His Highland Pledge (The Clan Sinclair Book 4)

by Celeste Barclay

  The day’s hunt progressed without incident. Magnus was not sure if it was as simple as nothing was planned against him or if the personal guard of sixty men deterred further attempts. Either way, by the nooning, Magnus could relax enough to enjoy the hunt. He was not in as much pain as he had been that morning, and he bagged several quail and a doe.

  The men stopped near a stream to water their horses and let them rest again. Magnus dismounted and checked Sealgair’s wound to make sure it was not festering. When he was satisfied that his companion’s side was still healing without further injury, he made his way to his uncle and the other Sutherlands. He immediately recognized Laird Fraser as the man speaking to his uncle.

  “Your nephew oversteps his bounds yet again. It was bad enough he defiled my daughter all those years ago, but if he thinks there is even a remote chance he will get his hands on her again, he will find himself in the darkest and deepest oubliette this country has to offer. He will not destroy an arrangement that has been nearly three years in the making. I have paid a great deal of money to get where I am, and I will not have the upstart little pup getting in the way. I warn you, Hamish, only because you are a man I have known since we were lads, this is the only courtesy I will give you. Keep the bastard away from my daughter.”

  Fraser made to step around Hamish, but his uncle’s arm shot out to block the other man.

  “Or what?”

  “What do you mean ‘or what’? I just told you, he will find himself in a dungeon with no way out.”

  “Ye feel that threatened by the young mon that ye think a dungeon will solve yer problems. Ye’re either daft or naïve if ye think ye can keep him anywhere for long. Do ye nae see all the men who have ridden by his side. If one more hair on ma nephew’s head is disturbed, ye may find yerself in need of returning home to assess the damages.”

  “Are ye now threatening me? I didnae have aught to do with that bungled attack. I amnae desperate enough to risk the king’s wrath nor give up all I have gained. That was someone else, but I canna say I’m disappointed it happened.” Fraser’s burr returned as his temper rose. He kept his voice low and modulated, but his anger was obvious to everyone nearby.

  Hamish grabbed the front of his doublet and pulled him in close.

  “We all ken ye are a but a puppet to Hay. And we all ken it was Hay who arranged the attack. Tread lightly, Donald or ye may lose yer balance.”

  Hamish shoved him away and only then noticed Magnus watching the scene. Fraser turned to see who Hamish was looking at and glowered when he saw Magnus standing there. For his part, Magnus stood with his feet planted apart and his arms crossed. He raised one eyebrow in silent challenge as he flexed his chest. Laird Fraser was still a man in his prime, and even though he did not acknowledge his Highland heritage, he trained in the lists regularly. But even as fit as he was, it was obvious he was no match for the younger man who stood a head and a half taller than him. Fraser chose to stalk away.

  Once the Fraser was out of sight, Magnus relaxed. He walked over to his uncle and returned the hug offered to him.

  “Dinna fash, Magnus.”

  “I amnae. And hearing ye speak reminded me of something I saw the last time we hunted. It was Mary Kerr who favors the kestrel. She has plumes from the bird in a brooch she wears. I think there may be quite a few who dinna appreciate ma presence. I wonder if the Kerr lass was behind ma attack, and mayhap Hay arranged the bird.”

  “That is possible. She has been making quite the stir for months now aboot yer family killing her father. She has not been subtle in her contempt since yer arrival either.”

  “How conveniently she forgets that it was her father who tried to have her half-sister killed for money. The apple didna fall far from the tree apparently.”

  “Och, we all ken there wasna any love lost between Brighde and her half-siblings. It doesnae surprise me in the least that Lady Mary would overlook her father’s actions since she was probably hoping he would succeed.”

  Hamish’s bluntness sent a shiver down Magnus’s spine. He was fond of his sister by marriage and still despised her dead father for how he treated her, but his spine tingled knowing there was yet another person who might try to see him dead. He knew from his sister Mairghread’s experiences with Lady Beatris and Sorcha that one should never underestimate a woman’s vindictiveness. He resolved to keep the embittered lady-in-waiting in mind if anything else should befall him.

