His Highland Pledge (The Clan Sinclair Book 4)

by Celeste Barclay

  “Aye. Ye were wise to wear it below ye gown.” Magnus bit his lip before continuing with his morbid assessment. “If highwaymen attack, they are more likely to search ma sporran and saddlebags than to think ye might have something hidden.”

  What Magnus did not add was if a man attacked Deirdre, the folds of her kirtle would keep it hidden just as he had not noticed either night when they made love. The only way it would get to that was if he was dead. Then she would have to make her own way. If she survived too.

  Magnus pulled her in for a tight embrace. The thought of any harm coming to Deirdre gave him the overwhelming need to touch her, to hold her, and reassure himself that she was safe with him.

  Deirdre did not know how to respond to Magnus’s sudden silent embrace, but she knew some thought was plaguing him. She returned his hug and squeezed before tilting her head back in invitation. He barely caressed her lips before she reached for his head and pulled him closer. She initiated the kiss, and he let her control it. It did not take long before it grew in intensity.

  “I need ye, Deir.”

  “Aye,” she moaned.

  “We canna linger long. This will be quick and hard.”

  Deirdre looked around and turned to an outcropping of rocks a few steps away. She moved to them and leaned forward. Magnus was there in an instant, understanding her unspoken invitation.

  “Like in the cave,” Deirdre whispered as she looked over her shoulder and bunched her skirts around her waist. Magnus was instantly reminded of how the made love once during their only night together after their handfast.

  Magnus thought he would spill his seed right there and then at the view she presented. He could see the dew between her thighs glistening in the sunlight. He intended to thrust into her, so they could finish quickly. However, the temptation to taste her was too great. He kneeled behind her and slid his finger between her folds before tapping her apex. He entered her with one finger and stroked the smooth skin of her sheath. She parted her legs wider and pressed her hips back. He drew his finger out and looked up to see her watching him. He licked it before popping it into his mouth.

  “More intoxicating than the strongest whisky,” he murmured before pressing two then three fingers into her. Her moisture helped his fingers glide in and out as he thrust them harder. He leaned forward for his first taste and groaned as he took in an aroma that was uniquely hers, fruit mixed with musk. He felt it go to his head as his tongue brushed against her. He lapped along her sensitive skin before sucking the hidden nub.

  Deirdre writhed against the rock feeling pressure growing within her as Magnus laved her core and teased her.

  “Now, Magnus. I canna wait. I ache.” Her desire burned through her flesh and made her whimper.

  Magnus rose to his feet and threw the length of his breacan feile over his shoulder. He grabbed her hips roughly, lining himself up with her entrance. The tip of his cock brushed up and down as he coated himself with her essence.

  “Please,” she begged, and he surged forward as he leaned his body over hers. He reached for her outstretched hands and entwined their fingers.

  They rocked their hips in tandem as their need grew. He brought one hand down to her mound and rubbed where she most needed the contact. She came apart in his arms as she moaned, and he growled in her ear.

  “Yers. Always yers.”

  He thrust once more before he felt his own pleasure surge. His hips kept pressing forward as he drained the last of him into her. Magnus once again entwined both of their hands, and they stayed joined until Sealgair nickered. Magnus was alert, but they both laughed when a bunny hopped out from under a bush, took one look at the horse’s massive hooves and darted away.

  They settled their clothes, refilled their own waterskins, and remounted. It relieved Deirdre to discover Magnus traveled well prepared with a couple of waterskins in his saddlebag along with the dried beef and extra plaid.

  They did not ride for much more than an hour before Magnus pulled his horse to a stop. Deirdre swept her eyes across the landscape but saw little more than a hill nearby. She looked questioningly at Magnus. He dismounted and led his horse around to the other side of the hill where Deirdre saw a large gathering of stones that reached at least thirty feet into the sky.

  “It’ll be a tight fit with Sealgair, but he will keep us warm while we sleep. It will be much cooler in the shade there.”

  Deirdre’s brow furrowed until she saw the gap between the rocks that was just barely wide enough to let the warhorse through.

