Seduced By The Noble Highlander: A Steamy Scottish Medieval Historical Romance

by Ann Marie Scott

  “He will hae a cauld hard bed in Castle McFarlane the night!” Annie remarked, laughing.

  “Forgive me if I feel nae sorrow at a’!” Crissy said sourly, remembering her recent experience at the hands of the robbers. Annie put her arm around her shoulders and gave her a comforting squeeze.

  They wandered through the crowded streets, laughing at the clowns and marveling at the magicians who seemed able to pull creatures and objects out of thin air.

  The tumblers and gymnasts amazed them. Annie was particularly struck by their ability to bend their bodies in ways that the ordinary person would have found impossible. Watching one man bending over backwards and putting his hands on the ground behind him, her whole face was a mask of amazement.

  “That’s no’ natural!” She observed in horror. “Yer body’s no’ meant tae dae that!”

  Just then, a tumbler cartwheeled past them so fast that they had to jump out of his way. He was quickly followed by another gymnast springing head over heels to gasps of amazement from the crowds. Annie was absolutely amazed. She bent down and just managed to touch the ground with her fingertips.

  “You will never make a gymnast, Annie!” Isla laughed.

  Crissy grimaced in pain and rubbed her side where the injury from the robbery still gave her twinges of pain. Lewis Crawford went to her side, his face concerned. “Shall we go home, sweetheart?” he asked anxiously. “I fear this has been too much for you.”

  “Could ye get me some ale, Lewis?” Crissy asked. Her throat was sore at times too, but she tried to grin and bear it most of the time. Now, however, it was just too painful. They went to the nearest tavern but Lewis would not allow the ladies through the door.

  “This is not a place for polite company,” he said grimly.

  Annie, Isla, and Crissy sat down on a bench outside the tavern while Lewis and Magnus went inside.

  Magnus began to order ale when Lewis, looking round, saw something that was astonishingly familiar. “Magnus,” he said in a whisper. “That woman over there—she is wearing a cross like the one that was stolen from Crissy. I gave it to her.”

  The woman was a plump, middle-aged woman with gray-streaked hair. She was laughing inelegantly at a ribald joke that one of the men around her had made. With her was a man who resembled her, and Magnus guessed they were kin.

  “She said they were brother and sister,” Lewis glanced up and looked at the necklace again. It was definitely the same one. He nodded to Magnus.

  “We cannot take them on in here,” Magnus said. “We need to use subtlety. Come.”

  They took the ale outside and Lewis put a glass in front of Crissy, who drank it thirstily. “Crissy, sweetheart,” he said gently, “in there is a woman wearing your necklace, and a man who looks very much like her brother. I am going to get it back, but if you would rather not see them—”

  Crissy thought for a minute. She was dreading the encounter, but she had to face it. She nodded. “I wid very much like tae see them, as long as you are wi’ me,” she replied, her voice shaking a little.

  “Stay with Isla and Annie,” Lewis instructed. “Magnus and I will deal with this and you will see them in a moment.”

  “Ready?” Magnus asked. Lewis nodded. They strode into the bar again to the woman who was wearing the necklace, then stopped and bowed. No one had ever bowed to Kenzie in her life, and she was astonished that such good-looking and well-dressed gentlemen should be doing it now.

  “Mistress,” Lewis said, smiling. “I could not help but notice that beautiful jeweled pendant you are wearing. I am looking for a present for my betrothed and this looks like something she would love. Would you consider selling it to me? I can give you a good price.”

  “Ye have taken me by surprise, Sir.” Her eyes were wide with astonishment. “My mither left it tae me but in a’ honesty I could dae wi’ the money.”

  “What about twenty pounds sterling?” Lewis spoke loudly enough for the whole tavern to hear, and many heads turned around to see what was going on. “I can give you the cash right away.” He knew that the pendant was worth less, but he could see the greed in the woman’s eyes. He wanted her to think he was a rich idiot.

  The woman hesitated and looked at her brother. He nodded, trying not to look too pleased.

  “That will be quite acceptable, Sir,” she replied, smiling happily. Daft gowk, she thought contemptuously. Mair money than sense.

