Highland Thirst (39 page)

Tearlach’s
eyebrows rose at the demand, but before he could speak, William cleared his
throat and said, “‘Twas obvious to us at the inn that you love our lady, and
yet you did not stay to claim her. Why?”

“I—She—My
people—” Tearlach struggled, his thoughts in an uproar. He liked this couple
and was trying desperately not to be offended at their behavior, but hadn’t
expected the question. Hell, he hadn’t expected to find them all on his
doorstep either. Finally, he simply said, “The MacAdies have enemies.”

William
relaxed at these words and nodded slowly. “I suspected that might be the case.”

“Aye,”
Betty nodded. “He said as much to Lady Lucy. William told her he feared you may
be trying to keep her safe from your enemies. ‘Tis why she decided to come.”

“That
and she is with—Ouch! Wife!” William glared back at the pretty redhead who had
silenced him with a pinch in the side.

“William,
do you think I might talk to him now?” Lucy’s dry voice reached Tearlach and he
shifted, trying to see around the horse between them.

“She’s
a little annoyed at our insisting on talking to you first,” William admitted,
not sounding terribly concerned by her annoyance.

“But
we had to,” Betty said reasonably. “Other than her cousin Margaret, we are the
closest thing she has to family now, and as such could hardly let her charge up
here on her own and throw herself at you. She’s a lady. She has to have some
pride, I say.”

“And
you are absolutely right,” Eva agreed, drawing his notice to the fact that his
mother and father had now descended the stairs to join them. “I hope it will
ease your mind to know that Tearlach has been pining for her.”

“Tearlach
doesnae pine,” Connall said with exasperation.

Eva
ignored him and continued, “And I think had you not shown up here, he would
have headed to England, if not today then on the morrow.”

Betty
beamed at this news and twisted on the horse to peer over her shoulder. “Did
you hear, my lady? He was pining. Your pride is intact.”

An
exasperated little sigh reached his ears, then his father claimed his attention
with a touch on the arm and muttered, “Mayhap ye should show the lass a bit o’
MacAdie and have a talk with her, son, else yer mother and her people’ll do it
all fer ye.”

Tearlach
grinned at the suggestion and slid past the horse William and Betty rode.

Lucy
shifted unhappily in the saddle. She’d known this was a bad idea from the
first. Her original intention had been to slip away on her own, perhaps dressed
as a lad and ride to MacAdie to hopefully see Tearlach and find out once and
for all whether he cared for her or not.

It
was something she wouldn’t have dared do if not for the fact that she was
carrying his child. If not for that, her pride surely would have kept her “pining”
at Blytheswood until she was old and grey, but she could not force the title “bastard”
on her babe. She either had to inform Tearlach and see if he would marry her
and claim the child, or she would have to find a husband who would, and quickly.
The second option wouldn’t have been difficult. Blytheswood was a rich estate.
Many would be happy to claim her child to get their hands on her home. But the
child was Tearlach’s, and she loved him and had to give him the choice first.

Unfortunately,
Betty had quickly got wind of her intention to make her way into Scotland and
insisted she wasn’t to travel alone. She would need a guard, and maid, and...

The
next thing Lucy knew, she had a small army traveling with her and William and
Betty were insisting that as her brother was no longer there to speak for her,
they should do it. She’d resisted the idea, but the closer they’d got to
MacAdie, the more cowardly she’d turned, and when they’d spotted MacAdie castle
ahead in the day’s dying light, had even suggested they stop for the night
rather than try to finish the journey in the encroaching dusk.

Her
suggestion had been ignored. Shortly after she’d voiced it, a small party had
ridden out to meet them. At first, Lucy had thought the man at the head of the
party was Tearlach, but when he’d paused before them, lifting a torch to look
them over, she’d realized it wasn’t, but was just someone very similar in
looks. She’d been shocked to learn the man was Tearlach’s father, he’d looked
far too young for that, but he’d been kind and even welcoming and had escorted
them the rest of the way to the keep.

