Highland Grace (11 page)

“Will th’ minstrels get to eat some of the
Yule feast, Mama?” Alleck asked her in a loud whisper, his eyes
never leaving the dancer’s feet.

“Aye, I’m sure they will,” she replied. She
pulled him higher up onto her lap using the arm she had curled over
his stomach. He’d been fidgeting so much that he’d nearly slid off
of his perch.

“Here, let me take him,” Bao said. And in a
trice, Alleck was straddled over Bao’s knee.

Jesslyn caught Bao’s eye and smiled her
thanks.

He smiled back, holding her gaze captive a
moment before turning back to watch the minstrels’ performance.

She was profoundly aware of him physically;
she found she always was whenever he was near. And his gentle
manner was wearing down her resolve to wait a bit longer, mind his
character a bit more, before committing her body and heart to
him.

But the fact that he’d sewn swaddling clothes
for their babe in her stead every day had tipped the scales in his
favor. Especially with his brother’s good-natured tormenting added
in.

And surprisingly, he was good with a needle,
certainly better than she was herself. In fact, Maryn and Lady
Maclean were so impressed with his handiwork that they’d asked him
if he’d make a few shirts for the babe as well. Jesslyn swallowed a
giggle, but it turned into a snort, which she quickly shaped into a
sound of clearing her throat. She coughed into her hand for good
measure.

Bao turned around and grabbed a chalice of
water from the table and handed it to her. “Are you chilled? I’ll
get your cloak from our chamber, if you’d like.”

Shaking her head, she replied, “Nay, I’m
quite warm.” After swallowing down several mouthfuls, she said, “My
throat was a bit dry. The water has helped. My thanks.”

Taking the cup from her hands, Bao placed it
back on the table behind him before settling his eyes on her
countenance once more. “You look a bit flushed. Are you sure you’re
feeling well enough to join the feast?”

She tensed. Was this the third or
fourth
time he’d asked that same question? This excessive
solicitude was scraping against her nerves. “I’m well! I promise
you!”
Lord!

“Aye,” he replied, and she pressed her lips
together to keep the smile from forming, for she could see that he
literally bit his tongue to keep from arguing with her.

Except it irritated her too. He hadn’t shown
an ounce of peeve since he’d come to her bed all those nights ago
and begged her forgiveness. She crossed her arms over her chest and
stewed. The man must be a saint. She’d been goading him for days
now and he’d still not lost his temper with her. She supposed she
was simply going to have to admit that he’d passed this trial as
well.

And he
was
slowly driving her mad with
his oh-so-innocent requests that still managed to make her burn for
him. Like the last one. As he’d removed her shoes, he’d asked her
to remove her hose as well. And then he’d not only massaged her
feet, he’d bathed them! In the most luxuriously warm, scented water
she’d ever been fortunate enough to enjoy. And it had made her wish
he’d asked for
all
her clothing, so that he could minister
to her entire body with as much utter care as he gave her feet. Her
mouth grew dry at the thought. She turned and grasped the chalice
of water once more, bringing it to her parched lips.

As she drank, her husband, whom she’d felt
watching her as she picked up the chalice, leaned down and
whispered in her ear, “I’ll be back in a moment. I’m going to take
Alleck to sit with Daniel and Branwenn for a while.”

She nodded. “He’ll like that.” She watched
Bao move through the throng, carrying Alleck on his shoulders,
which greatly amused her son. Alleck had wrapped his arms around
Bao’s forehead and Bao held her son’s upper arms to keep him
steady. And those massive hands of Bao’s, which had been playing
such havoc with her senses, now seemed quite safe as they cradled
her son.

* * *

“I need to take Jesslyn up to our chamber,”
Bao said to Daniel after handing Alleck over to Branwenn. “She’s
not well, I fear.” He cocked his head in his wife’s direction. “See
you how flushed her face has become?”

Daniel nodded, a frown furrowing his brow.
“Aye. And her eyes are a bit glassy, as well. Think you she has a
fever?”

“Aye, but she’s been so contrary lately that
I didn’t want to upset her further by feeling her forehead.”