  “True enough. Just another set of fangs to mind in this den of vipers.”

  The men remounted and headed back to the castle with their various hunting prizes.

  Deirdre roamed about the royal library with no real purpose. Relieved to be paroled from her chamber again, she knew it was only because the men had ridden out on the hunt. As soon as Magnus returned, they would shut her away again. Her lack of freedom frustrated her, and even a place that usually brought her solace left her feeling isolated and alone. She scanned the shelves and spotted various books she had read over the years. She settled on a leatherbound edition of “The Letters of Abelard and Heloise.” The notorious correspondence between the monk and nun turned lovers seemed somewhat apropos to her situation.

  She took the book and found a seat near the hearth. She flipped through the pages until she found the letter that most stood out to her at that moment.

  “I preferred love to wedlock, freedom to a bond.”

  I certainly prefer the notion of love with Magnus than wedlock to Archibald, the slimy bastard. Freedom is when I am in Magnus’s arms. I feel more like maself when I am with him than I ever have in the seven years I’ve been here or the months that passed between gatherings and hunts. A marriage to anyone other than Magnus would be nothing else but bondage. A prison of ma person and ma mind, and nae least of all ma heart.

  Deirdre felt the tears forming behind her eyes. She had cried enough over the years, and she resolved to not shed any more tears now she and Magnus were reunited. The only tears she would consider were ones of joy. She moved back to the shelves and returned the book that now made her feel like a stone rested between her breasts. She scanned the shelves again and nearly laughed at the next tomes her eyes alighted on. It was as though irony were flaunting itself at her. Trotula’s Book on the Conditions of Women was sandwiched between the Italian author’s other two books On Treatments of Women and On Women’s Cosmetics. She was already familiar with the books that purported to understand and explain female physiology. Deirdre stumbled upon them when she arrived at court and curious about the explanations of the female body after her new found desires and pleasures Magnus taught her before they separated. Her naivety led her to think they would not be apart long and that any extra knowledge of her own body would increase their pleasure when they reunited. The memory of her last gathering spent with Magnus filled her heart, but her mind quickly shut those memories out with the breathtaking pain of remembering her parents ripping her from Magnus’s arms just moments after they announced their handfast. She forced them aside and returned to the memories of Magnus becoming her husband.

  ~~~

  “Sshh, come on, Deirdre.” Magnus led Deirdre into the cave that stood at the edge of the shore where it met a rocky outcropping. This year’s Highland Gathering was being held at the MacLeods on the Isle of Skye. The cold water from Hebrides swirled and crashed below the entrance to the cave. Magnus helped Deirdre scale the few feet of rocks needed to make their way into the secluded spot.

  Magnus and Deirdre slipped away from the camp an hour after most of the women and children settled for the night. Dozens of men still gathered around fires sharing ale and whisky. Their noisy songs and banter carried on the wind. The young couple tiptoed their way to a cave Magnus spotted earlier in the day during the foot race. He and the other older lads charged past as they scaled the hills and trails that laced around the Isle of Skye. As his eyes began to adjust, Magnus pulled a candle that was barely more than a nub from his sporran and struck flint against the rock wall to light it.
He held up the meager light and scanned the cave as far back as he could see.

  “Wait here, a wee moment, Deir,” Magnus stepped further into the cave and looked for any signs that it might be an animal’s home. When he spotted nothing, he walked back to Deirdre. “I will gather some wood to build ye a fire. Dinna leave here, Deir. I dinna ken who or what might be near.”

  Magnus gave her a quick peck on the cheek before dashing out. He was not gone long, and Deirdre had already spread the plaid on the ground she smuggled out wrapped under her arisaid. The double layer of plaid had made her warm while they ran from her family’s tent, but she appreciated having it now. She sat on it and was thankful for the buffer between her backside and the cold earthen floor. Magnus built a fire well back from the entrance. He thanked God and all the saints for a curve in the cave that allowed him to build a fire large enough to keep them warm without being seen from the outside. He brushed his hands off and looked back at Deirdre who had pulled the blanket closer. He sat beside her, and she immediately leaned into his side.

