‘Eva, how is your leg faring? Is it still bothering you?’ she asked.
‘Does it pain you, lady?’ he asked. She’d not mentioned it when he’d spoken to her briefly earlier in the day. But he’d not asked her about it, either.
‘It is sore, I fear.’ She lied. He read it in her eyes. She wanted to escape him, at least for the moment.
‘Mayhap we should both retire and leave the others to dance?’ Arabella pushed her chair back and stood. Brodie helped her and nodded to Ailean. Nessa followed Arabella’s maid to the table.
‘See to your ladies,’ Brodie ordered them both.
‘Do you need help getting to our chamber, lady?’ he asked.
‘I can manage my way back, sir,’ she said blandly. Sir again? ‘Nessa will see to me.’
Rob stepped back and watched them leave. Brodie did not last much longer once his wife had gone. They’d left the table and sat below where their kin danced to the music. One or two songs later and Brodie took his leave.
Margaret and Magnus danced several times, and he was pleased to see them together openly. The man was a wicked fighter and honourable. Margaret would not find a better man than him, and he whispered his good wishes to her before they left for the village.
Others joined him, some of the men he’d fought with and lived with in the mountains during their worst times. A few of the women he’d shared a bed and some good times with spoke to him, letting him know with and without words that he was welcome to return if he so wished.
Even Fiona’s furtive heated kiss on his neck and the insistent grope of her hot hands in the corridor as he left the hall did not rouse his interest as much as it did the randy lad under his plaid. His flesh reacted to some of the memories of those times, but when it came to accepting an offer from his most recent lover, he just could not.
So, after drinking too much ale and other spirits than he probably should have, he sent her away and sought his chamber. He must be drunker than he thought he was, for the chamber was dark and cold. Climbing into the bed, he was asleep faster than he thought possible.
Only as he sank into sleep’s grasp did he realise that Eva was not in the bed with him.
Chapter Thirteen
She snapped at Nessa, causing the girl to cry after the third time.
Eva tried to figure out the reason for it, and it all led back to him. She discovered an empty bed when morning finally arrived and no sign that Rob had ever returned here after the feast. When she added that to feminine attentions he’d received at the feast and his obvious disdain for the marriage he’d been forced to, it could mean one thing.
She told herself she could not be surprised and could not complain. He was a lusty man, from the tales told and from his desires shown her already. His invitation to share passion was right there in his eyes, clear enough to her that she spoke her refusal. Men often sought comfort in the beds of other women, and married or not, Rob had no lack of offers. A few of the women had been bold enough to whisper it loud enough so that she would hear it.
No matter her body’s reaction to his kisses, her heart could not bear to accept him in her bed. She did fear his reaction when he discovered what he most likely suspected—her virtue was gone. As he would whenever he decided to exert his rights to her body. That time would come, it must, but she would delay it as long as she could.
If it meant that he would seek relief and pleasure elsewhere, she would have to learn to accept it. As her mother had when her father had brought his leman into the keep for his pleasure. She thought it might have been relief on her mother’s part, but the humiliation in her mother’s eyes as he gave his leman a place that belonged to her mother would never be forgotten.
Eva took pity on Nessa and sent her on some errand and saw to her own dressing. She bound her hair in a long tight braid and decided that it was time to see the rest of the keep and village. Her leg felt good, not painful as she’d told Rob last night. Aye, she’d used it for an excuse and should feel guilty but did not.
Leaving word with one of the maids about her plans, Eva decided the village would be her first destination. Thick clouds covered the sun, but it did not feel like rain. Making her way out of the keep and through the yard, she glanced over at the yard where men practised, thinking she might see Rob there.
Then chiding herself for that, she walked out through the gates, nodding to the guards who knew her by name. A long trail of people walked the road to and from the village as the usual chores and tasks called them on. She followed the smells of baking bread to a large building near the centre of the village.
She’d been so intent on getting out before she encountered Rob, she’d not taken time to eat anything and her stomach grumbled loudly, letting her know its displeasure. Deciding to buy a small loaf to appease it, Eva next realised she had no coins with her.
‘Lady Eva, good morrow to you,’ the baker called out to her.
‘Good morrow,’ she said back, walking closer to where loaves sat on the windowsills cooling. ‘Your bread smells delicious.’
‘Would you have a loaf?’ the baker asked, pointing to several already-cooled ones. ‘The miller grinds my flour very fine, lady. ’Tis the finest around and you’ll find no bits or stones in my loaves.’ He walked over to her and smiled. ‘Why, the Lady Arabella herself asked me to help bake for the feast last night!’
‘I did not bring coins with me...’
‘Tomas be my name, lady.’
‘I will come on the morrow prepared to buy some,’ she promised.
‘Here now, lady. I cannot have you walking off empty-handed. What will people think?’ he asked as he pressed a warm, aromatic loaf into her hands. ‘Consider this a small gift on the occasion of your wedding to our Robbie.’
