The Highlander's Promise

by Lynsay Sands

  "Jetta is fine," Jetta said gently.

  "Truly?" Mavis asked. "'Cause I'll keep trying to remember to call ye Sorcha, do ye wish it."

  "Nay. Truly, Jetta is what I would prefer to be called," she assured her, and then smiled crookedly and pointed out, "I do not even know who Sorcha is. I do not remember being her. I am Jetta now."

  "Aye, well, if ye get ye're memories back, change yer mind and would prefer Sorcha, ye just let me ken," Mavis said, and then glanced to Aulay. "Put the lass down and cover yerself up. Ye've a room full o' people wanting to talk to ye. Besides, the maids'll be up here soon with food and water and do no' need to get another eyeful."

  Nodding, Aulay turned toward the bed, and started to bend forward, intending to set Jetta down, but Mavis immediately squawked, "Nay! No' on the bed, Aulay! What are ye thinkin'? Ye're both filthy. I'd ha'e to ha'e the maids change the linens again and just had that done this morn. Set her in one o' the chairs by the fire."

  Heaving a sigh, Aulay straightened and carried Jetta to the chair closest to the fire. He set her in it and then straightened, and they both saw that Mavis had grabbed a plaid and brought it over. The moment Aulay was upright, she wrapped it around his waist and quickly pinned it at his hip, muttering, "Reminds me o' when I used to change yer nappies."

  Finished with covering him from the waist down, she shifted her attention to his shirt and frowned her displeasure. Reaching up, she began tugging on it, asking, "What the devil ha'e ye done to yer shirt? Why is it all caught up behind yer head? Who taught ye to dress yerself?"

  "You did," Aulay said with amusement. Unfazed by her fussing, he reached up to pull the front of his shirt back over his head and let it drop down into place. Raising an eyebrow then, he asked, "Better?"

  "It'll do," she said dryly and then turned to survey the group milling just inside the door. "Well, get over here and talk to him then. But once the bath is ready I want ye all out o' here so I can see these two cleaned up. They're filthy and smell bad. I do no' ken how they can stand it."

  Eyes widening, Jetta raised her arm to sniff it and then grimaced. She smelled like smoked pork, a food her father loved above all others. The thought made her still briefly, and she almost told Aulay that she'd remembered that her uncle liked smoked pork, but then decided against it. That wasn't a very useful memory.

  Sighing, she glanced up and managed a smile as her new family moved over to join them by the fire.

  Greer was the first to speak, expression solemn he suggested, "Ye'll ha'e to arrange the guard ye mentioned ye wanted on Jetta now. I ken ye planned to wait until tomorrow morn because ye'd be with her, but--"

  "Aye," Aulay interrupted. "As soon as the men finish up at the stables."

  "Do ye ken who ye want?" Dougall asked with concern.

  "I was thinking I'd have Cullen pick three other men he trusts and ha'e the four men guard her."

  "Aye, Cullen's a good man," Dougall murmured.

  "What about you?" Jetta asked as the men fell silent, and they all turned to look at her with uncertainty. Scowling at Aulay, she pointed out, "You were in the stables too. You should have a guard also."

  Aulay shook his head. "Nay. I was no' the target. I just happened to be there."

  "How can you be sure?" she asked at once. "First Katie was shot with the arrow, then I was pushed down the stairs, and now both you and I were locked in burning stables. It seems to me there is no real target. Someone is just rushing about trying to kill people."

  Aulay smiled at her with approval. "Ye noticed that, did ye? That the stable doors were blocked?"

  "The doors were open when you carried me in and you did not go back and close them, 'tis why I was so reticent at first. I wanted you to at least close the doors, and was going to ask you to, but then you distracted me," she admitted, and knew from the heat in her cheeks that she was blushing brightly. Rushing on, she said, "I know the doors were open when we fell asleep after . . . er . . ." Her face was positively on fire now. Unable to verbalize what they'd been doing, she skipped to, "Yet they were closed when I woke up to see the stables were on fire. That bothered me, so I looked back on the way to the keep and saw that not only were they shut, but pieces of wood had been jammed against them to keep them closed."

