Alexander poked his head around the corner. “Come here and see the mount I have chosen for ye.”
She walked to the very last stall where a gentle mare several hands shorter than the rest stood very still. The chestnut horse was so immobile that Sybella had to look twice to make sure the beast was not dead. “I donna know what to say.”
“She is a verra quiet horse. I think ye two will get along fine.” He patted the even-tempered creature on the neck and then looked at Sybella for approval.
“Where is my own horse?” she asked, glancing around the stable. When Alexander raised his brow questioningly, she added, “The one I rode from Kintail.”
“Your father’s men gathered him this morn, lass.”
“My father took my horse?” Her voice unintentionally went up a notch.
“Ye donna like this one?”
If she was to spend the rest of her days under a MacDonell roof, she could not hold her tongue all of the time. And this happened to be one of them. “’Tisnae that I donna like her, but mayhap she would be more suited for someone like Aunt Iseabail. I know how to ride, Alexander. I donna need a quiet mount.”
He closed the distance between them until his imposing frame stood before her. She cast her eyes downward as her husband brushed past her. “Then tell me, Lady MacDonell, which mount would ye choose?”
After inspecting each available mount in the stable, she pointed to the most muscular of the bunch. “This one.”
“That one?” Alexander glanced sideways in surprise. “The captain of my guard has his brother, lass. Those two are indeed a handful. I donna think he is suited for ye. Nay, pick another.”
Sybella laughed to cover her annoyance. “Ye asked me which horse I would choose, and I made my decision. I am nae some fragile flower. I have ridden with Colin many—”
He threw up his hands in the air. “Fine. If he tosses ye onto your arse, I will be the first to say I told ye so.” Alexander opened the stall door and mumbled under his breath. “What did I get myself into?”
She folded her arms over her chest. “Ye do realize I can still hear ye.”
Her husband peeked around the stall door. “My apologies. Would ye rather I speak when I look at ye? I would be happy to repeat—”
When she realized that he was only jesting, she rolled her eyes. “Just cease and saddle the mount.”
He pulled the animal from the stall. Without giving her a chance to protest, he hefted her onto the horse as if she weighed as little as a bairn. If her mount’s prancing feet and agitated movements were any indication, the horse was indeed a high-spirited beast. She knew she only needed to give the animal a firm hand and let him know who was in charge, similar to her own husband—although, she couldn’t imagine Alexander willingly accepting defeat.
He swung up effortlessly onto his mount and grabbed the reins. “Are ye sure ye want to do this?” When her eyes narrowed at his repeated question, he shrugged his shoulders. “Come. I will show ye the loch.”
They rode along the dirt path, with Sybella following her husband. When visions of Alexander in her bed replayed in her mind, she quickly replaced the wicked thoughts with the memory of his kiss upon the parapet. Although she had acted like a wanton fool in broad daylight, the touch of his lips had been quite enjoyable. Was she supposed to feel this way? She was so confused. She knew she had to betray him, but yet she still managed to find pleasure in his touch. How could that be? What was wrong with her? She thought the man would be…different. He definitely stirred something within her that she didn’t understand.
Alexander was so confident in every move he made. That’s why she couldn’t help herself when her eyes became focused on his broad back and strong shoulders. She tilted her head to one side, stealing a slanted look at his solid frame. Her husband was rather pleasing to the eye, even though he was a MacDonell.
Dipping his head slightly, he asked, “Do ye like what ye see?”
Her mouth dropped. “What?”
He swung his head around and looked at her. “The loch, Wife.”
“Aye. ’Tis verra bonny—the loch.”
When they reached a small clearing, Alexander helped her down from her horse and tethered their mounts to a branch.
“There is something I wish to show ye.”
He grabbed her hand and led her into the trees. They continued to walk, the smell of the loch and foliage overwhelming her senses. When they reached the edge of the tree line, it was as if a curtain had been opened on a window before her—the thicket cleared and they were surrounded by water on three sides.
“This is magnificent,” she stated simply.