After thanking him, Eva continued through the village, eating chunks of the bread that turned out to be as good as its maker promised. Soon, others greeted her as warmly and presented her with tiny treasures to mark her wedding. Their gifts meant much to her, a complete stranger, but it was their words that meant more.
Eva knew that Rob was highly regarded, but until she heard the stories of these people, she’d had no idea of how much so. She’d not paid heed to anything about the man she’d married when her father spoke of him. Now though, each of the villagers she met praised his loyalty to the clan and his deeds of courage during the dark times of the last years.
Before she knew it, she carried a round of cheese, more bread, a small jar of soap, a length of plaid that matched the one Rob had worn at the feast and other surprises. Realising she was not going to be able to carry them as she held them, she paused by the well to wrap them in the plaid.
‘Ye kissed him.’
The voice was so soft she nearly missed it. Turning around, she found a little girl there watching her.
‘Ye kissed Robbie,’ the girl said again.
‘Were you in the hall last evening, then?’ Eva asked her. The girl nodded her answer. ‘What is your name?’
‘I am called Fia.’
‘I am Eva.’
‘Lady Eva, Mam said,’ Fia answered. ‘She said that Robbie married a great lady from the north.’ She pushed her brown curls out of her face and squinted at Eva. ‘Why are ye a great lady?’
Eva laughed then. She’d never been asked such a thing. ‘I suppose because my father is the MacKay, the head of a powerful clan in the north.’ She watched as the girl considered the reason and then shrugged.
‘Why did ye marry Robbie?’ Fia asked, moving closer and helping Eva arrange the things within the plaid.
‘My father and your laird thought it would be a good idea.’ Trying to keep it simple and clear, Eva explained it the best way she could.
‘Are ye going to kiss him again, Lady Eva? He likes to kiss women, ye ken? I have seen him kiss Isabel and Jean and Ma
iri and Fiona. He must like Fiona the most, for he kissed her more times than any of the others.’
She laughed then, for what else could she do at such a disclosure and from a child at that? What Rob did with others and especially before she arrived here was not her concern, she told herself again. Then Fia leaned closer and whispered.
‘Wee Jamie kissed me once, but it was no’ good. He tasted like mud,’ Fia declared. She followed her words with the funniest expression, sucking and slurping loudly and then spitting on the ground. Eva laughed more.
‘Well, Fia, I think you will think differently about kisses when you are older.’
‘Lady Arabella said I can come to the keep and work as her maid when I am older. She liked the way I helped her wash her hair.’
‘I will remember that if I need help with washing my hair,’ Eva promised.
‘Fia!’ The girl’s eyes widened at the woman’s call. ‘I have been waiting on ye, lass.’
‘My mam,’ Fia whispered, nodding her head in the direction of the approaching woman. ‘I was to fill the bucket and bring it back to the house.’ The forgotten bucket lay on one side of the path.
‘Lady Eva,’ the woman said. ‘Good day to ye!’
‘Good day.’ She glanced overhead and realised she’d lost track of the time of day in her wanderings through the village. ‘Your pardon if I kept the lass from her chores,’ she said.
‘No worries on that, lady,’ the woman said. ‘I think she probably kept ye from yer tasks with her chatter.’ She motioned to Fia to get the bucket. ‘I am called Bradana.’
‘I will leave you to your chores,’ Eva said, gathering up the plaid filled with her presents.
‘Visit any time, lady. Ours is the last cottage on this path. And if ye need the lass to run errands, just send word and I’ll send her to ye.’
Eva took her leave and had only walked several paces from the well when she saw him sitting on his horse, watching her every move. His expression gave no hint as to his mood or purpose there. She nodded and continued walking by him and towards the road to the keep.
‘Margaret said she had not seen you this morn.’
‘’Tis true—I have not seen her this day,’ she said, over her shoulder.
He guided his horse behind her. ‘Where are you going now?’
Eva turned back and stared at him. ‘Where do you think I am going?’ she asked him back.
‘What is in your bundle there?’ he asked, never giving her a reply.
‘Bread. Cheese. Some soap. A few trinkets and such,’ she answered, holding it out for his inspection.
‘Almost like you’re readying for a journey.’ Even watching him as he spoke did not give her a sign of whether he was jesting or serious. ‘All you need is a place to go and some gold and you would be ready.’
‘You think I am running away?’ she asked.
‘Do I have any reason to think that?’ he added. They stared at one another for several long, tense, silent seconds, and then she shook her head.
‘I am... You can go to... Wherever you need to go.’ Several foul suggestions had lain on her tongue just then. Mayhap she was developing his habitual use of such words after being around him these last weeks? She ignored him and walked on.
‘Lady,’ he said. She turned just in time to catch the sack he threw to her.
‘What is this?’ It felt like coins, but why would he give her those when he’d just accused her of fleeing him if she had these?
‘You said you wanted coins for your own use. Those are some of the amount set aside for your use.’
She stopped then and looked at him. Aye, she’d said that, but she never dreamed he would allow it. Oh, aye, a household account when, if, she ran their household, but coins for whatever she wanted? Nay, she’d never expected him to do it.
