by Fiona Faris
Glenn grinned. “We are relieved to hear this. He’s been a pain in the ass for days scheming on how to earn your forgiveness. Tell me Daividh, did ye give her the kitten?” Glenn teased.
“Ye are lucky ye found me. I should slice off yer huge mouth,” Daividh told his friend.
Lorraine turned to Daividh with a smile on her face.
“Ye got me a kitten?”
“He wanted to.” Glenn chipped in. “I talked him out of the idea. He had his sister sold on it too.” Glenn chuckled.
But the couple was in a world of their own.
“That was awfully sweet of ye,” she said. It shocked her how thoughtful he could be.
“Aye. Kyla thought so too but ye hated me guts and I did nae want to anger ye further.”
“Ye deserved that,” she said.
“Aye, I did.” There was a smile Glenn had never seen on his face before.
“The area is clear.” One of the boys said, stepping in and causing Lorraine and Daividh to look away guiltily.
“Who are they?” Lorraine asked, quietly.
“They are the hunting group of the popular young ones of the clan,” Glenn informed her.
“Thank ye,” Daividh said to the boys.
“Gather round, lads,” Glenn said to them.
“Ye have helped to save me dearest friend and our laird from death today. I want ye to celebrate with me.” He paused and looked around. “At my manor tonight, I have had plans to throw a feast. Now, I invite ye all to make merry with me tonight. Ye may bring a pretty woman with ye if ye wish,” he finished with a wink.
The boys laughed and excited murmurs rang out.
“Of course, ye are invited too,” Glenn turned to her with a smile. “Please grace me manor with yer presence.”
The party began to walk out of the cave with Glenn intentionally walking in front, giving them a bit of room to speak.
“Ye will come, will ye nae?” Daividh asked her.
Panic filled Lorraine. “Nay. I am occupied. I must -” Her head scrambled for a lie to tell. “I must tend to the cat.”
“But ye said that all that needed to be done was keep it warm,” he asked her with an arched brow.
Lorraine cursed inside her. Indeed, she had said so.
“Ye are a terrible liar.”
Lorraine sighed. “I have been told.”
“Ye do nae want to come?”
“Aye.”
“But why?”
“I do nae go to feasts,” she whispered frantically.
“Ne’er?” he asked with wide eyes.
“Ne’er,” she repeated.
“E’er?” he asked, the grin on his face growing wider with each passing moment.
“E’er.”
“That is amazin’.” There was a wide grin on his face.
“Why so?”
“Then I will get credit for being the first man to bring ye to a feast.”
“’Tis nae a big deal,” she said, and looked away.
“To me, ’tis. More so.”
“Why?” she asked him pointedly.
“Because there is so much to ye that ye hide. I want ye to show the people and I want ye by me side when that happens.”
“Why?” she asked again. Her heart felt light and she felt as though it could sing.
“Because ye would nae be able to handle the men that would come after ye. Ye are a beautiful woman, nay a gorgeous one. Yet that is nae all there is to ye. Yer wit and brains rival that of many a man. Any man would be proud to have ye by their side.”
Lorraine paused and looked at Daividh who also stopped walking.
“Do ye mean that?”
“Aye, I do,” he smiled softly, “So what say ye? Will ye accompany me to the feast?”
Lorraine began to speak but he cut her off.
“Understand what it is that I ask, Lorraine. I do nae ask ye to go to the feast alone. I ask ye to go with me.”
Lorraine smiled. He was asking her to accompany him, to be by his side at the feast. She nodded. “Aye, I will go.”
“We brought yer horses,” said Glenn, who had watched them silently and discreetly.
“Thank ye,” Lorraine said and swept atop her horse.
“I see what ye mean. She mounts beautifully,” Glenn said to Daividh.
“Thank ye, sire.”
“I will have two of the young men follow ye home,” Daividh told her.
“Nay. I can make it home on me own.”
“Nay. I listened to ye in there, Lorraine. ’Tis yer turn to do the same.” Daividh gestured to two young men who immediately flanked Lorraine.
“If a hair on her hair misses, I will skin both of ye,” he said with hard eyes.
“Aye, milord.”
“Do nae be so mean, milord,” Lorraine said, slightly embarrassed.
“Milord?” Daividh arched a brow.
Lorraine rolled her eyes. “Do nae be so mean, Daividh.” She shook her head and turned to Glenn.
“I thank ye for yer invite,” she said to him, “I will be there, sire.”
“Nay. If ye call him by his name, ye do the same for me.”
Lorraine smiled. “Aye. Thank ye, Glenn.”