Glengarry sat imposingly in the distance, and the water looked like a silken blanket draped across the land. She closed her eyes as the small waves lapped against the sandy shore.
“I thought ye would enjoy it. If we have much rain, it will flood this land.”
“Thank ye for sharing this with me. Truly.”
“’Tis my pleasure, lass. I want ye to feel comfortable here. This is now your home, too.”
Alexander peered at her intently, and she made it a point to concentrate on everything but him. Every time his gaze met hers, her heart turned over in response. She decided not to make eye contact until she could figure out what caused this unnerving reaction. Well, that was what she told herself until he turned her to face him.
There was a tingling in the pit of her stomach. Laird Alexander MacDonell was so disturbing to her in every way. She tried to steady the dizzying feeling within her, but her husband portrayed a vitality that definitely captured her.
He stepped closer and clasped her body tightly to his.
God help her. She had no desire to back out of his embrace. Her eyes fell to his lips, and the anticipation was almost unbearable. She tried to calm her racing heart. She couldn’t afford to be distracted by romantic notions—or whatever this might be.
He gently brushed a kiss across her forehead, and then his lips slowly descended to meet hers. His mouth covered hers hungrily, his tongue sending shivers of desire through her.
As his mouth grazed her earlobe, she drew his face to hers in a renewed embrace, succumbing to the forceful domination of his lips. For one insane moment, Sybella actually wanted him to crush her mouth in a hard, bruising kiss.
He was so warm and so very tempting.
When long, tickling tendrils brushed against her cheek, she couldn’t help herself. She wound her hand in Alexander’s thick hair and pulled him closer. Her soft curves molded into his lean body.
He tugged at her dress, exposing a creamy breast. His lips touched her nipple with tantalizing possessiveness, and he fondled the other with his rough fingers. The rosy peaks grew to pebble hardness.
And then he stilled…
Thundering hooves approached from a distance. Alexander hastily adjusted her clothing and she smoothed her skirts. Branches cracked and snapped behind them as someone trudged through the brush. A man as imposing as her husband emerged into the small clearing.
“John.” The captain of Alexander’s guard.
Sweat beaded on the man’s brow and his breathing was labored. “Pardon the intrusion, my laird. ’Tis Lady Iseabail.”
Seven
“What’s wrong?” Alex’s heart sank, and a worried expression crossed his brow. “I told ye to have someone look after her.” He grabbed Sybella’s hand and pulled her along behind him, not waiting for John’s response.
“Aye, I had Ian keeping an eye on her,” said John, following his laird through the brush.
Alex smirked and spoke with sarcasm. “Aye, because he did so well when ye asked him to look after…” He was about to say the MacKenzie’s son, but thought it best to keep that knowledge to himself lest he found himself thrown from his wife’s bed within a day’s time.
When they reached their mounts, Alex lifted Sybella onto her horse and then turned to John. “Where was Aunt Iseabail last?”
“Nay one has seen her since
she broke her fast. Ian thought she was in her chamber. I have men searching the castle and a handful of them wandering the grounds.”
Alex placed his hand on the flank of Sybella’s mount. “I will ride with ye back to the stable and then I must take my leave.”
“Does she wander off by herself often?”
“More so than I would like.” He started to walk away and spoke over his shoulder. “The last time she did this, I found her in the woods where my men hunt. She forgot why she had left home.”
“Then we must find her. I will assist ye in searching the grounds.”
Shaking his head in disagreement, Alex mounted his horse. “The last thing I need is to worry about ye. Ye have yet to know my lands and ye ride a mount that isnae easy to handle.” He thought he heard his wife growl at him, but the lass was the least of his worries.
They galloped on the dirt trail beside the loch, and his eyes continued to search the surrounding area. As they reached the end of the path, he slowed his mount and Sybella darted around him. He called after her, but the daft woman only increased her speed. The lass fled up the hill past the clan burial markers and ran her horse full speed into the forest.
