Highland Champion (12 page)

Artan nodded. “My father said Malcolm said the same. Told my father that e’en if Duncan dropped dead climbing the stairs to his bed on the wedding night, he would still accept Keira as the lawful heir.” Artan frowned. “Odd thing to say now that I think on it.”

“Unless the mon was aware of Duncan’s problems,” said Liam. “If he is, I will get the truth out of him. I think one reason Keira wouldnae fully accept my explanation or my assurance that it wasnae her fault is because I cannae tell why the mon was the way he was.” He looked at his cousins. “So? Do we still go to war?”

“Aye,” said Sigimor, and Ewan nodded in agreement. “Probably still would have, e’en if her right to the place was in question. Rauf Moubray needs killing, but it has always been difficult to find him.”

“Ah, and now ye ken exactly where he is.”

Sigimor nodded. “The fact that ridding the earth of that scourge will also make ye a laird just makes it all the more pleasing. Now, hie yourself back to your bride. On the morrow, we start our planning in earnest.”

Knowing how meticulous Sigimor could be in his planning, Liam groaned and hurried back to his bedchamber. He smiled when he saw Keira sitting in front of the fire, a kitten curled up on either side of her. When he shut and latched the door, she turned to look at him, and he saw the concern in her eyes. Liam walked over to her, carefully moved Thunder to her other side, sat down beside her, and put his arm around her shoulders.

“Ye told them then,” she said, feeling embarrassed all over again.

“Them and your brothers,” he said. “Sigimor fetched them out of their beds so that they could hear the tale as weel.”

Keira groaned and buried her face against his shoulder. “Where is a hole to crawl into when ye need one?”

Liam laughed and then hugged her. “Let me just say that if Duncan were still alive, he would be running for his life from your brothers. And if I judged Sigimor’s and Ewan’s expressions right, they would probably be right at your brothers’ sides.”

“Ewan and Sigimor actually had expressions ye could read?”

Ah, good, he thought. That tartness he liked was back. He tilted her face up to his. “Such impertinence,” he murmured and brushed a kiss over her mouth. “Not one of them
thought ye were at fault. Duncan should have told ye the same, should have at least tried to tell ye what troubled him.”

“Actually, that is one reason I hesitate to believe your explanation. Duncan
was
a kind mon. How could a kind mon allow me to suffer such doubt about myself, such hurt and humiliation, when he could have eased it with a simple explanation? I have trouble believing he could be so cruel.”

“Nay cruel, at least not intentionally. I think he was ashamed of his weaknesses, mayhap e’en feared he was sick in his mind. How could he speak of such things to his new wife? He
should
have told ye, if only because once ye kenned the truth, the two of ye could have worked together to cure him. Mayhap, given more time, that is just what could have happened.”

A large part of Liam was glad Keira and Duncan had not solved their troubles. He felt a little guilty about that for the poor fool had suffered even before he had fallen into Raufs cruel grasp, but he could not deny how he felt. Keira was all his; she had never belonged to another man. That he had been the one to take her virginity gave him a very primitive feeling of possession, satisfaction, and even a hint of victory. That she had found pleasure in his arms, despite the urgency that had caused him to act with less than his usual finesse, was even more satisfying.

“Poor Duncan,” Keira murmured. “If what ye say is true, how he must have suffered, and probably for many years.”

Then again, he mused, perhaps he did not feel so guilty. “Duncan is the past,” he said firmly. “There is no helping him. However, the people of Ardgleann
can
be helped.”

“There will still be a battle?”

“Aye. Sigimor and Ewan needed to hear the truth, not only because I couldnae allow them to act with a lie resting between us, but also because the fact that the marriage wasnae consummated could have meant ye had no right to Ardgleann. It was to answer that question that Sigimor dragged your brothers in to hear the tale.”

“I think the agreements signed made me his heir even if we were only betrothed, so consummation shouldnae matter, should it?”

“That is what we all decided, although mention of a certain man called Malcolm caused a moment of hesitation.”

“Malcolm doesnae want to be the laird, ne’er has. He doesnae e’en like anyone kenning he is the old laird’s bastard.” Keira smiled faintly. “Malcolm just wants to work with his woods and his metals. He makes such beautiful things.”

“And he gives no thought to what his children might want or see as rightfully theirs?”

“He doesnae have any yet, but he and Duncan had an agreement that whate’er children Malcolm may have will be given the chance to be whate’er they want, except the heirs. That stands, unless I have no bairns. Then I could choose one of Malcolm’s children as an heir, if the child was willing and able. The old laird ne’er claimed Malcolm, so he has only his mother’s word that the old laird was his father, and she is dead now. No papers and no true resemblance. Duncan didnae e’en ken the truth until he was nearly full grown.” She shook her head. “That was wrong. Bastard or nay, Malcolm was the old laird’s child, and he shouldnae have been so callously cast aside.”

