His Bonnie Bride

by Hannah Howell

  She did not think she had ever seen such a beautiful man and fleetingly wondered how the two plump, rather ordinary parents had produced such a tall god of a son. His fair hair was thick and wavy and crowned a face of such perfect proportions that it could have been cut by the finest artist from the marble his skin resembled. As tall as Tavis, Alexander's body was a woman's dream. His soft green eyes reflected appreciation as they met hers, and Storm felt herself blush slightly. He exuded sensuality and, to her surprise, for she loved Tavis, Storm felt a response stir within her. Here was a man who could stir a nun, she thought, and then silently apologized for her irreverency. Suddenly she thought that such abundance of perfection was almost repelling and felt herself no longer drawn to him.

  No matter what he called it, the green-eyed monster was getting a firm grip upon Tavis. He saw the slightly glazed look on Storm's face and ground his teeth when she blushed. Alexander MacDubh's effect upon and success with women was nearly legendary. Tavis saw Storm swiftly joining those ranks. He ignored Alex's fleeting, sardonic glance as he put a possessive hand upon Storm's slim arm.

  Although a little surprised by Tavis's action, Storm did not wonder about it long. She found it a little amusing that she and Phelan were being treated much like guests instead of the hostages they were. The MacDubhs were obviously too polite to point out the absurdity and joined in the game. Despite the way she was treated, who she was was not forgotten as the conversation over the meal soon proved.

  Whenever any conversation about matters that could aid or interest her father was begun it was abruptly halted and another started. Storm thought she ought to feel uncomfortable but she did not. She had been invited, after all. However, she decided to retire to her room as soon as possible. It did not seem quite fair or polite to stay when she knew her presence restricted everyone in a way.

  For once the women retired to a far corner of the hall at the end of the meal. Phelan joined the three ladies, sitting beside Storm on a settee before the fireplace. Storm quickly discovered that Lady MacDubh was not as shy as she had first appeared. Away from the men, Lady MacDubh lost some of her reticence.

  "Do you really believe that your stepmother means to refuse to pay a ransom?" Lady Helen asked. "Would she not fear Lord Eldon's wrath when he discovered what she had done?"

  "If he discovered. If he returns from France, would it not be easier for him to believe that some unknown fate befell me or that the MacLagans, for reasons unknown, have not stayed with the usual rules concerning hostages than to believe that his wife tossed his only daughter to the whims of fate?"

  Maggie nodded solemnly. "No matter how failed the marriage is, he'd nay want tae believe that."

  "But to leave you here to be, weel, Tavis is ..." Lady Helen stumbled to a blushing halt.

  "Using me?" Storm completed. " 'Tis no secret in this keep, m'lady. I have little doubt that my father's wife finds that possibility something to savor. She was born a whore, if ye will excuse my blunt speech. My innocence was e'er an irritation to her."

  Lady Helen found Storm's calm a curiosity. "But do you suffer no shame?" she asked with no reproach.

  "For what, m'lady? What purpose would it serve? From the first night there was no return for me. I will ne'er be a maid again. I did not ask for the place I now hold, so why should I condemn myself? I did not throw myself at Tavis's feet, crying wantonly 'Please, take me.' " Maggie giggled and Storm smiled.

  Storm sighed. "I was not safe within Hagaleah. My father's wife had chosen a husband for me, one of her lovers in need of a fortune." She nodded in response to the ladies' shocked gasps. "I naturally refused, but he planned to dishonor me, e'en get me with child, to gain his ends. Shameless it may sound, but as a ravisher I prefer Tavis MacLagan to Sir Hugh Sedgeway. Dear Sir Hugh has a liking to give more pain than pleasure."

  "Oh. One of those." Lady Helen shook her head. " 'Tis hard for a woman with no protectors at hand." She frowned. "Has Tavis given no thought to the retribution Lord Eldon will try to extract when he returns?"

  "The MacLagans and the Eldons have always fought each other. This battle will just have a more tangible cause. Then and all, my father is a reasonable man. An I talk to him first, a real bloodletting could be avoided." Storm shrugged. "Then again, men do love a battle. 'Tis their life."

