Highland Vampire (10 page)

"Have ye told him how ye feel?"

"Nay, but I believe my actions should tell him a great deal, dinnae ye? I was a virgin, a weel-bred, richly dowered virgin sent here to find a husband. I have put that at risk. Aye,
and
my good name."

"True, but men dinnae always see it that way. As my husband says, a mon thinks desire all the reason one needs, doesnae always look beyond that." Barbara blushed faintly. "He reminded me that he thought desire was all that drew me to him, although he hoped for and needed more. He was waiting for me to tell him there was more for he dared not trust his own judgment in the matter."

Efrica slowly ate a piece of bread. The royal court had moved a fortnight ago, courtiers and all traveling along with it, and Barbara's husband and children had joined her. That had allowed Efrica to have not only her own bedchamber, small though it was, but regular insights into the male mind provided by Sir Matheson through Barbara. Her brothers had provided some understanding of men over the years, but little concerning matters of the heart. Yet Sir Matheson was not Jankyn. That left Efrica wondering if she could fully trust the man's opinions.

"Effie, I ken ye had reasons to think Jankyn a poor choice for a husband. Aye, and they were good ones. Yet when ye became his lover, I thought ye had changed your mind, that ye had finally kenned what ye wanted."

"Oh, aye, I did. I do. I kenned it the night Jankyn was attacked. I kenned it as I listened to Lady Eleanor speak of what a great lover Jankyn was and I stood there wondering how she would look bald." Efrica smiled faintly when Barbara laughed. "I also kenned it when I thought he might die and calmly told him to take what he needed to heal himself. That was when I was certain I accepted
all
that he was." She lightly patted her stomach. "Only the chance that I might ne'er carry his child still troubled me, but that is no longer a concern. As for that fretting I did o'er the fact that I love the sun and he is a mon of the shadows? Weel, David showed that to be foolish by saying that, when the sun deigns to shine, go outside. And as for the fact that he willnae age in step with me, weel, Callan women age weel, and lovers rarely die hand in hand. There is some comfort in the knowledge that
he
will always be there for this bairn and any others we may be blessed with. Howbeit,
he
hasnae spoken of a future or of love."

"Mayhap not, but I think that, if ye dinnae hold his heart now, ye could if ye wished to. The mon cannae keep his eyes or his hands off ye. He shows no interest in any other women though they still pursue him. And, Effie, he followed when the court packed up and moved, ye and I trotting along as weel. That was no small thing, was it? He couldnae just mount a horse and travel with us. Such a journey for him was one of constant risk." She nodded when Efrica stared at her in shock.

"Now that I think on it, e'en David was, briefly, surprised by Jankyn's decision to follow us. I did worry o'er it, but Jankyn simply said that, if he could travel from Cambrun to the court, he could travel from the old court to the new."

"Yet since David was officially betrothed by then, he didnae need to keep an eye on that, did he?"

"Nay, he didnae." Efrica got out of bed.

"What are ye planning to do?"

"See Jankyn and hope that I can find the courage to say something, anything, that might give him the prod or the courage to speak."

"Ye need to do that now?"

"I need to start sometime. I dinnae think it will be a problem easily solved, or quickly." Efrica sighed and shook her head. "I wish it was, not only for this bairn's sake, not e'en because Duncan will be looking for someone to kill if he discovers I am with child but without husband, but so that we can leave this place and these foolish gossips."

"Oh, dear, ye have heard all the rumors, havenae ye. They are worrisome."

"More than worrisome, Cousin. Dangerous. For all his strength, speed, and cunning, e'en his ability to heal in the blink of an eye, Jankyn has his weaknesses. He
can
be killed. ‘Tisnae easy to do, but it can be done. He can certainly be shown to be, weel, different. Verra, verra different. All Jankyn will say is that such rumors have always dogged the heels of the MacNachtons. Then he kisses me and I forget what we were talking about," she muttered. "Weel, 'tis past time to do something about it."

"Such as what?"

"We both ken who spreads these tales;—Lady Eleanor, Lachlan, and Thomas. Why anyone should heed what they say, I dinnae ken, but mayhap people need to be reminded of that." Noticing the startled look upon Barbara's face, Efrica asked, "What is it?"