  Lewis frowned as he patted himself down, apparently looking for his money pouch. Suddenly he snapped his fingers. “Come, Mistress. I have left my pouch in my carriage.”

  Brother and sister followed him out like lambs to the slaughter, while Magnus brought up the rear to prevent any escape attempt.

  The moment she was outside Kenzie realized her mistake. She froze as she saw Crissy, who stood up and came towards her, looking fresh and pretty.

  Lewis turned to Kenzie. “Now, Mistress,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, “is this your mother? Because this is the lady to whom this beautiful necklace belongs. I know this because I gave it to her. And she is my betrothed, whom I love very much, and you left her for dead by the roadside.”

  For a moment, Kenzie was dumbstruck. “Mistress, I'm sorry, please forgive me,” she begged, then she knelt at Crissy’s feet, weeping. Crissy looked down at her for a moment, then decided that she could not even be bothered to waste her energy on anger. She turned and went over to Lewis, who hugged her and handed her to Annie while he dealt with the brother.

  Magnus had, in the meantime, hauled Shuggie out the tavern just before he turned to bolt, and thrown him unceremoniously down beside his sister. Shuggie was still defiant, though.

  “She wis askin’ for it!” he spat. “Pro’bly stole it hersel’!”

  Lewis saw red. Thinking of the bruises all over his lovely Crissy’s body, he drew his arm back and smashed it into the man’s face as hard as he could, feeling his nose break as soon as he made contact with it. When Shuggie McCutcheon fell down again, his face was a bloody mess and he spat out several of his rotten teeth.

  “What would you like me to do with them, Crissy?” Lewis put his arm around his betrothed, looking as if he might breathe fire. “Because I would toss them down into the deepest level of the dungeon, where no light gets in and leave them to rot!”

  “Dae whit ye like, Lewis,” she said wearily. “I couldnae care less.”

  Lewis bent down to do Crissy’s bidding, giving Kenzie’s hair a vicious yank for good measure. “You are fortunate that you are a woman, mistress,” he growled. “Or I might have taken this opportunity to slit your throat. Once you are in my friend’s dungeon I still might. No one will miss you.”

  Kenzie looked up at him with wide, terrified eyes, and opened her mouth to speak. “Not another word,” Lewis warned, “or I will gag you.”

  He stood up and gave Crissy the necklace. “Wear it with your wedding dress,” he said softly, and kissed her. Crissy looked down at Kenzie for a long time, and her expression was puzzled.

  Whit made them dae it? she thought. She walked away.

  The two prisoners from Magnus’s dungeon were transferred to the jail in Aberdeen, where Crissy was a witness at their trial. They were hanged the day after for attempted murder and robbery, and she did not lose a wink of sleep over it.

  19

  Goodbye for Now

  Crissy had been thinking hard about the wedding, and had come to the conclusion that it would be better if they could persuade Lewis’s father and mother to attend.

  Accordingly, three days before the wedding, they decided to ride back to Crawford castle. Lewis knew that persuading his father to come to the wedding would be an uphill battle, but he thought his mother might be more amenable, based on their previous conversation.

  They raised the subject with Magnus and Isla at the breakfast table.

  Isla was enthusiastic about the idea of persuading the Crawfords to come to the wedding.

  “I think that in view of what happened
to Bryce, it might be good for them to celebrate their son’s wedding,” she remarked, and sighed. “Bryce is an evil man, and I beg your pardon for saying that, Lewis, but it is true. But to lose two sons is too much for any father.”

  Lewis nodded slowly. “You are right, Isla, we must try.” He looked at Crissy.

  “Aye,” she agreed. “I have nae close faimly o’ my ain, so it is fittin’ that yours should be there, sweetheart.”

  Lewis looked sad all of a sudden, and Crissy, quick to pick up on his mood, asked him why. He sighed.

  “I was thinking about Bryce,” he said glumly. “He was—is a bad man, but he was not always so, and some of him was good. I miss him sometimes.”