Seeing the way she was eyeing him, Liam sighed. “I have bred no bastards, Keira.”

“I ne’er said ye had.”

“Ye didnae have to say the words.” He carefully stood up and tugged her up to stand beside him, grinning at the disgruntled looks the kittens gave him. “And now, enough talk of battles and sad memories. I wish to take my wife to bed.”

Keira blushed a little as he led her to the bed. “Weel, aye, it has been a long day. We could do with some rest.”

“We could, and we will get some, later.”

He grinned when she blushed even more brilliantly. After tossing the blanket she had wrapped around herself onto the bed, he removed her shift. Chuckling softly at how quickly she got beneath the covers, he shed his clothes and climbed in beside her. Despite her blushes, she did not resist at all when he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. This time he would go slowly, nurture her pleasure, and savor his own. He would not allow passion and need to overcome the skill and control he had acquired over the years.

Liam slowly raised himself up on his forearms and looked at Keira. She looked beautifully ravished. The sight both pleased him and made him inwardly shake his head in dismay. Where had all his carefully learned skills gone, all those little tricks of control and patience? He had started out well enough, but each touch of her hands, each kiss she had given him, had driven him into an undisciplined frenzy.

Of course, she did not look as if she had minded that at all. Liam was also certain that she had gained her pleasure. Not only had she cried out his name and drummed her little heels against the backs of his thighs, but he had felt her body clench around him as he had spent himself inside her. His wife was a very passionate woman, he thought with a sigh of satisfaction.

He kissed her, and although she kissed him back, he could tell she was more asleep than awake. The fact that despite his lack of control, he had exhausted her with his lovemaking pleased him. He moved to lie at her side and then tucked her up against him. When she snuggled up closer to him, pressing her taut little backside against his groin, he felt himself begin to respond and grinned. Keira had made him insatiable, and he thought that a fine thing.

As he rested his cheek against her hair and tried to think of ways he could convince her that the failure of her first marriage was all Duncan’s fault, he discovered he was too sated and too exhausted. All he wanted to do was lie there enjoying the feel of Keira sleeping in his arms until he, too, fell asleep. That was a new feeling for him for he had never spent a full night with a woman nor wanted to. His mind did not really want to consider why it should be different with Keira. When she took his hand and settled it beneath her cheek, he smiled. It was going to be nice having a wife. Very nice indeed.

Keira opened her eyes to find herself kissing her husband’s taut stomach. She was feeling a little feverish, and that ache she now recognized as need was already well begun, so she knew she had been mauling him in her sleep—again. The hope that he was not awake faded quickly when she realized that one part of him at least was very much awake. It was nestled between her breasts, and he was subtly rubbing it against her. She had thought that once married, she would cease to have lust-filled dreams about him, but now, she simply acted out those dreams. Every morning for a week now, she had awakened to find herself taking willful advantage of him.

Blushing faintly, she lifted her head to look at him. “Sorry.”

“For what?” He grabbed her under her arms and dragged her up his body until she was seated astride him. “’Tis a fine way to greet the new day. Mayhap on the morrow, I shall be a verra lucky mon, and ye will be a wee bit slower in waking up.”

Before she could ask what he meant by that, he kissed her, and all ability to think clearly fled. There was a fierce hunger in his kiss that told her she had probably been ravishing him for a while, and it quickly infected her. When he slid his hand over her stomach and between her legs, it took only a few strokes of his clever fingers to have her aching to feel him inside her. She started to move off him, but he grasped her by her hips and held her in place.

“This way, love,” Liam said, his voice low and husky with need.

Keira frowned a little, uncertain of what to do. “How does this work?”

“I will show ye this time.”

He did, and Keira shuddered with pleasure. She raised herself up until he was almost out of her and then ever so slowly lowered herself back down again. It was not only how it felt, but also the fact that she could control the movement that made her sigh with delight. She played with him for a little while longer until he growled, grabbed her by the hips again, and moved her at the pace he wanted. Realizing that she, too, could not endure much more idle play, she quickly caught on. With his husky words of praise and encouragement inspiring her, she took them both to the heights, their cries of pleasure blending perfectly in her ears. She collapsed on his chest and stayed there trying to catch her breath until she felt him soften and slip away from her.

Embarrassment over her wantonness returned as she moved to lie at his side, burying her face in the crook of his neck. Although she hated to think of him sharing such things with other women, she now understood better how he would be loathe to refuse any favors offered him. Such pleasure was a temptation it was hard to turn away from. If she had had even a small taste of it in her sad marriage, she doubted her time together with Liam in that cottage would have been so innocently spent.

