“Are ye in such a good mood because of the lady I hear laughing in the distance?” John gave cheek, never one to be deterred for long.
“Dinnae be cheeky young’un, we’ve got work to be doing!” Duncan corrected with affection for these two young men with such potential.
“I’ll go and ready the horses for our journey” Colin injected, before striding off to do just that.
Hearing another peal of laughter, Duncan’s curiosity was piqued, he wanted to go and find out what was making her laugh so happily. “On second thoughts John,” he decided on the spur of the moment, “I’m gonna stay here. You and Colin can handle this without me.”
Nodding, John restrained the instant retort that formed on his lips, having more sense than to utter it, for Duncan would only let them take a joke so far.
“Stay a couple of nights at Malcolm’s” he added, “If he’ll have you! And send my regards to him and Mary”.
“What reason will I give for your absence?” John tried to hide his knowing grin as he asked the question.
"Tell him I'm acquainting myself with my wife", he re-joined before walking off with John's booming guffaws echoing through the air.
Using his ears to guide him, Duncan found himself in a small clearing behind the stable building. Casually he leaned against the building to watch his wife at his own leisure. She stood in front of him, one arm raised above her head, poised to swoop down and hit the wooden post she was propping up with her other hand. Beside her Ewan knelt in the dirt, his small form bent over something which Duncan couldn’t quite make out, mumbling words which Duncan couldn’t quite hear. Elizabeth murmured something to him which had him rolling on the floor giggling and as the boy moved the small pink animal was made visible to Duncan. Groaning out loud, he suddenly knew what they were attempting to do out here behind this building.
Elizabeth spun around when she heard that groan to see Duncan propped against the wall of the stables. Smiling at his presence, she lowered her arm and dropped both hammer and post, bending down to Ewan, she whispered, “Look who’s standing over there!” and nodded in the general direction where Ewan was to look. Excitement quickly washed over his face at having his father so close by, jumping up, he quickly forgot about the pig as he hurriedly explained to his father,
“We’re building a home for little squeak! Well, I mean, Elizabeth’s doing most of the work!”, he admitted sheepishly, “but I helped collect all of the quipment, dinnae I Elizabeth?” he turned beseeching eyes on her, begging her to back him up.
“You sure did! There’s no way I would have managed to bring everything back here without you’re help! Plus the whole thing was your idea, wasn’t it?” she stepped forward towards the pair; little squeak wriggling in her arms.
“So, tell me, how do you come to have little squeak?” Duncan asked curiously as he bent down to pick Ewan up in his arm.
“Elizabeth and I went down to the village to ask how he was doing after the other day when he escaped”, he paused to rub his new pets chubby head. “Do you know...” he turned back to his father, animated over his news, “they were going to kill him when he grew up! Matthew told me father! But we didn’t want them to kill little squeak, did we Elizabeth?” he didn’t pause long enough for Elizabeth to respond, continuing on the same breath, “so Elizabeth bought him for me to keep, and now he can live here!” he waved his arm behind them, “for the rest of his life he’ll be my little friend!” He turned to squeeze little squeak tightly and missed the amused glances exchanged by the adults beside him.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The weeks seemed to pass by so quickly as spring turned into summer, yet at the same time Elizabeth found it harder to remember a time when Duncan hadn’t been such a huge part of her life. Every day it felt as though she forgot a little bit more of her home. For the most part, she was ecstatically happy, but at times such as now, she often caught herself feeling guilty for not sparing a thought for the family which she had left behind.
As a slight breeze rustled through the tree branches above her she closed her eyes against the sun that was somehow managing to penetrate the thick foliage surrounding her. She tried to bring forth memories of home, friends and family, however it seemed the more desperately she tried, the further away those images were, dancing just beyond her reach.
Groaning in frustration, Elizabeth jumped in shock as Duncan’s lips skimmed the delicate skin of her throat. She’d thought he’d been sleeping soundly beside her, a fact which his loud snores had testified to. For some reason she still wasn’t able to relax into sleep after their lovemaking, her mind was always so full with too many thoughts. She found it impossible to be so blasé about the whole situation as he appeared to be. To her it was a magical eruption of feelings which tingled through her senses. Every time their bodies came together the strength of those shockwaves still managed to surprise and shock her, but each time she grabbed on to them eagerly with both hands. As naive as she was, she understood that what she shared with Duncan was special, she felt certain that not everyone experienced these feelings in their lifetime, for if they did then she felt sure that the world would be a much happier place.
“What are ye thinking about?’ he whispered into her ear, before taking it into his mouth to sensuously suckle the soft flesh.
“mm?” She couldn’t remember the question as tiny tingles shot through her body, spreading from where his lips touched her and culminating in the depth of her stomach.
Smiling against her, Duncan repeated his question again, bringing his arm to lie across her body to give his hand easy access to her naked breast, where he continued his assault on her senses. He enjoyed watching her body respond to his touch, the most delicate caress elicited such strong reactions that he was sometimes left breathless just watching her.
