She jumped back as his lips curled in a wicked smile.
“Did you hear that?” Alainn asked the physician who was now beside his patient. Richard’s eyes were once more closed.
“You did not hear this man speak?”
He regarded Alainn as though she had lost her mind. He pulled back the man’s dark hair to reveal a deep wound and a large swelling on his head.
“He is surely unconscious and, with an injury such as this to his head, it is quite possible he may never be capable of speech again. In truth, he may never regain consciousness.”
“One can only hope,” Alainn whispered.
He noticed how she trembled.
“How fares the chieftain’s nephew?” He had barely uttered the words when the man in question bound into the chamber wearing a most displeased look. He ignored the physician, cast a caustic glare at his patient, and grasped Alainn’s shoulders, shaking her.
“Get your hands off of me, Killian O’Brien,” she demanded, “or I swear, I will kill you before your uncle has a turn at it.” He ignored her entirely.
“The McGilvarys tried to rape you, and you didn’t think to mention it to me!”
“It is not up to you to defend me. I have told you that surely a hundred times, Killian O’Brien. You will end up dead to honor a woman who after tomorrow can never be anything more to you. The cost is too great! You must go to your uncle and tell him you have reconsidered. Tell him you were temporarily suffering from a bout of madness. I think he will accept that for, even in his troubled state, I believe he does not want to battle you, Killian.”
“I suppose I should be grateful to McGilvary. If he hadn’t challenged me publicly, I would not have discovered my uncle ordered them to harm you or thought to publicly challenge my uncle. I should have known he could not simply turn from a challenge and suffer dishonor.”
“If you wanted a pissing contest with your uncle you didn’t need to involve weapons, Killian. They are unbeatable odds. Three bouts back to back. He will surely choose heavy weapons to tire you!”
“Surely.”
“And if you lie dead at the end of it all, do you suppose Mary will be pleased?”
“This has naught to do with Mary! Alainn, you show me great disrespect in questioning me on this. It was because of me that my uncle tried to harm you. You may not approve of my methods, but I need you to understand. You must allow me to honor you, for it is because of me that he nearly violated you!”
“Do you think I will be honored to know I caused the death of the only man I shall ever love?” He held tight to her arms though she tried to pull from his grasp.
“Tell me you respect this decision, Alainn, for it is of great significance to me that you understand.”
“I will not disrespect you, and I understand how important honor is to you, but, Killian, the amulet will not prevent your death should it come to that!” She burst into tears and fled the room.
The physician stood by the table, as still as his patient. Killian growled in pain and left the room, but he did not follow Alainn, for he could offer her no comfort or consolation.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Standing in the kitchen next to Cook, donned in clothing provided by the chieftain, Alainn pulled displeasingly at the low neckline that left half of her breasts exposed. Cook glanced at her with a sympathetic expression.
“Sorry I am to hear of the challenge and that you must wear that absurdly revealing garment.”
Alainn only shook her head, trying to keep out thoughts of Killian and the challenge he had forced.
“There’s not to be done about either. All the serving women, the young women at any rate, are to wear these garments. I suppose the chieftain is providing his guests with added entertainment.”
“Aye, I heard that you sent Molly home when you saw the serving gowns. I very much appreciate that, Alainn. She is timid around men, and I think she would not be able to defend herself for we’ve always sheltered her so entirely. And sure my mind would only be in the hall with her instead of in the kitchen where it should be. I am not pleased that you will be there either.”
“I am not so innocent as Molly, or as sweet, so I think I shall be capable of defending myself against any lewd advances.”
When Breena McTeer came in to the kitchen to discuss a matter with Cook, Alainn caught the sneer she threw at her, yet again. Alainn inhaled deeply. She was in for a long night.
As the serving girls stood outside the hall, waiting for the kitchen servants to bring the food to them, Alainn glanced over at Breena and some of the other young women and heard her name being whispered. In truth, it was often Breena who lead the attack on her, they had never been close. She had never been certain why she was the target of such bitterness.
Because her mind was already filled with many quandaries and the lot of them seemed more drastic than an uncharitable serving girl, she ignored the group. But when Breena roughly pulled the tie from Alainn’s hair as she walked by her, she decided she had had enough.
“Breena McTeer! I need a word with you straightaway.”
The girl ignored Alainn and spoke to the others. “Surely the gifted healer does not speak to me, I am neither male nor of nobility, therefore I am hardly worthy of her time or company.” The other girls smirked and tittered at the remark, but Alainn would not be swayed.
“So, ’tis because I have spent time with the young lords that you harbor such dislike toward me?”
“ ’Tis because you believe you are above the rest of us servants, Alainn McCreary. You think yourself the great healer and our tasks are surely beneath you. How belittled you must feel to serve food with the rest of us peasants.”
Alainn straightened at the insults and felt her claws coming out.
“Aye well, sure the grass is green on the far off hill, Breena. You think my tasks as a healer are all grand and important?”
“I imagine they are better than hauling piss-laden chamber pots for the earl and his kin.”
