Claimed by a Highland Knight: Scottish Medieval Highlander Romance

by Fiona Faris

  Lilia chuckled at her friend's excitable nature. She wondered if she should truly visit the Abernathy manor. When all of this was over, and she brought her dreams to life no longer being a servant and increasing her status, she would be able to visit Flora on somewhat equal ground.

  "Ye could also come with me tomorrow to go see the tournament begin," Flora said, startling her once again. Although she was living with Uielam, she had not realized that the tournament was already the next day. She had been too busy being disappointed that Uielam was not paying attention to her.

  "Aye, ye are right, we should go. We have been dragged into this and are now involved. I think we should really go,” she agreed.

  She was definitely going to attend and could not believe she had not realized that it was already time. She could only blame sitting in the house all day long. Of course, she had forgotten what the days were when she spent them mostly indoors.

  She wanted to do something special for Uielam to show her support since the tournament was starting, and she knew just what to do. It was still light out, so if she hurried, she would be able to finish it in time to give it to him for dinner.

  "Flora, will ye come with me to the market?" she asked as she got to her feet and went to collect her pouch.

  "The market?" Flora said lazily. "Whatever for?"

  "I need to buy duck meat. I'd like to roast some for dinner tonight,” she said, stepping out to meet Flora's suspicious gaze.

  "Duck meat? Yer tastes sure are gettin' luxurious,” she said. Lilia only rolled her eyes. Flora knew that it was Uielam she was most likely buying it for and was no doubt judging her. On the way to the market she would hear all about how she should not go out of her way to cater to Uielam as though she were a maid.

  "Oh, just come with me," she said, going to pull Flora by the hand, and her friend only sighed and followed her dutifully.

  Chapter Eleven

  The big day had come. Uielam could hear cheers outside as the players introduced themselves by riding out to greet their fans. He was sitting in their tent, waiting in full armor identical to the farmers.

  He had a frown on his face as he realized that all his excitement was for nothing. He longed to be out there, having the crowd chant his name. It was the biggest crowd he had ever performed for. He was beginning to regret everything.

  "It is nae as easy as ye expected, is it? Hidin' yerself and nae enjoyin' the cheers of a crowd right now," Osgar asked from beside him. His friend truly knew him well. He had to appease himself with thoughts about how much more the crowd would cheer for him at the end of the tournament after he won and revealed himself.

  The past few days, he had spent most of his time with Osgar, practicing for the tournament and getting himself used to the information about his other opponents. He would never admit it out loud, but he was also taking time away from Lilia. The one day they had spent talking to each other had made him begin to see her differently.

  In the morning when he woke up, he found that he was looking forward to seeing her face. He caught himself several times, looking at her curiously. He was finding more and more things about her attractive. Things that he’d never noticed in a woman before, such as how she hummed absently when she made breakfast without realizing that he was watching. The dexterity with which she handled each task and how she asked him to do things.

  He began to think of how well she would run her own household, with her husband and children… somehow such thoughts always put him in a bad mood. He was avoiding the strange thoughts and feelings, choosing to focus on the tournament until he was ready or had found some semblance of control over his reaction to her.

  The night before had been especially difficult. He had not wanted to think about her at all to help him stay focused on the tournament, so he chose to eat with Osgar before he left for Lilia’s cottage. To his surprise, she greeted him with a roast duck to wish him luck for the tournament. The gesture had touched a place in his heart that he did not realize was there. He remembered how she had complained when he asked for roast duck, telling him it cost thirty silver pieces.

  She had gotten it for him despite her personal feeling about it, just to wish him good luck. He was overwhelmed and chose to run, not wanting to attempt to understand the emotions she was creating in him. He told her that he had already eaten and rushed into the room to shut the door and immediately go to sleep. He could only imagine how furious she probably was. He had woken early to make it to the rendezvous point with Osgar, and she was lying on the floor by the fire pit.

  She might have been awake, but he was not sure since she did not move while he left. Knowing her, she was probably furious at him. Things were not going the way he had expected at all. He had thought that he would be the one making her flustered and leading her to try to avoid his charms, but instead, he was the one running away from the feelings she’d incited in him throughout one meal; just one meal together, not even anything intimate. He was pathetic.

  The tent opened, and the farmer stepped in, dragging Uielam’s thoughts back to the present. He’d been avoiding her to keep from getting distracted during the tournament, and yet here he was, thinking about her despite his best efforts.

  He got to his feet, shaking his head to clear it. He was wearing the exact same armor as the farmer, and he put his helmet on to complete the illusion that the farmer had simply entered the tent and put on his helmet.

  “Are ye ready?” Osgar asked him with a hand on his shoulder. He nodded, he would use his opponents as a means to vent for his emotions that he could not understand.