Lucy
had spent that last short distance to MacAdie vacillating between excitement at
the idea of seeing Tearlach, and fear that he’d reject her. By the time they’d
ridden into the bailey, she’d wished she’d never set out on this fool’s
journey, and decided it would be best if William and Betty spoke for her.

Now,
however, she found herself thoroughly embarrassed, impatient, and wishing she’d
not let them interfere.

Lucy
was startled from her thoughts when Tearlach suddenly pushed his way past the
horse William and Betty rode and approached her own. Before she could decide
how to greet him, he was reaching up to grasp the pommel in front of her and
then using his hold on that to swing himself up on the mare with her. Eyes
wide, she sat stiff before him as he took the reins from her suddenly weak
hands and turned them to travel back through her men. Several started to turn
their own mounts to follow, but a word from William made them pause.

“Ye’ve
elevated William in rank,” Tearlach commented, apparently noting the incident.

“Aye,”
Lucy said and then nodded lest he couldn’t hear her over the galloping horse.
On taking over the reins of Blytheswood, she’d needed people around her whom
she trusted and William and Betty were definitely that. She’d made William her
right hand, giving him a great deal of responsibility and—when necessary—making
him her voice among the soldiers. The man was a natural leader and had taken to
the new position like a duck to water.

“A
smart move,” Tearlach praised, as they rode back through the gates she’d just
entered and into the dark night. “He’s intelligent and a natural leader.”

Lucy’s
only response was a nod, but she also relaxed a little in the saddle despite
the fact that he’d ridden them into the woods where the darkness seemed
complete. She could see little but darker shapes amid the night surrounding
them, but knew from their previous time together that Tearlach could see more
and would steer them safely to wherever he was taking them.

Neither
of them spoke again until they broke out of the trees. After the dark woods,
the moonlit clearing was almost like daylight to Lucy. She could actually see
enough to make out separate trees, bushes, and plants. Her gaze slid over the
moonlight shining off the water of the loch at the center of the clearing and
she smiled faintly.

“Ye
came to collect me,” Tearlach said as he eased her mount to a walk as they
crossed the clearing, heading for the water’s edge. “Ye love me.”

Lucy
blinked at his words and then scowled. There had been a good deal of arrogant
male satisfaction in his voice. Before she could get too riled up, he added, “‘Tis
good. I love you too.”

Already
annoyed, Lucy couldn’t keep from turning a raised eyebrow his way at this
claim. “Then why did you not come to claim me?”

He
inspected her doubting expression in silence for a moment, then brought Trinket
to a halt and quickly dismounted. When he turned and raised his arms, inviting
her to join him on the ground, she hesitated, her unhappy thoughts keeping her
in the saddle.

Tearlach
made up her mind for her, catching her by the waist and lifting her off the
horse. Once he’d set her on her feet, he caught her face in his hands and
solemnly met her gaze. “I do love ye, Lucy. And that’s the verra reason I
didnae come to claim ye.”

She
tsked impatiently and tugged her face free to whirl away. “That makes no sense
at all.”

“Aye.
It does.” He caught her arm and drew her back around, pulling her forward until
she raised her hands to his chest to keep some space between them. “My people
ha’e enemies. Ye’ve seen that. And ye’ve seen what they’re willin’ to do to me,
to me clansmen. I didnae wish to drag ye into that and put ye in danger. I
loved ye enough I wanted to keep ye safe from that.”

Lucy
considered his words briefly, and then tilted her head. “And now? Will you send
me away to keep me safe?”

“I
should,” he admitted grimly. “I should set ye back on yer mare and turn ye to
England and tell ye to forget all about me.”

Lucy
sucked in a breath at this threat, afraid he might do just that, but instead he
hugged her close. Tearlach pressed a kiss to her forehead, then sighed
unhappily and admitted, “But I find I’m a much more selfish man than I kenned.
I ha’e been miserable lonely without ye, lass. I miss yer sweet smile and
constant silly chatter and—”

“Constant
silly chatter?” she protested, pulling back as much as he would allow.