Liam stroked his wife’s slim back and grinned into her hair. It was a strange morning ritual between them, but he had no intention of putting a stop to it. He would wake to find Keira making love to him in her sleep, bold, exciting love. Then something would wake her up, and he would have to act fast to keep embarrassment from chilling her passion. Once sated, she would feel embarrassed again. It was obviously going to take some time before she realized he adored that wanton side of her, the one that seemed to run free in her dreams. He would heartily welcome that woman wide awake and as a permanent part of his lovely wife.

“Ye have some verra intriguing dreams, I am thinking,” he said and laughed when
she groaned.

“Be glad I dinnae have your wealth of knowledge, or ye would be in real danger.”

He nudged her face out of the crook of his neck and turned on his side to face her, nose to nose. “Now, heed me closely, wife. Aye, I was a greedy fellow, but I dinnae have a wealth of knowledge.”

“But—”

“Hush. I havenae spoken about this because to me, it isnae important; ’tis but the follies of a greedy lad, but
’tis
important to you. I dinnae have a wealth of knowledge. I dinnae have any wondrous skills. I dinnae e’en have any fond, lasting memories. The lasses bedded me because of my face, and any feeling I had for them was as shallow and fleeting as theirs was for me. Nay a thing to be proud of, but I cannae change it now, and I will
never
go back to my old ways.

“As for how ye are in the morning? Weel, there is obviously a verra wanton wee lass skipping through your dreams. Whene’er ye wish to bring her out and present her to me, wide awake and willing, ye can be verra sure that I will welcome her with wide open arms.” He gave her another brief kiss, slapped her lightly on the backside, and climbed out of bed. “I may e’en do a wee dance about the room,” he said as he yanked on his clothes. “Naked. Aye, I think that wee lass would like that. Mayhap she would e’en join me. Just two happy, lusty creatures cavorting about in the clothes God gave them. Now there is something to dream on.” Before he laughed at the wide-eyed look upon Keira’s face, he escaped the bedchamber.

Keira stared at the door her husband had just shut behind him. She did not know whether she wanted to laugh or get dressed, hunt him down, and kick him. There was no doubt in her mind that she would be plagued by visions of Liam dancing naked, probably for days. If she did not know better, she would think he knew that he was always naked in her dreams. After all, when a man looked as lovely as he did naked, why bother with clothes?

A young girl arrived with a bowl of hot water for her morning ablutions. Keira murmured her thanks, and the moment the girl was gone, she hopped out of bed to wash before the water cooled. After taking care of her more personal needs, she washed herself down and then dressed in one of her own gowns. Fiona had been more than generous with her gowns, allowing Keira to always look her best when she went to the great hall to sup. During the day, however, Keira preferred to wear something less rich and elegant so that she could lend a hand in all of the work that needed doing.

She thought over what Liam had said about the women in his past as she combed and braided her hair. He was right to say that being so callous about something so intimate was nothing to be proud of. On the other hand, she did find some comfort in it. It appeared that there was no love or past infatuation, no ghost to fight. A wife could only be thankful for that. The way he had so forcefully declared that he would never go back to bedding any woman who gave him a welcoming smile was certainly good to hear. Keira was just not sure she fully believed it.

If he loved her, she might believe it, she thought and sighed. She was following Fiona’s advice and just loving him, but she was not able to tell if it was having any effect upon his heart. His passion for her was certainly strong, but they were still new lovers, so she was not sure she could depend much upon that as a sign of his deeper feelings. She was beginning to think he cared for her in some ways, but her own uncertainties made
that conviction falter several times a day.

Shaking her head, she decided to answer the demands of her stomach. As she headed to the great hall to break her fast, she thought about what Liam had said concerning her morning assaults upon his person. There was indeed a very wanton Keira skipping through her dreams, a woman free of doubt and immune to embarrassment. Keira suspected the way she kept acting out her dreams while caught in that misty time between waking and sleeping was her mind and heart urging her to let that Keira free. It was an intriguing thought. Of course, she mused and grinned, when and if that Keira broke free of her restraints, she would definitely ask Liam to dance naked.

“What are ye grinning about?”

Keira realized she was already at the head table in the great hall facing Fiona. Without thinking, she replied, “Watching Liam dance naked.”

Fiona dissolved into a fit of the giggles. After a hasty look around to reassure herself that no one else had heard her, Keira was able to laugh as well. She sat down next to Fiona and filled a plate from what was a rather astonishing array of food, considering no one else was in the great hall. Espying hot, thick porridge, she spooned some into a bowl, dribbled a little honey and milk on it, and began to eat As she did so, she watched in growing amazement as Fiona ate, and ate, and ate.

“Um, Fiona? Why do I get the feeling that all of this food was actually intended for you?” Keira asked as, done with her porridge, she looked around for something to put on her piece of bread.

Setting a bowl of herbed butter in front of Keira, Fiona sighed. “Because it is. I am with child.”

“Oh, Fiona, how wonderful for you!” Keira ruthlessly beat down a sudden attack of envy.

