by Hyman, F. S.
“Annabelle, are ye alright?” he asked her, concern on his face.
“Oh, aye. I was just thinking that we should probably make camp. ‘Tis getting dark.”
“Aye,” Derek said, watching her intently.
She evaded his gaze. Would he see what she was thinking? Would he mock her if he knew? She shook her head and slid from her horse. Derek took the reins and tethered it near his own.
“Colm will set up camp. I have something I would like to show ye,” he said coming up behind her and taking her hand.
She started, but allowed him to guide her toward the trees.
“Where are ye taking me?” she asked curiously.
He did not answer but continued to maneuver them through the trees until they came to a small clearing. There was a small loch.
“Och, Derek! A loch!” she squealed, releasing his hand and running to the water’s edge.
“Aye, lass. Ye said ye wanted a bath,” he said with a lopsided grin.
“Oh, Derek, how wonderful,” she said, beginning to unlace her gown.
“Let me do that,” Derek said quietly coming up behind her.
Annabelle let him, barely able to hold in her excitement. When Derek finished unlacing her gown, Annabelle quickly wiggled out of it and started to move away. Derek stopped her by wrapping his arms about her.
“Derek, what are ye…?” she asked, trying to turn toward him.
He did not answer but planted little kisses on her exposed shoulder and neck.
“Derek…” she whispered as sensation overcame her.
“Shh, lass. I miss holding ye,” he murmured, pushing her shift off of her shoulders.
He turned her to face him and took her mouth in a hungry kiss. Annabelle returned it with equal ferocity. He scooped her into his arms and laid her on the ground. He came down beside her, reclaiming her lips. His hands roamed freely over her body. He kneaded her breasts through her shift. He released her lips to trail kisses across her cheek and down her neck.
He reached down to the hem of her shift and inched it up her legs. His hands trailed against her soft skin as the shift rose higher and higher. Annabelle sighed and wiggled against him trying to pull his lips back to hers.
Derek chuckled and pulled the shift over her head. She lay naked before him and he caught his breath at the beauty of her body.
“Ye are so beautiful, Annabelle,” he whispered in a strained voice.
Derek’s hand found what it had been searching for and he delved a finger inside her tight sheath. Annabelle arched into him, gasping at the pleasure.
“Derek, please, I canna wait,” she panted.
“Aye, I canna wait any longer,” he rasped, tugging his kilt, claymore, boots, and shirt off.
He quickly rejoined her and plunged into her heat. They both sighed their relief, and Derek began to move inside of her.
“I canna get enough of ye, Annabelle,” he said in her ear as he pumped harder and faster into her.
Annabelle knew that she was close to rapture. She clutched her arms around Derek’s shoulder and rose to meet his every thrust. After a few moments, the dam broke and they both cried out as their bodies shook from the force of their climax. Derek slumped on top of Annabelle and she wrapped her arms tighter around him.
“Now ye may take yer bath,” he whispered in her ear when he was able to speak.
Annabelle laughed, but did not make a move to get up. She loved the feel of him on top of her. Derek finally stirred and stood to his feet. Annabelle felt bereft.
“Come, and let us wash the dust off of us,” he smiled, holding his hand out for her to take.
Annabelle took his hand and they walked into the loch.
§
Derek took first watch again. He moved into the shadow of the trees and listened for any sound. The Bruces would be out patrolling, and they were on Bruce land. Annabelle and Colm lay close to the fire much as they had the night before.
He smiled at the memory of making love to Annabelle at the loch. Her passion did not cease to amaze him. It was intense, and his own reaction was astounding. He had not wanted a woman so much. And he wanted her over and over again. His body hardened just watching her sleep.
Derek sat down next to a tree and continued to listen for any sign of the Bruces. He closed his eyes and leaned back. His mind turned to another problem. What to do about the massacre at Dunwiche. He wanted to protect Annabelle as long as he could. She still did not remember what had occurred, but he was not sure how much longer to keep it from her. Would she instantly leave, or would she allow him to sort everything out?
He frowned at the thought that she would leave him. That was something he could not allow. He did not want to delve too deeply into the emotion that triggered that thought, but he knew he would not let her go. But he knew that she would be angry. He would find a way to appease her, if it came to that. And he could think of many methods he could employ. He smiled at the thought.
Suddenly he came alert. He heard something behind him. Sitting still, Derek listened until he could make out that there were two horses and riders. He rose slowly and went to awaken Colm.
“They are here,” he whispered. Colm was instantly up with his claymore in his hands.
Derek walked around to Annabelle and nudged her.
“Derek,” she mumbled.
“Aye, lass. The Bruces are upon us. Ye need to find a hiding place,” he said, helping her sit up.
“Nay, I will fight,” she replied, scrabbling to her feet.
“Nay, go and find a hiding place. We doona have time to argue about it,” he said angrily.
Annabelle stood staring at him defiantly.
“I can fight, Derek,” she said in a low voice.
Instead of answering, Derek grabbed her arm and dragged her to a clump of bushes.
“Stay here and doona make a sound,” he commanded and turned to rejoin Colm.
