Gifts of Desire (48 page)

             
“You are saying that I was born for Ceann, and he for me?”

             
“Aye.”

             
“That, I can believe.”

             
She found him in the lists, in a heated match with Gregor.  Although older than Ceann by a number of years, he was still holding his own, for the most part.  She did not approach, but instead ducked behind some bushes to watch.  She was fascinated with her husband’s strength and power.  He could surely kill a man with one hand, yet when he held her, he was gentle, and all
of
that power
carefully
leashed.  His skin glistened with sweat, and his muscles rippled and flexed with each blow. 
He is beautiful.  He is mine
.  When finally Gregor conceded defeat,
the way their battles always ended,
she went to them.  She gave a slight nod to Gregor, and taking her meaning, he went off, grumbling about finding a mug of ale or some such thing
to soothe his wounded pride
.  Ceann sheathed his sword, and she smiled up at him, taking his hand in hers.  “Walk with me.”

             
She led him down the little path where she had met the old woman, to the little bench in the copse.  There they sat down together, but he did not touch her.  “So you are a princess.”

             
Ella looked down at her hands, folded in her lap.  “Aye, so Malcolm says.  I have no reason to doubt him.  It explains a lot… I mean… about how I grew up, my childhood… little things that never made sense before.”  She looked up at him.  “I’m sorry, it must be as much a shock for you as it is for me…
I…”

             
“You will leave me…”

             
Her eyes flew to his, and she saw the doubt there, the pain… “Never!  I will never leave you, how could you think such a thing?”

             
He took a deep breath.  “You are a
princess;
I am just a laird…”

             
She stared at him, incredulous. 
“And you would not fight for me?  You would just let me go?  You don’t care even enough to…”

             
He grasped her by the arms then, roughly, pulling her closer.  “Bloody Hell!  God, I would fight for you!  Till my last bre
ath!  But not if… not if I can’t
have your heart
.  Because you already have mine.”  His eyes were dark and intense with emotion as he searched her face.

             
“You have my heart
, you foolish man
”, she said softly.  “I am not going anywhere.  I belong here, with you, always.
 

             
He leaned down and kissed her, whispering against her
lips
,
“
Mo ghràdh bithbhuan
”.  
My love forever.
 
 

Chapter

             
It had been a long day for everyone, the first day of harvest.  Ella stretched out in bed and sighed, pleased with the amount of food they had already put away for winter, her mind already on tomorrow’s work. 
She was proud of what she’d accomplished, and how much work she’d been able to take off of Ceann’s shoulders. 
A moment later, Ceann came in, smiling when he caught site of her, his eyes
softening.  He bent to put another block of peat on the fire, before taking off his clothing and sliding in beside her.

             
“Mmm…
you
’r
e
warm
.”

             
She took his hand and placed in on her rounded stomach.  “Can you feel it?  Your son is wide awake still.  I think he must have slept the day away while everyone else was hard at work.”

             
Ceann broke into a wide grin.  “Aye, I can feel him!”  He
looked at her in wonderment.  “God, h
e’s real
ly there
… it was so hard to believe before, but now…”
  He put his cheek to where the babe moved within her.  “Go to sleep now son, your
ma needs her rest
.”

             
“
H
e is certainly his father’s son.”

             
He smiled and kissed her
lightly.  “And what do you mean by that
mo cridhe
?”

             
Ella laughed.  “You will find out soon enough. 
What will you name him?”
she asked.
  “Have you decided?”

             
He leaned on one elbow to look down at her in the candlelight.  “How can we be sure it’s a ‘him’?  What if we have a wee daughter instead?”

             
“Because Ethan said so.  He said he will be the next Great Laird of Tulloch.”

             
“Aye, well if Ethan says so.  But I would be just as happy with a wee dau
ghter.  This time.  Then we would try again…”  He leaned over and captured her lips in a deep kiss. 

             
She pushed him away, laughing.  “You haven’t answered me, what will you call him?”

             
His expression grew more serious.  “We
will name him after my father.  The man who not only
made certain
that I was born, but that I found my soul mate.”  He paused, cupping her cheek with a calloused palm.  “Do you know, every moment of pain I’ve ever suffered has been worth it, a thousand times over, if it brought me to you.”

             
Ella felt tears sting the back of her eyes at his words.  “Artair it is, then.  He will have a big name to live up to.”

             
“Aye, that he will.”

             
Ella
walked in the garden, her hand on her rounded stomach, her mind on the baby she would soon hold. 
It would not be long now. 
She had spent the past weeks sewing tiny clothes with help from Mairi and Elizabeth, while
Ceann
had made a beautiful cradle
of oak
with his own hands.  She had never known he could do such.  She smiled to herself.  He was even more excited than she was, and more and more nervous as the time grew closer.  He saw to her every need, doted on her till she had to shoo him away to go work with his neglected men. 

