The Knight's Temptress (Lairds of the Loch)

by Amanda Scott

  Andrew, sounding impatient, said, “Will ye do it, lassie?”

  Blinking, Lina realized that she was still staring at Ian.

  He smiled, and so compelling was his smile that her own lips twitched in response. “It is up to you, lass,” Ian said quietly. “I’d like it fine if you would.”

  Warmth spread through her at those simple words.

  The tremors and prickling sensations that she had felt earlier seemed to have bloomed into a single warming sensation that radiated through her. Her lips parted slightly. And, strangely, her breasts seemed to swell, their nipples tingling where they touched the fabric of her shift.

  She felt heat in her cheeks but could not look away.

  Andrew said again, “Well, lass, will ye?”

  “I will, sir,” she said. The words no sooner left her tongue, though, than she felt another tremor and wondered if she’d just made the worst mistake of her life.

  Aware that he had been holding his breath, Ian exhaled. The thing was done. He waited for the rush of regret, if not shock, that he’d expected to engulf him.

  Instead, as he relaxed, his cock expressed utter elation with his decision. It had twitched when her lips parted. Then her blushes had stimulated it more. Now…

  “I’ll send for a priest straightaway,” Andrew said, rubbing his hand together.

  Diverted from incipient lust, Ian said, “Is not the nearest priest in Balloch?”

  “Aye, but if I send a running gillie—”

  “Sir, that could take days, and we cannot wait.” Looking hard at Andrew, he added, “Think, my lord. Our very reason for haste…”

  Frowning, Andrew said, “ ’Tis true, aye. What d’ye suggest instead?”

  “Marriage by declaration,” Ian said. “We can set things right with the Kirk afterward if you like, or if Lina does. But since there is little of property or—”

  “There must be a settlement, lad,” Andrew said firmly. “Ye ken fine that Andrena and Mag will get most o’ what I leave. I must be sure that Lina—”

  “Aye, sir, I can attend to that,” Ian said hastily. “My father has settled land on me already and my knighthood will entitle me to more when Jamie has his royal affairs sorted. Meantime, I will sign any agreement you suggest that can suit us both. I will eventually inherit nearly all of the Colquhoun properties, and—”

  “Aye, but ye may be killed in this Dumbarton affair o’ yours, lad. I must—”

  “You know my father well, sir. He will honor any agreement I sign. So will my brothers if Father and I should both die before I inherit. You have noted yourself that both of my parents love Lina. They will do everything in their power to protect her and any children we may have.”

  “They would, aye,” Andrew agreed. “Art agreeable to such haste, lass?”

  “I have agreed to marry Sir Ian,” she said. “The manner of it matters not.”

  “Good,” Andrew said. “Let’s get on with it then. I’m hungry.”

  “You might be wiser to tell my lady mother and the others about this first,” Lina suggested dryly.

  Ian looked swiftly at her, fearing that such abruptness had changed her mind.

  She looked as calm as ever. Then her gaze met his, and she smiled.

  His cock leaped again.

  Sakes, he thought, the damned thing was practically crowing!

  Following her father downstairs, Lina was too conscious of Ian’s presence behind her to worry about what sort of reception their news would bring when Andrew announced it. But as they neared the hall landing, her feet seemed to slow of their own accord. What would everyone else think of such a hasty decision?

  When Andrew stepped through the archway into the great hall, she heard Ian say quietly behind her, “Wait, lass.”

  Pausing at the landing, grateful for any respite, she turned. “What is it, sir?”

  “I think we should let Andrew tell them first, don’t you?”

  “Mam and the others from the solar are not even in the hall yet,” she pointed out. “We would have heard them coming downstairs.”

  He stepped down beside her. “I did hear them.”

  She looked up into his face. “But how could you when I did not? Murie does not go anywhere quietly. Nor, I think, does Lizzie.”

  “They were muttering to each other, aye,” he said. “Andrew had just said he would send for the priest, though. Perhaps you were paying such close heed to him that you missed hearing them.”