“Derek, wait,” she said running up to him and then tripping over her dress. She fell at his feet, but was quickly back on her feet.
She closed the distance between them and kissed him lightly on the lips.
“Be careful.”
Derek looked at her, bemused, before he walked away. Annabelle smiled and headed back to the bushes.
“I could only hear two of them, but it doesnae mean there arenae more,” Derek said when he joined Colm.
“Aye. They are kenned for the ambush. Is the lass safe?”
“Aye. She is weel hidden.”
Colm nodded and they stood awaiting their company.
“Derek, the lass doesnae remember that she was wed?” Colm suddenly asked as they watched the men approach.
“Nay, she doesnae.”
Colm looked thoughtful.
“Ye arenae going to tell her.”
Derek shook his head in confirmation.
“’Tis for her safety. I doona want her to go running back to Dunwiche looking for her clansmen only to be killed fer her efforts.”
Colm nodded. They stood with their hands to their sides, legs apart.
“Ready, old friend?” Derek asked him when the men drew near.
“Aye. ‘Tis just like old times,” Colm replied with a lopsided grin watching the biggest of the men approach them.
“Weel, look at this, Colin. It seems we have visitors to our fair land,” one of the men said as they stopped their horses in front of the men.
“I see, Donel. Do ye think they are lost? I would bet that they are lost, or otherwise they have a death wish,” Colin smirked at his friend.
Donel stared at the men intently.
“Ye ken, Colin, I think these are MacDougals.”
“MacDougal, ye say? Now why would a MacDougal be on Bruce land?”
“I doona ken, but suspect they willnae have a chance to tell us,” Donel chuckled as he kneed his horse into motion.
Derek and Colm had stood motionless listening to their inane chatter. But when Donel spurred his horse at them, they were
ready. They both pulled their claymores from their sheaths on their backs.
Donel swung his sword at Colm, and Colm blocked it with his claymore and then sliced through Donel’s horse’s flank. The beast reared and went down. Donel rolled away and jumped to his feet. He charged at Colm with his sword raised. Colm sidestepped and blocked another blow aimed at his head.
Colin used the same tactic with Derek, but instead of taking his horse down, Derek used forward momentum to knock Colin from his horse. Colin lay stunned for a moment before he was back on his feet sword in hand. He rushed at Derek, and as he approached, Derek raised his claymore to deflect a blow, then turned and sliced Colin across his shoulder.
“Ye will pay for that, MacDougal,” he roared as he rushed him again. This time Derek miscalculated and barely blocked Colin’s sword as it sliced his side.
Derek felt the warm blood trickle down his side, but he did not register the pain, too intent on disabling his opponent.
Colm had also injured his opponent with a gash across his thigh. He rushed the man when he fell to his knees in the dirt. Using the hilt of his sword, he punched the man in his face. At first Donel did not go down, so Colm punched him again with all of his strength. The man wavered for a moment and then fell face first into the dirt.
He turned just as Derek was pulling his sword from Colin’s midsection.
“Ye dinna kill him?” Derek asked him as he wiped the blood off his sword onto Colin’s shirt.
“Nay. He was a big mon, and I found myself tiring,” he grinned.
Derek laughed. Colm always said that after a battle. He would go wake Donel up again to finish what he started. He thought that Colm did it for amusement. He guessed that Colm did not like the fight to be over so fast.
“I will go fetch Annabelle,” he said turning toward the bush and then stopped in his tracks.
“Look what I found,” a male voice said as he and Annabelle walked from behind the bushes she was hiding behind.
Derek frowned.
“Let her go,” he said in a menacing voice.
“Now why would I be doing that, I wonder,” the man said, running his hand over her breast.
Derek growled and moved forward.
“I wouldnae do that if I were ye,” the man replied, pulling a knife from behind his back.
“Let her go,” Derek repeated. Annabelle was staring at him, but her face was emotionless. He could not tell if she was frightened or not.
“Weel, it seems like we have an even trade. Ye killed two of my clansmen, so I figure I should keep yer woman,” he grinned and licked Annabelle on her cheek. She grimaced, but that was the only emotion on her face. She was too far away for Derek to read her eyes.
“I will do to ye what I have done to yer clansman if ye doona let her go this instant.”
The man laughed. He continued to grope Annabelle through her gown.
Annabelle watched the storm clouds gather on Derek’s face. She had watched the battle through the bushes. She had been so engrossed in the battle that she had not heard the man come up behind her. He grabbed her around her waist and put his other hand over her mouth.
“Doona give me any trouble or I will kill ye,” he hissed in her ear with his rancid breath. Annabelle had recoiled.
“Let’s wait to see who comes out on top,” he said, keeping her behind the bushes and in the shadows.
She saw Derek barley deflect a blow, but he quickly recovered and finally felled his opponent. Colm was fighting a bigger man, and he seemed to be holding his own. He slashed the man across his thigh, and when the man went to his knees, he smashed him in the face twice until he fell to his face. She wondered why he did not kill him.
After it was done, the man pushed her around the bushes. She kept her features bland so that the man would not see her fear. She had never actually fought in a battle and was not sure that she could do what needed to be done. She kept her eyes on Derek so that she would not crumple in fear.