‘I will take you to Fergus, Brodie’s steward, so you know how to get more when you need it,’ he explained.
‘I am returning to the keep now,’ she said, answering the first question he’d asked her again.
His actions in giving her the money had surprised her. She had scraped and hidden her few coins away over weeks, never wanting her father or mother to become suspicious of them. Eva stared at him and tried to remember what had even become of the belongings she’d taken when she’d run away and could not.
‘Give me your hand and put your left foot here on mine,’ he instructed. In a matter of seconds, she found herself sitting on his lap. He shifted, moving her between his legs, and then touched his heels to the horse’s side. ‘This is easier than walking up the hill to Drumlui.’
‘I do not want to take you away from your duties,’ she said, trying not to rest back on his wide chest. His hair, she noticed, was damp and he smelled clean. So, he’d bathed somewhere this morn. Mayhap wherever he’d slept?
‘Seeing to my wife is my duty,’ he said softly in her ear. ‘Or so I have been told this morning.’ Rob felt her stiffen in his arms, her back going straight and her shoulders rigid.
One of Arabella’s maids gave him the message that she’d left but could remember no more than that. When he returned to their chamber earlier, Nessa mumbled something about Eva’s cross mood, but the only thing that was clear was that his wife had lashed out at her maid several times.
Arabella herself gave him a tongue lashing over the matter of her gift and his abandonment of his bride. A good husband or a fool trying to be one should have followed her back to their chambers immediately and not remained below as though still a bachelor, she’d said. Brodie stood at her side, silent as usual, while she berated him. Then, when she burst into tears and fell into his arms, Brodie motioned to her belly and he waved Rob out of the chamber.
It was only as he walked through the yard and watched people coming and going through the open gates that the idea that she had run occurred to him. It stopped him in his stride and he stumbled before regaining his balance.
The thought that she would try to run from him a second time hit him in the gut. And since his stomach still suffered the effects of too much ale and other spirits, it took little time before he knew he could not remain in the keep and see if she came back.
Margaret’s response to him was a loud, long, bent-over-at-her-waist laugh that drew Magnus out of the cottage. Others in the village were more helpful, and soon he found himself following her route as she moved through the paths there. He’d heard Fia’s talk of kissing and wondered if that had been the cause.
Had Eva got word of his encounter with Fiona in the corridor? He did not think they were seen, but he’d had so much drink in him he could not be certain. The horse misstepped and she shifted against him then. Still stiff. He let out an irritated breath and shifted his arms.
‘Here now, lean back for the steep part of the path,’ he instructed. Eva leaned back but did not soften against him.
This being married was more difficult than he’d imagined it would be. More difficult than it might have been with a willing bride. But, as Brodie had counselled, they would both have to adjust to each other and it would take time.
He felt her let out a sigh as the horse walked up the pathway that led to the gate and keep.
‘Was it Margaret or Arabella who spoke of your duties to me?’ she finally asked.
‘Arabella,’ he said. ‘For Margaret had her say last night at the feast.’
‘I thought your face looked a bit exasperated while she was talking.’
‘She raised me after our parents died. She is used to giving me lessons,’ he admitted. Margaret had been little older than he when she took over his care. ‘She forgets I am grown.’
Eva snorted in reply. Oh, it was a very feminine, soft snort but, one none the less. They rode up the trail, approaching the gate, and entered.
‘Arabella asked that you seek her out on your
return, lady. She will be in her chambers,’ he said as they drew to a halt and a young boy rushed to hold the reins.
Rob swung his leg over and jumped from the horse. Then he reached up for the lady. Once more she stiffened under his touch.
Was this to be their pattern of life? He would do or say something stupid and then need to apologise? He cursed even feeling the need to do so. When her feet touched the ground, he still kept his hold on her waist, waiting for her to raise her eyes to him.
‘Brodie counsels me that it might take us more time to accommodate ourselves to this marriage. Especially considering our less than fortuitous beginning,’ he said softly, so that only she could hear.
‘The laird knows?’ she asked. ‘You told him?’
‘I spoke only of a difficult meeting. He urged patience,’ he explained. ‘I am not accustomed to answering to a woman, to a wife, about my behaviour or accounting my time to one. For years, I have answered only to the laird.’
She watched him with suspicion in her blue eyes, as though waiting for a blow to fall. When he lifted his hand to wipe across his face, he would swear she flinched before regaining control.
‘I indulged too much last night. After that kiss...’ he forced his eyes not to look at her mouth as he continued ‘...and everything else I did wrong, I sought comfort in my cup.’
‘And not in the bed of the lovely Fiona?’ she asked. How could she speak the words without any inflection or emotion? Ah. She cared not if he swived other women, as long as he did not bed her.
‘Nay.’ He shook his head. ‘I mistakenly went back to my old chamber and slept there. I was so drunk I did not realise it until morn.’ Rob waited for a reaction, some reaction. None came. Still, he needed to say the rest of it, for his behaviour and apparent disregard for her had been witnessed. ‘I will try not to embarrass myself or my wife in such a manner again.’
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