  “How do ye even ken this is here?”

  “We played hide and seek near here once on the way to court when ma brothers and sister and I were barely more than weans. Mairghread snuck into here and we couldnae find her. Ma brothers and I searched everywhere that we could. We looked in the trees and behind trunks. Da was speaking with his guardsmen, and Mama was helping prepare our evening meal. The sun was close to setting, and we panicked when we couldnae find her. Alex made us look up and down the stream, in case she’d fallen in. As ye saw, it wasnae vera deep, but she couldnae have been more than five summers at the time. We were so frightened at this point that Callum insisted we tell our parents. It was Tavish who was brave enough to go to our mama. We were all in tears by the time Tavish was done telling both Da, who had walked over when he saw us all shifting and looking around, and Mama. Da was ready to skin us alive until Mama put her hand on his arm. He went silent, and Mama calmly walked over to this outcropping and said, ‘Mair, enough terrorizing yer brothers. Ye must come out now.’”

  Magnus shook his head and smiled fondly at the memory.

  “She hid there the entire time despite hearing us call to her. We even passed right by but didna notice the opening. She climbed out and walked over to us. There wasnae even a hint of remorse on her face. She pulled Alex’s arm until he picked her up. All she said was, ‘I won.’” Magnus chuckled, “It was at that point we realized she was the most patient of us all and the best strategist to boot.”

  They were within what Deirdre now realized were standing stones. There were etchings on them from generations long past. She ran her fingers over them and tilted her head back, intrigued by how high the drawings reached. Magnus unsaddled his horse and placed it between the animal’s legs. It was not ideal, but it was the only place for it.

  “I will let him out to graze in a little while, but for now, we should try to sleep.”

  Magnus was right that the temperature was much cooler among the boulders. They huddled together with the extra plaid wrapped around them both. It did not take long for sleepiness to get the better of Deirdre as she rested her head against Magnus’s chest. The steady beat below her ear lulled her. It took Magnus a while longer to relax enough to let slumber overtake him, and while he woke several times on the alert for any sounds or changes in their environment, he slept long enough to wake in the evening refreshed.

  The sun was already dropping when Magnus nudged Deirdre awake. She rubbed her eyes and looked around as she regained her bearing.

  “Do we ride now?”

  “Soon. I must let Sealgair graze for a while, then we go.”

  Deirdre nodded and walked a short distance away to have some privacy. When she finished, she walked a little further to the stream. Kneeling, she splashed water onto her neck before scrubbing her face. She was rising when she heard voices carrying on the wind. Freezing, she strained to hear.

  “—moving this way. They must be a day ahead of us. That heathen was smart to head east first. We will have to push hard since we are the smaller search party even though I am sure we are on the right path.”

  Deirdre knew in an instant that they referred to Magnus. She backed away until she could no longer hear the voices and was confident they would not hear her steps.

  “Magnus,” she whispered urgently as she approached.

  When he looked up, she pointed behind her and mouthed ‘men.’ He nodded and reached out his hand. The horse was already saddled, so Magnus
lifted her onto Sealgair and mounted behind her. He walked his steed in a wide arc to avoid being seen. They both were silent for the first half an hour.

  Confident they were far enough past the search party to risk a whisper, Magnus asked, “what did you see.”

  Deirdre shook her head.

  “I didna see aught, but I heard them. They said it was smart of the heathen,” she grunted in indignation, “to travel east first. They think they are a day behind us and must keep pressing on because they are the smallest of the search parties. I did not wait around to hear anything else.”

  Magnus nodded but said no more. He tightened his hold on her middle and pulled her back to his chest. He rounded his shoulders, and Deirdre relaxed into the shelter he made for her.

  “We must ride straight to Inveraray. We dinna have the luxury of stopping to sleep during the day if they are that close. We will only rest when Sealgair absolutely must. He’s stout but has the endurance of a much leaner horse. I dinna want to push him to the point he goes lame, but we will have to keep moving.”