  She swallowed, remembering that she had heard her father’s words and realized only then how quickly he and Ian meant for the marriage to take place. Even so, it seemed odd that she could have been so lost in her own thoughts that she had failed to hear the passage of four people down the stairs outside the room.

  The door was thick and well fitted, but if Ian had heard them…

  She stared at Ian’s broad chest while these thoughts sped through her mind. Distantly, from the hall, she heard Andrew’s voice. A slight tingling was the only warning she had before Ian put both hands on her shoulders.

  “What is it?” he asked. “Art having second thoughts?”

  It was hard to focus on anything save the warmth of his hands and the fact that they could evidently spread their warmth to other parts of her body.

  “Lina?”

  Gathering her wits, she said, “I will keep my word, sir. I was just trying to imagine how I could have missed hearing them.”

  “I have gey sharp hearing. And you did have other things on your mind.”

  Nodding, she glanced toward the archway and said, “We should go in.”

  He took her near hand in his and raised it to his lips as he had once before. This time, he kissed it lightly, looking at her as he did, his expression unusually solemn. “Aye, sure, we’ll go in,” he said. “Just as soon as you look me in the eyes and tell me you’re doing this willingly and not just because you said you would.”

  She looked him right in the eye then and said, “You first.”

  Ian laughed as much at the look of determination on Lina’s face as at the challenge she had flung at him.

  When she continued to watch him, he sobered. He was still holding her hand, so he gave it a warm squeeze and said, “I’m more willing with every minute that passes, lass. I believe that we will suit each other well.”

  “This may be the most reckless thing you have done, sir.”

  “It may be, aye. But you are doing it with me, so I’ll wager that you won’t carp and correct me at every turn as some wives try to do.”

  “I would not do that in any event,” she said, peering into his face in that way she had that made him feel as if she could see right through him to his core. “I wonder if my opinions matter to you, though. I’m unlikely to change my feelings about many things that you do. Nor will I agree with you in all that you say.”

  “Then, likely we’ll fratch from time to time,” he said. “Would it help if I were to promise that I’ll always listen?”

  “It might,” she said doubtfully. “It would help more if you did always listen.”

  He choked on another bubble of laughter. Forcing himself to speak seriously, he said, “Have you hitherto found me an unwilling listener?”

  She shook her head, looking at his chest again. “No, sir, not recently.”

  Cupping her chin with his free hand, he tilted it up and kissed her gently on the lips. “Then, we must leave it there, I think. Your father is calling to us.”

  Her lips had parted. She stared at him blindly.

  “Lina?”

  “We must go in, aye,” she said. Whirling, she stepped through the archway, only to stop in her tracks when the hall erupted in applause and cheering.

  Rather pleased to know that his kiss had ruffled her more than any teasing had, he followed her. To his surprise, he was looking forward to his wedding… and even more to the night that, by every tradition, would come afterward.

  Lina stared at their people, gathered as usual at trestle tables in
the hall for supper, standing now and cheering. She had missed Andrew’s announcement of the wedding to come, and she failed now to see him striding toward her until he was right in front of her.

  Catching hold of the hand that Ian had so recently kissed, he raised it high.

  Then, turning so that he stood between them and taking Ian’s hand in his other one, Andrew raised it, too, shouting, “ ’Twill be a grand union, this one, aye?”

  “Aye!” they shouted back. More cheering erupted. Young Pluff jumped onto a bench, put two fingers in his mouth, and emitted a piercing whistle.

  Lowering their hands, Andrew drew the two together as he stepped back until Ian stood beside Lina, holding her hand.

  She looked up at him to see that he was waving at everyone in the hall with his free hand and grinning widely.

  Knowing that she should smile, too, but feeling as if her life had just spun beyond control, she briefly shut her eyes. Opening them she saw red-headed Pluff looking straight at her and grinning as if he had arranged the whole thing himself.

  Unable to resist the boy’s infectious grin, she grinned right back at him.