  "All too true," sighed Maggie, and she glanced at Phelan. "A life they dutifully train the wee lads to. I fear for me Angus each time he rides away. 'Tis hard tae watch him go when I ken he may ne'er come back alive."

  " 'Tis the Eldons he rides against more oft than not, yet ye seem to befriend Lord Eldon's very daughter."

  "But, Lady Helen," Phelan spoke up, "could that not be because she knows that Storm suffers the like when her men ride against the MacLagans? Sure 'n' there's naught either of them can do to stop the battles."

  "Aye," Maggie agreed. " 'Tis a thing that gies us a bond strong enough tae overcome who we are."

  "That I can understand." Lady Helen studied the delicate English girl seated across from her. "I must ask it, though it be forward, mayhaps impertinent, but curiosity compels me. Ye have been here a number of weeks and most of those with Tavis. Living with him in such, er, intimacy," she blushed, "is there not a chance that ye could fall in love with the man?"

  Smiling crookedly, Storm replied, "Every chance in this world, m'lady. 'Tis the one thing I fear," she added, feeling no need to point out that it had occurred a long time past.

  Maggie adroitly turned the conversation to matters of household and fashion. Seeing that some of the men were now standing about in groups, Phelan slipped away to join them. It was not long after his escape that Maggie also departed, for she was nursing her new son and it was nearly feeding time again. Storm found herself alone with Lady Helen and soon saw that the ways of polite conversation differed little either side of the border. A woman of the Scottish court, Lady Helen had an abundance of idle chatter.

  When Alexander MacDubh strolled over and Lady Helen moved away to join her husband Storm was less than pleased. The man had so much in his favor that he overwhelmed her. She did not like the feeling. As she looked to Tavis for rescue, she frowned, for she had sensed that he had been watching her yet he was now apparently unaware of her presence. She edged away from Alexander as he sat down close to her.

  Tavis was fully aware of Storm's presence, where she was and who she was with. Since Mary, he and Alexander had shared the favors of many women. The contest had been to see who could gain access first, a contest they were virtually tied in, or to see if one could draw a woman from the arms of the other. Since Mary, Tavis had found Alex's knowledge of his women, whether before, during or after his own use of them, only an annoyance until now. Now, for reasons he refused to clearly acknowledge, it meant more than it even had with Mary.

  "How do you find the way of life upon this side of the border, m'lady?" Alex asked, leaning closer to her.

  Storm felt his smooth, deep voice caress her and almost smiled, for the man was a perfect instrument of seduction. " 'Tis little different from what on the English side.

  People and their manners differ little if at all."

  "Nevertheless, ye will be glad to return to your own home."

  "Would not anyone in my position?" she asked smoothly.

  "Exactly what is your position, Mistress Eldon?" His gaze moved over her in a subtle caress.

  "I think ye are well aware of what it is, sir." She wished he were not so close, but had no more room upon the settee to move away and could not be so rude as to suddenly stand up, at least not yet.

  "You are a hostage who is treated much like a guest. It makes for some confusion, ye must admit."

  "I see none. I can hardly pose a threat to a strong man. There is little chance that I will try to fight my way out of here or take a hostage myself. The chains may be invisible but they are there."

  "Mayhaps the chains are not only those of a captor but of a lover," he said softly.

  "Ye step out of bounds, s
ir. Hostage or nay, I am still a lady and should be tendered respect."

  Alex smiled slightly, for here was one that was out of the ordinary. She was in a position that should rob her of dignity, yet she had it in force. There was also no coyness in her. She did not blush or try to deny what everyone knew, but simply pointed out his tactlessness in mentioning it.

  "I merely wish to be sure that what I hear is correct, for I thought to offer you an alternative."

  "I think ye needed no confirmation, but tell me of your alternative. Curiosity abounds."

  "The MacDubhs are friends and connections of the MacLagans. Ones of long standing. I could speak to Colin, convince him that you would be better off in our keeping."

  "Would I?" She mused idly that it was most unfair for one young man to have so much in his favor.

  "You would be treated as the lady you are, one of high birth and breeding. I would ever be the gentleman."