“mm yes!” nuzzling her, he had to ask his question a third time before she could form the words to answer, “my family” she finally managed, not wanting to think, to talk, to do anything other than enjoy the pleasure that he was creating inside of her.
It took her somewhat confused brain a little time to process the fact that those lips were no longer dancing along her neck, that that hand was no longer working its magic upon her breast. Taking a deep breath she turned her head to look questioningly over to Duncan. Why had he stopped? Quickly, trying to clear the fog surrounding her brain, she tried to remember what she had uttered to him, how it could have offended him.
Still baffled she rolled to her side, resting her head upon her joined hands. “What’s happened Duncan? What did I say?” her voice was soothing now.
“Ye were daydreaming about yer family?” He asked; wanting to be certain he had heard her correctly.
Nodding yes, Elizabeth elaborated, “and my friends and my home....”
He interrupted her by jumping to his feet and slashed, “this is yer home now. I am yer family! I thought after all of this time ye understood that!” he all but shouted.
“Yes this is my home now” she re-joined reasonable, “but that was my home for nineteen years! until I came here it was all I knew! You can hardly expect me to forget about my entire life before coming here”, she begged him to be reasonable in turn.
“My people, my friends, I myself have done everything to help ye to adapt to yer life here and now yer telling me that it’s not enough! That still ye pine away for that family ye left behind. No, the family who gave ye away!” he spat out in disgust.
“That is not what I’m saying! Of course I know how much effort everyone has put into my settling in here and I appreciate that more than you’ll ever know. This place does feel like home to me! Don’t you see? That’s the problem!” she felt so frustrated with her own lack of ability to explain to him how she was feeling.
“No, quite frankly, I dinnae see! How can feeling as though ye fit in here be a problem? Isnae that how it’s supposed to be” Now he was frustrated at his own lack of understanding of the situation.
“I’ve o
nly been here a few short months and already it feels as though this is where I’m meant to be”, shaking her head she continued, sadly, “In my nineteen years at Ainsworth castle, I never once felt as though I belonged, as though I fit in there. Don’t you see it’s not supposed to be this way Duncan? They are my family, they raised me! Now where is my sense of loyalty?”
“I’ll tell ye where Elizabeth”, angrily he advanced, “yer loyalty to them should have ceased the moment yer father gave ye away!”
“Why? Because he arranged my marriage? That is how things are done in case you haven’t noticed!” she defended her father’s actions, though she didn’t know why.
“And a father’s roll is to protect his children! Not use them as bargaining tools to advance his own cause! He had no idea what type of man I was, or if he did he clearly dinnae care about yer future!”
“So you’re saying if you had a daughter you wouldn’t force her into an arranged marriage? Oh come on Duncan! Be realistic!” she countered.
“What I’m saying is that when we have a daughter and she’s old enough to marry then I will freely allow her to make her own decision in the matter!”
Taken aback, Elizabeth stood and stared at him, jaw agape, wondering if she had just heard him correctly.
Somewhat embarrassed by his own words, a wave of heat raged through Duncan’s cheeks, he hadn’t known he’d felt that way until the words had come tumbling out of his mouth. The smile that was slowly spreading across Elizabeth’s face did nothing to ease his embarrassment. Wanting only to escape this mess that he himself had created he bent down to pick up his clothes which he had carelessly discarded only a short time ago. “We’d better be heading back” he mumbled.
Before he had time to wrap the fabric of his kilt around himself, Elizabeth threw herself into his arms almost knocking him to the ground. Happily, she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, so that he found breathing difficult, “what’re ye trying to do? Strangle me?” He asked in mock anger, lifting her in his arms and hugging her tight. God, but she made his heart soar like never before!
“No! I’m hugging my husband because he makes me so happy!” she tenderly kissed him, unable to stop the huge, goofy grin spreading across her face; she just loved being held tightly in her husband’s strong capable arms. Tightening her own arms around his neck, she leaned back from him slightly, “yes you are my family Duncan, and Ewan too. And this place is my home now”, earnestly she tried her best to get her point across, to make him understand, “but you can’t stop me from thinking about my parents and siblings and friends. Even you, Duncan Campbell, do not have the power to erase all of my memories before I came here, and whether you ask me to or not, I will not forget my past, just because that’s what you want me to do.” She paused, giving him time to absorb all she had said, before continuing in a whisper, “so please don’t ask that of me Duncan!”
Elizabeth held her breath, waiting for his response, hoping she hadn’t pushed him too hard. As she waited, she watched as a succession of emotions passed through his gleaming eyes, all too quickly for her to read them. Oh but how she wished she could read his fathomless eyes. She was sure she would understand a whole lot more about this man holding her in the tight circle of his arms if only she could learn to read what his eyes were trying to tell her.
Then he moved startling Elizabeth as his lips descended to drop a quick kiss on the tip of her nose, shaking his head he promised not to ask that of her and her heart nearly jumped right out of her chest. Perhaps he was reasonable after all! “But I saw first-hand the way yer family treated ye and God alone knows why ye’d want to fondly daydream about them!” She could feel the anger building up in him again.