  Feeling surprisingly happy but oddly alone, despite the warmth of Ian’s hand clasping hers, she looked toward the high table, seeking Lady Aubrey. But her ladyship had moved to the narrow archway leading to the service stairs, where she was talking with Tibby and Tibby’s mother, Annie Wylie.

  At the high table, Lady Margaret looked pinch-lipped but resigned.

  Ian released Lina’s hand, put his own to her elbow, and urged her to follow Andrew, now striding toward the dais. When he stepped onto it, he declared loudly, “Now that I’ve told ye all what’s to occur and why we’ve dispensed with a parson for the nonce, we’ll get on with it. Step up here, lad, and speak your piece.”

  Lina felt the spinning sensation return and drew a breath to steady herself.

  Without taking his hand from her elbow, Ian murmured, “Will you stand beside me, lass, and face everyone? Or would you liefer take your usual place at the table? I’ll escort you there myself if you like.”

  The world righted itself. Quietly, she said, “I’m not such a feardie, sir. As you said, we’re doing this together. I would not want anyone to think otherwise.”

  “Good lass. I ken fine that you have great courage. I just thought you might feel more dignified or more at ease to stand at a distance.”

  “Is that what a woman usually does during a declaration?” she asked.

  His eyes twinkled. “Sakes, I don’t know. I’ve never attended one.”

  A gurgle of laughter escaped her. “I doubt that one actually attends such events. They tend to be rather more spontaneous than that, I think.”

  “Then you ken more of them than I do,” he said. “Let’s ask your father.”

  Andrew was already arranging his stage. “Ye’ll stand here before the table, lad, and face them all,” he said. “Ye need say nae more than that the lady Lachina MacFarlan is now your lady wife. Likely, they’ll cheer again. But dinna let them be going on about it all night. I’m gey hungry.”

  “What about me, sir?” Lina asked. “What do I say?”

  “Nowt, lass. Just dinna contradict the man. ’Tis a bad habit in any marriage.”

  “I missed hearing what you told them about why we are doing it this way.”

  “I just said that since ye’ve decided to marry and Sir Ian has to return to his knightly duties afore the parson could get here, and may be going into battle, we’re doing a declaration. I also said that we’ll have the parson here when he returns to make all right with the Kirk. So, now, art ready, lad?”

  “Aye, sir.” Taking Lina’s hand and facing the lower hall, Ian said, “I declare to you all that now and forevermore the lady Lachina and I are man and wife.”

  Chapter 12

  As Andrew had predicted, applause erupted, making Lina search her feelings again. With her back still to the high table and thus to the other women and Rob MacAulay, she could not even imagine what their feelings might be.

  Ian was enjoying the applause, and she did enjoy his company. Moreover, everyone in the hall seemed to approve, so smiling back at them was easy. The truth, though, was that she could not define her feelings for Ian further than liking, although she had been willing to marry him despite the flaws in his character. So she had clearly ignored some of the standards she had set earlier for her husband.

  She had expected, at least, to marry a man whose opinions regarding risk taking and family responsibilities echoed her own. Had those standards been so trifling to her that she could fling them aside for a too-daring, dutybound warrior simply because of his handsome face, persuasive charm, and infectious impulses?

  “Come along now, ye two,” Andrew said. “ ’Tis only supper, but it will serve as a wedding feast. So take the central places of honor, and I’ll say the grace.”

  The seating, thus ordered, placed Lina and Ian between her mother and father. So, when Andrew finished the grace, Lina turned to Lady Aubrey and said quietly, “I ken fine that you must be dismayed, Mam. By my troth—”

  “Your father explained everything,” Lady Aubrey interjected gently.

  “Did he? I doubt that he was away from us long enough to do that.”

  “He may have left out a few details,” her ladyship said. She added in no more than a whisper, “I needed to know no more than that Dougal had had the temerity not only to offer for you, my love, but to threaten you!”

  Wincing, Lina said, “He made those threats before, to Lizzie and me. Moreover, he was going to take me away and leave Lizzie with James Mòr.”

