The Chase (18 page)

“Aye.” Seonaid sighed, then admitted Blake's fault. “He has a huge cock.”

Lady Wildwood began to choke and cough again. So did Elgin, Seonaid noticed. There must be
something in the air in the kitchen, she decided, as she thumped the lady's back again.

“I am all right; you can stop that.” Lady Wildwood didn't sound all right. Her voice was
practically a

squeak of sound as she said, “But I do not understand how this is a problem, my dear.”

“Perhaps I didna explain right,” Seonaid decided with a frown. “The man is abnormal huge,
from what I can see.”

“You haveseen it?”

“Aye. When he was bathing in the river.”

“And you haveseen others to compare his to?” she asked carefully.

Seonaid shrugged. “One or two while travelin' with the men. They're an immodest lot.”

“Ah.” She was nodding, but still flushed. “And you are worried that Blake is so large?”

“Well...” Seonaid frowned. “It seems to me with it bein' so large... well, if a normal man
hurts the first time as they say, then Blake willna fit at all. Truly, my lady, he's
almost the size of Elgin's rolling pin there.”

Lady Wildwood glanced toward the object in question, as did Elgin. His eyes were wide and
he was suddenly holding the thing away from him. Lady Wildwood's eyes went wide as well.
“Well, that is...” She paused and shook her head, muttering, “And I was sorry I did not
get to have this talk with Iliana the night of her wedding!”

Heaving her breath out on a sigh, Lady Wildwood took Seonaid's arm and urged her toward
the door leading out into the gardens.

“Seonaid, you are blunt in your speech, so I shall be just as blunt,” she said solemnly as
they began to walk along the rows of herbs and vegetables. “You should not fear that
Blake's... er... size will be a problem. You must remember that babies come out the same
place he will be...” She paused, appearing at a loss for a moment, then struggled on. “It
is not the size of the man that decides the discomfort the first time.”

“It isna?” Seonaid asked with interest.

“Nay. We women are born with what is called a maiden's veil, and”

“A maiden's veil?” Seonaid echoed, then raised her hands to feel her head and said, “What
is that? I doona think I have one.”

“Aye. You do,” Lady Wildwood said firmly.

“Where's me daughter?”

Blake sat up straight in the chair he had been lounging in and scowled as Angus paused
before him. “She is in the kitchen with Lady Wildwood.”

“Hmm.” Angus glanced at Aeldra and Helen, who were sitting at the trestle table. When he
glanced back there was a thoughtful look on his face. “I've been thinkin' on what ye said
about the attack.”

Blake arched an eyebrow. “Aye?” “Are ye sure 'twas the women they were after?” “Aye. Why
do you ask?”

“Because there must be a reason Seonaid lied about it being Camerons. And Allistair said
that Greenweld had sent men after ye, and I was wondering if it might no be them andyou
were the true target.”

“Me?” Blake sat up a little straighten “Why would Greenweld send men after me?”

“For Allistair. To kill ye so he could marry our Seonaid,” Angus explained, then shook his
head. “But ye did say they attacked the women while they were bathing. So they couldna
have been after you, could they?”

Blake said slowly, recalling the attack, “I had gone down to the loch to be sure the women
had not made another run for it. I had just stepped out into the clearing when the men
attacked.”

“So, you were there too, and it could have been Greenweld's men after ye.”

Blake shook his head. “But Greenweld is English, and these men wore plaids.”

Angus shrugged. “Plaids are easy enough to find, and a smart Englishman would have his men
don them if they were a smaller party and wanted to be able to travel the land without
trouble. English dress is reason enough to stop and find out what they are about.”

“Hmm.” Blake considered the matter. The men had attacked after he'd stepped into the
clearing. It could be that they were after him, not the women. In truth, if they were
Greenweld's men, they might have thought the women little danger to them. “Are you sure it
could not have been Camerons?” he asked now. “I do not understand why Seonaid would lie
about it. I could understand had her lie delayed arriving here or allowed them to escape,
but to lie to get here more quickly when she had been fighting the wedding as she had?” He
shook his head, trying to make sense of it.

Angus again glanced toward the women at the table as he considered the question. Blake
followed his gaze. Aeldra and Sister Helen were huddled together, having what appeared to
be a serious talk.