John and Alex merely stared, tongue-tied. Alex had to admit that he was momentarily speechless with surprise at seeing his bonny wife handle her mount with the same skill as a seasoned Highland warrior. But that was no excuse to rush blindly into the woods with complete and utter disregard for her own safety. He quickly recovered his wits and nodded to John.
The men thundered up the hill after Sybella and cautiously slowed their mounts when they reached the tree line. Once Alex caught his witless wife, he would need a tremendous amount of strength not to throttle her. God’s teeth! The woman’s carelessness was going to get her killed.
They separated and he could still see John a few yards away through the foliage, but neither of them spotted Sybella.
A branch snapped to the right and Alex’s horse shied.
“Thalla dhachaigh! Mach a seo!” Go home! Get out of here! Sybella screamed through the trees.
Alex turned his mount toward the sound of her voice. And then his breath caught in his lungs.
* * *
Sharp, white fangs were bared and saliva dripped from the wolf’s mouth. A cool sweat dripped down Sybella’s back, but she didn’t have time to think about that. The animal stood his ground firmly between her and Aunt Iseabail.
The color drained from Aunt Iseabail’s face, and the poor woman’s eyes widened with fear. She took a step to the right just as the wolf turned his head, taking another predatory step closer to her shaking frame.
“Stay right where ye are,” ordered Sybella in a low voice. The thought of the beast rending Aunt Iseabail’s soft flesh tore at Sybella’s soul.
The gray hair of the wolf’s coat stood on end, and the animal let out a low, throaty growl. Sybella tried to keep control as the beast crept slowly closer, getting ready to make his move. Since screaming did not scare it off, Sybella realized she needed to do something else, quickly. For some reason, the wolf seemed…off. It was unusually hostile for being alone in the daytime.
Sybella was frantically searching the ground for anything to use as a weapon when she spotted a rock within reach. She bent down carefully, reaching for the stone with the tips of her fingers. Her eyes never left the wolf.
The animal took one step closer to Aunt Iseabail.
Sybella brought back her arm, throwing the rock with all her might and hitting the wolf in the back of the thigh. The animal flinched, whirled around, and then headed straight for Sybella with wild green eyes and sharp fangs bared.
Her husband rushed through the trees on his mount. “Coimhead!” Look out!
“Alexander!” Sybella jumped to the side as he hefted his broadsword and his blade struck down the wolf. As soon as the animal fell to the ground, Sybella ran to Aunt Iseabail’s side. “Are ye all right?”
The older woman placed her hand over her chest. “Praise the saints that wolf gave me but a fright. If it wasnae for ye, my dear, I donna know what would have happened. Mòran taing.” Thank you very much.
Sybella smiled with compassion. “Ye donna need to thank me. Your safety is all that matters. Are ye sure ye are unhurt?”
Alexander approached and a swift shadow of something Sybella could not identify crossed his face. “Are ye injured?”
“An gaisgeach,” said Sybella with a smile. My hero. “The wolf wasnae right. I am sorry ye had to kill him, but the animal was sick.”
He nodded in response. “Aunt Iseabail,” he said with renewed patience, “how do ye fare?”
“Thanks to ye and your lady wife, I am fine,” she said with relief.
“Ye had us all worried. Why didnae ye tell someone when ye took your leave of the castle? Ye could have been killed. Ye are verra lucky my wife found ye when she did.” He ran his large hand over her gray tresses, and Sybella couldn’t help but smile when her husband’s aunt pushed his hand away in response.
“’Tis unfortunate I came across the wolf, but the last time I looked, Alexander MacDonell, I donna need to ask your permission to take a walk,” she chided him.
“Of course ye donna, but ye could have told someone where ye were going.”
“I was looking for ye, Nephew.”
“And I am here. What was so important that ye needed to seek me out, Aunt Iseabail?”
When she did not respond, Sybella spoke kindly. “’Tis all right, Aunt Iseabail. We were worried about ye, and ye are now safe. ’Tis all that matters.” She turned to her husband and nodded. “Mayhap ye can carry your aunt to your mount.” He raised his brow and Sybella discreetly gestured to Aunt Iseabail’s bare feet.