"What ye just said—that people need to be reminded of exactly
who
is spreading the rumors.
I
should have thought of that. I have dealt with these people far more and far longer than ye have. All I can think of to excuse my stupidity is that I was too aware of the fact that a lot of what they were saying is true. Nay the foolish puzzling o'er if he is a demon, a devil, or some undead thing, but all the rest of it. He
is
different. He
does
shun the light. He
does
have eyes like a wolf. All of that."

She shook her head. "I certainly have some skill at scorning such talk. We Callans arenae so obviously different, but we do have a few odd things about us, and I have always managed to ridicule away any whispers about us. I am pleased no one has mentioned his teeth, though. They would be difficult to explain away, although we did have an uncle who filed all of his into points."

"Aye, I remember him. 'Tis also good no one has thought too long on when or if they have e'er seen him eat."

"Doesnae he eat anything?"

"Some. He loves sweet things. But I dinnae think the food we eat provides sustenance for him. Nay enough, leastwise. 'Tis blood a MacNachton needs, but it has been a verra long time since they looked to people to provide it. Innocent people, anyway. Men like the ones who tried to murder Jankyn deserve whate'er they get," she added in a hard voice.

"Ye really do love him, dinnae ye."

Efrica smiled. "Aye, and I think I have since I first met him. All those reasons I had for why he could ne'er be my choice were born of a fear that, weel, the choice had already been made. I realized that I would rather live in Jankyn's shadowed world, than live in the bright sun without him. S'truth, without him, e'en the sun would probably ne'er ease the chill in my heart." She shrugged. "I just hope he feels the same for me, or nearly so."

"Oh, I truly think he does." Barbara stood up and walked to the door. "Mayhap he kens all those doubts ye had and but needs to be shown that they are gone. Ye set to work on that and I will start to mute these dangerous whispers."

Still planning various conversations that might work to nudge a few love words out of Jankyn, Efrica knocked on his door in the distinct pattern they had devised. Not only did Jankyn want to be sure he did not open the door to Lady Eleanor, who still hunted him down now and then, but he liked to be prepared for guests who did not know his secrets. If nothing else, he had to put away his personal supply of wine so that no one inadvertently discovered what
enriched
it.

When Jankyn opened the door, every thought in Efrica's head blew away. He stood there wearing nothing but a wide, slightly lecherous grin. He grabbed her by the hand, pulled her into the room, and shut and barred the door. Before Efrica could gather the wit to speak, he was kissing her, his clever fingers rapidly divesting her of her clothes. When he tumbled them down onto his bed, she decided they could have that serious talk later.

There was an intensity to his lovemaking that soon infected her. She quickly began to return his every kiss and caress with the same fervor with which he gave them. Then, suddenly, shock broke through the passionate daze he had put her in as he placed a kiss against the soft curls between her thighs. The protest she began to make swiftly died, banished by the pleasure of his intimate kiss. Again and again, he pushed her to the very edge with his tongue and his fingers, only to retreat until she was shaking with need, demanding he cease his tormenting. He did, but not in the way she had expected him to, using his mouth to give her the release she needed. Efrica was still gasping from the strength of it when Jankyn almost roughly joined their bodies and took her to the heights a second time.

It took several minutes after Jankyn had collapsed on top of her, before Efrica had the strength to turn her head and look at him. As always, he had his face buried in the pillow. "Weel, greetings to ye, too." She smiled faintly when he laughed. Then he turned his head to meet her gaze and she blushed. "Ah, weel, um, was that a sin?"

He brushed a kiss over her mouth. "Nay. Oh, I suspicion some priest would say so, but that priest would also decry me as Satan's own and gleefully light the kindling piled about my feet." He kissed her again and then rose from the bed to get a cloth to clean them off with.

"I thought the MacNachtons believed in the church and all. Father James is a MacNachton." She was so caught up in the thought that some of the MacNachtons might be non-believers, she barely twitched when Jankyn gently cleaned her off and then crawled back into bed.

