April Holthaus - The MacKinnon Clan 01 (4 page)

“My lady, is everything alright?”

“Aye, and nay.”

“I dinna understand, my lady. Ye are talking in circles.”

“He kissed me,” Annella said wondering if she looked as confused as she felt.

“Ach my lady, he kissed ye? When? Where?” Berta asked beaming with joy and dropped the plate onto the table.

“Aye. I dinna ken how I let it happen. It just did. One moment he was frustrating the wits out of me and the next I was kissing him,” she explained as she tore a small chunk off her bread and popped it into her mouth.

“It’s because ye like the mon. And why shouldnae ye? He is verra handsome,” she smiled trying to convince Annella to agree.

“How can I like him when he makes me so…so frustrated?”

“Aye, ye have been saying that. That is how I ken ye like him.”

“Why would I like a mon who frustrates me?”

“Because love my dear is a complicated matter, and it is no’ every day that a mon makes ye feel this way.”

“Love? Oh good heavens, Berta. Ye are getting daft in yer old age I think,” Annella placed her hand over Berta’s and smiled.

“Ye will see, my lady.”

“Please dinna say anything to my father.”

“I promise, my lady.”

Berta turned to walk away just as Hamish and Rory entered the room with the rest of the men. Annella sat on the bench quietly not taking her eyes off the bread in front of her. She was nervous to look up at him. What would he think of her acting like she did? She wished she could take her meal up to her chamber and hide away the rest of the evening. She watched as the maids brought in hearty bowls of lamb and vegetable stew.

“Is this seat taken, my lady?” Rory asked.

Quietly Annella shook her head. She could feel her nerves tingle throughout her body as he sat down next to her. Leaning in to grab some bread, he brushed his knee against hers. Annella couldn’t help up to look up at him. Staring into those soft blue eyes she could feel her chest tightened and breath quicken.

Turning his attention to Hamish, Rory said, “My laird, I was grateful to have the privilege today to see Annella’s skill in archery. She is quite talented. She is as skilled as my men. Ye must be verra proud.”

“Ye did, did ye? She got her talent from her mother Mairi. Her mother was also quite skilled and just as beautiful. I only wish Annella would spend more time learning how to stitch and doing other proper duties or she will ne’er find herself a husband.”

“Father,” Annella said embarrassed but what her father revealed.

“Aye. Well, it is a lucky mon who can find a lass with a wide variety of skills, my laird. One would ne’er be bored wit her.”

Annella looked up at Rory surprised by his remark. She wasn’t sure if it was a compliment or an insult.

“When will ye be off?” Hamish asked.

“We leave in the morning, my laird. Tonight I will be camping out wit my men and we leave by first light.”

Annella continued eating her stew in silence, all the while feeling a slight tightness in her chest. She felt saddened about Rory’s dangerous mission. She was just starting to get to know him, not to mention that Berta was right. She did indeed like him. Feeling dizzy she asked to be excused and ran out to the stables to get some air. She felt so confused by how she felt.

“Good evening Finlay, my fair-haired warrior,” Annella said as she brushed her hand along the coat of her young stallion. Finlay was Annella’s best friend and companion. She leaned down to pick up the bucket of apples and held one out in the palm of her hand. Finlay eagerly accepted and took it whole into his mouth.

Annella looked into the stall next to Finlay’s and saw Rory’s horse stamping his feet into the ground.

“Do ye want one too?” she asked as she carried the bucket over to the stall door and held one out for him.

“Well go on. It’s alright,” she said extending her hand further.

He was hesitant to take it. He took one step closer and sniffed the apple then snatched it from her hand.

“Ye are going to make my horse soft, feeding him like that,” Rory said standing in the doorway.

“Why is it that ye always startle me?”

“It is important to have stealth precision for a warrior, my lady. Ye are lucky, my lady, that Torran dinnae bite ye. Could have taken yer hand right off.”

“I only gave him an apple. I think he was jealous that I gave Finlay one. Do ye no’ feed Torran treats?”

“I do, but I have ne’er seen him take food out from the hands of others.”

Annella looked down not realizing the danger she could have put herself in. Wanting to change the subject she asked, “Is there something I can do fer ye, my laird?”

