by Hyman, F. S.
Once Derek had the gash bandaged, he tore another piece of cloth from his shirt and dipped it in the cool water of the river. He placed it on the gash to help the swelling go down around it.
While he waited, he studied the woman. What he saw intrigued him. She was slender, but she was curved generously in the right places. Her features were not amazingly beautiful, but she was a beautiful woman. She had fire red hair and a clear complexion, but her face was pale. Her full red lips were slightly parted, and Derek found that he wanted to kiss them. She had a straight small nose and beautiful long eyelashes that were a little darker than her hair. He wished he could see the color of her eyes. Her eyebrows matched her eyelashes and were slightly arched.
Derek’s eyes traveled down her slender neck to the partly exposed tops of her breasts. Her dress was a very fine soft burgundy. It had a trail of small pink roses sewn down the right side that then curved around to the left along the waist line. She still wore long gloves that matched the pink of the roses.
She must be weel born, he thought. He did not recognize her, but he thought that maybe he had seen her before. He wondered what had happened to her that she ended up almost being dinner for the carrion bird. Besides the gash and bump, she did not look as if she had been attacked. Her dress was still intact.
Derek removed the cloth and dipped it in the river again. As he applied it, she stirred a little but did not waken. Derek frowned and leaned forward putting his face close hers. He could feel her soft breath on his cheek and smell a hint of roses and jasmine as he took a breath. It was intoxicating.
“I found her horse. ‘Tis an excellent bit o’ horseflesh. She must have come from one of the neighboring keeps,” Colm called as he crossed the river leading her horse.
Derek rocked back on his heels. He looked toward Colm as he grew nearer.
“Ye didnae see any sign she was with someone?”
“Nay. Looks as if she may have fallen from her horse. I found blood on the saddle horn,” Colm replied tethering the horse next to his and Derek’s.
“Aye, I found a gash over her ear,” he showed the gash to Colm.
“I wonder what happened to the lass.”
“I doonae ken, but intend to find out. Do ye recognize the lass? It seems I’ve seen her before, but canna place her.”
“Nay, I would remember one so bonny,” Colm said in awe.
Derek scowled. He did not like what he heard in his friend’s voice or what he saw in his clear blue eyes.
“What do ye think we should do with the lass? Do we take her on to Bondlach or return to Dunkirk?” Colm contemplated.
“Weel, we have a long ride to Bondlach, but only a half days’ ride to Dunkirk. We return to Dunkirk. Megan will be able to help the lass,” Derek said, wringing out the cloth he had used on the woman’s gash and putting it in his bag.
“Aye,” Colm agreed.
§
They made it back to Dunkirk without incident. Derek had set the woman before him on Charger. He wrapped one arm around her and kept control of Charger with the other. He could feel her soft breasts resting against his forearm as he held her upright and in place. He was shocked at the desire that ran through him at the contact. Her charms were not as generous as Eilidh’s but, for some reason, they stirred something inside him. He shook away the thought and concentrated on getting them to Dunkirk.
Derek and Colm stopped before the door of the keep. Derek dismounted with the woman still in his arms. As he shifted her in a better position, he realized something was different.
“She’s burning up!” he said as he hurried into the keep. He strode up the stairs to his chamber. He did not even notice Eilidh standing by the door.
“Colm, go find Megan. I’ll get this dress off of her,” he said laying her on his bed.
Colm hesitated.
“Are ye sure? Let Megan do that,” he said coming to stand by his friend.
Derek frowned. He knew that they would have to take the gown off in order to cool her body down efficiently.
“Nay, we need to cool her body down, and there is no telling where Megan may be. Now go find her. I’ll do what I can until she gets here,” he said.
Colm hesitated again, but went to do what Derek told him to do.
He bent over her and began to remove her clothing. He gently removed her gown but left her shift and stockings. What he could see through the thin fabric of the shift took his breath away. She had nice full breast, and he could see her pink nipples through the materials. He wanted to reach out and test their weight in his hands. He forced his eyes to continue their perusal. She had a flat stomach that led to a thatch of bright red hair and long shapely legs. Derek expelled a slow breath. He did not hear the door open as he stood staring at her.
“Who is that, Derek?”
Derek turned slowly toward the door. He looked at Eilidh. She stood trying to look around him at the woman.
“I doona ken. We found her on our way to Bondlach,” he said tightly. He felt irritated at Eilidh’s interruption.
Eilidh walked further into the room and stood beside the bed. Her eyes hardened as she saw that the woman was lying in only her shift and stockings.
“Did I interrupt something?” she asked venomously. She turned her head and looked at Derek.
Derek could see the jealousy in her eyes, and it angered him. Eilidh knew that what they had was just sex. She meant nothing to him beyond that.
“The woman is burning up with fever, Eilidh. I took off her gown so that I could bathe her in cool water,” he did not know why he was explaining to her. He owed her no explanations.
“Ah. Could not ye wait until Megan was fetched? Or I could have done that for ye? Ye did not have to trouble yerself,” she said, turning back to the woman.