And with one last look at Daividh, she rode out with the boys by her side.
The decision to go had been easy to make, Lorraine realized, seated on her straw bed. She couldn’t say no to Daividh – not when he looked at her like that. She had begun to realize that she mightn’t be able to say no to him even if he hadn’t looked at her.
However, with only few hours to go till the feast, Lorraine realized what a grave mistake she had made. The last time she had worn a gown, she had been a wee lass. None of the gowns could fit her anymore. She had gone through her mother’s box of old dresses but not only were most of the gowns outdated, she was much smaller than her mother had been.
Panic filled her once more. What would she do? She had to cancel. There was not a way that she could go to a feast dressed in the breeches she owned. Perhaps, if she had invested in fancy ones as her brother had, she could. But her breeches were designed for work and not for feasts.
There was loud knock on the door but Lorraine didn’t stand up to get it. However, soon, there was a call from the door.
“Lorraine!” It was Maxwell. “Come out here, please.”
Feeling irritable, Lorraine threw the condemned dress she held down and walked out of her room.
“Max? What is-”
Right at the door stood the most beautiful young woman that Lorraine had ever seen.
“Hi,” the woman gushed excitedly, and rushed to take Lorraine in her arms.
“I’m Kyla. ’Tis so nice to finally meet ye. Me brother sent me. Come, we have nay time to waste.”
Chapter Twelve
“I am nay longer comfortable, Daividh,” Glenn confessed to his friend, “’Tis easy for ye to have nay fear but it is nae ye that is in danger of losing someone. Ye allow yer strength to make ye forget that ye are still human.”
Daividh and Glenn were seated in Daividh’s bedroom where Daividh was sure of privacy from prying ears.
“I agree with ye, Brother. Lorraine was endangered today. I would nae have forgiven myself if she was harmed.”
“Ye will nae take drastic actions for ye but ye will do so for her?”
“I am a warrior, she is nae.”
“I see. Yer plot is going well, aye?”
“Plot?”
“To win her to ye?”
“Oh.” Daividh found that it was all too easy to forget the plot most times when he was with her.
“Or is it nay longer about the plot with her? Ye fancy her?”
“Tonight is nae about the bet. She bandaged me wounds and for that I am thankful but nay, I do nae fancy her in that way. I do nae believe in loving one woman. Ye ken this. There comes a time in a man’s life that he must love one wife and that I ken. Asides that, ’tis unwise to weaken yerself so for a woman.” Daividh repeated the words he
had said severally over the years.
“Ye do nae seem to believe the words ye speak,” Glenn noted.
“Sod off with ye. I will win this bet,” he said, and without a glance back, he left the room.
“Milord!” The call from the down the corridor stopped Daividh in his tracks. He paused and let whoever it was that was running to him catch up with him.
It was a maid who he recognized as one of the many that served his sister.
“Milord,” she managed out before keeling over. It was obvious she had been running a while.
Daividh offered her his hand and righted her. “What is wrong? Is Kyla hurt? Is Lorraine well?”
“Aye, milord,” she said still breathing heavily, “They are in milady’s room. Milady asked me to get you as fast as I could. ’Tis why I had to run.”
Daividh nodded and with huge steps, he made his way to Kyla’s room leaving the maid far behind.
As he grew closer to the door, he began to make out their voices.
“But I do nae understand. Why do I have to wear-”
Without waiting for her to speak, he pushed the door open and came face to face with two distressed looking females.
“Daividh…”
“Brother…”
Daividh looked between both females and smiled. There was Kyla with a slight worry strain on her lips and then, there was Lorraine who looked as though she was ready to bolt. To the left side of the room were movable hangers that held dozens upon dozens of dresses. If he knew Kyla, he knew that that was just the first batch of options. His sister had more dresses that anyone needed.
“Kyla,” he said turning to his sister, “please give me some time alone with Lorraine.”
“Aye,” she said gracefully and exited the room, leaving Lorraine alone with Daividh.
“Now, would ye tell me what is wrong?” he asked her, taking a step closer to her.
“I do nae understand why you would make arrangements and nae tell me a thin’,” she glared at him.
All too soon, Daividh realized his mistake. She was not a woman that would appreciate being tossed around irrespective of how good his intentions had been. “I realize that now. I am sorry,” he said easily.
Lorraine paused as though she hadn’t accepted the apology. Even from where he stood, he watched the anger melt away from her eyes. Her eyes grew softer and the thin line her lips had formed melted away.
“’Tis alright,” she said simply, and said nothing more.
