He still resented what she had done. It was no wonder, then, that he had resented her constant interference in the way he chose to run Brackengill. The wonder was that he had not resented Laura Halliot’s opinion in a similar instance.
It occurred to him then that if he had come upon his sister scrubbing pots in the scullery, he would not have flown into a temper, as he had with Laura. In truth, he would have been glad to see Janet doing such things. After considering that thought for a moment, he pushed it away, knowing it was false but still rather enjoying the mental picture of his sister scrubbing pots.
The moment of humor was short-lived. He reached a hilltop from which he could see Brackengill again, and although sight of the castle stirred the usual sense of pride, movement caught his eye near the river a mile to the north. A small party of horsemen rode there. They were halfway between the castle and himself.
Frowning, he looked more carefully and saw two females with them. He told himself that they were undoubtedly from a place other than Brackengill, that even if they were from Brackengill, they could be only his aunt and her woman. Even as the thought crossed his mind, however, the instinct that warned him when Laura Halliot was in the hall or the bailey told him now that she was one of them.
Certain that she was attempting to escape, he put spurs to his pony, urging it to the reckless pace that he generally reserved for battle or raiding.
When Laurie saw the lone rider galloping downhill toward them, she knew instantly who it was. Her companions did not see him as soon as she did, but even when one of the two men-at-arms acting as their escort shouted warning that an unknown rider approached, she did not doubt his identity.
“That is Sir Hugh,” she said flatly.
“Alone?” demanded the other man doubtfully.
“Aye,” said Andrew, squinting in the bright sunlight. “That be his pony, right enough.” He glanced uncertainly at Laurie.
She had been trying unsuccessfully for the past half hour to separate herself and Andrew from Lady Marjory and the two men-at-arms. When Lady Marjory complained that she was tired before they reached the riverbank, Laurie had suggested that her ladyship return with their escort and leave herself and Andrew to ride on to see Matty and Sheila.
“We can tell them they are wanted again at the castle, madam,” she had said only moments before spying Sir Hugh.
“No, no, my dear! You must not ride about with only the boy for escort. ’Twould not suit your status as lady of the castle, don’t you see.”
“Then I will take one of the men, as well,” Laurie said.
“Oh, but my dear, that would leave me with only one to protect me, and you would have only the one and the boy. That will not do. I told you when I first saw them that two would provide insufficient protection for us, but you insisted and I did not like to deny you. It is nearly dinnertime, though, so we must go back. I had not realized how very tired I would become. Doubtless, it is this dreadful heat.”
The day was mild, but Laurie had seen nothing to gain by pointing that out. Now, watching Sir Hugh’s approach, she felt a distinct chill.
He was upon them in what seemed to be only moments, and she could read his expression easily. He was furious.
He reined in so abruptly that his horse reared, but he controlled it with practiced ease. For a moment, he seemed to look only at Laurie, but then his sweeping gaze took in the others. He nodded at Lady Marjory.
“Good morning, madam.”
“Good morning, my dear Sir Hugh. It is a good thing, is it not, that our beasts are of such a placid nature. Your mad dash might otherwise have disturbed them. I do enjoy seeing an expert in control of a spirited steed, however. Your uncle was just such another in his youth. Sadly, I fear he grew less intrepid with age.”
“I own, I am surprised to see you outside the castle walls, madam. I believe it is the first such excursion you have made since your arrival at Brackengill.”
“Our dearest Laura desired to take some exercise,” Lady Marjory said.
“Did she, indeed?”
Laurie felt his keen glance but kept her eyes fixed on her pony’s left ear.
“Oh, yes,” Lady Marjory said brightly. “I was happy to accompany her, of course, but I fear that I sadly underestimated my stamina, which has just presented us with a slight dilemma. Here we are with but two men-at-arms to escort us, and me so weary as to wish to return.”
Sir Hugh said with deceptive mildness, “And how did that present a dilemma, madam?”
“Why, dearest Laura gallantly suggested that I return to the castle and let her continue with Andrew. I could not agree, though, for one must have a suitable escort, and although Andrew seems to be a nice child, he could not protect her.”