Eilidh noticed that the woman was indeed beautiful. She felt a pang of envy, because compared to the woman, Eilidh was almost plain. She knew Derek would find the woman attractive, and she felt her anger bubbling up inside. Derek was hers, and she would not let this strange woman come in a take him away from her. Did not he always come to her? Well, it would stay that way.
Derek decided not to answer Eilidh. Instead, he dipped a cloth in the basin on his side table and began to wipe the woman’s face, shoulders, and chest with the cool water. He could almost feel the softness of her skin through the cloth.
Eilidh noticed how gently he wiped her down. She could feel the hatred growing for this unknown woman. She tried to get Derek’s attention.
“Let me do that, Derek. Ye don’t have to,” she said trying to take the cloth from him.
“Nay, Eilidh. Go see what ’tis taking Colm and Megan so long,” he gruffed. He did not look up at her.
Eilidh opened her mouth to protest, but turned and did what she was bid. It would not pay to get on the wrong side of Derek. Once on it, you never got off of it. And if she planned to keep him, she would have to come up with a strategy because she knew that Derek was attracted to the woman.
Chapter 2
“She is still sleeping. She is cooler to the touch. Her fever should be broken by morning,” Megan said coming down the stairs into the hall.
Colm and Megan had entered the room minutes after Eilidh left. Derek had been standing by the window watching the breeze waft through the grasses of the moor beyond the keep wall.
“It may be some days before she wakes, or she may wake on the morrow. But without knowing what happened to the lass, I canna ken what potion to give her,” Megan said sitting her bulk at the trestle table.
Derek grunted. Colm nodded.
“So how do ye think we should go about finding out who the lass belongs to? Ye said ye think ye’ve seen her before, Derek. Do ye ken now?” Colm asked. He watched his friend’s face. Derek had been in a dark mood when they had come upon him in his chamber. He was not sure what to make of it.
“Nay, but somehow we must find out. Megan, ye can stay with the lass tonight. I’ll find somewhere else to sleep.”
“Aye,” Megan agreed.
Colm smiled. He could guess where that would be. He had seen the jealousy in Eilidh’s eyes when Derek brought the lass in. She would be glad to know that she has nothing to worry about. Colm found that he too was glad that that was the case.
Derek stood and strode out of the keep.
“What do ye make of that, Colm?”
“I doona ken,” Colm said looking toward the door Derek exited.
Megan snorted and returned to Derek’s chamber. Colm rose and followed Derek outside.
§
Derek slipped into Eilidh’s chamber a little past midnight. He had been drinking with Colm and some of the retainers left to guard Dunkirk. His mind had never been far from the woman occupying his bed. He wondered who she was, and why it seemed that he had seen her before.
He removed his claymore and leaned it against the wall, and then his dirk which he put on a table. He pulled his shirt over his head and pulled off his kilt. He stood naked in the middle of the chamber. He looked toward the bed where he could see Eilidh’s curves silhouetted under the covers. He felt his groin stir at the sight. He walked to the bed and slipped under the covers. He reached and pulled Eilidh into the curve of his body. Her body was warm from being under the covers.
Eilidh stirred and pressed her bottom into Derek’s erection. She moaned and ran her hand down his thigh. Derek flipped her to face him and captured her mouth in a hungry kiss. She wrapped her arms around him and pushed her body into his. His hands roamed over all of her soft skin. He released her mouth and kissed her neck and then her breasts. She gasped with pleasure as the warmth of his mouth surrounded her nipples.
Derek pushed Eilidh roughly to her back and mounted her. He slipped easily into her warmth and rode her hard and fast. Eilidh reveled in it. She could not contain her happiness to know that Derek was still hers.
When Derek, at last, fell on top of her, Eilidh was too happy to care. She wrapped her arms around him and held him close. She almost told him how much she loved him, but his breathing was even and she knew that he was asleep. She smiled. She would get another chance to tell him.
Chapter 3
“There are men at the gates from Dunwiche, Derek,” Colm informed him.
Derek looked up from his breakfast of cheese and bread. He frowned.
“Do they say what brings them here?” he asked, following Colm to the courtyard.
“Nay. They say they wish to speak to ye.”
Derek walked toward the men waiting in the courtyard. He could tell that what he was about to be told would not be pleasant.
“What brings ye to Dunkirk?” Derek asked walking towards the men.
The laird of Dunwiche had joined into the alliance with the other clans, but Derek did not know them personally. He knew that Dunwiche boasted many fierce warriors, and that they could be counted on in a battle.
The man that looked down at Derek from his horse had red hair and bright blue eyes. His build was a little thicker than Derek’s, but they were similar in strength. His eyes looked haunted and his face was somber.
“I am Broc Farquharson of clan McInnis,” he said in a deep strong voice.
“Aye, I am Derek.”
“I’m afraid there has been some trouble at Dunwiche. I ken that Laird Harold has made an alliance with ye,” he replied solemnly.
“Aye. What kind of trouble?”
“Maybe we should sit down. The tale I have to tell ye is a bad one,” he said, dismounting.
“’Tis that bad, eh?” Derek asked, leading the men into the great hall.
“Aye, ‘tis worse.”
Derek felt another moment of dread. Derek led them to the table and directed a servant to get them some ale. Once they had all been served, he turned to Broc.