  …

  It was evening before he returned to the cottage with the games over for the day. He had been victorious, of course, winning all three matches he had been involved in. His body was tired as not only did he ride hard and play viciously in the game to take out the frustration of his feelings. He had also needed to walk to the lists in the morning and had just walked back.

  His tired legs told him that he needed a horse of some sort to carry him about soon. He was even willing to leave the animal to Lilia. He stopped as the cottage came into view. Could he face Lilia right now? He decided he could not and instead walked past the house, taking a walk to clear his head.

  He appreciated the location of the cottage for the first time. It was secluded, and any neighbors were rather far away. This meant that it was a quiet haven surrounded by nature. He was sure her mother had intended for it to be exactly that. They were two women who owned property and were new in town. The best place to live was somewhere where no one could easily bother them.

  For him, it was the perfect hideout while he carried out his plan. What a coincidence it was that her mother's choice ended up creating exactly what he needed. It was fate.

  He had walked a while before he began to hear the splashes of flowing water. His ears perked up to the sound. It sounded like a river! He should really have taken a tour of the surroundings. If he had known that there was a river nearby, he would have tried fishing.

  He changed directions, choosing to head towards the soothing sounds of the water. It would be a perfect place to think while he avoided returning to the cottage. He turned a corner, following his ears, and found the river.

  However, it was not just the river that he found. The moment he turned the corner, he was staring directly at Lilia's back in the water. It was so sudden and unexpected that he was dumbstruck… she looked like a goddess. Her long hair was wet, hanging down the middle of her back, dark in contrast with her milky shoulder blades, and she looked absolutely riveting as she moved, her hands cupping water from the river and washing it over her face.

  Uielam froze, he was suddenly having trouble breathing as arousal hit him like a physical punch. His heart felt as though it were beating in his throat. She did not seem to have noticed him yet. Should he walk away? It was probably the right thing to do, yet his feet refused to work, and his eyes stayed glued to her frame.

  As though sensing that she was being
watched, she turned, a suspicious expression on her face followed by shock and then embarrassment. They both gasped at the same time as her plump breasts came into his view, bouncing lightly from her movement and making water droplets drip off her pink nipples. They were gone the next second as she lowered herself to her neck in the water and glared at him, but Uielam had seen enough to cause the blood to rush south.

  "Uielam! What dae ye think that ye are doing?!" She demanded hotly, moving back in the water so that she could stand without revealing herself again.

  He could not utter a word in his defense as he was too busy trying to control his raging arousal before it became noticeable. Although it had only been in his sights for a moment, the image of her breasts was imprinted onto his mind. He could not see anything else.

  He felt his cheeks warm, something that had not happened in a long time. He had been caught watching her bathe and even more loathsome was how much he had loved what he saw. It was the first time she had called him by his name without his title attached, and it only served to stir something inside him even more.

  "I… I will return to the cottage,” he said, spinning on his heel and walking back. His thoughts were a mess, the picture of her naked body flying around in his head accompanied by the strange feelings he had been holding at bay.

  He had never wanted a woman so badly in all his life. He had wanted Lilia before, but this was not the same. It was desperate, and it was not just physical. He practically ran back to the cottage. He took his shoes off at the door, knowing that they were filthy, and since she was already upset with him, it would not end well if he wore them inside.

  Luckily his body had begun to listen and had calmed down, but he was already in trouble. Why had he behaved like a teenager seeing his first naked woman? He wondered if he should retire to bed immediately and avoid her again. No, with how upset she looked, that would be a terrible move. He was pacing the length of the room when the door opened, and a livid Lilia stepped through, her hair still dripping, and her simple shift dress loose against her wet body.

  She had obviously just stepped out of the river and donned her clothes in her anger. His traitorous eyes found their way to her chest, where her breasts bounced as she shut the door with all her might. He snapped his eyes closed, judging himself harshly.

  "How… dare ye?!" Lilia growled, her voice low. She was genuinely annoyed.

  "I have been puttin' up with yer rudeness and yer selfishness and yer arrogance, but this, this is the last straw! Dae ye realize how terrible yer character is?! Ye are such a spoiled brat! Ye hold no-one but yerself to any regard. Ye came into me home, and ye made me sleep on the floor without a second thought! Yet ye complain without ceasing about how uncomfortable me bed is despite all the fancy pillows yer friend brought ye,” she exploded with pent up rage.

  Uielam winced, a spoiled brat… was that not what the soldiers had called him? That was what he had heard that had annoyed him to no end. Yet from Lilia's lips, the words only made him feel ashamed and not angry. Somehow he believed that when Lilia said something, there was truth in it.

  "Ye complained about the food next, nae even considerin' that I had left half of me own portion of food for ye. Ye walked out of me house without tellin' me a word, without thinkin' that I might be worried. I made ye the stupid roast duck that ye wanted to eat, and ye just ignored me, without even a word of thanks. And now, ye were watchin' me bathe?! Dae ye think of anythin' other than yerself?" she thundered.