Jankyn pulled her into his arms, enjoying the way she sprawled on top of him, and he settled his back against the pillows. "Oh, we believe in God, love. 'Tis the church and the men who rule it we have some doubt in. We both ken that some of them are more steeped in sin than ye and I e'er could be. Aye, some have a true calling, a deep belief, as James does. Howbeit, too many are simply younger sons sent to a life in the church because there was little choice or they hope to gain the power and riches denied them by birth. Until that changes, I take leave to question them. Nay God. Just them."

Efrica nodded, for she and a great many of her kin held similar views. When one belonged to a group the church would quickly condemn, no matter how deep one's belief was, it was inevitable that cynicism would result. The fact that Callan women had suffered because of their tendency to bear twins, something that stirred a few dark suspicions, had certainly made her doubt the men of the church.

Feeling a need to escape such dark, serious thoughts, she kissed Jankyn's chest. "So, if it isnae a sin for ye to do that to me, then it cannae be a sin for me to do whate'er I may wish with ye."

Jankyn tensed with anticipation as she began to kiss and caress her way down his body. He had planned to spend the day making love to her, and he felt both pleased and guilty that she was falling in with his plan so easily. Then he shuddered with pleasure as she brushed a kiss against his erection, and he decided he could wallow in guilt later.

Staring down at a sleeping Efrica, Jankyn fought the urge to crawl back into that bed, take her into his arms, and never let her go. He had struggled over the past few days to think of some way to tell her he was leaving, but had turned craven each time he had looked into her eyes. He could not lie to her, or push her away with cruelty, so he was just going to slip away like some thief. It was for the best, he told himself yet again. The whispers about him had not faded but grown louder, and more people were heeding them. If he stayed, there could be trouble and Efirica could easily be at risk as well. It was time to return to Cambrun and leave her to find a man who could walk in the sun at her side. Resisting the urge to steal one last kiss, he walked away, slipping into the shadows.

"Efrica!"

Opening one eye, Efrica wondered what David and Fiona were doing in her bedchamber. Then she remembered that she was in Jankyn's bed and blushed. Hastily wrapping the bedcovers around herself, she sat up.

"Has something happened to Jankyn?" she asked, suddenly finding David's presence ominous.

"Aye. He has left," replied David.

"Left? To go where?"

"Back to Cambrun."

Efrica knew that once shock released its tight grip upon her, there was going to be a lot of pain flooding in. "Why?"

"Because of the talk swirling about amongst the courtiers and their ladies. I thought I had convinced him that we could fight it, but I should have understood how concerned he was about my safety and yours." When David saw Efrica glance at Fiona, he took his betrothed's hand in his. "She kens all about the MacNachtons, Effie, so ye dinnae need to guard your words."

"Except for the ones I feel inclined to direct at your father," she muttered. "He didnae e'en say farewell."

"Mayhap because he didnae want to say that word to ye. He left because he felt he was a danger to ye, Effie, nay because he wanted to leave ye. I ken I will have trouble making ye believe me, but ye are his mate."

"And so he leaves me?"

"Aye, to keep ye safe and because he feels he isnae right for ye, would only make ye unhappy."

Fighting to think clearly, Efrica recalled the intensity of Jankyn's lovemaking over the last few days. There had been a hint of desperate greed at times. Barbara felt sure Jankyn cared for her, and now David said so. Her own instincts told her he did. She just prayed she was not fooling herself, believing he cared simply because she could not endure the pain if he did not.

"So, he left because he felt those rumors about him had grown to be a real threat?"

"Aye. I swear to ye, he would ne'er have walked away from ye if he didnae think it was for your own good."

"Weel, then, first we must silence the talk." She explained what her plan was, the one Barbara was already acting upon, and David smiled.

"Clever, lass. Then what?"

"Then I go to Cambrun, sniff out whatever cave your father has crawled into, and beat some sense into him."

"Another good plan," David said and then laughed.

Chapter Ten

"Where is he?"

Efrica marched up to her sister and her husband, ignoring their startled looks and in no mood to apologize for her abrupt entrance into their great hall. It had taken her a fortnight to get to Cambrun. She did not care to think too much on what Jankyn may have been up to during that time. As one complication after another had slowed her down, delaying her arrival at Cambrun, David's assurances about how Jankyn felt about her had lost some of their power to calm her. She wanted to trust Jankyn, to believe he would not go from her arms straight into the embrace of another woman, but she had no vows from him to cling to.