  For the next two and a half days, Magnus kept them away from any roads, paths, or trails where they risked encountering other travelers or worse, the search party. During one of the brief stops, Magnus spotted a large fir tree that had massive branches towards its base. There were vines climbing up an oak next to the conifer. Magnus instructed Deirdre to cut the vine from as high as she could reach while he sawed a branch free at his own tree. He was about to pull the branch over to his horse when he looked around and did not spot Deirdre. He panicked.

  Where did she go? She was beside me only moments ago. I ducked to get to the trunk, but surely, she wouldnae wander off. I would have heard anyone approach.

  He opened his mouth to call to her when a large chunk of vine landed on his head and shoulders. A soft giggle met his ears as he rubbed his shoulder.

  “Ye didna realize I was up here?”

  Magnus heard rustling before he spotted two small booted feet working their way down the trunk.

  “The vines made it even easier to climb, and I wasna sure how much ye needed. I figured better too much and nae need it than need it and nae have enough.” She shrugged.

  Looking first at the long coil of thick, sturdy vine at his feet and then the woman he had climbed so many trees within their youth, he could not help but match her grin.

  “Come on then and bring yer prize with ye.”

  They each dragged their load behind them. Deirdre watched as Magnus wrapped the vine through the needles of his branch and then along the actual branch. He pulled the extra length at each end and brought it to the back of his horse’s saddle. He tied it to the rear rigging rings. Testing the knot by tugging hard enough on each side to make his steed take a step back, Magnus was satisfied that his makeshift brush would not easily come loose.

  “This will have to do. Hopefully, it doesnae fall apart too soon at a gallop.”

  Magnus’s ingenuity impressed Deidre. He assembled a large broom to sweep their trail clear. She waggled her finger for him to bend closer and gave him a peck on the cheek.

  “Mo ghaisgeach.” My hero.

  Mangus’s chest swelled, and he helped up.

  They rode like that well into the evening and arrived at Ardchatton as the monks finished compline. Magnus lifted the brass knocker and was just about to let it drop when the wooden slat slid open. A pair of suspicious eyes stared back at him.

  “You’re too late,” a refined voice stated. “We’ve locked the gate. Come back in the morn.”

  “I am Magnus Sinclair. I would see the abbot, please.”

  “You’re too late. We’ve locked the gate. Come back in the morn,” the voice repeated.

  “I amnae alone. I travel with ma wife. Ye ken there isnae anywhere close by to make a proper camp for her.”

  “Is she increasing?”

  Magnus’s head jerked back. He had not thought of that possibility since the first couple of days at the castle.

  “Possibly.”

  “Come back in the morn. She isnae that in need.”

  Magnus’s temper flared, and he opened his mouth to insist when a small hand rested on his forearm. He looked down to see Deirdre slipping between him and the gate.

  “Father, we seek sanctuary within your walls. We have had to escape an attack, and we have nowhere else to go. We beg the mercy of the church. I’m sure your abbot would not want us to remain in danger.”

  Magnus bit his tongue to contain his surprise, and pride when he heard the return of her cultured tones and the tact she used.

  The eyes darted between Magnus and Deirdre, and then a put-upon sigh came through before they heard the key turn. The gate swung open, and it allowed them admittance.

  “This way,” the aggrieved priest motioned.

  He was much younger than either Mangus or Deirdre expected. His tonsure reflected the moonlight as he led them past several groups of monks who silently made their way to the dormitory. Magnus wrapped his arm around Deirdre, but she shook her head once. She linked her arm through his as though they were back at court. Magnus looked straight ahead but nodded.

  “Wait here.” The monk barked before knocking on a wide wooden door that held a large metal cross in the center.

  “Enter,” was all that was said before the monk slipped in. He did not open the door wide enough for them to see the chamber beyond.

  It was not long before the door opened again, and the young monk walked past them.

  “Thank you, Brother Adam,” an older, warmer voice spoke.

  A sun-worn face with bright blue eyes and rosy cheeks greeted the couple as they stepped forward. Deirdre felt a sense of peace as the priest greeted them.