             
Suddenly an arm came around her throat, and a hand clapped over her mouth as she was dragged behind some thick shrubs. 

             
“
Don’t
make a sound, wench, or
you
’ll die and
you
r
babe with
you
.”

             
She saw the flash of a blade, and remained silent, straining to see who held her.  The voice was familiar…
Hugh.  She knew it for certain.  He turned, pulling her behind him, pushing aside branches and brambles to reveal a tiny door hidden in the castle wall.  There were more brambles hiding it from the outside.  He pulled her out through the door and into the nearby wood, all the while holding the knife to her throat and muttering quiet threats.  “
You
’ll be a good lass, now, and remember
you
’r
e
just as good
to me dead as alive.  It doesn’t
matter.”  After dragging her a few leagues, he hoisted her up onto a waiting horse, mounting behind her.

             
This could not be happening
again, it just couldn’t!  And now she truly feared for her life, for she knew that the curse had been broken, and that she had been the one to break it.  If Ross found out, her life would be forfeit, beyond all doubt.  And her child, heir to Castle
Tulloch
and all
its wealth, would die with her, as would all of
Ceann
’s hopes and dreams.  She couldn’t let that happen to him, she loved him too much.  She had escaped once from this man, she could do so again.

Chapter 21

             
She stood before him once more,
seething, wishing she could kill him by will alone. 
Ross
had the power to take everything from her, but she would not let him.  He would not know
Ceann
had fathered this child.

             
“
I hear
Ceann
has wed you.  Strange.  Last time I saw him he was still an avowed bachelor.  He swore you were nothing to him.”  He looked meaningfully at her belly.  “What has changed his mind, I wonder?”

             
Ella
forced her gaze to drop to the floor as if she were ashamed.  “I needed a father for my child”, she said softly, making her voice tremble just a little.  “He had no use for a wife, but he took pity on me.  We made…an arrangement of sorts.  It is not a true marriage.”

             
Ross lifted his eyebrows and looked at her speculatively.  “You are saying that this child is not the spawn of the Laird
MacKenzie
?  That you lay with another man before him and he took a slut to wife,
and
agreed to give his own name to her bastard?”

             
Ella
hung her head further.  “Aye.  He is a good and generous man.
  Truly I am not worthy of him.
”

             
Ross began to pace slowly in front of her, his hands clasped behind his back.  His graying hair was pulled back into an impeccable
queue;
his face would have been handsome but for the malice written there.

             
“Whether or
not
the bairn is my nephew’s, a child born in wedlock is legitimate under the law,
especially
if the man claims him.”

             
Ella
heard a small gasp escape her lips.  “How can you do this to your own brother’s son?  What kind of man follows his greed at the expense of his own flesh and blood?”

             
“Ah lass, I was born the younger son. 
Artair
was handed everything, while I’ve had to fight my way up in the world.  Is that fair?  I only have this
manor because of my brother’s so-called generosity
!  I will not let the unfortunate order of my birth hold be back from my destiny.”

             
“You are mad.”

             
“I am not mad, only reasonable.  Had my dear brother not made a pact with the devil, he would have died without issue, and Tulloch would already be mine! 
Ceann
is not even the child of Artair’s wife, he
is bastard
-born!  An un
natural thing that I should have done away with long ago, instead of biding my time like a fool.”

             
“You are a fool, if you think you’ll get away with this!” 
Oh, yes
Ella
, that will scare him
, she chided herself.
  “What are you going to do with me?”
  She wasn’t sure she really wanted to know.

             
Ross turned to her and put a finger to his lips in a parody of thought.  “I think I’ll keep you locked up for a while, my dear, until I decide if the child is of any worth to my claim.”  He turned to look at her, his
eyes glinting darkly.  “Of course, after
Ceann
meets his unfortunate end, I could perhaps take you as my wife.  Aye, that would
surely
strengthen my claims to Tulloch
, if I were to wed the poor unfortunate widow
.  But I’ll have to think more on it, now that I have you here.  It
would
be a shame to waste such beauty with an untimely death.”

             
The coldness of the smile he offered her made a shiver run down her spine. 
Oh God,
Ceann
.
Ross meant to kill him.  And he would come here after her, she knew he would.  He could be walking into a trap.

             
“He won’t come here.”

             
“Who won’t?”

             
“
Ceann
.  He won’t come after me.  He will probably be glad to be rid of the burden.  He only married me as a kindness, after all.”

             
Ross came closer until his face was directly in hers.  She pulled back in disgust.  “You know what lass?  I don’t believe you.”  He whirled away from h
er.  “Guards!  Take her to the e
ast solar.  Be sure she stays there this time, or it’s you heads”!