  "The doors were jammed?" Dougall asked with surprise. "How did ye get out then?"

  "Aulay hacked an opening in the back wall of the stables," Jetta told him proudly.

  "It was only big enough fer Jetta to get out when I stopped to try to get her to leave, but the men arrived from the castle and started helping from the other side," Aulay said with a shrug. "They must ha'e approached just ere I stopped to fetch Jetta and try to get her to leave and heard me hacking away. That or something else made them look around back and see the hole I'd started."

  "Ye were lucky," Dougall said, and then shook his head. "Sorry we did no' get to ye sooner, Aulay. We were at the high table waitin' on ye and Jetta to arrive, and joking about what might be delaying ye. By the time we realized something was amiss, half the men were already out the doors and the others were fighting to follow and blocking our way."

  Jetta could almost visualize what Dougall said. Mealtime in a great hall was always a noisy affair with lots of movement. There were people constantly coming and going, and everyone was shouting along the tables to others. With the high table so far from the doors, the people at it were often the last to learn what was happening if someone ran in from the bailey with news.

  "Here we are," Mavis said briskly as two men carted a tub through the door. They were followed by several maids all carrying pails of water. Jetta was vaguely surprised that the job had been left to the women, but then realized that the men were all presently busy. She supposed it was lucky that two had been found to carry the tub.

  Jetta watched with silent amusement as Mavis hustled the others out of the room. The woman was as firm with them as if they were still children in her charge and they responded as such. Even Greer, Cam, Edith and Murine obediently left the room under her chivvying, and they had not been in her charge as children. But then, Jetta realized, she reacted the same way to the woman. Her motherly nature and take-charge attitude just made you instinctively want to please her and obey.

  "Now." Mavis turned to survey them and then settled her gaze on Aulay and raised her eyebrows. "Did ye plan to share the bath, or shall I attend Jetta and then ye can--"

  "We'll share," Aulay said at once with a grin, and the blush that had just left Jetta's face immediately warmed her cheeks again.

  "Then I'll go see what's taking that tray from Cook so long," Mavis announced, reaching for the door. But then she paused and pursed her lips before saying, "I gather from what our Jetta said . . . and did no' say . . . that ye consummated the wedding in the stables?"

  Groaning, Jetta lowered her head with embarrassment.

  "I'll no' harangue ye, Aulay, fer doing it in the stable, o' all places," Mavis went on. "For if 'twas good enough fer Mary to birth Jesus, then I suppose 'tis good enough fer what ye got up to. But, Lord love us, lad, could ye no' ha'e at least taken a linen with ye so we'd ha'e something to show on the morrow?" she asked with exasperation.

  Jetta glanced up with alarm as she realized there would be no bloody sheet as proof of her innocence when the priest came to collect it in the morning.

  Sighing, Mavis shook her head. "I'll see if I can find ye some blood somewhere. I dare no' ask Cook. He'd suspect what it was for. I suppose I'll ha'e to kill a chicken or something to get it without anyone else kenning."

  "There's no need, Mavis," Aulay interrupted gently. "I'll tend it."

  Eyebrows rising, she asked, "Are ye sure?"

  "Aye," he said and there was no mistaking the relief on the woman's face as she turned to open the door. It seemed she hadn't been looking forward to killing a chicken.

  Jetta watched the door close and then smiled at Aulay as he walked toward her. "Mavis is . . ." Jetta hesitated and then picked the only word she could t
hink of. "Special."

  "Aye," Aulay agreed solemnly, reaching for her stays and beginning to undo them. "Our mother was wonderful, but with nine children and a castle to tend, she was always busy. Mavis stepped in and made sure we had what we needed and that none o' us felt left out when Mother was busy with the others."

  "She was like a second mother to you all," Jetta said as he pulled her arms free of the undone gown.

  "Aye, and when Mother died, she took over and still mothers us to this day," he said, letting her dress and the shift she wore under it drop to the floor. Scooping her up, Aulay carried her to the tub and bent to set her in it, and then quickly undressed himself and urged her forward in the tub so he could get in behind her.

