Highland Hero

by Hannah Howell

  “And why should I cling to my maidenhead for that disgusting old mon?” she asked herself. “Why should I hold to something my father bartered away without a thought?”

  The answer to both those questions came swiftly. She should do as she pleased. There would be consequences if she found herself back in her father’s hold, a maiden no longer yet still bound to Sir Ranald, but she could not make herself be concerned about those. Marriage to Sir Ranald would be such hell, a little sinning now seemed perfectly acceptable.

  And she loved, she thought with a sigh. There was no ignoring it, no denying it. Her heart and mind would no longer allow her the comfort of a lie. She loved Sir David. Tatha suspected she had probably started her ill-advised fall into love from the moment she had set eyes on him. The kiss they had shared had sealed her fate.

  As she huddled beneath her blanket and tried to relax enough to sleep, she decided that seeing Sir David’s face in the well had indeed been a sign. There were several reasons she had been drawn to Cnocanduin, but the well wanted her to see that one of those reasons was most assuredly to meet Sir David. There was also the fact that he could turn her brain to watery porridge with just one warm look from his sinfully dark eyes. As the urge to sleep crept over her, she decided that the next time Sir David took her into his arms she would do her best to stay there. The chance that she might have to leave still loomed like a black cloud overhead, and she was now determined to savor all the joy she could before that time came. And, she mused, a faint smile touching her lips, there was always the chance that Sir David’s passion could grow into something deeper. Occasionally miracles did happen.

  “She has been sold to Sir Ranald,” Leith said quietly as he helped David sit up and put a tray of bread and cheese on his lap.

  “I ken it.” David slowly began to eat the plain fare. “To even think of that mon touching her is an abomination.”

  “Aye, but ye needed to be reminded. ’Twas a bargain made by her father, and the mon may yet find her and demand she hold to it.”

  “By then I hope to have proven the bastard a murderer.”

  “It has been five years. That may not be possible.”

  David frowned at his cousin. “Are ye purposely trying to depress my spirit?”

  Leith smiled as he sat on the edge of the bed. “Aye and nay. I but try to make ye see all of the truth, nay just what ye wish to see. Aye, no lass that young and sweet should be given o’er to a mon like Sir Ranald. Howbeit, she is her father’s chattel, and unless ye can prove Sir Ranald had a hand in your mother’s death, there is naught save war to stop her father from taking her back and handing her o’er to that mon. Aye, and fighting him o’er that right could cause ye more trouble than ye may realize. We dinnae ken how powerful her father is. If he has the king’s ear, ye risk outlawry. “

  A soft curse escaped David and he chewed his bread rather savagely. “I cannae let Sir Ranald have her. Aye, proving he had a hand in my mother’s murder may be impossible after five long years, but I now believe him guilty. That also makes me wonder why he wants another healer, and I do believe Tatha’s healing skills are one reason the mon seeks her. Mayhap the only reason.”

  “Have ye learned much about the mon from Tatha?”

  “Nay too much aside from the fact that she loathes him. I was seeking time to speak about him when I got wounded. I dinnae believe her aversion to the mon rests solely in his age and ill looks or e’en in simple reluctance to obey her father.”

  “Nay, I think there had to be more than that to make her ride away from her home, alone, and with no place to go. She is a high-spirited lass but she isnae a stupid one.”

  David considered that as he finished the meal of bread and cheese and drank the wine Leith poured for him. His cousin was right. There was a streak of stubbornness and defiance in Tatha, but that alone would not have driven her to leave her home and family, to travel alone over some very dangerous countryside. She would have stayed and argued the matter if it was simply a matter of not wanting an aging, unattractive husband. Even in the short time he had known her, David had seen how well Tatha could judge people, how easily she could see into their hearts. He strongly suspected she saw something in Sir Ranald that was terrifying enough to make her choose traveling alone, seeking a life elsewhere.

  Then he worried that he might just be making excuses, trying to find some reason to hold her. She had said she would leave if her presence brought trouble to his gates, and he believed her. There was a chance his desire for her made him try to find reasons to convince her to stay no matter what happened, perhaps even to excuse his taking up arms to keep her.