“Who is she?”

Blake glanced with surprise at the Dunbar laird. “Who is whom? Sister Helen?”

“Aye. Who is she and how did she come to be a member of yer party?”

Blake glanced back to the women and shrugged. “She is... Sister Helen,” he finished
helplessly. “Seonaid said she promised to see the sister to her home in England.”

“Where in England?”

Blake glanced at him with surprise but had to admit, “I do not know. All I know is she is
Sister Helen and left the abbey with Seonaid and Aeldra.”

“Hmmm,” the Dunbar said again, then turned away and headed to the trestle table. Blake
watched him for a moment, then curiosity got the better of him and he stood to follow.

Seonaid's head was awhirl with information as Lady Wildwood led her back into the keep and
through the kitchens. If she had been confused about Blake and her feelings about marrying
him before, she was even more so now. Lady Wildwood had assured her that while the first
time might be painful, it would not be due to his size, and in fact she might come to
appreciate his size afterward. She had also assured her thatfrom all she had heard at
courtBlake would probably make the bedding part of marriage very pleasurable for her.

Then there was his dallying about collecting her, the source of all her anger with the
man. Unfortunately, she found unarguable the lady's suggestion that she should let go of
her anger. Lady Wildwood insisted that it couldn't possibly have been a personal slight on
his part since they hadn't yet met. With that in mind, Seonaid didn't know what she felt
or thought about anything. All she knew was that she had made promises to Helen and felt
she should keep them. And no doubt the other two women were waiting to hear what the next
step would be, now that the chance to slip out through the secret passage was gone.

Seonaid wasn't sure. Storming off to her father's room after finding the secret passage
blocked hadn't been the brightest move. They would be watching for an escape attempt now.
Not that Blake had ever stopped watching for one, she conceded.

“Seonaid, dear?”

“Aye?” She glanced at Lady Wildwood curiously as she followed her out of the kitchen and
into the great hall.

“Where is Sister Helen from? She looks terribly familiar to me. Perhaps I know her family.”

Seonaid stumbled to a halt and opened her mouth, then closed it again, unsure what to say.
It suddenly occurred to her that she had no idea where Helen was from. Not that she would
have told Margaret anyway.

“Where exactly are ye from, Sister?”

That question from her father made her glance sharply toward the trestle tables where
Helen, Aeldra, Blake, and her father were all seated. Helen's expression was a picture of
panic. Excusing herself, Seonaid picked up speed and left Lady Wildwood behind as she
hurried forward to forestall her father from asking anything else. Until she knew if they
were going to try to sneak Helen home, it wasn't good to give them too much information.
Although, after her conversation with Lady Wildwood, Seonaid was starting to think that
she should let the men in on the actual events surrounding Lady Helen and let them help.
But she would never do it without talking to Helen first.

“She is from St. Simmian's,” Seonaid announced, pausing at the table to catch Helen under
the elbow and urge her to stand. Aeldra was immediately on her feet as well.

“Aye. But where was she born, Seonaid?” her father asked. “Where is this family she wants
to visit?”

“England,” Seonaid answered succinctly, then rushed the women away before he could ask any
more questions.

“Where are we goin'?” Aeldra asked as they started across the bailey. “I am no sure. We
need to go somewhere we can talk.” “That may be difficult. We have company.”

“Aye. I ken,” Seonaid admitted, aware that Blake had followed them out of the keep and was
trailing them across the bailey. A moment later she glanced back to see that Little George
had joined Sherwell. At this rate, it would soon be a parade. There would be no chance to
talk.

The sight of Little George reminded Seonaid that earlier in the day Aeldra had run out of
the cottage and disappeared, along with Little George. She glanced at her cousin
curiously. “Did Stupid George bother ye this morn after ye left Giorsal?”

“LittleGeorge,” Aeldra corrected, then blushed when Seonaid glanced at her sharply. The
nickname Stupid George was one Aeldra had suggested for the man just days ago. It seemed
she no longer felt it suited. Interesting.

“He didna bother me,” her cousin added, her face still flushed. “Hewe talked. He was
verra... er... kind.”

