It had just occurred to Katie that aside from his initial greeting when she’d joined him in front of Mr. MacDuff and their wedding vows, she and Evan hadn’t spoken to each other all morning.
“Is all well, lass? Ye look a bit confused.”
Katie shook her head. “Nay. Well, maybe, aye. This all happened so quickly, I’m still a bit disconcerted.”
He covered her hand with his warm one. “Yer hand is like ice, lass.” He moved his chair closer to hers and whispered in her ear. “When this blasted celebration is over, we’ll retire upstairs, and I have many ways to settle ye down. And warm up more than yer hands.” He drew back and gave her that crooked smile that made her insides dance around like a midsummer’s night frolic.
…
Evan leaned back in his chair and surveyed the Great Hall. ’Twas nice how the MacDuffs and Stirlings were getting on, which would make him and Katie leaving in a few days not a concern for Ian MacDuff and his wife to take charge.
Truth be known, he was quite anxious to be gone. He felt as though his work here was finished. His own clan needed him; he had a pretty lass for a wife, a young brother-in-law who needed his protection and guidance, and bad weather on the horizon. He also wanted to put Gavin and Lord Armstrong as far apart as he could. He didn’t put it past the man to try something sneaky.
As soon as most had finished their meal, the tables were pushed back against the wall, and the music started.
The Traditional Grand March began the dancing. Evan stood and held his hand out to his bride. He took Katie’s hand, and with the sound of bagpipes, now once again allowed in Scotland, he marched her around the room. Meggie and Alasdair joined in, and then finally all the guests. Peals of laughter and suggestive comments followed them as they made their way past the guests.
Then Katie filled the Scottish Quaich, a two-handled silver bowl, with whisky and passed it around for the wedding party to sip. It had taken Alasdair some time to find the traditional bowl on such short notice, but he’d turned one up from a villager who’d been more than happy to share his family heirloom with them for the wedding.
As a final tribute to tradition, Katie sat on a chair as an older married woman of the Stirling clan sat on a stool and washed and dried her feet.
Evan was quite anxious to be done with all the traditional celebrating and wanted to hurry his wife upstairs to his bedchamber. He had ideas for his own celebration that involved a fine bottle of wine he’d found in the basement, along with candles and soft linen sheets.
He was growing hard just thinking about it, and if he dinnae find a way to bring his body under control, he wouldn’t be able to walk across the room with her. But Katie seemed to be having a good time, dancing with her brother, then Alasdair, and then a few of her kinsmen. And then a few of the MacDuff kinsmen.
’Twas not jealousy he felt as he watched her, cheeks flushed and her eyes sparkling as she danced with one of the Stirling lads. However, no one else should see her thus—her lovely breasts swaying with the music.
The Stirling lad passed her along to another mon he didn’t ken, and a new song started up. Evan growled in frustration.
“Why dinnae ye join the others and dance a bit?” Alasdair sat alongside him, wiping the sweat from his face. His brother had always enjoyed these events, while Evan had tried his verra best to avoid them. But a mon couldn’t avoid his own wedding celebration.
“I did dance.”
Alasdair took a swig of ale. “Aye. Ye marched Katie around the room and then tried yer best to haul her upstairs when ye passed the staircase.”
“She appeared tired. I thought she might do with a nap,” he groused.
Alasdair’s laugh could probably be heard in London. “Aye, yer right. The lass does look a bit peaked.” He gestured in the direction of the dancers.
Just then, the man dancing with Katie picked her up by her waist and swung her around, forcing her to cling to his shoulders. Meanwhile, the man’s thumbs were a wee too close to Katie’s breasts.
“That’s enough!” Evan stood and strode passed the revelers and snatched Katie from the man’s arms. “My wife looks a wee bit tired. I think ’tis time for us to retire for the night.”
“Night?” Alsadair called from the table. “’Tis no more than four in the afternoon.”