“Do not be so certain, Breena McTeer. Do you think healing only involves a mortar and pestle, that it is only the mixing of potions, the handling of elixirs? Well, you’d best think again,” she snapped furiously, “for I have lanced festering carbuncles on aged men’s arses. I have been covered in blood, soaked in urine and excrement, and drenched in emesis. I have attempted to patch up limbs that have been hacked through to the bone. I have held stillborn babies in my arms and helplessly watched women die in childbed. I have been forced to tell parents that their children will not live and wives that their husbands cannot be saved. So if you loathe me because you think my position is grander than yours, perhaps you might come try my tasks for a time!
“Now, you’ve had a deep dislike for me for as long as I can remember, and I have listened to your unkind remarks and your snide comments for as long as I will. If you loathe me because I have schooling and you do not, I will not apologize to you for that. It’s sorry I am that everyone, male or female, peasant or noble cannot be schooled, for I have never been as grateful for anything as my learning, but what is it you would have had me do? Decline the offer to be schooled because I was the only female offered the privilege? And I know you disapprove of the fact I have spent a time with the earl’s kin, but though you may find it difficult to comprehend, I think of them as my friends, for they have been better friends to me by far than any of you ever have!”
The girl’s eyes had grown wider as Alainn spoke and, when the women all curtsied, she turned to see the reason why. Rory, Riley, Killian and their respective betrotheds stood staring, clearly having heard every word she’d just said. She felt her cheeks flame, but she did not speak. It was Mary MacDonald who smiled warmly at Alainn and Killian and spoke.
“I believe Alainn is waitin’ for your answer, Breena.”
The pretty young servant girl squirmed and appeared terribly uncomfortable, but she looked at Alainn and spoke.
“I had no notion your tasks were oft so unpleasant,” she sa
id softly, “and aye, I was jealous of you, not only about the schooling and your beauty, but because everything you do, you do well, better than any of us. Sure, it’s envious we all are of you, Alainn. And I offer you my apologies for sure we have not treated you fairly.”
A few of the others nodded and said their own words of apology.
“Perhaps I have acted unfriendly toward you as well,” said Alainn, “though it was never my intention. Sure, sometimes being excluded from your circle made me prickly.”
The kitchen servants appeared, carrying trays laden with food, and there was no more time for discussion. Alainn noticed how Killian’s eyes followed her, and she felt a nervousness within her, knowing she would be attempting tasks she had never done before hundreds of nobles. Killian winked and smiled, then headed into the great hall with Mary on his arm.
The evening had gone much better than Alainn had thought it might. She’d not dropped a tray nor poured drink on anyone. She’d been forced to push away a few hands from her backside, but none that would not be dissuaded from the forwardness. She had only needed to venture near the chieftain and his kin a time of two. And each time, Lady Siobhan was exceedingly friendly to her. She’d even introduced her to some of the nobles and their wives, singing her praises, telling them what a gifted healer she was, listing the many potions she’d created to aid in beauty and cleanliness. Several of the ladies wanted to speak to her regarding this, and she found Breena looking at her jealously. But when she rolled her eyes at the girl, she received a smile.
Lady Siobhan’s father showed an unusual interest in her throughout the evening, and she was startled to hear him request she attend his wife’s burial ceremony the next day. She knew he was very appreciative of her attempt to save his wife, but she thought he was carrying the gratitude somewhat far. Though she said she was most honored but was to be wed the next day, he acted very unusual and told her he wanted a word with her later in the evening regarding that subject.
The only person who treated her with disdain and snobbishness was Rory and Riley’s future mother-in-law. When she made a rude comment regarding Alainn, Lady Siobhan leaned over and whispered to Alainn, “ ’Tis a pity there’s no potion or remedy for pomp and arrogance, for I think it would be in great demand this night.” Alainn had smiled warmly at her and seen the chieftain’s disapproval at the exchange.
Mary MacDonald talked to her several times in a manner typical of a friend, not a servant. Even Rory’s intended, Brigid, had been unusually pleasant to Alainn. And though Iona, the older sister, had not been outwardly friendly, neither was she rude or snooty.
Alainn found herself feeling a deeper respect for the servants who had the task of serving food every day, for her feet ached. She was pleased, however, to hear and see some of the entertainment, for she adored the musicians and the vocalists. The jester and the actors were also clearly skilled at their crafts.
As the evening wore on, she noted that she had not seen Killian in some time. Mary remained sitting with her kin, and Rory and Brigid had danced a few times, but both Riley and Killian seemed to have disappeared. When she made a trip to the kitchen to fetch another tray of sweets, she found Riley in a most passionate embrace with one of the young servants. He had indeed had too much to drink. She remembered seeing Killian with a goblet in his hand most of the evening as well.
When she returned, Lady Siobhan caught her arm and asked if she might come to her chambers for a short discussion with her father. Many of the guests had already retired for the evening, and Alainn thought no one would miss her if she retired for the night.
As she walked down the quiet castle corridor, she heard voices around the bend in the archway and was startled to find Killian in a group of three young women. They were surely beguiled by the fact the hero had slain the villain this day. Two were servant girls. Killian had his arm around the dark-haired one, the daughter of the musician with whom Alainn had ridden to the castle, the night of her return. Another leaned against him unabashedly. Yet another had her hand on his chest and was at present touching Alainn’s own amulet. His eyes appeared glazed, and she thought he looked entirely dangerous in his brooding state.