“Aye, but if ye tell Ewan, I will have to beat ye.”

“Why will ye not tell him? Wouldnae kenning it make him remain here at Scarglas? Ye dinnae really wish him to ride off to battle, do ye?” Keira tentatively tasted the butter and then spread it thickly on her bread.

“Nay, but he wants to go. If he kens I am with child again, he will stay, but his heart and mind will be with the others. So I have sworn all who have guessed to silence upon pain of dark, unmentioned torments.” Fiona briefly grinned when Keira laughed and then sighed again. “Since one sure sign that I am carrying is that I eat enough for ten men, I have been stealing these feasts on the sly whene’er Ewan isnae about In a day or two, I willnae have to hide the fact that I am ravenous near all day long.”

It took Keira a moment to grasp the meaning of that statement “A day or two?”

“Aye. Liam will probably tell ye soon for ye are to go with them. They would rather ye didnae, but ye ken the people there and they dinnae, so they need ye with them. They also think it best if ye and Liam step right into the laird’s place once they get Rauf out. Ah, ye are frowning.” Fiona cut up an apple and began to eat the slices. “Liam hasnae told ye much about their plans, is that it?”

Keira nodded and then grimaced. “I havenae asked about them either, so he may think I dinnae want to hear anything about it all.”

“Ye will probably hear about naught else tonight. Some more Camerons have arrived, as weel as some of your clansmen. The great hall will be filled with braw men ready for a fight Ach, that sounded unkind. They are eager because they see it as a just
cause. Few men have seen Rauf Moubray and lived to tell about it, but they have all heard tales of him or seen what cruelty he is capable of. This presents a good chance to rid the country of him. A few of my brothers’ men have come, along with my brother Nanty, and a few of our allies, the Dalglishes and the Goudys. By taking a few from here and there, no one is risking all of their good fighting men or leaving their lands too lightly guarded.”

“Verra clever,” Keira murmured.

“Aye, I thought so, too. And Sigimor has men already creeping about near Ardgleann, seeing what they can find and talking with the lairds of the neighboring clans. Sir Ian MacLean has already sent word that we are welcome to camp upon his land and that we have his full support. We havenae heard from any others.”

“There is only one other close enough to be worried, and I doubt ye will hear from him. He is so cautious, he sidles close to cowardliness. The mon will sit back, let others take all the risks, and just enjoy the benefits. I wouldnae be surprised if one of his sons brings a few men and joins the fight.”

“That would be good. They can meet Liam and, by fighting at his side, declare their acceptance of his place as laird of Ardgleann.” Fiona looked closely at Keira. “Are ye certain that doesnae trouble ye?”

“Oh, I willnae say I dinnae feel a wee pinch of resentment now and again, but not against Liam. ’Tis against the whole world, I suppose. That world that cannae accept a lass as laird, that sees it only as proof of a weakness they can take advantage of.”

“By the whole world, ye mean men.”

“Aye, men.”

They both scowled for a moment, realized what they were doing, and then laughed. For a while, they talked about all the work that needed to be done at this time of the year and Fiona’s children. Replete and in need of something to do, Keira decided to go and work in the herb house. Since Fiona was beginning to find the strong scents in there too unsettling, she was more than happy to let Keira do the work.

On the way to the herb house, Keira met the men sent by the Murrays who were standing with her brothers. Since most of them were her cousins, they all felt free to lecture her about not telling them where she was and how she was faring for so long. She endured the scolding for a little while, for she felt it was deserved, but only for a little while.

When she finally broke away from them, her brothers followed her into the herb house, and she inwardly cursed. Keira had the sinking feeling that they wanted to talk to her about Duncan. She had been expecting it, but as the days had slipped by with nothing being said, she had thought they had decided that nothing really needed to be said. It was now obvious that they had been spending the days trying to think of what to say and how to say it.

“Ye should have told us ye were having trouble with your husband,” Lucas said.

Keira sighed as she carefully checked the progress of several scents Fiona was mixing. “It was
my
trouble and
my
husband. I didnae feel it would be right to run to Maman about it all, especially as I chose him, didnae I?” She gave them both as stern a frown as she could muster. “And I dinnae want to talk about it.”

“Mayhap if ye had talked about it, ye wouldnae have filled your head with all sorts of foolish ideas.”

“When a mon vomits every time he touches ye, ’tis nay hard to get
foolish
ideas, as ye call them.”

Artan grunted. “We could have told ye that the fault was his, nay yours.”

“And why should I listen to your assurances?” Keira asked. “Ye are my brothers. Ye are bound to take my side and blame him.”

“We wouldnae lie to ye about something like that. There was something wrong with the mon. Aye, ye arenae the sort of fulsome lass who is quick to draw a mon’s eye, but there is naught a thing wrong with ye.”

“’Tis plain your new husband doesnae find anything wrong with ye,” said Lucas.