  "Think ye that Tavis does not treat me as a lady?" Somehow she felt there was more to his offer than a wish for her company or to shelter her from harsh treatment, but she could not guess what it was.

  "I think not for, let us be open with each other, m'lady, he has brought dishonor to you."

  Briefly she thought about putting the man in his place but decided it was absurd to act as if she and Tavis were not sharing a bed since all knew they were. "And ye would not?"

  "It is not my way to force my attentions upon a lady."

  His tone indicated that he had no need to, and Storm had to agree. "Who is to say that Tavis has done so? Do ye see any sign that force has been used upon me? I bear no bruises or shackle marks. Do I hold the fear of one much abused?"

  "Are you saying that you go to him willingly?"

  "Nay, but I have not been hit o'er the head either. Tell me true, sir, an I come with you, do ye mean to make no try to draw me into your bed? Would I not trade one seducer for another?"

  Alexander stared into her wide, guileless amber eyes and nearly hated Tavis MacLagan. Here was a woman who used no ploys nor airs but had the straightforward honesty of a man. The passion he could read in the full shape of her mouth and supple lines of her body would come forth as honestly as everything else about her. Tavis was enjoying that, and Alex wanted to taste it. He was, however, beginning to think that he never would, for instinct was telling him that Tavis was getting a lot more than a naturally passionate woman's response to a skilled hand, whether he knew it or not, and Alex doubted that Tavis did. In such matters it was sometimes easier for others to see how matters stood.

  Lightly touching her thick braids, he replied, "I would make no effort to place you where you did not want to be."

  "But that does not say ye will not try to make me wish to be there."

  With a soft laugh, Alex said, "What man would not try to woo a lovely lady?"

  "Ye asked that we be open with each other so I will admit that I would no doubt find myself established in your home as I find myself established here. I think ye are well aware of your handsomeness and charm as well as how successfully they achieve your aim. Since I feel ye have been no stranger to women, ye would know well how to employ the subtle arts of seduction. I do not feel I add to any conceit ye may have by saying ye feel sure of success nor that ye are right in feeling so. Being blunt, as I am no longer a maid, 'tis merely easier for ye for now I hold no fears to hold me back but knowledge to make my resistance weaker."

  "There is openness with a vengeance, m'lady. I would, however, be offering ye a choice."

  "Nay, sir, merely a change. Subtle ye may be, but it all comes round to the same thing—me, the first born and only daughter of an English border lord, unwed and mayhaps now unweddable, sharing the bed of a Scottish reiver. At least now I am with folk I know and, may my father forgive me," she grinned, "like. I have little wish to change that for the unknown, which will be equally as transitory. At least now, when I return home, I can say, in all truthfulness, that it has been but one man who has put me to shame."

  Lifting her hand, he kissed her palm and then kept hold of her hand. "You, Mistress Eldon, are a beautiful woman with a logical mind. 'Tis a combination sure to make any man quake." He caught his breath when she laughed. "Ah, now that is a sound lovely enough to bring any man to his knees."

  The warmth in his eyes and the way they lingered on her mouth made Storm feel decidedly breathless. "Ye are flirting with me, sir, and 'tis unsure I am that that is wise." She caught his gaze flicking toward Tavis, noted that Tavis was staring at them and suddenly understood some of Alex's desire for her. "Do ye not think I have far and above enough woes without ye making me a pawn in some male game?"

  For the first time in a long while, Alex felt the heat of shame touch his cheeks. "Acuteness of perception in a woman is almost as unsettling as logic. You unman me, madam."

  She laughed softly. "That, sir, is an impossibility. Naught but a sword could accomplish that." She gaped and blushed when she realized how outspoken she had just been, but Alex roared with delighted laughter.

  He lightly caressed the high color on one cheek with his knuckles. "Tavis and I have oft known the same women. It has long been a game of sorts for us to see which could seduce the lady first or to see if we could seduce her out of the other's bed. It has been this way for nigh on to five years."

  Glancing toward Tavis, Storm read far more than competition there. "That is all?"

  Again he brought her palm to his lips. "It does not dim my desire for you, Storm Eldon."