“How wise you were to see that,” Hugh said.
Though his tone was still mild, Laurie felt a shiver shoot up her spine.
Lady Marjory, clearly oblivious to his temper, assured him with a merry laugh that she only wanted to do what was best for Laura.
It was all that Laurie could do to sit quietly listening to them. She could feel his anger in every breath he took and every word that left his tongue. She dared not imagine what the men-at-arms were thinking, but surely they knew their master’s moods well. Neither had said a word.
Sir Hugh said, “Since you are tired, Aunt, and doubtless hungry for your dinner, we will all return to the castle. Gibbs,” he said to the larger of the two men, “I will take the mistress with me. You lead her horse and ride on with the others.”
“Aye, master,” the larger of the two men-at-arms said. He immediately drew his horse nearer to Laurie, holding his hand out for her reins.
Gripping them tightly, she glowered at him, about to protest, but before she could do so, Sir Hugh lifted her from her saddle and plunked her down sideways in front of him on his. Her mouth shut with a snap, but although she was furious, when her astonished gaze collided with his grim one, she decided not to speak just yet.
Sir Hugh took the reins from her and handed them to Gibbs.
Andrew looked from Laurie to Hugh and said matter-of-factly, “Mistress Laurie were going t’ look in on Sheila and Matty to ask ’em if they’ll come back to Brackengill. Me mam said they might.”
“Then you go and tell them,” Sir Hugh said curtly. “Go now,” he added when the boy hesitated. “Tell them you’ve come from me and that her ladyship desires to have more women working at the castle.”
“Should I say ‘her ladyship,’ then?” Andrew’s eyes widened. “Mam said we was t’ call ’er Mistress Laura, but I like Mistress Laurie, which is what Nan says.”
“Get along with you, lad,” Sir Hugh said. “You’re to say ‘her ladyship.’”
Laurie straightened, giving Sir Hugh a speaking look. “I’m not—”
“You will be silent if you know what’s good for you,” he snapped.
Scarcely waiting for Andrew to urge his pony on, Sir Hugh reined his toward the castle. Lady Marjory and her escort had already ridden ahead.
“Just what the devil do you think you are doing out here?” he demanded.
Laurie looked down at her hands, wishing she were still on her own pony. Although she was still angry, it was hard to think what to say to him when her shoulder rested against his broad chest and she could feel the hardness of chain mail beneath his padded jack. She could feel each breath he took.
She remembered the feeling of his lips against hers and his hand touching her breast, and her body suddenly felt so warm that she decided Lady Marjory had been right about the hot day. Every movement of his horse jostled her against him, and her thoughts remained elusive, tangled, and unreachable.
He waited.
The tension increased until she knew he did not mean to speak until she did.
At last, she said, “I do not suppose you could bring yourself to believe that I was merely taking exercise with her ladyship.”
“No.”
Not encouraging. She swallowed, licked dry lips, and muttered, “I had to do something. I could not sit quietly at Brackengill and just let you attack Liddesdale again. Those are my people.”
“And you are my hostage. Or did you chance to forget that?”
“You know I did not. I am not your wife, however. Not Lady Graham, and not ‘her ladyship.’”
“As to that, by Scottish law and, thanks to Scrope’s agreement, even by English law, you are all three of those things.”
She turned toward him then, feeling a surge of her earlier fury. “I’m not! That ceremony was only a practical arrangement to protect me.”
“We will not discuss that just now,” he said.
His tone remained calm, but his anger was nearly palpable. “You are not to leave the castle again, Laura,” he added sternly. “I accepted your word that you would remain at Brackengill as pledge for your sister’s honor. That means—as I should not have to remind you—that you
must
remain in her stead, as a promise that she will appear to answer for the death of Martin Loder.”
“I was not running away,” Laurie protested, but she looked away again.
“Were you not?” he said. “I don’t know what else to call it.”
“I meant to warn them, that’s all. I would have come back.”
“Do you think you need stay only at your convenience?” he demanded.
When she did not reply, he gripped her right shoulder and forced her to turn toward him.