  Uielam lowered his head in shame. She was absolutely right and it looked for one moment as if she might kick him out of her house. He was desperate to appease her.

  "I ken that I have been actin' terribly. I realize that now… it hasnae escaped me notice… at first I was oblivious, but I have been realizin' me wrong for the past few days… Dae forgive me… and I didnae mean to watch ye bathe I had nae idea that ye were there and I was just shocked, please let me make it up to ye,” he pleaded.

  Lilia stood with her hands on her hips, and her eyes narrowed at him suspiciously. "How dae ye plan to make up for it?" she asked.

  "Dinner!" he blurted even as his head asked him what he was talking about. "I will make ye dinner tomorrow. All by meself, I will cook it. In fact, ye should leave me to me own devices for the whole day, maybe visit Flora at the Abernathy manor or somethin’. It will be me attempt to redeem myself. If the food isnae good, I will eat it as punishment."

  His mind was reeling. With no matches for the next day, he planned on resting and learning from Osgar about his next opponent. Now he was making promises in the heat of the moment. He could definitely not cook. He had neither the patience nor the time to do all that. He had just dug up a hole for himself. His mind was in a panic. Even if he tried, he would just do a horrible job and embarrass himself in front of her.

  He did not realize that he had been holding his breath until Lilia dropped her hands from her hips.

  "Alright then," She said. "I will see ye for dinner tomorrow."

  He let out a sigh of relief as she passed him and went into her mother's room, shutting the door as well in a way that said she did not want to speak to him until his apology dinner was ready. He ran his hand through his hair, exhausted. She had mentioned something about him taking her bed. Did that mean that he would be better off making his bed on the floor instead?

  It was the right thing to do, not to mention the more sensible thing. If he did that, it would show that he meant his apology and wanted to change. Just thinking it was not enough, actions were necessary. He got his pillows and arranged them on the floor by the fire pit then fell asleep almost immediately.

  Chapter Twelve

  Lilia could still feel Uielam’s eyes on her skin, his appreciative expression followed by his embarrassment. She knew that it was certainly an accident and that he must have just stumbled across her because he was not the type to use such underhanded tactics. However, she had been unable to stop her fury for several reasons, the first being that he had hurt her, and the second being that she could not stop the way her body reacted to his appreciative glance.

  She had forgotten how bad it had been since Uielam had stopped teasing her, and she had connected with him by actually talking to each other and not just wanting him from afar. Now, after the incident, all her lust eturned with a vengeance, threatening to swallow her whole.

  Coming out with a blanket after taking a few minutes to calm herself, she found that Uielam had taken his pillows from her room and was sleeping on the floor. The sight had tugged at her heartstrings, he had actually been listening to her. When she agreed that he could make it up to her with dinner, she had been expecting him to fail to do it, already planning that once he did, she would kick him out.

  She felt terrible for having so little faith in him. He had moved to the floor of his own volition despite having never slept on the floor before. She allowed herself to put a little hope in him, thinking that just maybe he might surprise her.

  Waking in the morning, she found him at the back of the house, cutting some meat from the barrel. A smile came to her lips as she changed into a dress that Flora had given her, deciding that she’d go to visit her friend after all.

  “I just daenae think that ye should get yer hopes up. The Uielam I ken is lazy even when he wants to dae the right thing,” Flora warned her as they shared the delectable grapes a maid her brought in earlier. Lilia popped a grape in her mouth to keep from responding. She had told Flora that Uielam asked her to take the day off while he made dinner to make up for not eating the roasted duck she had made.

  “Remember what I told ye about how ye should nae go out of yer way to dae things for him? It was that very night that ye found that I was right when he didnae eat the duck ye made. It is the same thing now, daenae get yer hopes up. I am surprised that ye got him to apologize to ye at all,” Flora continued.

  “Ye see, that is what I mean, I feel like I have taught him somethin’. I mean, it is nae just the apology. Ye should have seen how we
ll he took me orders when I taught him to cook the meat. When he gets interested in doing somethin’, he is a lot less arrogant and more open to learning,” she said.

  Flora sighed, still not looking convinced.

  “It is true that Uielam is nae arrogant while he is learnin’, but once he becomes good at what he has learned, his arrogance only doubles, so daenae feel like he has become humble just because he took keenly to yer direction,” her friend warned again.

  “I ken that it seems like I am judgin’ Uielam to harshly, but it is just because I ken him. The same is with me brother. In fact, if I were honest, me brother is much worse than Uielam. He is a terrifyin’ man. Did I tell ye that he got the Laird of clan Duffie’s cousin to give his name for this their stupid plan by promisin’ the man that I will consider him romantically?!” She continued.

  Lilia felt her brows raise, and her jaw stop chewing.