“Aye, I was wondering if ye would like to walk wit me. I have seen verra little of yer countryside and home and I wondered if ye would be so kind to join me.”

Worried about being alone with him again she said, “I thank ye for asking, my laird, but isnae rather late?

“The sun has no’ set yet and there will be a full moon tonight providing enough light.”

He started to leave when Annella stopped him. In truth, she did want to spend more time with him. She wanted to know if there was something more she felt for him other than attraction. Every time he came around, he made her heart beat faster and she could feel the blood heat within her veins. And a part of her wanted him to hold her and to kiss her again.

“Wait, perhaps if it were a short walk I can accompany ye.”

Rory wanted to spend his last hours with Annella. He couldn’t explain the way she affected him. He felt the tug of his heart when she stepped closer to him and the ache in his groin. He knew he could easily seduce her but he had to fight the urge.

“Shall we?” he asked as he held up his arm for her to grab onto as they walked.

“Aye. I would like to show ye something,” Annella said as they began walking down the gravel road, past the village and up the hillside.

“This is quite a climb my lady.”

“Aye, it is a wee bit rocky.”

Rory reached for her hand to help her up the side of the cliff. Once on the top of the hill, he followed her to the edge and they both sat side by side on a large boulder.

“I often come here to be alone.”

Rory looked out over the landscape. At this height, he could see for miles. The fields below were lush and green, the mountains and sky reflected off the quiet still loch. The sunset was breathtaking.

“Why do ye come here alone, my lady?”

“To hide from my father. Before my twentieth year, my father is forcing me to marry. If I am no’ married by then I will have to marry the repulsive Laird Stewart.”

“Why dinna ye want to marry?”

“I do, it’s just when I marry I want it to be fer love. No’ for my dowry or for some contract.”

“It is true, my lady, that most women do no’ have the right to choose her own husband. One is chosen fer her.”

“Aye, well I dinna like the way things are. I should be able to choose my own husband. What of ye? Why are ye no’ betrothed? Surely ye must have a contract with some other clan’s daughter?”

“Nay. I am no’ ready to marry, my lady. I have given my life to Scotland and will no’ be leaving a widow behind. One day I ken as laird I must fer I will need an heir.”

“Do ye think things will ever change for Scotland?”

“I do hope so, my lady.”

She looked over at him and accidently brushed her arm against his. Just by the light touch she could feel the goose bumps crawling up her arm. She looked into his hungry eyes and sucked in a breath as he slowly leaned towards her. He stopped just before touching her lips. She could feel his breath on her skin. She licked her lips and leaned into him pressing her soft wet lips to his.

Placing her hands at the back of his neck she slid her hands down the length of his torso. He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her onto his lap. Wanting to taste her flesh, he kissed along the side of her neck, down her collar bone to the exposed top of her breasts. Annella moaned loudly from the sensation. She felt her body beginning to tremble. She held onto Rory tighter, wanting to feel her body pressed against his.

Rory looked up at her and pressed his palm to her cheek. “To be honest wit my lady, I want ye. Badly I do. But I ken I can no’ have ye. I have nothing to offer ye and ye should only give yer maidenhood to yer husband. I leave in the morning and well…if something should happen.”

“Aye. I ken,” she said feeling the lump forming in the back of her throat.

She swallowed hard and held back her tears. She felt angry that he was leaving, but she was more angry with herself that she allowed herself to fall for someone who was unattainable.

“I should go. It’s late,” she said and pushed herself up off his lap.

“I hope to one day see ye again, my lady,” Rory said as he reached out for her hand and placed a soft kiss onto the back of it.

Blushing by his remark and subtle gesture Annella replied, “As would I, my laird.”

Once Annella was completely out of sight and was confident she had made it back safely, Rory went back to the stables. Mounting his horse, he headed eastward several miles away towards the burn where his men were training. He had chosen this place to secure their location in case the English had scouts of their own in the area.

“Colin, how is the training coming along?” Rory asked his second leading commander.

“Good, my laird. These are fierce men and ready for battle. Almost two dozen men eagerly joined our forces,” Colin proudly replied.