  “I’ve missed ye, Magnus. The last six months have been the hardest yet. Ma parents have asked more questions aboot ma missives to ye. I think ma mother has even read them.”

  “I kenned as much before ye explained in Aramaic, which was a brilliant tactic.”

  “Aye, but that’s what must have tipped them off that our letters are usually more than academic. I dinna ken which one she read first, but it must have been one of the more mundane ones because she didna confront me aboot it. When she saw the Aramaic warning ye nae to write aught personal, it must have made her suspicious. It’s been miserable nae being able to share more than pleasantries with ye. Ma sisters are married now, and I only see them at these gatherings. They didna come to the last hunt as ye ken. Now that ma brother is older, he spends most of his time in the lists. I dinna have their company any more, and there is nae one to distract mother from me, so now she is watching me like a hawk.”

  Magnus heard the hitches in her voice and lifted her into his lap.

  “Wheest, eun beag. We are here now.” Deirdre melted into him at the use of his pet name for her.

  “Mo fhuamhaire, I dinna want to be apart any longer. I dinna want to wait anymore.”

  Magnus paused as his cock twitched and his heart stuttered.

  “Just what are ye saying, Deirdre?” She heard the seriousness in his voice and did not miss the use of her full name, something he almost never used anymore.

  “I’m saying I dinna want aught but to be yer wife. Now. Nay some year in the future.”

  “Ye ken I havenae asked yer father yet.” Magnus looked down at her and held his breath as his heart started to race.

  “I dinna care.”

  “Are ye saying ye’ll handfast with me right now? That ye are willing to become ma wife in truth? Here?”

  “That is exactly what I am saying, Magnus. We talked aboot handfasting before our letters were being intercepted. I’m six and ten now. I am more than old enough to wed, and I refuse to consider anyone else.”

  “Ye would exchange vows with me and consummate our marriage now?”

  “Magnus,” she sighed in irritation, “are ye nae understanding me? I want to say our pledge, handfast, and then spend the rest of the night making love to ye.”

  Magnus could only nod as he took in her brazen statement, then he launched himself at her. He rolled her onto her back as he laid her onto the plaid. His mouth fell to hers as he licked the seam of her lips. She opened to him without reserve, and he sank his tongue in her warm, velvety depth just as he had over and over in the past, but this time, knowing she would be his wife before they left the cave, made it seem so much more significant. It felt spiritual as their souls blended together in that kiss. Her hands came into his hair as her tongue dueled with his, and when she latched onto the tip, she sucked it into his mouth. The rhythmic motion had him thrusting his hips against her mound. She raised her hips in a matching give and take of passion. One hand slid from his head to the groove on his hip that she loved. She dug her fingers into the taut flesh of his backside. His growl elicited a moan from her.

  Magnus sat back on his haunches, pulling Deirdre up with him, refusing to break their kiss as he fumbled with her laces. In turn, she felt around for the brooch on his shoulder. She unpinned it and pulled back long enough to find the flap of his sporran and dropped it in. Once again pressing their lips together, she pulled the extra length of his breacan feile from his shoulder and unfastened the belt that held the exceptionally long length of plaid in place. Magnus raised up on his knees, so she could pull it loose. He pushed her gown down her arms and over her hips. They broke apart long enough for Magnus to rip his leine over his head, and Deirdre yanked her chemise over hers. They sat as he pulled off his boots and she her slippers, then they scrambled to take off their stockings.

  Their bodies came back together with such force that Magnus wrapped his arms around Deirdre to keep from knocking her over. It was the first time they had ever been completely bare in front of each other. Their hands explored one another finding crests and valleys unknown to each other, previously hidden by clothing. When they finally had to catch their breath, they sat back on their haunches. Holding one another’s hands, they sat silently looking into one another’s eyes. Deirdre saw the amber in Magnus’s eyes sparkle with the nearby flames’ reflection. He sank into the depths of her hazel eyes as the blues and greens shone like the sun on the waves that broke just below the window of his chamber back home.

