by Sky Winters
“I am looking forward to the day,” she told him.
“It is very good to hear that. I am glad you are finally coming to your good senses and putting this childhood love of yours behind. I have so much more to offer you in life,” he replied.
Aileen smiled, trying not to do so without it looking as bitter toward him as she felt. He would never be able to give her the love Thomas had. Instead, she focused on her goal. She wanted to ask to leave the room, but knew he was a shrewd man and would see through her farce immediately if she did. Instead, she left it at that.
“It will be a good day when we marry,” she said, trying not to choke on the words.
“It certainly shall. You’ve no idea how good it is that you’ve reached that conclusion. I really do need to begin introducing you around to some people. That was a bit hard to do before, given your rebellious nature,” he said with a laugh.
“I’ve no rebellion in me now,” she replied.
“So, it would seem,” he told her. “I will see you a little later in the day.”
Aileen watched as walked away, locking the door from the outside as was usual. She sighed deeply and hoped her plan worked. It wouldn’t be easy to build up his trust, but she would do all she could before the wedding day. If that failed, she had already decided she would take her own life. He had barred the windows, she assumed to prevent anyone from entering and most certainly to keep her from exiting, but there were other ways. No matter how horrible it might be for her in the end, it was better than being bedded by the likes of him.
The days passed with Aileen continuing to tell Lord MacAuley what he wanted to hear. Still, he had not taken the lead and offered her any reprieve from the solitude of her room, where her only company was the servants that were allowed to pass and the books she pulled from the shelf on one side. She was pulling one such book when she came across a small dagger hidden beneath it. Where had it come from? Aileen had to wonder if someone before her had occupied this room, planning to escape or die, as well. If so, who were they and what had happened to them?
“Miss, I am here to draw your bath,” Hannah told her, entering the room a bit later.
“Bath? A bit early for a bath isn’t it?”’ Aileen asked.
“Lord MacAuley said you will be accompanying him to dinner in the dining hall this evening. He has gone out on a hunt, but will be back before the evening meal,” Hannah replied.
“He is letting me leave the room?” she asked.
“Yes, just down to the dining hall, but I know you will be glad of it,” Hannah replied.
“I will. It gets so boring being in the room all the time and I really miss the outdoors. Is there nothing more glorious than the smell of the trees and grass or flowers in a meadow?” Aileen told her.
She hadn’t quite decided if Hannah was friend or foe. She might just be too scared to help her or she could actually be feeding Lord MacAuley anything that was told to her. On the off chance that it was the latter, Aileen wanted to make sure she shared the things that would be beneficial to getting her out of the castle walls or at least close enough to make her way out.
“No, I don’t believe that there is,” Hannah told her before making her way toward the large bathtub that stood to one side of the room and filling it with hot water from the two buckets she had brought with her. She made several trips, each time locking the door behind her when she left, much to Aileen’s dismay. Getting out while he was gone would have to be the best time to go.
After a nice bath, Hannah helped her dress and prepare her hair before painting her face. Looking into the large silver handled mirror she was provided, Aileen scowled. She looked like a court jester, in her opinion. Still, she knew this is how women of stature did things and she would not argue. Thanking Hannah for her help, she returned to her reading while the girl tended to cleaning up around her. Just before dusk, she heard a growl from outside the window and went to look out. There, just beyond the castle walls stood the bear that had become a common sight each night. Looking down upon him, it was if he had come to call to her and once she had shown herself, he returned to the woods.
“Why do you haunt me, bear?” she said quietly. The sound of the lock turning disrupted her thoughts. Turning, she saw Lord MacAuley entering the room.
“Don’t you look positively ravishing, my love,” he said, his eyes roaming over her in a way that she found completely unnerving.
“Thank you, My Lord. I understand we are going to dinner tonight,” she replied sweetly.
“Yes. I am trusting that you will behave yourself, darling,” he told her.
“You’ll have no problems from me,” she replied, her mind adding “yet” to the end of the statement silently.
“Very good, then let’s go, shall we?” he replied.
Aileen took the arm he offered and left the room with him, acting as if she were exactly where she wanted to be. Dinner was pleasant enough with a large roasted pig and all sorts of decadent delights. As meals go, it was like no other she had enjoyed before. It was unfortunate that the price for such finery in life was to be wed to a repugnant barbarian like Lord MacAuley. With less than a week to go before the wedding, she was running out of time. This could very well be one of her last meals.
“I enjoyed having dinner with you this evening,” he told her as he returned her to her room.
“It was a beautiful meal,” she replied, perhaps the only honest thing she could say about it.
“There will be plenty more of them. Very soon, we will be intertwined for all eternity, my love,” he told her before leaving the room. Aileen was disheartened by the sound of his key locking the door before his footsteps trailed away. He was never going to leave the door unlocked for her to just slip out. She had to work on Hannah. Surely she could appeal to the heart of another woman like herself, make her see that she loved another and needed out of this place.
When morning fell, Hannah entered her room to assist her with her daily routine. She was building the courage up to broach the subject when Hannah surprised her with an unexpected revelation.
“Lord MacAuley has decided to take you for a walk outside the castle walls this morning,” Hannah told her.