  "How do ye feel?" he asked, catching her by the waist and pulling her back to sit between his legs as he stretched them out.

  "Fine. My throat hardly hurts at all anymore," she assured him and heard him chuckle.

  Sliding his arms around her waist, he pulled her hair aside and pressed a kiss to her neck, and then murmured, "Ashamed as I am to admit it, I was no' thinking o' the aftereffects o' inhaling all that smoke when I asked how ye feel."

  "Nay?" she asked with surprise. "What were you--oh," she breathed when he let one hand drift down between her legs.

  "I was wondering if ye're feeling tender," he whispered by her ear as he began to caress.

  "A little," she whispered honestly, and his hand paused at once. Leaning into him, she reached back between them and tentatively closed her hand around his erection, and then turned and tilted her head to look at him as she added, "But only a little. Please do not stop, husband. I like what you do to me."

  "Oh, wife," Aulay breathed, closing his eyes as she touched him. "I like what ye do to me too."

  The words had barely left his mouth when he opened his eyes, bent his head and claimed her lips as he began to caress her again.

  "Wife? Are ye awake?"

  Jetta opened her eyes sleepily and peered at Aulay with confusion. "What?"

  "Are ye awake?" he repeated with a smile, and then bent his head to catch her nipple lightly between his teeth and flick the tip with his tongue.

  "I am now," Jetta moaned, her back arching and body stretching as it came to excited life. This was the second morning after their wedding. Or was it the third? She pondered the question briefly and then let it go. She simply didn't care. It didn't really matter. Nothing did but what Aulay was doing to her. They had not left their room since returning here after the fire. Everyone had come to the room the morning after to take away the blood-stained linen that was supposed to be proof of her innocence, but was actually blood from a cut on Aulay's hand. She'd been horrified when he'd done that to create the necessary stain, but he'd assured her that their time in the barn had been worth it. But other than that, they hadn't seen anyone, or gone anywhere. At least, she hadn't. Jetta suspected Aulay had slipped away to deal with matters a time or two while she slept. But she had remained in the room since their wedding night. Every time she woke it was to Aulay's kisses or caresses and they were soon consummating their marriage again. Not always in the bed. They had pretty much consummated it everywhere in the room--in the bed, on the floor, on the tabletop, in a chair, on a chest, against the wall . . .

  Jetta had never realized the marriage could be consummated in so many different positions. It was a revelation to her. As was her response to him. It was almost automatic now. Aulay kissed, touched or caressed her and she was immediately aroused, her body humming and an ache starting between her thighs that demanded attention and release. Like now, she thought, and reached down to find the hardness that could give her that release.

  Catching her hand to stop her, Aulay paused in suckling at her nipple and raised his head to claim her lips. Jetta kissed him back enthusiastically, and immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and then gasped in surprise when he suddenly sat up, taking her with him. Wrapping his own arms around her, Aulay then stood, bringing her along so that she hung in his arms, her feet dangling above the floor briefly before he bent slightly to set her down on her own two feet.

  When he then broke their kiss and released her, Jetta opened her eyes with surprise to see him walking away from her. Frowning, she watched him open one of the chests along the wall and retrieve the top gown. Letting the chest lid drop, he walked back to offer it to her.

  "Get dressed," he urged when she didn't immediately take the gown. "I want to take ye somewhere special to break our fast."

  Eyes widening, Jetta accepted the gown and quickly pulled it on. Aulay helped her with the fastenings, and then fetched her brush and drew it quickly through her hair. He tried to be gentle, she knew he did, but after what she was guessing might be as many as three days without bathing or brushing and with a lot of rolling around on different surfaces, her hair was a terrible mess.

  "I need a bath," she muttered, wincing as the brush got caught in the tangled mess of her hair.

  "Ye'll ha'e one when we get there," Aulay promised her, and then cursed as the brush got stuck again. Giving up, he took her hand and led her to the door, assuring her, "We'll fix yer hair while we're there too."

  "Where?" Jetta asked curiously.