  “You may miss him,” Magnus stated angrily, “but we do not. There is no good in him at all—he is evil through and through. He beat Isla and tried to kill her.”

  “I would be dead had Magnus not come to save me,” Isla informed them, with tears of rage in her eyes. “He kept my father in squalor and told him I was dead.”

  “WHAT!” Lewis was outraged. “He is even more evil than I thought! He could not be happy causing a hundred deaths—he needed more to satisfy his bloodlust. I am sorry, Isla. I never knew the name of the woman he harmed, and I am ashamed to be related to him.”

  “We kept it between ourselves,” Magnus said, putting his arm around Isla’s shoulders. “But I cannot forgive him for his part in the rout of my castle, and if he ever comes near me or my loved ones again I will kill him, and that I vow to you.”

  “I understand.” Lewis put his hand over Isla’s on the table. “Forgive me, Isla.”

  “It was not your fault, Lewis,” she replied. “So be at ease.”

  They finished their breakfast, and then Crissy and Lewis went to pack up their possessions before setting off.

  “I will send you a message,” Lewis promised as he climbed into the saddle with Crissy in front of him. “Hopefully it will be good news!”

  Magnus and Isla waved as they left, but Isla looked worried. “Lewis will be broken hearted if his father does not come,” she said sadly.

  “We can only wait and see,” Magnus replied.

  “And pray,” Isla sighed.

  They arrived at Crawford Castle in the afternoon, and Lewis helped Crissy down from Angus and took her hand as they walked across the courtyard, followed by the curious eyes of a dozen servants and stable hands.

  “Hold your head up, Crissy,” Lewis said as they went into the castle. Crissy nodded nervously but her heart was racing and her stomach fluttering. She hoped that the dress that she had borrowed from Isla, a simple brown woolen one, was not too plain for the occasion.

  When they got to the door of the parlor, Lewis stopped. “Do not be afraid, Crissy,” he said, his voice firm and assertive. “They are only people, no better than you. Be confident and know that I love you.”

  She smiled nervously and Lewis opened the door. His mother was sitting by the fire doing her embroidery, whilst his father was sitting in his favorite armchair and fondling the ears of his big black hound Pluto. They both looked up surprised to see them, but in different ways. Laura gave a little squeal of excitement and rushed up to put her arms around Lewis, then, with no more than a second’s hesitation, she embraced Crissy too. She looked into Crissy’s eyes, seeing a little fear and apprehension, and Crissy looked back, seeing nothing but kindness and tolerance.

  “Do you love Lewis?” Laura asked.

  “With a’ my heart, Milady,” Crissy replied.

  “And he loves you?”

  “Very much, Mother,” Lewis supplied.

  Laura smiled at both of them. “Then you have my blessing,” she went to pour a glass of wine for both of them.

  “Father?” Lewis stood with his brows drawn down, legs apart, and his arms crossed over his body, looking fierce and defensive. They were like two stags facing off against each other for the attentions of a doe, and for a moment the hostility was thick in the air between them, then David Crawford stood up.

  “Lewis, if you want to enter into this ill-matched marriage then so be it. I wish you joy, but do not expect me to bless your union with this—” he looked Crissy up and down so that she felt about a foot tall, “—this menial woman, when there are some perfectly worthy and beautiful young maids out there.” His tone was sneering and his expression was one of deep distaste.

  Afterwards, Lewis could not remember doing it, but he struck out at his father with a bunched fist, the blow landing squarely on his right cheekbone. David staggered back and landed on the floor, and then Lewis hauled him back up again by the front of his shirt. The blow had left a red mark on his face, which David knew would soon turn into an ugly bruise.

  “You will never talk to Crissy like that again!” His voice was throbbing with anger. “Because if you do, you will lose another son. I have lost my inheritance, Father, so I have nothing else to lose, but I care nothing about this castle or this estate. All I care about is Crissy. Do not try to make me choose between her and this,” he spread his arms to indicate the castle, “because there is no choice for me.”

  He spun on his heel, put one arm through Crissy’s and another through his mother’s, and then strode out of the room. Laura stopped them after they had walked a few yards.