  “Ye sure of this, Deirdre?”

  “Ye keep asking me that. Aye, I’m sure, Magnus.” She raised his hands and put his palms over her heart. “Ye have always given me choices and respected ma decisions. This is ma choice, and I’ve decided that I want to be yer wife now rather than wait any longer.”

  Magnus felt the steady beat of her heart as his raced. The regular rhythm calmed him, and he brought her hands to his chest before returning his hands to her.

  “Deirdre Fraser, I love ye now and forever,” Magnus began.

  “Magnus Sinclair, I love ye now and forever,” Deirdre answered.

  “We swear by peace and love to stand,” Magnus recited the ancient poem’s beginning.

  “Heart to heart and hand to hand” Deirdre followed.

  “Mark, o’ Spirit, and hear us now, confirming this our Sacred vow. To thee, I pledge ma troth.” They swore together.

  They leaned into one another and exchanged the most tender kiss they had ever shared. It was slow and lingering as they each poured forth all they wanted to share but did not have the words to say. A lifelong commitment was made not only in those words but in this kiss.

  “Deirdre Sinclair,” Magnus whispered.

  “I rather like the sound of that, husband,” Deirdre smiled softly.

  “Wife,” Magnus lowered them to the blanket again, and they lay on their sides looking at one another.

  Slowly their hands began to trace one another’s bodies as their fingers followed the shadows cast by the firelight. Hair had begun to grow on Magnus’s chest since the last time Deirdre saw him, and she explored its feel against her fingertips. Magnus caressed her hipbones that were not quite as prominent as they had been. He had always been drawn to her body, but the softness that the past year brought to her body aroused him further.

  “Do ye understand what we are aboot to do? What happens with our bodies?”

  “Aye, I may never have done it, but I have heard enough of the maids talk to ken what happens.”

  “Ye ken it may hurt at first, and I wish I could prevent that from happening, but the pain will ease, and the pleasure will come.”

  “Magnus, ye dinna need to convince me. I ken ye wouldnae hurt me on purpose.”

  Magnus’s hands roamed over her body as she rolled onto her back. She opened her arms to him, and he moved to prop himself up above her. Magnus watched as her pupils dilated and her fingertips brushed over his shoulders as they flexed and rippled from
supporting his weight.

  “Ye are so braw. I havenae ever seen a mon more handsome and strong than ye. I canna believe I can touch ye and feel ye.”

  “Everyday for the rest of our lives, mo chridhe. Everyday,” Magnus smiled, and Deirdre swore her heart skipped a beat.

  She felt his fingers rub along the folds of her damp flesh, and then his fingers slid into her. She arched her back as her head tilted. Magnus kissed along her throat. Her fingers gripped his upper arms as his fingers danced inside her. She craved the sensations of him stroking her core as his thumb worked the sensitive bud that emerged from the hood at the apex of her legs. She moaned as she felt herself moving towards climax. Deirdre reached between them and grasped Magnus’s cock and worked her hand up and down his length. He gently clasped her wrist.

  “If ye keep that up, this will end before it starts. It feels too good, and I am too eager.”

  “Eager?”

  “Aye. I have dreamed aboot this endlessly for nearly three summers.”

  “I have, too. I’ve been growing more curious the more we share. But then we are apart for so long, I wondered if ye were as frustrated as I am.”

  “I have been, but do ye ken how I told yer that a mon can keep himself warm?”

  Deirdre nodded.

  “What ye’re doing with yer hand is what I do to maself when I’m thinking aboot ye.”

  Deirdre glanced down at Magnus’s sword in her hand and guided it towards her sheath as she opened her bent legs. Magnus settled between them and kept working her delicate flesh. As she felt the tide of pleasure building within, she arched her hips up to him. She positioned the tip of his rod at her opening. He worked his fingers faster and harder until the wave of release washed over her, and her body went rigid. As she began to relax, Magnus surged forward finally breaking her maidenhead and claiming her as his wife.

  She winced at the pinch deep within, but her satisfying release was enough to dull the pain of his penetration.