  Patting her hand, Lady Aubrey said, “You need not think about them again, dearling. I will admit that I’d not have objected had your father hanged Dougal for his insolence. But he cannot harm you now. You and Sir Ian will consummate your union. Then he will attend to his business for the King, and all will be well.”

  A shiver slid up Lina’s spine as her mother said the last few words.

  Lady Aubrey raised her eyebrows in query.

  Having no idea what had caused the shiver and hoping to divert her mother from inquiring about it, Lina said, “Are we to consummate our marriage at once then, Mam? I thought we would wait for the priest to bless it first.”

  “Nay, nor should you, Lina. Yes, I will have some lamb,” she added in a normal tone when a gillie offered a platter of sliced meats for her inspection. After he had served her and moved on, she said, “Annie and Tibby are preparing Mag and Andrena’s bedchamber for you. You need not worry about prying ears at the door, either. I’ll keep Murie and Lizzie with me. Your father will see to the men.”

  Lina bit her lip, because prying ears were just what she had been imagining.

  She had recalled that after Mag and Andrena married, a group of drunken men had carried Mag upstairs and deposited him in their chamber naked. Lady Aubrey often seemed to know what her daughters were thinking, although her greatest gift was a rare, uncanny ability to see things before they occurred.

  Lina chided herself then for reacting as she had to the chill she had felt before. Would her mother assure her that all would be well if it would not be?

  To be sure, her ladyship could not predict the future at will. Certain events just appeared in her mind, unbidden, and usually well before their time. Not always, though. Her warning of treachery just before Pharlain and his men had seized Arrochar years ago had given Andrew and her ladyship just enough time to flee with their newborn Andrena to the safety of Tùr Meiloach.

  “Eat your supper, love,” Lady Aubrey said. “I must not ignore Margaret, and you will be glad later to have had sustenance now.”

  Unwilling yet to think about “later,” Lina turned her attention to her trencher. Somehow it had acquired food, although she had not selected any.

  Realizing that the gillie who had served Lady Aubrey had not even offered any meat to her, Lina stared at the array on her trencher and then looked at Ian.

  He sm
iled. “It did not get there by magic, lass,” he said. “Whilst you were enjoying your conversation with her ladyship, I took the liberty of serving you myself. I believe a husband does have that right.”

  She remembered that a husband had many rights, and heat suffused her cheeks. Wondering how anyone had ever thought she was the serene, unflappable member of her family, and hoping her voice would not reveal her nervousness, she said, “Mam just told me that we should consummate our union right after supper.”

  To her surprise and unexpected delight, she saw his cheeks redden.

  Ian knew that he must be fiery red and was fervently thankful that Rob sat on Andrew’s right, rather than on his own. Had Andrew not been between them, Rob would surely have overheard Lina’s comment and seen Ian’s reaction.

  Had that happened, Ian knew he would never have heard the end of it.

  He was also glad they were at the table, so that no one but he could detect the immediate and painful response of his lower body to Lina’s words.

  Bad enough that he was blushing. Men, real men, and certainly warriors and knights of the realm, did not blush. Never. As in not ever. But the fire in his cheeks now was evidence that it could happen to even the most unlikely chap.

  Perhaps females did not know that, though. In any event, it would be well to control it. Andrew would know, if he chanced to note the phenomenon. And Rob might choose that moment or the next to lean forward. With these thoughts uneasily in mind, Ian kept his attention on Lina and saw a twinkle dawn in her eyes.

  The cheeky lass was pleased with herself for stirring his blushes.

  With sweet retribution in mind, he said, “Your mother is right, lass. Eat up. You are going to need all the energy you can muster.”

  To which, she replied without hesitation, “Everyone thinks you mean to leave me here when you return to Dunglass, sir. But I must certainly go with you. What would your parents think if I did not?”

  Ian sobered instantly. His first thought was that he had been right to warn her that they would fratch. Not over her going with him, though, because he would put his foot down on that. She would be unhappy, but he would allow her no choice. She would be much safer at Tùr Meiloach, so here she would stay.