Seonaid's eyebrows rose. Judging by the way her cousin was blushing, his kindness had
probably not been dissimilar to the kindness Seonaid had enjoyed with Blake. She felt her
own cheeks flush at the memory of his kiss.

“He is the strongest yet gentlest man I have ever met,” Aeldra announced suddenly, and
Seonaid peered at her in horror. She had never heard the smaller woman talk like this
about any man. She sounded almost moonstruck.

Aeldra caught her expression and flushed further but said defiantly, “He is nice.”

“Aye,” Seonaid agreed quickly to soothe her, but was thinking with alarm that her tiny
cousin was falling for the great brute. Of course, she was in danger of falling for Blake
too. At least, his kiss seemed to plague her memory an awful lot. While Lady Wildwood had
been explaining about the bedding that would follow the nuptials, Seonaid had been
picturing Blake in her mind, remembering him naked, remembering sleeping pressed up
against his chest, with his arm around her and his hand cupping her breast, and
remembering his kiss and the way her body had reacted, the excitement, the budding
passion, the

“Seonaid!”

Slowing her steps, Seonaid glanced around, her face lighting with pleasure at the sight of
the handsome dark-haired man walking toward her from the practice field. Ian McInnes, the
son of their nearest neighbor, was about the same age as Duncan. He was also a friend, and
she smiled happily at the sight of him.

“Ian,” Seonaid greeted him with a laugh as he caught her up in a hug and swung her around
before setting her down. Then he did the same to Aeldra. “What are ye doin' here?”

“I brought the men to help rout Greenweld,” he explained, then grinned. "Ye ken I can
never pass up the

chance fer a good fight. No that it was much o' a fight.“ He shrugged. ”I sent most of the
men back after they helped clear up the worst of the mess, but I am staying until tomorrow
morn. Mother will be put out if I return without the full tale, and I've yet to hear it
all. Duncan and yer father havena been out of their rooms since shortly after it all
ended."

“Ah.” Seonaid smiled, then noted the way he glanced at Helen and introduced them. “This is
Sister Helen. Helen, this is Ian McInnes, our neighbor and friend.”

The pair greeted each other, then Ian glanced from Seonaid to Aeldra expectantly. “Were ye
comin' to practice? I could use a good workout.”

Seonaid hesitated, but when she glanced back to see both Blake and Little George scowling
to high heaven and hurrying toward them, she nodded firmly. They weren't likely to get a
moment to talk anyway. She should have taken the women back up to her room to plan their
next move and she would, after she'd had a little workout. Other than the skirmish in the
abbey and then the one in the clearing, they hadn't had a proper chance to practice since
leaving for St. Simmian's.

“Is that the English yer suppose to marry?” Ian asked as they walked to where several men
were practicing their battle skills.

“Aye.” Seonaid didn't bother to glance toward them. She knew Blake and Little George were
still following, closing the distance between them.

“He looks put out, but then, I hear ye've been leadin' him a merry chase.”

“Everyone appears to have heard,” Seonaid said with disgust.

“Gavin told Duncan, Duncan told me,” Ian said with amusement. He slapped her lower back
and added, “Come on, Seonaid. Let's show him the fine lass he's amarryin'.”

Moving in front of her, he drew his sword out as he turned to face her and immediately
went on the attack. Seonaid was ready for him. She'd known Ian McInnes since she was a
bairn and was used to his surprise tactics. In fact, she knew all his tricks, so found it
easy to hold her own with him.

“She's good.”

Blake scowled at Little George's comment as they watched his betrothed fend off the
dark-haired Scot's attack. Ian, he thought he'd heard her greet him. She'd seemed rather
happy to see him too. And he hadn't liked the way the man had embraced her and swung her
around, anymore than he had cared for the way the man's hand had come perilously close to
hitting her bottom when he'd slapped her back before squaring off against her.

But shewas good, he conceded. He supposed he had initially noted that in the clearing when
she had been doing battle with the men she had later claimed were Camerons. Unfortunately,
he'd been a little too preoccupied with her state of undress to pay much attention to her
skill with the sword. But she was more than just good, he realized now. Angus Dunbar had
not wasted money on having the special sword made for her. She wielded it with expertise,
using skill to counter the greater strength of her opponent.