Branded By a Warrior (41 page)

Elisabeth turned around and sighed,
home
. She wa
s finally home. Her husband,
his brother and niece were
all safe
, and they were
all
home. Seeing the dogs perk up, she heard Rhona at the base of the stairs asking permission to come up, hailing down to her she watched as hot water and supplies wer
e brought.
Rhona talked Broderick’s ear off while the staff brought buckets of hot water and fresh clothes, food and supplies. Seeing that the young couple had everything they needed, Rhona kissed Broderick’s head and gave Elisabeth a warm hug
before she
quickly disappeared
.

Finally, alone with Broderick in their private retreat emotions swept over her like a stampeding herd. She could
let her guard down.
Looking at her husband,
the tears finally sprang forth.
He noticed, opening his arms, she saw him tilt his chin beckoning her to come to him.
Running across the room she jumped into his lap and wrapped her arms around him and cried. She was unafraid of appearing weak or womanly, she had longed for her husband for weeks upon weeks. The sadness, the lonely sleepless nights she had endured, the pain in her heart and the realization she was carrying his child
. She needed nothing more than Broderick’s embrace. Sobbing incoherently into his chest, she felt his large hands run up her back, soothing her as she cried.

***

“Shhh Lis, we are home and safe lass,” he purred, gathering her closer to him. He rubbed her back as she
cried;
finally the woman showed her feminine side and let some of her built up emotion show, “You were incredible Lis, simply incredible. I owe you my life once again, in fact, I think you saved my
life several times tonight love.” H
e admitted in earnest.

Holding her tight, he felt her slim arms squeeze tighter as she sobbed.
God he missed her, so many times tonight he thought he was going to watch her die. They had survived together, he had put his family’s life in her hands and she won the day.

“I miss
ed
you so much Broderick, so very much. I was so worried I would lose you tonight, so afraid I was not strong enough and would fail
.” S
he murmured between tears.

Tilting up her chin, he looked into her green eyes and smiled, “and I missed you lass, words will never be able to properly convey how sorry I am about
my homecoming and abhorrent accusations
,
but I will spend the rest of my life showing you how sorry I am, and how much I love and trust you
.” L
eaning down he kissed her soft mouth and felt her melt in his arms. God she tasted like heaven and honey.

***

Elisabeth heard him hiss when she pressed too hard against his chest, reminding her of the wound she had yet to properly inspect. Breaking the kiss she pulled back and ripped Broderick’s shirt back, “Oh
sweet Jesu
Broderick!” She exclaimed
as her eyes scanned a deep slash that ran from his shoulder all the way to the opposite hip.

“Why didn’t
you tell me it was this bad?” S
lipping
out of his lap she ran over and gathered
the tray of supplies Rhona had brought.

“I hadn’t had time to see it myself, we’ll have matching scars Lis
,”
H
e said, half amused as he ran his hand down bes
ide the slash across his chest
inspecting
his mangled
trunk
, “I am more concerned about your wound my dear, your dress is soaked and I can
see you favoring your side, dinn
ae think I forgot about the arrow I saw sticking out of yer side
.
”

Rolling her eyes, she felt the stab of pain
she had been ignoring since she was shot. He was correct, she had bled profusely, and the blasted arrow had lodged itself in her lowest rib, pulling it out had been a chore.
Yet, she knew it had not penetrated her enough to cause damage. The wound would heal easily. Her rib would be sore for a while, but it was nothing that would kill her.

“Why weren’t yo
u wearing your chainmail Lis?” H
e looked up from his chest as knelt
before him preparing the needle and thread.

Dunking the clean linen clothes in the hot water, she looked up at her husband’s g
reen eyes, “I was worried it would hinder my movement and speed,” she admitted, ringing out the cloth. Leaning towards him, she gently grabbed his bracers and unlaced them so she could work on his chest. Setting them down, she unraveled his blood soaked tartan and sat it beside them as she stood up and eyed the slashed shirt he wore. In one smooth movement, she ripped it from his broad chest with both hands.

Tossing the ruined shirt in the blazing fire she reached down and picked up the cloth, gently cleaning his chest of blood. Attempting to change the subject, she remembered they had yet to talk of his meeting with the King,
“How is my cousin, the King?” S
he asked as she set to work.

“I think he genuinely wanted to see you, he seemed very protective of you and wanted to gauge
your feelings on our marriage. I gave him the letter within minutes of seeing him, it lessened his irritation considerably to know you were in love with me,” he smiled, “He approves of your choice
.
”

“Of course he does, you
were always their first choice
.” S
he murmured
, grinning
.

Reaching out, Broderick
gently
captured her
chin and tilted her head up so she would look at him; “Explain
.” H
e purred as he rubbed his thumb across her jaw.