Tearlach
grinned at her affront, but didn’t apologize. Instead he caught his hands in
the hair at the back of her head and tipped her face up for his kiss. Lucy was
annoyed enough that she managed to resist his kiss and stay stiff and still in
his arms for all of a heartbeat, then she gave it up with a sigh and opened her
mouth to him as her hands crept around his neck.

They
both moaned as the familiar heat burst to life between them.

“God,
I’ve missed ye,” he groaned, breaking the kiss and pressing kisses along her
cheek to her throat as his hands began to move over her body, brushing here,
caressing there. “Kissing ye, touching ye, holding ye close, and fillin’ ye
with me seed. I’ve dreamt o’ nothin’ else.”

“Ohhh.”
Lucy groaned as his hand closed over one breast. When he shifted his thigh
between hers, she pressed into the caress, her back arching and fingers
clenching in his hair as she admitted breathlessly, “I have missed you too and
dreamt of the same thing.”

The
minute the words left her mouth, he was tugging free of her and turning toward
Trinket. “Come.”

“But—”
She dug in her heels, confusion clear on her face when he turned to glance at
her in question. “Are we not going to...” She blushed, unable to give voice to
the lovemaking she’d thought they were heading for. The man had got her all
worked up and with so little effort. Surely he didn’t intend to leave her
hanging like this? she thought. But much to her dismay, while he grinned,
Tearlach shook his head.

“We’re
getting married, lass. I can wait until then. ‘Tis no sense anticipating our
vows again and risking getting with child so others can claim we married fer a
bairn.”

Lucy’s
eyes widened in alarm at his words, but in the next moment he was hurrying her
toward the horse.

“Come,
we ha’e to return and assure them all is well. Mother will be fair pleased at
the news. Ye’ll like me mother,” he added.

Lucy
merely grunted as he caught her up, and lifted her into the saddle and then he’d
mounted behind her and was heading Trinket back into the dark woods at a
gallop. The speed with which they were traveling made it difficult to speak,
but even if it hadn’t, Lucy hadn’t a clue what to say. Obviously she had to
tell him she was with child, but it wasn’t something she could just blurt out.
She needed to work the conversation around to the topic somehow and then gently
announce it.

She
considered the matter seriously as they rode, but hadn’t come up with a way to
work the subject into a conversation by the time they’d arrived back at the
keep. She was nibbling a bit frantically at her lip as Tearlach lifted her down
from the horse, then rushed her up the steps and dragged her into the keep.

“We’re
gettin’ wed!” he bellowed as the keep door slid closed behind them.

This
wasn’t how Lucy had imagined him making the announcement. Not that she’d really
had a chance to think about it, of course, but if she had, she’d have expected
it to be at the sup, and he would have stood and made the announcement then
raised a drink to cheer the occasion. Not walking in and bellowing it at the
top of his lungs.

“Oh!
Lovely!”

Lucy
glanced toward Tearlach’s mother as the woman rushed toward them.

“Welcome
to the family, dear.” Eva MacAdie hugged her tightly, then turned to her son
and hugged him too, burbling on excitedly, “We can have a summer wedding. That
would be lovely. We can have all the family there and Lucy’s family too, of
course, and—”

Lucy’s
eyes were widening in horror at the thought of her standing before the priest
with a distended belly when Tearlach interrupted his mother.

“Summer
is a long way off, Mother. A little sooner would suit me better.”

Lucy
was just sighing her relief at his words when an older woman she thought must
be his grandmother crossed the hall to join them followed by Connall MacAdie
and a man of an age with the unknown woman.

“I
understand yer eagerness, Tearlach,” the woman said gently. “But we have to
give everyone time to make arrangements and travel here and we’ll need to
prepare a feast and so on.”