She threw him a nasty glance and continued walking past without comment.
“Was that a disapproving look, Alainn?” he slurred. “Why do you hold your tongue? You’re not usually prone to keeping your opinions to yourself.”
“What you do and with whom you do it is hardly my concern, Milord. But, perhaps you might think of your intended. Surely she would be displeased to find you cavorting about with other women when your wedding is only days away.”
“But what I do is of no concern to you,” he baited.
“And why would it be? I’m to be married myself on the morrow. I could care less if you diddle every woman from Kinsale to Larne and back again, or if your manhood rots and falls off from a sordid disease. ’Tis most fortunate I did not become infected with a contagion when I lay with you, Milord!”
It was not the tone or the comment that had the women fleeing his side and scurrying off down the corridor, but the furious eyes that stared at them as though she might strike them dead with their intensity. She sneered at him and kept walking. He came up quickly and pulled her to him roughly. She fought him but was no match for his strength, even in his inebriated condition. His hot breath trailed down her neck, and she wasn’t certain she truly wanted him to stop, though she pushed at him as he spoke.
“You must create a potion for me, one that will take away the hunger I feel for you. Your face is etched on my eyes and is all I see when I close them at night. Your scent fills my nostrils, your voice my ears. I think it is not only my heart and my mind that is so bewitched by you, but my very soul. My blood hums with the need to have you, Alainn. Though you oppose me and disrespect me, keep things hidden from me that I have a right to know, still, every part of me burns for you. How am I to simply allow you to be wed to another?”
“Killian, unhand me, this instant!” she ordered.
“I see your body responds to me, even if you prefer to delude yourself into believing you no longer desire me.”
“I do not desire you!” she snapped.
“So ’tis only the cool dampness of the castle corridors that has caused this condition?” he taunted as he caressed the hardened peaks of her breasts.
“Killian, let me go, you must let me go!” her voice lacked conviction, but she noticed he had loosened his grip on her. His eyes were filled with unhidden torment, two day’s growth covered his jaw, and his hair was disheveled. He had a dangerous sensuality about him that Alainn could barely pull herself away from. He noticed, and she thought he derived a small amount of pleasure in knowing she yearned for him as well.
She stepped free of his hands and fled toward Lady Siobhan’s chamber without looking back. True to Lady Siobhan’s word, the discussion with her father was short and soon she found herself back in the hall. Her mood was considerably lighter than when she’d entered the room.
As she made her way back down the corridor, she came upon Killian still standing outside the door of his bedchamber. She inhaled a deep breath and started to pass him. But as she approached him, she turned and looked into his tortured eyes, sensing a pull stronger than anything she’d ever experienced before. Surely the moon’s pull on the tides could have been no more magnetic. Their eyes locked and she was in his arms, kissing him passionately, feeling him harden as their bodies met. The kiss was so ardent she was overcome with dizziness.
His hand went to the low bodice of her dress, the thumb slipping beneath the garment to caress her nipples. She moaned as she felt them peak. He held her up against the wall, capably lifting her skirts. He was barely able to stop himself from taking her there in the corridor, as he fumbled to open the door to his bedchamber. They were scarcely within when garments were removed in a haste they’d never known.
This meeting of their bodies was never tender and loving, but passionate and torrid and primal
. He squeezed her buttocks with a possessiveness that would surely leave marks where his fingers had been, and she raked his back with her nails leaving a stinging trail. She bit his lip, which only spurred him on, and he roughly entered her. His thrusts were rapid and intense, and she arched her hips in equal fervor until they cried out in jubilance and relief. Moments later they lay on the bed, exhausted and panting and spent. They did not lie entwined in a lover’s embrace, for love had little to do with what had just transpired between them.
When Alainn finally quit trembling, she pulled herself from the bed and attempted to locate her garments in the darkness. Having little success, she instinctively waved her hand toward the hearth and flames roared up in response. Killian lay on his side, resting on his elbow, gazing at her as she dressed, unable to find any words that could possibly relate what he was feeling. It was Alainn who spoke.
“I thank you for that, Killian O’Brien.”
“You’re thanking me for bedding you?”
“Aye well, sure you have more experience in being with a woman when it is only for basic physical gratification. What do you say in parting if not thank you? How do you speak to your other whores?”
“Ah, so you’re still sore about what I said to you then?”
“On the contrary. But if I am to be wed tomorrow, I have little time to live up to the name you’ve given me.”
He stood, a blanket draped around his waist, and took her arm.
“You know I did not mean that, it was said in bitterness and anger. I much regret my cruel words and how roughly I treated you just now. ’Tis hardly the way a man treats the woman he loves.”
“You are not without battle scars yourself, Killian.” She gently touched the deep scratches she’d left on his back, and when she pulled back the sheet covering him, he was truly uncertain what she had in mind. Her hand went to the deep scabbed wound on his muscular thigh. As she grazed it, he felt the warmth he’d experienced other times she’d healed him. He attempted to take her in his arms and hold her, but she would not allow it.
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