Daividh smiled. Perhaps it had been lazy of him to assume that she was hard to deal with. It was all too glaring how easy it was to stay in her good books – honest apologies. They took away anger from her faster than anything else. Without anger, she was softer, sweeter, and more vulnerable. It explained why she held on to it as best as she could.
“The plans – they do nae please ye?” he asked, breaking the silence that they had fallen into.
“Aye,” she said with a sigh.
“I asked Kyla to dress ye up and clothe ye in wears fit for a princess and it displeases ye?”
“Aye.”
“Why?”
“What does it matter what I am dressed in? Ye say that ye enjoy my company and accept me for who I am truly. Why would ye want me dressed in such things if I am enough as I am?” Her question was full of innocence and a bit of uncertainty that he hated.
“Lorraine?”
“Aye?”
He walked up to her and cupped her cheek in his hands. His voice became a tad hoarser as it did whenever he found himself close to her.
“Ye are a beautiful woman, Lorraine. I see this. I am nae a man who has ever been swayed by outward appearance. I have been in the company of beautifully dressed women. ’Tis only an outer covering. Ye on the other hand, need none. Dressed even in rags, ye would be beautiful. However, I want ye present with me. The people around us will nae be able to look beyond the packaging. Perhaps if I were nae destined to lead the people, I could live me life without any care for their approval, but that is nae to be. I am heir and my people will always matter to me. These clothes are nae to change ye. They are to help others see what I see.”
Lorraine found herself speechless. His hand was warm on her cheek and she didn’t want it gone. “Alright,” she admitted breathily.
“What dresses had Kyla offered ye?” he asked her, dropping his hands and taking a step. He considered himself a man with control, but even a saint would be tempted with a beautiful woman and a bed so nearby.
“Oh, they are so many!” she gushed with wide eyes, “So many pretty colors too.”
Daividh found himself smiling at her enthusiasm. “Which did ye like the most?”
“I could nae pick a favorite,” she admitted shyly.
“Have ye an option with yellow?”
“Yellow?”
“Aye.”
“Why yellow?”
“’Tis the color of the sun. When ye smile genuinely, its brightness and that of the sun are made counterparts.”
Lorraine’s smile broke out without control followed by a blush.
“I will leave now. Let Kyla tend ye.”
“Aye,” she said.
“I’ll see ye soon.”
“Soon,” she repeated.
Daividh stepped out and met a worried Kyla by the door.
“Is she upset with me?” she wailed to her brother.
“Do nae be silly. No one could ever be upset with ye and definitely nae Lorraine.” He placed a peck on her cheek.
“She is so pretty, Brother.”
“Aye, she is. We ken this but I want ye to make everyone see it.”
“Ye can count on me.”
“I ken.”
“Put her in somethin’ yellow,” he said walking away from her, “and I will pay for a new wardrobe for ye.”
“And three dozen pairs of shoes!” she shouted after him.
“Two!” he replied without looking back.
“Two and a half.”
“Deal!”
Kyla grinned and walked inside the room tentatively.
Lorraine was seated on her bed.
“I hope I did nae make ye feel uncomfortable,” Kyla apologized.
“Nae. I was a bit overwhelmed is all.”
“We’ll go slow. Ye are gorgeous and do nae need much on ye. Daividh would nae like it if anythin’ were to change how ye look originally.”
“He wants me dressed in yellow.”
“Aye. Ye would be a sight in yellow. Me brother has a good eye. He picked ye after all.”
Lorraine blushed. “He did nae pick me.”
“Well, he likes ye. That is more than I can say for any of the women I have seen him with.” Noticing the look on her face, Kyla quickly added, “Nae that ye should be worried. Ye are by far the best. I am sure me da and ma would love ye.”
Lorraine nodded but looked rather unsure.
“Do nae look worried. Daividh is me brother, I should ken how men behave.”
“I have a brother, Maxwell, but he is naught like Daividh.”
“I am nae surprised. Few men are.”
Lorraine grinned.
“Will yer brother be at the feast?”
“Aye, he said Glenn offered him an invitation.”
“Perhaps we shall all meet there,” Kyla mused, and Lorraine nodded, “Are ye ready? My maids will be in to help ye with a bath first.”
Lorraine bit her lip. “Would it be a bother if I wanted to do it meself?
Kyla laughed. “Not at all. I’ll have me wash and then we can sort out the dresses.”
It was over an hour when the ladies met back at the room, each freshly bathed and dressed in bathrobes softer than Lorraine had ever felt before.
“Magda,” Kyla called to one of her maids, “Take away every dress that does nae have a shade of yellow.”
Magda and another maid set to work and soon, only a dozen and a half dresses were up on the racks.