“Take her up to your chamber and I’ll meet
you there in half an hour with my healer’s box,” Daniel said. He
put his hand on Bao’s shoulder. “Calm yourself. She may simply be
feeling the effects of her condition. And the closeness of the hall
now that ‘tis filled with this crush of people doesn’t help, I’m
sure. Maryn went up to our chamber not an hour past with that same
complaint.”

Bao nodded briefly and turned, striding back
to Jesslyn’s side. “You need to lie down,” he said, and before she
could protest, he lifted her into his arms and carried her toward
the doorway of the great hall.

* * *

Having grown dizzy in Bao’s absence, she made
no complaint, simply rested her head on his shoulder and closed her
eyes. She was just so weary, and her head ached a bit as well.

With long strides, her husband cut across the
antechamber outside the great hall and took the stairs two at a
time to their third-level bedchamber. He flung the door open and
then kicked it closed behind him, not stopping his forward motion
until he was at the bedside. His voice was gentle when he said,
“Will you be able to get out of this gown on your own?”

Jesslyn’s stomach roiled. All she wanted to
do was be very, very still so she didn’t lose her meal. “Nay,” she
whispered.

“Do you think you can stand a moment while I
do it then?”

She swallowed hard against the bile that
threatened to rise from her stomach and gave her head a slight
shake. “Mmm-mmm.” She was afraid to open her mouth, lest she should
spew.

“All right. I’ll just lay you down on the bed
and see if I can loosen the laces of this tight gown enough to pull
it off of you.”

Jesslyn nodded, rubbing her cheek against his
muscled chest. She hadn’t opened her eyes since he’d lifted her
into his arms downstairs. It helped to keep the room from
spinning.

After placing her on the bed, his quick and
nimble fingers loosed the laces on the side of her gown and
stripped them from their holes. The fabric gaped open enough to
work it off of her with minimum effort on her part.

“I’m hot.”

* * *

Bao felt her forehead. ‘Twas warm, but not
hot, as he’d feared. Mayhap she’d just become overheated
downstairs, as Daniel had suggested. He prayed so. He walked over
to the table that held a pitcher and basin for cleansing. After
pouring water into the bowl, he tossed one of the cloths that lay
folded next to the pitcher into the cool liquid and brought the
basin over to the bedside. He wrung out the cloth and used it to
cool her, blowing on each section of skin after he’d dampened it
with the cloth. He couldn’t help noticing the changes in her, now
that he was able to see her shape more clearly. The thin material
of her chemise clung to her body like a second skin. He could see
the aureoles of her breasts, darker now than they had been, through
the material. And her bosom was even more full, more rounded, now
that she carried a babe. God, how he craved to lose himself in
them, in her, once more. He doused the cloth again and wrung it out
before skimming it over her arms, down to her hands. His eyes
dropped to her belly. ‘Twas rounded now, her childing state
obvious. Through the clinging fabric, he could see the outline of
her thighs, and at its apex, the mons of her sex. His goddess. His
fertile goddess. His fertile, flushed, goddess. He prayed she
hadn’t caught a fever.

* * *

“That feels good,” Jesslyn said blissfully.
She opened her eyes and, for the first time, realized the depth of
worry Bao was feeling for her when she saw the white line of
tension around his mouth. She lifted her hand to his jaw to draw
his eyes to her face. “I’m feeling much better now.” She dropped
her hand to her stomach and continued, “And, thankfully, my stomach
no longer churns. I suppose I’m just a bit more sensitive to the
heat these days.”

“I hope you’re right,” Bao replied. “But,
just to be certain, Daniel will be here in a few moments to check
on you.”

Jesslyn tried to sit up, but found she was
still too dizzy. “Hand me my gown! Make haste!”

“Nay. You need your rest.”

“Are you daft? I’m not going to lie here
half-dressed with Daniel in the chamber! Now,
hand me my
gown!
”

“I shall cover you with a blanket. Will that
suffice?”

Realizing she’d lost the battle since she
didn’t have enough strength to put the gown back on by herself,
Jesslyn sighed in frustration and nodded her head.

“That’s a good lass,” Bao said. Picking up
the basin, he took it back over to the table.

While Bao’s back was turned, Jesslyn made a
face at him. “
That’s a good lass
,” she mimicked under her
breath.