“Beca
use of my ties to the Crown,
Richard
wanted to be assured that the man I married was worthy in the event I was crowned Queen of England. For years he and my father pushed for me to marry men of their choosing, you had always been
their first choice. Even Duncan agreed, yet I refused to even consider you or any man
.
”

“Duncan approved of me?”

Tilting her head she smiled and kissed his hand and picked up the needle, “Aye Broderick, your rift with my brother caused great turmoil between you two, of that there is no doubt. However, Duncan looked up to you, you were the man he measured all other warriors against.
He
wanted to see me wed to you
, he knew you to be honorable and steadfast. He told me you wouldn’t try to change me, or ever hurt me.
” Sighing, she warned, “P
lease hold still, this will take all night to close my love
.” S
etting needle to mangled skin, she started to slowly close his wound.

“
I don’t understand, t
he King and your father
, nor Duncan
never
said anything over the years
.
”

“After a extremely hars
h discussion with King Richard as well as my
father and brother
,
I threw
a fit and wagered against my cousin
and my father, a wager you know that I won
. They never said anything to the men they had suggested for me, for I think they knew it was hopeless.” S
he smiled as she stitched
his chest
closed;
she had started high on his shoulder.

“
In the end, you married me
.” H
e responded, quickly sucking in his breath as she hit a tender spot.

Leaning over, she kissed his bruised jaw, “I married you because I love you, not because a King told me to
,
I think I’m the one person in the world who has told King Richard to buggar off, and still keep my head.” S
he winked and continued to sew. The wound he had was considerably longer, yet not as deep as hers had been. It crossed from his left shoulder all the way to his right hip.

“Ye will need to show me yer arm and rib wife, I would like to see the damage myself before we go to sleep tonight
.
”

She felt him run his strong hand down her sword arm, moving it across her injured rib. “Of course, I cannae wait to be out of this bloody gown, Rhona will be sad I ruined it. She worked so hard on it
.” S
he mused as she worked over his chest and across his
muscular stomach, taking a moment to look at her tattered gown.

“Feel free to take yer clothes off at any time wife
, I’m sure ye can work better naked
.” C
huckling he
leaned back and extended his long legs out
the best he could so she could work faster.

“Hush, let me finish putting you back together
, you sit back and rest your eyes
,” s
he hissed
, playfully swatting at him
as she
continued to work
. She had seen fatigue in his face, she knew he was exhausted. He had just
returned home from Inverness
to become captured by Kincaid, he
ld prisoner for the night and fou
ght a battle. The man needed sleep; she could feel him swaying in his saddle upon their ride back home.
Although he refused to admit it, the man had taken a tremendous hit upon his broad chest, he hadn’t slept in God knows when,
and
he had been bleeding for hours.

Stitch after stitch she worked her way down, finally
surrounded by
quiet, she was able to reflect on everything that had happened in the last day. Today she realized she carried Broderick’s babe in her stomach, her husband had returned only to accuse her and Kendrix of unspeakable misdeeds. Next she witnessed the MacMillan brothers fighting nose to nose, she had never observed such tension and palpable fury in her life. She had yet to find out how Kincaid was able to capture the three of them so easily, it had all happened so very quickly.

The reality that Kincaid was finally dead swirled in her head, he was
dead
. She thought over her vow to her family, and the promise she made to Broderick tonight. She would honor her word and forfeit her swords to him, he allowed her to kill Ivan, and in doing so she would gladly turn her sword over
.

Underneath her hands she felt her husband’s breathing fall into steady cadence, looking up at his face she saw his head resting upon the chair
back
, his eyes closed, finally asleep.

Whispering,
“
Sweet Jesu
you had to be tire
d to fall asleep while I sew ye closed
, sleep my love
.” S
miling at his peaceful face.

Broderick
had been
remarkable
tonight, it was the first time she
witnessed
her husband in
battle
, she had never been prouder of the man before her
in all her life
.
He trusted her, he allowed her to make the calls,
he had shown her his support in the moment she had needed him most
.

Watching
him
in battle tonight captured her
attention;
she had never seen a man like him in all her life.
She had never witness such explosive prowess before in her life.
She was sure he was the one man she could not beat with a sword.
Slowly sewing Broderick’s chest closed she took time to reflect upon the battle, the fire crackled behind her as she pierced Broderick’s skin over and over again.

Over two hours later, she
had
finally finished
up on his right hip
.
Slowly standing up from her stool
she
stretched her tight
muscles
and sighed as she rolled her sore neck. L
ooking down at the sleeping giant before her
,
she
inspected her work with pride. He
lay
across the large leather chair, sleeping
as if he was dead to the world dressed in only his bloodied kilt and boots.
The wound
was
now completely closed from shoulder to hip, she had been thankful that it had not been overly deep.
Kneeling back down
before her husband
she slowly unlaced his huntsman boots and pulled them off each leg, the man needed a bath and rest. Making him comfortable
was the least she could do before she changed out of her soiled gown for the night.