“That is good to hear, Colin. We leave in the morn. All of the supplies have already been packed. We meet Wallace within five days.”

“Aye, my laird,” Colin said and turned back to the men to continue the training.  

Rory joined in on a few of the scrimmages to keep up his strength and endurance. Colin’s observation of the men was quite accurate. Rory was impressed by their skill. He knew that before Hamish had injured his leg that he was a strong leader and that he trained his men hard. Without his leadership out on the training fields, they had depended on each other and their loyalty to continue the daily drills.

Alastair had also been helping Colin train the men; however he was staying behind to guard his laird and castle.

“My laird, these men are good and ready. They have been trained by the best and ye will no’ be disappointed wit a one of them,” Alastair said.

“Thank ye. I am grateful for all ye have done.”

“I am going to head back to the keep now, my laird unless ye need anything else of me.”

“Nay that will be all, thank ye.”

After a couple hours of sparring exercises, the moon was high in the sky before they finished. Rory watched as his men sat around the fire. Being a leader of men and a laird was one thing, but he knew that these men not only needed leadership but needed to know that, while on the battlefield, all men are the same no matter their rank or station.

Unlike other lairds who felt that keeping a distance from others in order to gain respect from those who serve him, Rory was different. He would gladly give his life for these men. That in itself made his men loyal and trustworthy. He was their leader but also together they were Scots all fighting for the same reason, freedom.

Several men had left the camp to go out hunting for their meal. Leaning up against a tree, Rory watched as they passed around whiskey and told stories of lasses they bedded, and battles they fought.

“I got ‘em that filthy squealing devil,” Angus roared carrying a dead wild boar over his massive shoulders. Angus, only seventeen in age was one of Rory’s fiercest and brightest. Since he was a lad, he looked up to Rory and followed him everywhere he went, hoping one day to become his trusted squire. Since the day Rory honored him with that title, he had worked hard to become a valued member of the MacKinnon army.

“Well, get him on the spit mon. I be hungrier than a wolf,” cried Phillip, one of the other men.

Once their prize was cooked, Rory tore off a piece of meat from the bone and sat down over by the fire next to his cousin Ewan.

“Ye are quiet tonight, my laird. Something on yer mind? A lass perhaps?” Ewan taunted.

“Hold yer tongue, cousin. Ye ken more than anyone that I will no’ be settling down wit a lass. She is a maiden and no’ a common whore so there will nay be any bedding nor asking for her hand.”

“Ye will have to marry someday, my laird. Ye need an heir and…”

Casting Ewan a glare that would even frighten the most fearless warrior he growled, “Enough. We have had this conversation many times cousin. I am leaving for battle soon and it may be my last. I will no’ leave a wife behind.”

Feeling angered and frustrated, he stood up and stalked his way over to his horse and pulled a plaid out of his satchel as well as a flask full of whiskey. Laying his plaid onto the chilly forest floor, he sat down drinking and looked up at the stars.

The effects of the whiskey kept Rory’s mind scrambling. When his thoughts should be on his mission, Annella was the only thing on his mind. Aye his cousin was right, he needed a wife, but wasn’t ready to take one yet. What did he have to offer her anyhow besides a widow’s life?

He knew that he had no chivalry like a knight and he did not know fancy words to woo the lasses. He was more comfortable in battle than to be surrounded by ladies. He was a warrior, raised and bred as one, but he wanted Annella. He wanted to feel her in his arms again, to kiss her, to touch her. She was so sweet and delicate. He started to feel his blood igniting with heat and desire.
Damnation!
  Rory snatched the corner of his plaid and wrapped it around himself. Rolling over onto the ground, he willed himself to sleep.

Chapter 4

“I am no’ ready to get up,” Annella grumbled to Berta as she rubbed her puffy eyes. She had cried herself to sleep, worried about the battle ahead and Rory’s fate.

Berta drew open the curtains from the window letting in the light.

“Well ye better get going if ye are to meet Gavin in the barn this mornin’ to count the supplies. He told me that ye were verra anxious to start taking on more responsibilities and no’ better a day than today. Though I am no’ sure how yer father feels about that but I am sure we will find out soon enough.”