  After another moment’s thought, he inwardly shook his head. Even if he could not get her in his bed, there was reason enough to defy her father’s plans for her. In his heart he was sure Sir Ranald was a murderer. David knew he could never hand any lass over to the man.

  “Ye are looking verra troubled, cousin,” Leith said as he removed the tray and helped David lie down again.

  “I but argued with myself. I wondered if lust clouded my reasoning.”

  “Weel, ’tis clear ye lust after the lass, but e’en if ye didnae, she doesnae deserve the hell of being wed to that bastard.”

  “True. I wish I had more proof. Then I would send word to her kinsmen. Her father may be a hard mon who thinks naught of selling his daughters like cattle, but I cannae believe he would sell them into a sure grave.”

  “One would hope not. Then again, I am nay sure how I would feel if I carried the weight of thirteen daughters.”

  David chuckled. “Aye, ’tis a mighty burden. I dinnae envy the mon. Howbeit, she seemed honestly hurt and e’en confused that he would do this to her, so one must assume that it all came as a surprise, that she ne’er saw him as cruel or completely unfeeling.”

  “True. And if ye do save her from Sir Ranald’s clutches, what do ye mean to do with her?”

  “Ah, weel, there is a puzzle. I am in a fever for the lass, a heat I have ne’er suffered from before.”

  “Then wed her.”

  “At the moment her father has betrothed her to another mon. The bride price may already have been paid. I could pull us all into the middle of a clan war. Or, as ye said, I could risk outlawry.”

  Leith cursed and ran a hand through his thick hair. “Since the mon was willing to sell her to one mon, mayhap he would accept a higher bid.”

  “ ’Tis a thought, but we dinnae ken what was paid for her. Sir Ranald is far richer than we are. E’en if we offered more than he has, he could simply top my bid. There is also the matter of a bargain made. ’Tis nay too honorable to break a bargain.”

  “I dinnae think it too honorable to sell your daughters off to the highest bidder.”

  “Most people would see nay real wrong in it. Nay, especially when ’tis discovered just how many daughters the poor mon has. Most would probably think he was mighty clever.”

  Leith stood up and idly fixed the blankets over David. “Then the only answer is to prove Sir Ranald is a killer or pray that he has given up on her because none can find her.”

  “Tatha is a skilled healer. Word has probably already begun to spread. It doesnae have to go verra far to reach Sir Ranald’s ears.” He curled his good hand into a fist and lightly pounded the mattress. “ ’Tis a poor time for me to be trapped abed.”

  “Dinnae waste your strength fretting o’er that. I will work to find proof, at least enough to convince her kinsmen that they made a poor choice.”

  “Thank ye.”

  “I do it for her too.”

  “I ken it.”

  “And I still think ye would be wise to marry the lass.”

  David smiled sleepily. “Aye, ye may be right. I wasnae looking for a wife, but mayhap ’tis past time I took one. The fever she can put me in certainly makes her a good choice.”

  “And ye are no longer troubled by what she is?”

  “Ye mean her beliefs? Her healing skills? Nay, not truly. She isnae a
s caught up in the old ways as my mother. As she says, she is no heathen. Aye, mayhap that is what I must do. Wed her.” He closed his eyes. “It begins to look as if I will bed her if she gives me the chance, and honor will demand it anyway.”

  “If ye mention marriage to her, I think I would try to be a wee bit more romantic,” Leith drawled as he started to leave.

  David laughed softly, then sighed as he heard the door close behind Leith. The only thing he was sure of concerning Tatha Preston was that he wanted her in his bed, needed her there. If there was a romantic way to explain that, he was too weary to think of one.

  He had known she was trouble the moment she had appeared at his gates. A part of him wished he had turned her away, but even if he had not been bound by his vow to his mother, he suspected he would never have done so. From the moment she had frowned at him he had been captivated. He had just tried very hard to fight it. Now he had to admit that he had lost the battle.