Katie looked exactly how he wanted to see her in his bed. Flushed, panting, her eyes shining with excitement. No one should put that look on her face except her husband.
“Actually, I am a wee bit worn out. I dinnae sleep a whole lot last night.” She slumped against him, her breathing still erratic. “But I want to say good night to Gavin before we depart.”
“Aye. I’ll go with ye.”
Gavin was off in a corner with some of the other lads who were playing some sort of a ring toss game. The lad seemed much more at ease with other children since he’d arrived. Evan had taken him riding a few times and was even teaching him how to use a dirk. Gavin was a fast learner and eager to acquire skills that the other lads seemed to have learned from their das.
“Gavin, the laird and I are retiring for the night.”
Gavin nodded at his sister but never looked up.
“Gavin.” She leaned in and pinched his chin. “I’m speaking to ye.”
“Ach, sorry. I was watching the game.” He glanced briefly at Katie, then returned his attention to the game. Katie shook her head and straightened.
“Gavin.” Evan’s deep voice drew the boy’s notice.
“Aye?” Abruptly the lad shifted his position and looked at Evan, his shoulders straight.
“Yer sister is speaking with ye, lad. ’Tis not a monly thing to do to ignore a lady when she speaks with ye.”
He ignored the snort that came from his wife.
“Aye. ’Tis sorry I am, Katie.” He looked directly at his sister, but his eyes kept returning to the game.
“Ach. ’Tis fine, Gavin. Enjoy yerself. We will see ye in the morning.” Katie kissed the top of the boy’s head and took Evan’s outstretched hand. “Will Alasdair be watching him?”
“Aye. I reminded him earlier that he’s to keep a watch on the lad. ’Twill be a good thing when we’re on our way.” They made their way across the room, ignoring the calls for them to have a bedding ceremony. Most of the men were drunk, and if they attempted to carry him up the stairs, as was the tradition, he would probably land on his head and have no wedding night at all.
Once they reached the top of the stairs, Evan bent and scooped Katie into his arms. He strode to his bedchamber and kicked the door open, shutting it with his foot. The short walk to the bed was long enough for him to enjoy a taste of Katie’s sweet, warm mouth. He dumped her on the bed, and she bounced a few times, giggling like a wee lass.
Evan grinned as he began to unbutton his shirt, staring at her as she raised herself up on her elbows to study him. “Now ’tis time for my celebration, lass.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Katie snuggled closer to the warmth at her back. As she slowly came out of her slumber, she felt sore between her legs and realized she was naked. Her eyes snapped open. Except for the night in the cottage, she’d never slept without a nightgown before. Confused for a moment, she frowned and turned toward the source of the warmth.
Evan.
Her husband.
He slowly opened his eyes and smiled. She smiled back and felt happy and content for the first time in years. She now had someone to help her, someone to take part in the burdens that she’d carried since her mum’s death.
“Good morning, lass.” Evan’s morning voice was raspy and low and did strange things to her insides.
“Good morning.” Her voice didn’t sound much better.
He reached out and took a strand of her hair and rubbed it between his fingers. “I’d like more than anything to have another romp with ye, but we have much t
o do in order to leave in a few days.”
Katie shifted to prop her head up on her hand. “That soon?”
“Aye. I’ve already hired a land steward, Ian MacDuff and his wife. Before we leave, I’ll oversee the moving of many of yer clansmen from the castle to the cottages we found.”
Katie stiffened. “I thought I would take care of that since they are my people?” For truth, she was a bit put out that Evan would even make these decisions without consulting her first. They were her people. She’d brought them here, and she should be the one to oversee their move.
“Nay.” Evan waved her off. “Ye will be busy packing and speaking with Ian’s wife—if I remember, her name is Fiona. Introduce her to the servants and give her a tour so she kens what’s what.” Evan moved to rise from the bed, but Katie clamped her hand around his arm.
“Wait.”
“What?” He turned toward her, but ’twas obvious his mind was not focused on her. He looked in her direction, but his expression was blank and his thoughts were miles away.