  Mayhap this will all work out after all. If we can just be wed, then there is naught that Father or Archibald can do.

  “I understand you and your wife are in need of sanctuary this night. Before I offer you the protection of this abbey, I would know with whom I speak.”

  “I am Magnus Sinclair, and this is ma wife, Deirdre.”

  The abbot looked at both, assessing their travel-worn clothes, dirty hands, and tired faces.

  “You look as though you have been through quite a travail. Why do you seek the church’s protection?”

  Magnus looked behind him but could see no one. That did not mean there were not ears in the walls.

  “Might we speak in private, Father?” Magnus looked back again. Unease was creeping up his spine. He did not feel like the three of them were alone. He sensed a presence and wondered where Brother Adam disappeared to.

  “As you wish, my children.” The older man ushered them, seating himself before his desk. There were no other chairs in the chamber, so Magnus and Deirdre were left to stand. “Once again, what brings you here as night approaches?”

  “It is a bit of a tale to tell, and I confess to not being entirely honest with yer monk. We werenae exactly attacked, but we are seeking shelter to avoid that. I am Magnus Sinclair, and this is Deirdre Sinclair, née Fraser. We seek yer aid nae only for shelter, but we would have ye marry us.”

  “Just a moment,” the priest held up his hand. “You just introduced this woman as your wife and now you ask me to marry you. It cannot be both.”

  “But it is, Father. Deirdre and I handfasted and consummated our union seven years ago. We were both young, and her father refused to acknowledge the marriage. Since then, we have been separated, but recently found one another. We have exchanged handfast vows again, and Deirdre has stated her consent three times. More than thrice. We have lived as a married couple ever since. We ask for the church’s blessing and an official record of our marriage.”

  Magnus held his breath as he awaited the abbot’s decision. He felt Deirdre tremble beside him. He straightened his arm and slipped her hand into his. Their familiarity did not go unnoticed by the priest.

  “I am afraid it is not that simple. Does the lass’s father still disagree to the match? If you do not have his conse
nt, which it would appear you do not, then I cannot marry you. You’re not married to anyone else are you, my lady?” This last question he directed at Deirdre.

  Neither Magnus nor Deirdre missed the use of her honorific. Deirdre squeezed Magnus’s hand. They knew he was now fishing. She shook her head.

  “Seven years is an awfully long time to be apart. Lord Sinclair, are you married to anyone else, betrothed even?”

  “Neither of us has ever wed anyone other than each other.”

  The abbot looked at them shrewdly and scratched his chin.

  “As far as I am aware, the Sinclairs do not regularly have business this far south unless it is at court, and last I heard, the Frasers were members of the royal court. How do you come to be here?”

  “A betrothal to another man was being negotiated by ma wife’s father. While her father may not recognize our vows, our second handfast and our marriage by consent do still stand. We were not willing to risk Deirdre’s eternal soul with the sin of bigamy. Father, she is well past the age of majority. The law does not require her father’s consent.”

  Deirdre bit her tongue to keep from making any visible reaction. Magnus was not wrong, but she had not expected him to use this approach.

  “The man she was set to marry has mistreated her and threatened her more than once. I fear for her safety, and I am unwilling to repudiate her.”

  “Is that so? I would hear the young lady tell me of these events.” He looked at Deirdre, and while he appeared to have a kind face, she started wondering if avarice was at work. While the two men spoke, she observed the riches present in the abbot’s solar. There were several gold crosses hung from the wall or standing on shelves. There was a sideboard with a silver goblet and plate. There was meat on the plate which the abbot must have been eating when they disturbed him.

  Meat? This mon doesnae live like an abbot is supposed to. I pray we havenae made a mistake in coming here.

  “Your Grace, my father intended to sell me to Lord Archibald Hay in return for the stewardship of a small parcel of land adjacent to ours on the coast of the North Sea. It would give the Frasers more land for farming and fishing, allow both the Frasers and Hay to control the area against the Keiths, and offer my parents more influence at court. Lord Archibald would receive my sizable dowry and a wife of childbearing age favored by the king and queen.”