“I think I will take my prize and return home,” the man sneered as he began to turn toward the trees still holding the knife to her side.
“Ye willnae take my wife with ye anywhere,” Derek said and lifted his claymore.
Annabelle noticed the grimace on his face, although fleeting, when he raised the sword to a fighting position. She narrowed her eyes at him and ran them up and down his body until she saw a darkening patch on his right side. Her eyes widened as she realized he had been injured.
Not thinking, Annabelle pulled Derek’s dirk from a pocket in her gown and rammed it in the man’s throat. He gave a surprised grunt. Annabelle had reached Derek’s side before his body hit the ground.
“Ye are hurt!” she said when she reached him.
Derek and Colm looked at her with surprised shock as she fussed over his wound.
“Annabelle?” he called.
“Aye,” she replied distractedly as she unlatched his sword sheath and pulled his shirt over his head.
“Are ye alright?” he asked in amusement. He sent a look at Colm who only shook his head.
“Aye,” she waved at him. She ripped a piece off of his shirt and pushed it against his wound. She noticed that it was not very deep, but she needed to stop the bleeding and clean it.
Donel began to stir at the moment, so Colm walked over and picked him up by his head.
“Had enough, lad?” he asked him.
“I will see ye in hell,” Donel rasped out, still groggy from the blows to his head.
“Aye, ye might. But not today,” Colm replied and slit his throat with his dirk.
“Are ye injured too, Colm?” Annabelle asked. She had gotten their wineskins from Derek’s horse and doused a clean piece of Derek’s shirt in water. She gently cleaned Derek’s wound. He hissed as she cleaned the wound.
“Nay, lass.”
She nodded and continued her ministrations.
“Ye were right about that ambush. Luckily they had only three guards instead of an army.”
“Aye, but they usually only send out two or three warriors at a time,” he said through clenched teeth as Annabelle poured some ale on the wound.
Annabelle ripped more pieces from Derek’s ruined shirt and wrapped them around his waist. She then tied it in place.
“That should hold ye until we get to Bondlach,” she said eyeing her handy work.
“That it will, lass,” he said. He reached up and ran his knuckles over her cheek.
“Are ye sure ye are alright, Colm?” she turned to him then.
He just chuckled and nodded. Annabelle sighed. It was almost light and they would need to be going soon.
“What do we do with…” she stopped midsentence and her eyes began to widen.
“Annabelle?” Colm said concerned.
“What do we do with what?” Derek asked coming to stand beside her.
Annabelle’s eyes were fixed on the bushes she had hidden behind. Derek frowned at her.
“Annabelle?”
“Derek,” she whispered. “I killed a mon.”
Her eyes were huge when she looked up at him. He could see that she was shaken. She even began to tremble as the full revelation of what she had done became clear to her.
“I think I may be sick,” she said promptly turning and emptying her stomach.
Derek held her hair while she emptied herself. When she recovered, there was a bright red blush on her face.
“No need to be ashamed, lass. Many a brave warrior was sick after their first kill,” Colm said coming to stand beside them.
She gave him a tremulous smile.
“Aye, lass, and I have n’er seen a braver warrior than ye,” Derek said with sincerity in his eyes.
She was enveloped by the warmth in his gaze. She gave him a shaky grin.
“Come. We will go to the loch and freshen up,” he said taking her arm and leading her into the trees. Colm followed.
They passed the body of the man she killed, and she could not help but shudder. Derek’s ar
m came about her shoulder and he squeezed her against his side. His strength calmed her. She took a deep breath and stiffened her spine. She had done what she had to do.
He reached down and pulled his dirk from the man’s neck. Derek leaned down to whisper in her ear.
“By the way, lass, how did ye get my dirk?”
She looked at him and grinned.
Chapter 16
They reached Bondlach by midday. They left the men where they lay, Derek stating that they would eventually be found when the watch changed. The Bruces would not know that the men were killed by MacDougals.
Annabelle had eventually been able to come to grips with the fact that she killed another human being. She had to admit that it felt good to be able to say that she was able to defend herself. She watched as the landscape changed from dirt and trees to lush grasses and heather. It was breathtaking. She stared in awe as they grew closer to Bondlach.
“I used to come here every summer, and then I would visit when we were not obligated with a battle,” Derek said to her with a smile.
She smiled back at him. She felt an urge to reach out and grab his hand. She realized she was starved for his touch. It surprised her. She remembered the gentleness of his arms after they made love, and she wanted to feel that again.
“I stopped visiting when Tobias’ Da died and he became laird. I wanted to give him a chance to adjust to his new position. That was over a year ago. This is the first time I have been back since his Da’s funeral,” Derek said quietly.
Annabelle could tell that Tobias’ father’s death had affected Derek too.
“Were ye close to the old laird?”
“Aye. He was like a second Da. I spent a lot of time here.”
Annabelle nodded.
“Did ye come here, too, Colm?” she turned to the other man.
“Aye, lass, but not as much as Derek. I think me and his brothers were eventually banned because we teased them so mercilessly,” he smirked, winking at her.