“Look at me,” he said.
Reluctantly, she did.
“Now, tell me that you understand you cannot leave Brackengill just because some impulse stirs you to do so. You are my prisoner, Laura, not my guest.”
Her stomach knotted. She did not want to speak the words. No other hostage that she had heard of seemed so strictly confined. The fact that the only other hostage that she had heard much about was Buccleuch did not occur to her.
He gave her a shake. “Answer me. Do you understand your position?”
“Aye, I understand it,” she muttered.
“Good.”
“I also understand that I am
not
your wife. Do not think you can bed me!”
She heard him sigh, but if he was exasperated with her, he did not say so.
He did not speak again, in fact, until they had ridden through the main gates into the bailey at Brackengill.
Lady Marjory, apparently, had already gone inside.
Laurie sat stiffly until Sir Hugh dismounted, and she did not relax when his hands grasped her waist and he lifted her from the saddle. Nor did she let her gaze meet his, keeping it fixed on a point beyond his shoulder, waiting for him to put her down. When he had held her for several moments with her feet still off the ground, she pressed her lips together. Knowing that somehow he was baiting her, she was determined not to leap to his bait.
His patience—or stubbornness—proved greater than hers, however.
Meeting his gaze at last, she said, “Do you mean to hold me like this forever? It must be well past noon by now. Meggie will be wondering if any of us intends to eat dinner today.”
“I am wondering what to do with you,” he said.
“You can begin by putting me down.
“I don’t think so,” he said, and to her shock, he hoisted her over his shoulder instead. The position was not only uncomfortable but mortifying, as well.
“What are you doing?” she demanded.
“I am going to teach you certain consequences of being a hostage, my lady.”
“You have no right,” she muttered between gritted teeth.
“I have every right, both as your jailer and as your husband. I have the right to do whatever I please with you, my lass. I can do it right here, if you insist, or I can do it in the privacy of your bedchamber. You may choose which.”
He did not bother to lower his voice, and Laurie heard one of the men laugh. Although the man hastily stifled his laughter, it added to her mortification.
When Sir Hugh began to stride across the cobblestones, she could scarcely breathe, because the plating on his shoulder dug into her ribs. She would have bruises, but she feared that he meant to do more, much more, than that.
“Put me down!”
“Hush. You’ll gain little by sputtering at me.”
She pounded his back with her fists. “Do your worst, Hugh Graham, but if you kill anyone I know, I swear I’ll make you sorry! Now, put me—”
She broke off with a shriek when he smacked her backside.
“I told you to hush,” he reminded her. “Don’t fight me so, either. You’ll hit your head or one of your fists on the wall if you don’t take care.”
In her struggles, she had not paid heed to where he was going. Now, she realized that he had passed through the main entrance and had reached the twisting stairway. As he mounted the steps, she saw Lady Marjory below, peering up at her.
Her ladyship’s mouth hung open, and her eyes were wide with shock. For once, she did not say a word.
Laurie shut her eyes.
She opened them again, however, when Sir Hugh sent a door crashing back on its hinges. Just as she realized that he had carried her into her bedchamber, he grasped her with both hands by the waist and set her on her feet. He did not let go.
When she tried to step away from him, he held her with one hand at her waist while he used the other to hold her chin and tilt her head up.
Knowing what he meant to do, she stood still, frozen in place by myriad feelings and thoughts that rushed through her. She knew that he meant to punish her, even to frighten her, to remind her of his power over her, which made her reaction seem almost perverse.
A part of her knew that she ought to be frightened. But she did not feel frightened. She felt only anticipation. If anything frightened her, it was the knowledge that she wanted him to kiss her again.
When his lips touched hers, her body leapt in response, and she shut her eyes. He kissed her thoroughly, and although his left hand remained firmly at her waist, holding her tight against him, the other moved away from her chin and began to caress her body even more possessively than he had the previous time. Cupping a breast, he used his thumb to flick gently against her nipple.
Laurie gasped, opening her eyes.
His lips left hers and his hands moved back to grasp her waist again.
“You see how easily a husband can control a wife,” he said.