  Sleep pulled at him and he let it. It was the surest way to regain his strength, and he knew he was going to need it. He had a little flame-haired woman to seduce and woo, a killer to capture, and a father to soothe.

  Chapter 7

  “What are ye doing out of bed?” Tatha demanded as she entered David’s bedchamber and saw him standing by the window.

  “Walking,” he answered, and grinned at her look of disgust.

  Tatha set the tray of food she had brought on the table by his bed, then placed her hands on her hips and tried to look stern. “Ye had the stitches taken out only yesterday. Ye should be resting.”

  “I cannae rest any more,” he said as he walked to the bed and sat on the edge, reaching for the flagon of ale she had brought him. “I have rested for almost a fortnight. There is too much I must do.”

  “Ye can tell others what ye need done. Ye need not do it all yourself,” she complained as she sat down on the chair facing him.

  She tried not to stare at him as he ate. Ever since Leith had caught them kissing she had approached David cautiously or only when someone else was in the room. They were alone and he was looking very healthy. It made her nervous. Although she had decided not to fight her attraction for him anymore, the thought of letting her passion rule was a little frightening.

  Then she frowned. Since that kiss he had not really tried to steal another. She might be ready to succumb to desire, but she suddenly wondered if his had faded. Tatha mused that it would be highly annoying if, now that she had decided to give up her innocence, David was no longer interested in taking it. It would also hurt, but she struggled not to think about how much.

  “No need to look so cross, lass,” he said. “I willnae do so much that I weaken myself. I ken the benefit of rest.”

  “Aye, I suppose ye do. Ye have been a verra good patient.” She stood up and nervously smoothed down her skirts. “Weel, if ye promise nay to do too much, I will leave ye to your meal.”

  He caught her by the wrist as she started to move away. “Nay, lass, stay and keep me company.” He smiled when she cautiously sat down again. “I have a few questions for ye and have put off the asking of them for far too long.”

  “What questions?” She clutched her hands together in her lap, afraid that he was about to try to convince her she should return to her father.

  “About Sir Ranald.”

  “I willnae marry the mon.”

  “I cannae fault ye on that. Nay, I but realized that ye may have knowledge of the mon I dinnae have. He came often to your father’s keep?”

  “Often enough, although I did my best to avoid him.”

  “Why?”

  “He is a pig. A lecherous dog. The last time he was at my father’s keep, I didnae get out of his way fast enough and had bruises in far too many places. The mon feels a lass likes a hard pinch. He savaged a maid or two.”

  “And your father did naught?”

  “They werenae virgins or weelborn lasses. If he kenned what happened, he didnae consider it important. Many a mon doesnae concern himself with what befalls a maid, especially one who is kenned to bed down with a mon or two as the fancy takes her. I am nay sure the lasses told my father what had been done. I had to treat the bruises and welts left, but I didnae say anything either. I dinnae ken why.” She frowned. “Mayhap I thought they would or, in my heart, I didnae wish to hear my father actually admit that he didnae care what had happened to them.”

  “Mayhap if ye had told him, he wouldna have sold ye to the mon.”

  The way his long fingers almost idly caressed her wrist clouded her mind with desire. Tatha found it a little sad that she could be so deeply affected by a touch, yet he seemed completely at ease. It would have been fine indeed if he were as mindlessly affected by her as she was by him.

  “I am nay sure it would have made a difference. My brothers have bedded those lasses, and I think my father has too. The ones Sir Ranald set upon are used by many a mon. I dinnae ken what I thought. I just mended them and tried to forget it all. Again, mayhap I feared it would make no difference. In truth, once I realized I had been sold to that mon, I thought of little else save getting away ere he could get me.”

  David nodded. “I think I can understand that. Did ye learn much aside from his lechery?”

  “He was most interested in my knowledge of herbs.” She grimaced. “E’en that interest was based in his lechery. He mostly asked about what I might have to enhance a mon’s virility, if there was something I had that could make a mon a better lover. Such as that. I began to wonder if he had some, weel, some male difficulty. I probably should have asked the maids. Mayhap he didnae savage them whilst taking his pleasure, but because he couldnae gain any from them. I just didnae wish to ken much about the mon. Whene’er he was about, I just wished to hide.”