His eyes darkened with emotion.
When Sybella spotted Aunt Iseabail from the path walking into the woods, she hadn’t given her actions a second thought. She’d made a mad dash up the hill, refusing to lose sight of the poor woman. The last thing Alexander needed right now was to be worried sick over his missing aunt. Besides, Sybella found herself developing a certain fondness for Aunt Iseabail.
When Alexander bent to pick up Aunt Iseabail, she squealed. “Nephew, I am perfectly capable of walking on my own accord. Put me down.”
“Ye have nay voice in the matter. I will carry ye to my mount.” He walked back and lifted Aunt Iseabail onto his horse. Once she was secure, he spun around to assist Sybella, but then his eyes widened. “I would have assisted ye as well.”
Sybella sat upon her mount and spoke in a somewhat annoyed tone. “I donna need your assistance. See to your aunt.”
Alexander swung up behind his aunt and gave a brief nod to John. “Make sure ye call off the men.” He paused and then quickly added, “And have words with Ian.”
“It will be more than words. I assure ye,” said John dryly.
They rode back silently to the castle, and as soon as they entered the bailey, Sybella quickly dismounted. She grabbed the first person she saw and had him order a bath for Aunt Iseabail. When she turned, Alexander had lowered his aunt to her feet.
“Alexander,” said Sybella, reaching out and touching her husband’s back. He turned around and she gave him a gentle smile. “I ordered a bath for Aunt Iseabail, and I will take her to her chamber. Donna worry. I will see she is cared for.”
Closing what was left of the small distance between them, he glared down at her. “And after ye are finished, we will have words.”
When he switched all of that intensity to her, she became confused. Why would the man be cross with her? He should be thanking her.
Refusing to agonize over his sudden change in behavior, she stepped around her wall of a husband and draped her arm around Aunt Iseabail. “Come, Aunt Iseabail. I ordered a bath for ye, and we will get ye cleaned up.”
“Thank ye, my dear. Ye are so kind.”
As Sybella turned her head, the captain of Alexander’s guard forcefully shoved a man into the stone wall of the bailey.
She presumed the man was Ian.
Aunt Iseabail opened the door to her chamber and Sybella followed her in. For a moment, Sybella felt a pang of guilt for having been in the woman’s bedchamber with Colin. Only by chance had they managed to escape unscathed and undetected. She couldn’t imagine trying to explain her way out of that one. Colin’s curiosity could have raised much discord between the MacDonells and MacKenzies, had the two of them been discovered. And her search for the stone would’ve been over before it had even begun.
The men carried in the heavy tub and dumped in the buckets of steaming water. Once they had departed, Sybella helped Aunt Iseabail undress and get into the tub.
Sybella reached for a rag. “Are ye able to lift your foot?”
“I think so.”
As Aunt Iseabail lifted her foot, Sybella wiped the muck that was stuck to the bottom like a second skin.
“What happened to my foot? There is so much dirt,” the older woman asked.
Sybella paused and then rinsed the rag. “Ye didnae have anything on your feet when ye walked in the woods.”
“Why would I walk in the woods without my boots?”
“I donna know, Aunt Iseabail. Ye donna remember going for a walk?”
“Aye, I remember taking a walk, but how could I forget to don my boots?” The poor woman lifted her other foot and gasped. “What was I into?”
Sybella scrubbed Aunt Iseabail’s foot, not thinking her question needed a reply. “There. Ye are clean. Ye are verra fortunate nae to have any cuts or scrapes.” She grabbed under Aunt Iseabail’s arm, helped the woman to her feet, and handed her a drying cloth.
“Ye are a kind woman…” Aunt Iseabail’s eyes glazed over.
“Sybella.”
“Of course, my dear. My nephew is so lucky to have ye as his new bride.” She stepped out of the tub and Sybella handed her a shift.
“Would ye like me to have a tray brought up for ye, or do ye think ye will be all right to join us for the midday meal?”
To Wed A Wicked Highlander bboth-3 Page 7