Katie sat up and leaned against the headboard, dragging the blanket with her to cover herself. Even though they’d made love twice the night before, and once in the cottage, she was not comfortable with her nakedness. Seeing as how Evan was ready to jump up, minus his clothes, he apparently did not have that problem.
“I’m not too happy with ye making all these plans and decisions without asking me.” She hoped her words came out forcefully and not whiny, like some insipid lass.
His only response was raised eyebrows.
She straightened her shoulders, her annoyance growing. “Aye. ’Tis something I wanted to discuss with ye before we wed. But ye were in such a great hurry that we never had time.”
Now he looked as though she had grown another head while she sat there. “’Tis nothing to discuss. I am yer laird.”
She counted to ten, attempting to quell her growing irritation. She did not want to start off a marriage with bickering. She calmly said, in a verra soft voice, “That’s it? That is yer response?”
He studied her for a minute, looking as though he was considering her question and a suitable response. He gave her a curt nod. “Aye.”
With that one word, he stood and padded across the room to wash his face. He dipped the linen square into the bowl of water from the night before. “Ye need to make sure we have hot water in the morning.” He dropped the wet cloth and rubbed his face with a dry one. “Although, since we’ll be gone in a few days, it doesnae really matter.”
Katie couldn’t tell if her heart was pounding from looking at his fine male form or from the desire to whack him over the head with her work boot. Again, she counted. This time to twenty. “I dinnae ask for hot water this morning because I wasn’t sure if we would sleep here or in my bedchamber.”
Evan pulled on his trews. “We will always sleep in my bedchamber.” He then continued with his orders. Katie listened, appalled at his arrogance and heavy-handed manner. After a few minutes of him rattling off commands and her just staring at him with her arms crossed, he said, “Will ye remember all this?”
She jumped from the bed, dragging the blanket with her. “What I will be remembering, my laird, is that I married a mon who has no intentions of treating me with respect.”
Evan stopped tucking his shirt into his trews, a genuinely surprised look on his face. “What are ye talking about?”
She huffed. “Ye dinnae even ken, do ye?”
“Ken what?” He placed his hands on his hips and glowered at her. “Woman, if ’tis yer intention to confuse me first thing in the morning, ye have succeeded. Now, I am going downstairs to break my fast and do what needs to be done to make us ready to leave in two days time.” He walked over to her and gave her a perfunctory kiss and a pat on her arse before he left. She stood there, her mouth agape, staring at the closed door.
Perhaps ’twas too late to throw her work boot at the man’s thick head, but she gained some satisfaction in flinging it against the door. Some satisfaction, but not much as it slid to the floor. Instead, she shouted at the closed door, “Ye are an arrogant halfwit.”
Evan had already finished his breakfast and gone from the Great Hall when Katie arrived. Gavin and Alasdair sat side by side, discussing something that held her brother’s interest. She smiled at the lad, who had seemed to come out of his shyness since they’d arrived at MacDuff. In all fairness, a lot of that credit went to Evan and Alasdair.
Aye, the man she married did have a lot of good qualities, but his arrogance and heavy-handedness didn’t sit well with her. While she liked the idea of having another person to take part of her burden, she didn’t like that Evan just excluded her and expected her to blindly obey his orders like she was a servant. If she could just get him to stop for a few minutes and listen to her, she could explain how she wanted this marriage to go on. She would never be the “yes, my laird,” type of wife. And if that was what he thought he’d gotten when he married her, he was in for an awakening.
“Gavin, I would have a word with ye when yer finished with yer breakfast.” Katie took an apple and cut it into slices and added cheese to her plate. Then she slathered honey on warm bread and realized she was hungrier than normal this morn. She grinned. ’Twas most likely all the activity in Evan’s bed the night before.
“Aye, Katie. What do ye want?” Gavin slid into the spot next to her on the bench. “I need to hurry. Evan is going to give me another lesson in hunting.”