“What has happened?” Derek asked with a frown.
“Laird Harold has been killed, along with most of our clan and a visiting clan,” Broc replied.
They all turned when they heard a gasp behind them.
“Leave!” Derek demanded when he saw Eilidh standing in the doorway. She hurriedly turned and fled.
“We would also have suffered such a fate had we nae had to go handle a small dispute betwixt our neighbors. We got back and Laird Harold and most of the McInnises and the other clan were dead. Laird Harold’s nephew, Julian, was there and said that they were poisoned. He had just begun to eat and drink when Laird Harold and the rest fell. He had but a sip of his ale ere the commotion commenced, which I felt ‘twas very convenient. He but felt mildly sickened by the poison. He is now the new laird of Dunwiche,” Broc finished. He took a long drink of his ale.
“What was the name of the other clan?” Colm asked him.
“Me thinks it was MacAlpin.”
Derek’s brow grew together. MacAlpin? That sounded vaguely familiar.
“What were they doing at Dunwiche?” Derek asked.
“Laird Harold was to marry the laird’s only daughter.”
“Laird Harold had just gotten married? What of his bride? Is she also perished?”
“We doona ken. One of the servants saw her run away from the keep in the middle of the commotion. She said that she had also drunk some of the ale. Me thinks she is out there somewhere. We canna be sure. We searched as we rode this way, but we doona ken if she ran towards home.”
“Who was his bride? Do ye think she had anything to do with it?”
“Her name is Annabelle. Her father is Laird Cullen of Kinloch. I doona ken if she had anything to do with it. She seemed nice enough, but I would not say that she was overjoyed with marrying Laird Harold. He was twice her senior, but I doona think she would have done such a thing.”
“Do ye remember what she looks like?” Derek asked in a low voice.
Colm looked at him. He thought the same thing that Derek did. That the woman they had found in the woods was the missing bride.
“Aye. She is a bonny lass with red hair and the most beautiful green eyes I have ever seen,” Broc replied. Derek almost growled. He did not know why any compliment from other men bothered him. The woman was not even his.
Derek nodded. He was sure that the woman was indeed this Annabelle. Derek contemplated whether he should tell Broc that he had found her, but he was not sure that Broc was not working with whomever killed their laird. He could not help but wonder if she had done this thing to the McInnises. His eyes roved toward the stairs. Even though he did not know her, his gut told him that she would not be capable of something like this, but he could not be sure.
“We havenae found any trace of who did the poisoning. Whoever it may be is still out there. We have come to ye to ask for aide in the search,” Broc continued. “I doona like Julian, ye ken. He is a weak mon, Laird Harold kenned it, and he will but lead our clansmen with fear and hatred. I am nae sure he dinna have more to do with what happened, because he would have been next in line to be laird if Laird Harold hadnae gotten married. There will be dark times ahead for Dunwiche if we doona figure this out.”
“What need would he have to kill the young bride? They had but just gotten married. She couldnae have carried the heir, or could she?” Derek asked. That thought angered him.
“Nay. But she would own Dunwiche and whomever she next married would become laird, ye ken.”
Derek nodded his head.
“Ye doona think she would have had Julian to husband?”
“Nay. I could tell that she didnae like him,” Broc said, taking another drink from his tankard.
That satisfied Derek.
“How do we prove if ‘twas this nephew? It seems all witnesses are perished,” he asked.
“I doona ken. ‘Tis why I am here for yer help” Broc said, gloomily.
“We’ll get ye and yer men some food and bed ye down for the night. I need to think on this,” he said, rising. He signaled to one of the servants to make the preparations and bring the food.
“Thank ye, Derek. It has been a verra trying day.”
Derek nod
ded and left them. Colm followed him to the solar.
“What do ye think of that tale?”
Derek grunted.
“He describe the lass. She was the bride of Laird Harold. She must have been fleeing the keep when she lost consciousness in that clearing,” Colm said sitting down in one of the chairs placed around the solar.
“Do ye think we should tell Broc that we have the lass? It seems to me that she would be safer here,” Colm continued.
Derek turned and looked at his friend. He had the feeling that Colm was interested in the lass. He tamped down the irritation he felt.
“Aye, she will be safer here. We couldnae verra weel send her back to Dunwiche with a murderer around. They would surely finish what they have started,” Derek said going to the window. He watched as the men trained in the courtyard.
“Aye, but what do we do?”
“We wait for the lass to wake up, and then we can see what information she kens. Maybe she had something to do with what happened. Until she wakes up, we willnae ken. But we canna send her back to Dunwiche,” Derek said.
“What about her clan? Do ye think we should send her back to her clan? Mayhap there are some left to care for her,” Colm watched Derek’s face. It was inscrutable.
“I doona think we should do that either. What if the person responsible sends to their keep to see if she has survived? I think we should keep her here until we can come up with a plan to ferret the murderer out. If they think she is dead, she will be safer for the time being.”
“Aye, that makes sense,” Colm agreed.
Derek nodded and turned toward Colm.
“I think I’ll go train with the men. Will ye join me?”
“Ye ken I canna turn that down,” Colm chuckled. They left the solar.