  "Ye'll see. 'Tis a surprise," he said pulling the bedchamber door open and urging her out into the hall.

  Jetta raised her eyebrows at that, and then gazed around with surprise at the four men waiting in the hall. Two had been standing against the wall opposite their bedchamber door, while two had taken up a position on either side of it. They now all moved forward, almost circling them. One carried a basket, she noted curiously, and then two started up the hall, and two fell into step behind her and Aulay as he took her arm to escort her away from the room.

  Jetta walked silently, sneaking glances at their guards. She'd forgotten all about Aulay's intention to arrange guards for her. But then this was her first time dealing with them. She wasn't sure she liked it. It made her self-conscious to have all these men around, and then they started down the stairs and she saw the Great Hall floor full of sleeping people.

  "What time is it?" she asked Aulay in a whisper.

  "Early," he whispered back, not very helpfully in her opinion. But Jetta didn't want to wake anyone, so didn't ask further, and concentrated on moving as quietly as she could as they reached the bottom of the stairs and she followed Aulay to the keep doors. The people sleeping in the hall had left a pathway to the doors, but it wasn't very wide, only allowing people to walk single file. With two soldiers in front and two behind, Jetta crept along behind Aulay, trying not to look at or step on anyone along the way. She breathed out a sigh of relief when they reached the keep doors, but peered about with surprise when they stepped out into the bailey.

  Aulay's "early" had been a bit of an understatement. The sun wasn't even up yet. It was just peeking up over the horizon and it was still quite dark out as they made their way to the paddock where the horses were being kept. Still, Jetta could see that whatever had remained of the old stables after the fire had destroyed it had been torn down, and a new building was going up in its place.

  "It should be done by week's end," Aulay said quietly, noting where her gaze was focused.

  Jetta nodded but didn't comment, and they had soon reached the paddock. Aulay had definitely been up and about before waking her, Jetta decided when she saw that five saddled horses waited for them. At the very least he must have stuck his head out of their room to order one of the men to see to or arrange for the horses to be saddled.

  With only five horses prepared, she wasn't surprised when Aulay mounted and then bent to lift her up before him. Once they were settled, he glanced around and nodded, and two men started away toward the castle gates and bridge, which even now were just opening. Aulay followed the men, and the other two members of their guard trailed them.

  The ride to where they were going wasn't a long one. In fact, Jetta was actually surprised when the trees they were riding through suddenly gave way t
o a clearing and Aulay and the others reined in. Eyes widening, she sat up and peered around. The clearing was on the edge of a loch. The land on either side rose up into rolling hills, but here it was mostly flat, the land slanting just slightly down toward the beach and the water beyond.

  Breathing out slowly, Jetta leaned back against Aulay and said, "'Tis beautiful."

  "Aye," Aulay agreed. "'Tis me favorite spot at Buchanan. It always has been. I thought we could break our fast here and bathe."

  "Bathe?" she asked, wide eyes shifting from the men with them to her husband.

  "'Twill be fine," he said soothingly, and then lifted her down off his mount to stand next to it. Aulay quickly followed her to the ground and then tethered his horse to the low branch of a nearby tree. "Wait here just a moment."

  Jetta nodded and then watched him walk to where the men had dismounted and gathered. Aulay spoke to them briefly, and then accepted the basket she'd noted earlier and a folded plaid and turned to walk back to her as the men disbursed to position themselves along the woods with their backs to the clearing.

  Setting the plaid across the top of the basket under the handle, Aulay took her arm and walked her down to the shore.

  The beach was much smaller here than it had been by the ocean, and there were rocky outcroppings reaching out into the lake on either side, forming a smaller bay. Jetta was glad that it was small, though. It meant less of a walk and little sand to traverse. She was stronger than she'd been when she first woke up more than two weeks ago, but was still pathetically weak in her opinion. She suspected she wouldn't have been out of breath after such a short walk before her head injury, and while she and Aulay had made love many times since the wedding, she had always been exhausted afterward despite his doing most of the work. She'd probably slept as much as she'd been awake these last couple of days.

  "Do you come here often?" she asked breathlessly as they paused at the edge of the water.