  “You really should not have done that, Lewis,” she said gently. “You will never achieve your objective with violence. I will be at your wedding and you will have to be content with that.”

  “Thank you Milady,” Crissy said softly. Laura smiled at her. “Do you not think ‘Mother’ might be more appropriate now?”

  “No’ yet,” Crissy shook her head. “We arenae married yet.”

  “As you wish,” Laura replied. “But the moment you are married!”

  “You dinnae mind that I am a...a...”

  “Housemaid?” Laura shook her head. “We all come out of identical wombs, my dear. Why should we become different? Love Lewis and make him happy. That is all I ask of you.”

  “Thank you, Mother,” Lewis hugged her so tightly that she protested, hitting him on his shoulders. “Sorry—sometimes I forget my own strength!”

  David Crawford sat thinking for a long time after Crissy and his family had gone out. Should he swallow his pride and go to the wedding? After all, he only had one son now, and if he did not give his blessing to Lewis’s marriage he might never see any of his grandchildren. There would be no children from Bryce—at least not legitimate ones—and as far as anyone in the family was concerned he was dead, so the only grandchildren he would ever have would be from Lewis. If he became estranged from his younger son who knew what would happen to the estate? For it was clear that Lewis would sacrifice anything to make his kitchen maid happy.

  David put his head in his hands, wishing he could be more like his wife. Perhaps women were just gentler and more accepting, but he was a man, and it was simply not in his nature to be tolerant. He sighed and reached for his whisky bottle again.

  Laura and Crissy soon became involved in the minutiae of planning the wedding. They had decided to be married in Crawford Castle chapel, and had invited Magnus, Isla, and Annie—but every maid, gardener, stable boy, and cook would be there too.

  There had, of course, been some jealousy amongst the servants, but by and large they had all wished Crissy well. She went down to see some of her friends in the kitchen one day and was greeted with open arms by all the maids and cooks.

  “Ye’re bloomin,’ hen!” Bettie, one of the plumpest and jolliest of the kitchen staff, looked her up and down in amazement. Then she winked. “Must be quite a man, eh? A’ thon big muscles!” She gave a mischievous smile. “Have you two…?” She left the sentence hanging, and Crissy blushed.

  “I’m no’ tellin’ ye!” she cried, flustered.

  “Nae need, hen,” said Lucy, one of the other maids, and laughed. “’Tis written a’ ower yer face!”

  “Whit wis it like?” Bettie asked. “I willnae tell onybody!”

  �
��I am sayin’ nothin’!” Crissy laughed. “It wis very nice, an ye can a’ mak o’that whit ye will!”

  After that, she was teased mercilessly, but she was happy. In two days she would be married to Lewis, and they could lie in bed together, talk, make love, and sleep, and no one could say a word, not even Laird Crawford the Elder.

  Laura had been a tower of strength. She had taken Crissy under her wing and seen to the decoration of the church, the menu for the reception, and she had picked out a special room for them, which she would not allow Crissy or Lewis to see, and decorated it for them for their wedding night.

  “I love her already,” Crissy said softly, as she lay dozing one night on his shoulder. “She is sae good to me, Lewis.”

  “I wish I could get father to feel the same,” Lewis replied, sighing. “He really is the most stubborn man I have ever met.”

  David was always coldly polite to Crissy. Although his manners were impeccable, he had a regrettable tendency to walk out of the room when she walked in, except when she was with Lewis.

  There was nothing anyone could do about this, short of pinning him to the chair he was sitting in or locking the door.

  “Ignore him,” Laura said flatly. “He is used to having everything just the way he likes it and now his wishes are not being respected and his orders not obeyed. Ignore him, dear. He is only hurting himself.”

  Crissy gave her a warm hug. She was a very small woman; Crissy towered over her by about eight inches, but she had the warmest heart of anyone Crissy had ever met and soon the bond of love between them was like that of a true mother and daughter.

  If it were nae for the laird we wid be happy! she thought sadly.

  The night before the wedding Crissy came into the parlor to have a glass of wine before retiring. Lewis and Laura were there, both looking rather sad.