“You told him I wanted to go out?” Aileen asked.
“Of course. I thought he might take pity this once and let you get some fresh air if he knew how forlorn you were in this room all day alone,” Hannah replied.
“Oh, thank you, Hannah! Thank you!” she cried out, hugging the girl tightly.
“It is not I that is taking you out, M’lady. Here, let me help you get dressed,” Hannah told her. Aileen puzzled at Hannah’s choice of clothing for her walk just a bit. Very somber shoes to be wearing with a dress, but they were practical, for walking in rough terrain . . . or running. Was Hannah helping her without being obvious about it? Even the undergarments she provided her were not the usual things you would wear beneath a dress. They were the type things you would wear if you planned to shed the dress and perhaps relax alone in the fields . . . or hide in the woods.
“Thank you, Hannah,” Aileen told her once she was fully dressed. She looked into Hannah’s eyes knowingly and almost shed tears, but then Lord MacAuley was at the door. She quickly pulled away.
“What is this then?” he asked, noting how close the two women were.
“What do you mean?” Aileen replied.
“Are the two of you up to something?” he asked.
“Yes, getting dressed. Hannah was checking the lacings on my corset. You are lucky that you don’t have to wear so many garments, my future husband,” she smiled at him.
“I suppose I am. Hannah, please have Aileen’s room cleaned when we return,” he said dismissively, holding out his arm toward his future bride.
Aileen panicked for a moment. This is it and she didn’t even have a chance to procure the dagger she had meant to slip out with her. She might need it to make her escape. Trying to get it now would only raise suspicion. Well, she would just have
to manage the best she could. Putting on her best smile, she accepted his arm and they strolled leisurely through the castle and out through the front yard. The people working there all stopped and tipped their hats or greeted them with smiles that she had no doubt were just as fake as her own.
As they made their way out toward the meadow, Aileen’s hand fell by her side and she noted that pockets had been sewn into the large skirt of her dress. Not only that, but there was something in it. Her hands curled about the object and she had to stop herself from breathing a huge sigh of relief as she felt the metal blade of the dagger there. Hannah was a friend. It was she who had put the dagger on the shelf and she who had moved it into the pocket of the dress in hopes she would find it if it was needed.
“This is an absolutely stunning day, I have to say, my love. I am glad that you picked this day for a walk with me,” Lord MacAuley commented.
“I agree. I think it is a most glorious day!” Aileen replied, keeping her hand on the dagger. She was quietly taking inventory of their surroundings, trying to figure out the best route of escape when the bear she had seen from her window repeatedly suddenly stepped out of the woods and made its way toward them.
“Stand very still, Aileen,” Lord MacAuley instructed her.
Aileen did as he asked, keeping her hand on the pocket of her dress and trying to fish out the dagger without being observed. The bear was unexpected and she now wasn’t sure which was the biggest threat, him or MacAuley, nor if the small weapon would be enough to do any damage to such a large animal. The bear made no effort to charge. It merely stood there and looked at the two of them, then it slowly began to inch forward. As it grew closer, Lord MacAuley suddenly grabbed her and stuck her in front of him between himself and the bear. When the bear began to charge, Lord MacAuley turned and ran, shoving her toward the rampaging beast. Aileen screamed and ran toward the woods with the bear in close pursuit.
Tripping over a branch, she fell, hitting her knee on a rock that ripped right through the dress and undergarments. She looked around and found that she was deep into the woods and the bear was no longer behind her. Carefully, she got up and made her way further into the woods, before Lord MacAuley managed to retrieve the people he employed to hide the fact that he was a coward and returned to look for her or for her remains. She quickly peeled off the heavy dress, retrieving the dagger from the pocket, and set out further into the woods in the plain men’s clothing Hannah had dressed her in underneath. Once she felt she had gone far enough to put some distance between herself and MacAuley, she stopped to rest on a flat rock.
Tears fell down her face as she sat dabbing at the blood on her knee. She was free, but still in terrible danger. She had no idea which direction to go, how far behind Lord MacAuley would be or if she would encounter more wild animals out here. Perhaps he would look for her for a while thinking the bear had gotten her and at least leave her village alone. She had to get back there. She had to warn them.
“Why are you crying?” came a voice from above her.
She looked up to see his red hair shining like copper as the sun beamed down upon it through the opening in the trees that surrounded them. He wasn’t real. He couldn’t be, not out here in the middle of nowhere.
“I fell, my knee is bleeding,” she responded, knowing he was just a hallucination.
“Let me see,” he told her, kneeling in front of her and placing his handkerchief over the wounded area as she looked into her eyes. He felt so real. He smelled real. She reached out her hand and put it on his face.
“Thomas?” she said, barely able to speak his name.
“Yes. I’m here, Aileen,” he told her.
Aileen’s heart felt like it would burst as she suddenly threw her arms around him and held him close, afraid that if she let go he might disappear. He finally pulled her arms away and looked at her, pulling her close and kissing her. She felt the butterflies take flight as his lips met hers and they became consumed in one another. She wanted him to take here, right then and there, married or not. Aileen needed him in a way she needed no other man except this one, but he pulled away.