So her husband had time to give Gavin hunting lessons but no time to listen to her? “This willnae take much time. I just wanted ye to ken that we are all leaving for the laird’s keep in Argyll in two days.” She hoped the lad would not have a problem with that, since they’d just arrived in Fife a few weeks ago.
“Aye. Evan told me to be ready. He even said I can bring one of the puppies with me.”
At a loss for words, since her husband had apparently also taken over responsibility for her brother, all she could think to say was, “Is that so?”
Gavin hopped up. “Aye. Can I go now?” Before even waiting for her answer, he raced out the door, Alasdair right behind him.
Once more, Katie was left staring at a closed door, her mouth agape. Botheration. Men were annoying no matter the age. She popped a piece of apple into her mouth and chomped down as she continued to glare at the closed door.
…
Evan spent the day organizing, moving families, going through papers and other ledger books, and gathering together items to take with him and those that needed to stay at the castle. He then held a lengthy meeting with Ian MacDuff to go over the books and help him set up a method to handle rents, expenses, and a report to Evan once a month. The man was very bright, and Evan was happy in his choice of land steward.
As Evan went over items in his mind he still needed to do, he stood at the library window, watching Gavin running with a group of other lads, apparently playing some sort of game that Gavin led. They all waved wooden swords and called to Gavin for advice. The change in the lad since his arrival was remarkable, and Evan was certain the lad would turn into a fine mon one day.
“Evan, while ye were giving Gavin his lessons, I checked the village like ye asked me to do, and there is no sign of Lord Armstrong about.” Alasdair’s comments helped ease Evan’s worries a bit. Although he didn’t think Armstrong would give up so easily, he might have decided to ride to Cupar to seek the assistance of the general magistrate.
“Good to hear that, brother. Be sure to continue keeping an eye on Gavin. I dinnae think for one minute the mon has given up on the lad.” He glanced out the window and noticed the group of lads had disappeared. “Where is he now?”
“In the kitchen with a few of the lads, most likely snatching a meat pie. The lad really has an appetite. Mrs. MacDuff kens enough to keep an eye out for him.” Alasdair settled into the chair in front of Evan’s desk. “
How are things going with yer new wife?”
“Fine.” Evan gathered unnecessary papers and tossed them into the fireplace behind him. The small fire that burned there grew higher as the documents caught the flames, sending a burst of warmth to his back and sparks flying up the chimney. He continued to shuffle papers, close books, and place them into drawers. He had too much on his mind and too much to do to be playing games with his brother.
“Are ye sure?”
Something about Alasdair’s tone made Evan stop and study the mon. “Are ye trying to say something to me, or are ye just here to waste my time?”
His brother leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed. “Nay. I’m just curious as to why yer new wife, who should be smiling brightly after her wedding night, has been stomping around the place all morning, growling at everyone.” He shook his head. “Not well done, brother. If yer having a problem keeping the lass satisfied, I will be happy to step in and—”
Within seconds, Evan was on top of his brother, the chair flying to the floor, his hands around his neck. “Dinnae even suggest such a thing if ye value yer sorry arse.”
Instead of fear, the fool burst into laughter, making Evan want to knock him senseless. “Maybe ye should take some of that fury and put it to good use,” Alasdair said between gulps of air.
Evan shoved his brother away and stood, pulling on his shirt cuffs. “I have no problem pleasing my wife, and there isnae anything wrong with her. She’s busy, as I am, and probably dinnae have time for yer silly jokes. If my wife has a problem, she kens to come to me with it.”
Alasdair climbed to his feet and continued to grin. “While yer making all yer plans, ye might check on Katie.”
When did his playful younger brother grow so tall and become such a man? Evan didn’t ken when Alasdair had gone from being a troublesome lad to someone Evan relied heavily on. Suddenly, he felt verra old.
A Scot to Wed (Scottish Hearts) Page 16
