Branded by a Warrior (40 page)

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 tartan and 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 you wearing your chainmail Lis?” he looked up from his chest and saw her kneeling 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 his wife’s 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
.” 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 the k
ing,
and my father and brother
,
I threw
a fit and wagered against the k
ing 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
,
” she 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, held prisoner for the night and fight 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, 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 Broderick 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.
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.

Earlier
while she worked and Broderick slept, she had let Rhona carry up food and ordered a hot bath drawn in the large copper tub now installed in the corner. Smiling to herself, she looked upon the room with pride; she had turned Broderick’s study into a functional bedroom. She knew they would spend the majority of their time in th
is room throughout their lives, she wanted it outfitted with all the comforts they could ever need.

Exhaling deeply, she turned around to the fire and slowly worked on her laces, she had yet to see her wound, the location would bring her pain for many months. The arrow had hit bone, she wasn’t sure if her rib was broken or not. If she breathed too deep, the pain lanced through her veins like fire.

Her hand had been cut by the first blow Ivan had dealt her, inspecting her hand
in the firelight
she silently told herself to wrap it tonight and have
Rhona close it for her tomorrow. S
he was sure her arrow wo
uld require the same treatment. God she was sore, and exhausted. She wanted a bath and to sleep next to her husband, nothing else in the world sounded better to her.

With her laces loose, she
removed her MacMillan tartan and tossed it next to Broderick’s. Slowly bending
down
she
unlaced her boots, kicking out of them she enjoyed the burning fire before her. The blazing heat felt incredible.
Removing her bracers next she tossed them next to Broderick’s as she rubbed her wrists.
Lifting up her skirts she pulled down her leggings and
flicked them with her toe over to the discarded clothing pile.

Sighing with pleasure of bare legs she pulled let the gown fall down to her ankles on the floor. Heavy with blood, she stepped out of the soiled gown and kicked it over to the pile as well.

With only her chemise
on, she pulled it
off her body in a happy moan. She couldn’t wait to sink into the hot tub and wash away the blood. Twisting her shoulders, she attempted to look where the arrow had struck, feeling with her fingers, she found the hole in her side.

Feeling the tug at his feet, Broderick slowly woke up to see
his lovely wife shed her clothing before him.
Waking up to his wife standing naked before him and the fire was something he could learn to live with.
He saw the wound on her back as she pulled her chemise
off;
it was low enough
to concern him.