save what they had between them.

“Jest say the word, and I’ll stop,” he told her, his mouth now on her chest with his tongue shooting out to taste her. “Ye are me angel, Effie, and nothin’ can change thet. I have waited a lifetime
te find someone like ye.”

“How can ye say thet
, when ye’ve jest met me?” Her breathing deepened as he took his finger and drew a circle over her nipple right through her clothes.

“I ken ye are special and thet ye were meant
te be with me, becooz ye came te me in a dream.”

“Mayhap it was someone else.” She felt her nipple tighten, and a bolt of desire shot through her as he slid his hand inside the neckline of her bodice and his cool fingers caressed her breast. The hot skin of her body against his cool hand made her arch her back, pushing herself further into his embrace.

“Nay, it was ye, I am sure.”

“How can you be sure?” She let out a soft whimper as Aidan
gently pushed aside her bodice and lowered his head to her bosom. He took her into his mouth and his tongue teased her peak, about driving her out of her mind. She gripped his hair tightly in anticipation. She was frightened for more reasons than one. She’d never made love to a man before, and she didn’t want to disappoint him.

He raised his head slightly, his eyes looking up to her. “I ken it was ye, becooz I saw in me dream, the birthmark on yer arm.” He reached over and grabbed her arm and pulled away her sleeve to prove his point.

“Well, a lot o’ people have birthmarks.”

“No’ like this one, lassie. Yers looks like a skull.”

“A skull?” When she turned her arm to look at it from his direction, she realized what he said was true. And she also felt like it meant death, and she didn’t want anyone dying because of her.

“I better get up now,” she said, trying to sneak out from under him.

“No’ until I give ye yer birthday present.” He gently pushed her back down on the pallet.

“But ye already have. The clothes and the flowers.”

“Nay, there is more.”

“What more could there possibly be?”
Her body was tingling and she was trying to ignore it.

He
unfastened his weapon belt and threw it to the floor. His clothes followed. He didn’t wear any braies, and her eyes dropped to his straightened manhood that was hot, hard, and ready.

“
I am yer present, me angel, if ye’ll have me.”

He
r body shook with anticipation, and she felt a wetness between her thighs that was brought on by his foreplay as well as the fact he was straddling her in the nude, offering himself as her present.

She was
far too old for never having had a man, as most girls her age were married while very young and had at least several children by now. But she had no husband, and no children. And she didn’t want to die without feeling the ecstasy of coupling with someone at least once in her lifetime. All thoughts of her sister temporarily were swept from her mind, and she knew this may not be moral right now, but she also knew she had to have him.