“How about we change the subject, because I feel we are never going to agree about my family!”
“Now I think that is something we can safely agree on!” Laughing he raised her high and spun her around above him. Their laughter mingled together, twisting and twirling its way through the forest until it reached the ears of three characters huddled together, deep in conversation, in the heart of the dense forest.
Lowering Elizabeth so that his lips could reach hers, he kissed her suggestively, “so what do ye think the new subject should be?” he managed to tease between kisses.
“Mm” she pondered, and when she took too long to answer he attacked her ribs with tickling fingers. Trying to catch her breath between giggles, knowing he wouldn’t stop until she gave him an answer, she somehow managed to chokingly utter, “perhaps we could use our bodies instead of our voices for our discussion”.
"Well it would be a shame not to take advantage of the fact that we are both standing here absolutely stark naked!" and with a wolfish smile he pulled her down to the ground on top of him. Still giggling she wholeheartedly threw herself into her husband’s arms, both of them unaware that fate was plotting their downfall only a short distance away.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The castle gates were soundly shut and locked every evening before the last rays of sunlight disappeared over the horizon. Two nightwatchmen proudly stood guard high on top of the outer walls while everyone else within rested safely in the knowledge that they were protected.
The high, thick wall which surrounded the village had been built under the orders of Duncan’s grandfather, Iain Campbell. He had been a mean man, even in his youth and had created a reputation for himself of being a ruthless warrior. He had ordered the building of the wall, not for the protection of the villagers, in fact, in old Iain’s time the village had been located outside of the solid walls. No, it had been built to withstand the hellish sieges of retribution from his enemy. For what he lacked in character he surpassed in the strategies and art of war. The wall was his first line of defence; it was designed and built with war in mind. To this day it had never been penetrated; it had proved itself through the countless battles which had taken place in the old man’s day. Many would say that it was a credit to the man; many would say that it was a true legacy that he had passed down to his kinsmen. Many didn’t know him!
Iain had died before the moat which now surrounded the scared walls was completed; he had died in battle at the age of forty-eight, a fitting end for the man who wouldn’t have wished to die any other way. It was Duncan’s own father who had overseen the building of the moat, which added another layer of defence to the Campbell lands. It was also Duncan’s father who had moved the village buildings inside of the protection of the walls. He had understood the value of the villagers, especially after witnessing firsthand the death of so many in his own father’s lifetime. Now the villagers farmed the land outside of the imposing walls, but returned to the sanctuary offered by them at night.
“Do ye ever think how pointless our job is Donald?” David, one of the nightwatchmen asked as he watched the sun slowly, steadily sink into the horizon. He was new to this job, only nineteen and found the silence and the stillness almost unbearable to live with.
“No” Donald’s voice was deep and rumbled out of his throat like thunder.
“But all we do is stand here! Nothing ever happens!”
“But it could. And if it does we are here and prepared”
Sighing at the good sense of his argument David couldn’t help wishing himself anywhere but here. He heard the muted babble of voices coming from below him; men, women and children talking over their evening meal before they would take themselves off to bed. Oh how he wished he was down there with them.
“Has anything ever happened during yer watch?” he questioned, depressing himself with his own thoughts.
“No” came the calm, even reply.
“No!” David’s voice came out in a strangled squeak. He peered through the encroaching darkness, not quite wanting to ask, “how long have ye been doing this job?”
“Twenty years” Donald piped out proudly, “Twenty years and not a siege at these gates”.
Deflated, David walked over to the edge of the wall. He squinted out over the horiz
on and saw nothing. There was no movement out there whatsoever.
About to turn away, something caught his eye directly below him. There it was again! On the other side of the moat there was a movement which abruptly stopped. Straining his eyes he tried to find it again. Had he just imagined it? Was it just his bored mind playing tricks on him? No! There it was again!
“Donald!” he whispered into the darkness, was that excitement creeping into his voice or fear? Within a flash Donald was by his side, he had moved so silently that David jumped in surprise when he spoke beside his ear.
“Is that movement down there?” he asked the older man, pointing with a trembling finger to indicate the direction of the movement. There it was again! Oh Lord! Were they under attack? What should he do? Raise the alarm! a voice screamed in his head.
Anticipating David’s actions Donald grabbed a hold of him to hold him in place, “wait!” he growled, “there’s no point in raising the alarm before we know what this is about”
“But what if they kill us before we can raise the alarm?” Panic! Yes that was definitely panic in his voice now!
With a look of disgust, Donald raised his voice to demand authoritatively, “who goes there?”
The movements below increased and then a man’s silhouette appeared in the dying rays of light.
“My name is Richard Ainsworth. My sister is your mistress! I have come to claim sanctuary!” The man, boy, shouted back loudly.
“He’s English!” David shrieked, “the English have come to attack!”
“And what is Lady Elizabeth if not English!” Donald demanded quietly, at the end of his patience with the boy! God protect him from snivelling fools!
“And what would her name be laddie?” she shouted down.
“Elizabeth Ainsworth! Now Elizabeth Campbell!” he shouted up.
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