* * *

The Yule celebration came and went without
Jesslyn ever leaving her chamber. Under orders from Daniel, and
subsequently Bao, she was confined to her bed for two days. Daniel
had forced her to drink an awful-tasting herbal concoction the past
morn after Bao had brought her up from the great hall. But it had
mostly been a precautionary measure, since she hadn’t been running
a fever. And now, she was restless and bored. The celebration ended
an hour or two past and she was a bit annoyed that not even her son
had come to see her.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when the
door flew open. “Oh, ‘tis you,” she said petulantly, crossing her
arms over her chest.

Her husband grinned and put his hand over his
heart. “Ah, my beautiful, sweet-tempered bride, I’m glad to see
you, too.”

“My! How merry we are this eve. I suppose
you’ve been nipping into the
uisge beatha
?” Jesslyn didn’t
know why she felt so compelled to spew venom at her almost-husband,
but something about his ability to withstand her worst moods
without losing his temper—especially after she’d been subjected to
the darker side of his character for two sennights—just set her
blood to boiling.

“Nay, my sweet, not
uisge beatha
, but
your delectable berry tarts.”

She uncrossed her arms. “Oh,” she said less
forcefully. Picking at a loose thread on the blanket that covered
her legs, she said, “I suppose the whole family was downstairs
earlier, enjoying the minstrels and the feast.” She gave a wistful
sigh. Her eyes filled with tears. “I’ll bet no one even considered
bringing some up to me!” she wailed.

Bao rushed over to the bed and sat down next
to her, pulling her into his arms. “Shhshh. Of course we wanted to
bring some of the fare up to you, but we worried we’d wake you.
You’ve been sleeping so much these past two days, Daniel and I
thought it best to let you rest.”

She sniffled. Then sniffled again. Her voice
thick, she said, “I’m lon”—
hic!
—“nely...y...y!” Pushing out
of Bao’s embrace, she railed, “
And ‘tis all your fault!
”

Bao’s eyes grew stormy and a tick started in
his cheek. “
My
fault? Why, pray, is it
my
fault?”

“Because you forced me to stay up here the
past two days, even after you knew I hadn’t caught a fever!”

* * *

Bao took a deep breath. And then another. And
then one more. His grandmother had explained to him that Jesslyn’s
moodiness was due to her condition and that the best thing to do
was to appease her. “Forgive me, sweet. I see now that I am fully
to blame, as you said.”

She stopped crying for a moment and gazed at
him through the tears that still puddled in her eyes, a look of
shock on her face. “Nay, ‘tis me! I’m to blame, ‘tis my fault!”

Bao watched in alarm as her face scrunched up
and the tears poured forth once more. But, if he’d learned naught
else about women in all his years on this earth, he knew this:
Never agree with any negative statement a woman makes about
herself. Never. Ever. “Nay, ‘twas my fault. I was wrong to leave
you up here all by yourself for so many hours.”

Bao rose and dampened a cloth to cool
Jesslyn’s fiery cheeks and rinse off her tears. He settled back on
the edge of the bed and leaned forward, softly stroking the cool
material over her face and eyes.

“My thanks,” she murmured.

She’d stopped crying, thank the heavens.

“Will you hold me, Bao? Just for a
while?”

“Aye.” Bao looked around, trying to figure
out how he could hold her without lying down. Definitely not a good
idea. There wasn’t a suitable chair in the chamber, and the stools
weren’t large enough. Aye, a chair would be a much better option,
if only there was one. He determined in that moment to have one
brought up on the morrow. His gaze lighted once again on Jesslyn.
He bit back a sigh. The bed it would have to be, then. “I’ll need
you to move forward a minute, so I can climb in behind you.”

“All right,” Jesslyn replied, and did as he
instructed.

Bao took off his boots and settled in behind
Jesslyn, placing his legs on either side of her hips. He put his
arms around her and pulled her back to lean against his chest,
resting his arms under her bosom, just above her swollen belly.
“Would you like me to brush your hair later—or bathe your feet
again, mayhap?” Bao said after a time.

“Aye, both would be nice. Do you mind?”

“Nay, I don’t mind. I enjoy the effort. Quite
a lot, actually,” he replied. Unable to resist the temptation any
longer, he brought his hand down over her tummy and softly caressed
it. “How fares our babe?”