  "Thank ye, sir, but that is not what I meant. There is something more behind this game ye play."

  Alex sighed. "Aye, on Tavis's part, mostly. There was a lady, though I hesitate to call her such, five years past. Tavis believed he loved her." Alex took note of the expressions that flittered over Storm's face with little surprise. "Having been there once myself, I realize how he saw her as near to a saint. He caught us together. He ne'er blamed me, for he kenned I took only what was offered, but such disillusionment is hard to forget." He smiled gently at her. "However, the past need not cloud our future."

  "Storm's future isnae your concern, Alex. M'lady, I think ye lose sight of who ye be, a hostage, not a guest. 'Tis time ye returned to your room."

  Storm took one look at blue eyes that were pure ice, making his cold words seem almost warm, and swallowed the angry retort hovering on her tongue. With all the dignity she could muster, she rose, bid good evening to Alex and followed Angus to her room.

  Chapter Eleven

  From Tavis's point of view, Alex's seduction of Storm had been well under way and succeeding. To his eyes, their smiles, laughter and hushed conversation looked like a brazen flirtation. The occasional glance in his direction he saw as a guilty one. He was sure Storm was succumbing to Alex as women always had.

  As he watched her leave after he had spat his harsh words at her, he was fully aware of having offended as well as angered her. The chill in her eyes and her stiff posture made that clear enough. What he was not sure of and what made him oddly uncomfortable was that he had hurt her. There had been a flicker of what he had read as pain upon her face before it had closed to him, a trick of hers that he detested.

  "Ne'er known you to have such a heavy hand with the ladies, Tavis," Alexander drawled.

  "She is my hostage, not some filly at court ye can dally with at your pleasure."

  "She is also your lover," Alex said softly, finding Tavis's possessiveness fascinating.

  "Aye, and this is one ye arenae having, MacDubh. Did ye think I would step aside for the night or mayhaps send her to ye with my compliments? There was little to gain from this seduction."

  "Actually, I offered to let her await ransoming at our keep. Thought to mention it to Colin."

  Tavis gave a harsh laugh. "And of course ye promised to keep your hands off her."

  "Nay, I but offered to treat her as the lady she is. That, and the choice of sharing my bed or nay, which I ken you have not done, my friend. You have simply taken, not reque
sted nor waited for an invitation."

  "As any man would do with such a prize taken as hostage. She stays here until 'tis time to return her to Hagaleah."

  "And when will that be? There is plainly little rush to gain the ransom."

  "It'll come e'en if we maun wait for his lordship to return and send it. Then she goes home."

  Alex watched Tavis stride away, delivering curt good nights as he left the hall.

  The little English lady had the man twisted every which way, but Tavis had yet to see it. Shaking his head, Alex felt a twinge of sympathy for Tavis. The blow he would take from this affair was going to make the one he had suffered over Mary look like the tiniest of bruises. Alex looked up to greet Sholto and Iain with a nod as they joined him.

  "That's one he'll nay play the game with, Alex," Sholto said as he sprawled in a chair.

  "So I have discovered. What he failed to query was whether or not the lady was playing."

  "Was she?" asked Iain.

  "Nay, my friend. Not only was I turned down in the most flattering of ways, but the lass caught on to the game and shamed me with it. She sees all too clearly in most respects."

  "By the looks of that stiff little back as she left here, there will be a bloody row in the tower tonight," Sholto observed with a laugh. "Shame they took it upstairs, for 'tis a show when they go at it."

  "Do neither of them see what is obvious to everyone?" Alex inquired with genuine interest.

  Iain sighed. "Nay. 'Tis a shame, but it may not matter when or if they do, for she is Lord Eldon's only daughter, his firstborn, and Tavis is heir to this place. Hardly a match with promise."

  * * * * *

  When the heavy door shut behind Storm as she stepped into the tower room she let loose with a string of curses in her mother's tongue that was vicious enough to make Angus wince and be thankful that he could not understand a word of it. She could not recall ever having felt so furious with the man who was both her captor and her lover. Her chamber seemed a haven for once; it meant that she was not near him.