“Aileen, we have to go,” he told her.
“I know. There are bears in the woods. One chased me in here,” she told him.
“I’m not worried about the bears, Aileen. Let’s go,” he told her, grabbing her by the hand and weaving his way through the trees as if he knew them like the back of his own hand. After a while, they came to an open area where there were men and women rapidly packing up things as if to move.
“Where are we, Thomas? Who are these people and where are they going?” she asked. She had so many more questions for him, but those were the immediate ones.
“We are going back to our village. When Lord MacAuley doesn’t find your body, he will come there to look for you. Even if he doesn’t find you, he will destroy the people there thinking they are hiding you,” he said.
“But if you take me back there, he will find me and kidnap me back to that awful place. I can’t go back there, Thomas. I can’t go back!” she wailed.
“No one is ever going to take you away from me again, Aileen. I spent far too long without you to ever do it again,” he told her.
“Okay, Thomas,” she replied, knowing that she could trust him. They hurriedly helped those around them finish packing up and then began the trip toward her village. It was well past nightfall when they arrived and were greeted with open arms. Looking around, Aileen realized that she recognized many of the men and some of the women from the camp. She had been so confused by everything when she had arrived there, that it hadn’t dawned on her. Then her eyes fell on one young lady wearing men’s clothing and their eyes met.
“Hello, Aileen,” Hannah smiled.
“Hannah! I don’t understand,” Aileen told her.
“You will, in time,” Hannah told her, giving her a hug before making her way to a nearby hut where Aileen assumed her husband or other kin resided.
“Come on, Aileen,” Thomas told her. “We need to get you out of sight. You’ll need to stay with me tonight.”
“I have been staying in your hut anyway, but what about my parents?” Aileen asked.
“They have been sent away. Their hut and mine are the first places he will look for you when he comes,” Thomas told her. “We will be staying just outside the village in a cave I’ve prepared for our arrival.”
“Prepared for our arrival? How did you know about all this?” Aileen asked, then it dawned on her. Hannah had been her friend all along. She just had not been able to let on that she was helping. Still, some things were awfully strange.
“First things first, Aileen. We need to go see Parson MacGregor,” Thomas told her.
“The Parson? But why?” Aileen asked, but Thomas was already taking her hands, looking into her eyes.
“Aileen McCarthy, will you marry me?” he asked.
“Yes! Yes, Thomas!” she squealed, jumping into his arms again.
“I know it isn’t how you imagined us getting married, but I won’t sully you without being your husband and I’m afraid I’ve been without you far too long to merely sleep by your side tonight or any other night anymore,” he told her.
“It’s perfect. I don’t care about all that. Being your wife is all I ever need,” she replied.
That night, in front of everyone in the village, Aileen McCarthy and Thomas Mulgrady were joined in matrimony. Thomas wasted no time in scooping Aileen up into his arms and kissing her passionately in front of all that attended. A loud round of cheers followed them out of the village as they made their way to a large cavern in the side of a cliff not far from the village, but secluded from view for all but the most seasoned eye.
Thomas lit a small lamp to give just enough light for them to see in the darkness of the cave and then pulled Aileen toward him near the makeshift bed he had made for them on the cave floor. He was so much bigger and stronger than she remembered as she ran her hands over his bulging arms and across his c
hest. His lips found hers again, kissing her, drinking her in. It felt like the earth moved beneath her feet having him in her arms, touching her like this once again.
“I love you so much, Thomas,” she murmured into his mouth.
“I love you too, Aileen,” he replied, pulling away as he began to undress her, devouring her heated skin inch by inch as he peeled away her clothes. Aileen felt a longing like she had never felt before as his warmth spread through her body and into her center, making her legs weak and her womanhood fill with moisture and desire. He took his time with her, touching her in places they had never gotten to explore together before he had disappeared for so long.
She watched as he stopped long enough to get undressed, his manhood bulging stiffly from his person as he pushed against her and began kissing her again. His hand slipped between her legs, parting the pink lips that lay there and slipping through them as she moaned loudly and leaned against him, unable to control the trembling in her legs. Aileen felt like she was in heaven as he lay her down across the bed he had made for them and kissed his way along her skin, starting with her lips and slowly moving downward along her neck. Her hips rose to meet him as he drifted across her breasts and stomach, trailing downward across her stomach and pausing just above the area where her legs met.
She drew in a sharp breath as his mouth covered parts of her she had not known could be so joyous and tangled her fingers in his beautiful red hair as he lapped at her rapidly increasing wetness and sucked on the tiny bobbin that protruded just above. She moaned loudly, listening to it echo through the cave as she let herself enjoy what he was doing to her.
“Oh, Thomas. That feels wonderful. What are you doing to me?” she panted as he pulled at her pink nub with his teeth and then sucked it into his mouth over and over until she didn’t think she could take it anymore. It seemed he would go on forever as her passion continued to grow and then something most incredible happened. The pressure that had built and built up within her body, driving her insane with wantonness seemed to reach a crescendo and then just explode into a thousand pieces, leaving her weak with pleasure.