  Seeing her agitation, he took both her hands in his and kissed each palm. “Dinnae fret, dearling. Ye cannae be expected to have foreseen that it was knowledge ye may be in need of. ’Tis also understandable that ye should shy away from such truths. Then too, mayhap the lasses said naught for they ken such treatment is the cost of their whorish ways.”

  “No woman deserves such treatment, be she whore or nun.”

  “I ken, and none of my men would be allowed to behave so, but few would agree with us. Ye cannae change the world. Just your own wee corner of it. Ye also had your own fate to change. Did ye, weel, sense anything else about the mon?”

  She tried to concentrate, but David was kissing her hands, her wrists, even the inside of her arms. Tatha knew she ought to yank her hands away and soundly reprimand him for being so bold, but she sat there and let him have his way. She wanted him so badly she could taste it, she thought with a sigh.

  “I ne’er liked the mon and wondered why my father tolerated him. Sir Ranald is sly, sneaking, and I dinnae think he holds his honor too dear. I ne’er felt he could be trusted, but it appeared that my father trusted him, so I had to wonder if I was wrong in my judgment of the mon. Or mayhap my father didnae care what the character of the mon was because it didnae matter to what he sought to gain from him. I wish I could tell ye more, but I and my sisters were ne’er allowed to ken what games my father played. He felt it none of our concern who he sought as ally or friend and why.”

  David decided he had heard all she knew about Sir Ranald, and his thoughts quickly turned elsewhere. Her skin tasted sweet and warm against his mouth. Her eyes had darkened and her breath was uneven, occasionally catching in her throat. It was clear that, despite her attempt to avoid him since his fever broke, her desire for him was still easily stirred. Those hints of passion made his own needs leap to the fore. Cautiously, watching her closely for any hint of rejection, he tugged her out of her seat and into his arms.

  There were many reasons why he should not do exactly what he was going to try to do. She was a wellborn lass, a virgin. Her father had betrothed her to another man. It was wrong to take advantage of her innocence and untutored passion. He brutally silenced all qualms as he cupped her face in his ha
nds and gently kissed her. He might not know what he wanted of her or felt for her besides passion, but if he had to wed her to feed the hunger he felt, he would. At the moment it seemed a very small price to pay.

  “I dinnae think this is particularly wise,” Tatha managed to say as he fell back onto the bed, taking her with him.

  “Nay, ’tis probably the greatest of follies. ’Tis madness, but a verra sweet one.”

  “Aye,” she whispered in agreement, shuddering faintly when she saw the desire darkening his eyes.

  “I have tried to argue myself out of this hunger time and time again,” he said as he turned until she was sprawled beneath him. “It willnae go away.”

  “ ’Tis a torment.”

  “Oh, aye, that it is.”

  “I should hit ye and push ye away.”

  “Aye, ye should.” He began to unlace her gown.

  Tatha sighed and eased her hands beneath the jupon he wore, shaking as her hands touched his skin. “Mayhap later.”

  “If ye are going to cry me nay, lass, do it now. I dinnae want ye coming to your senses later and berating me. If ye lie with me now, ken in your mind and heart that it is what ye truly wish to do.”

  It was the perfect chance to retreat. Tatha knew she should take it. Every rule she had been taught told her to do so. He still offered her only passion, not love or promises of marriage. But as she searched her heart and mind, the only answer she got was a resounding yes. She loved him, ached for him.

  “If I suffer any guilt afterward, I promise to keep silent.”

  “Ah, Tatha, bonnie Tatha, I mean to burn away all thought of guilt.”

  As he moved to take off her shoes and stockings, his big hands caressing her legs, Tatha decided that was no idle promise. When modesty prompted her to object to the removal of her clothes, he kissed away her protests. She trembled beneath the almost casual touches of his hands as he stripped her. It was not just embarrassment that caused her to tremble, however, when she finally lay naked before him. The heated appreciation in his gaze made her passions soar, and she felt almost beautiful.