Medieval Ever After (100 page)

CHAPTER SIX

Despite the low
, dense clouds and the sharp wind, sweat poured off Daniel’s bare chest. The sounds of men cheering for him at his back clashed with the shouts in favor of his opponent, who stood panting in front of him.

Daniel raised his sword and swung it down toward his opponent’s shoulder, but the man blocked, binding Daniel’s blade and forcing it into the ground. Instead of struggling against the other man’s strength, Daniel pulled his sword back while stepping toward his opponent, driving his shoulder into the other man’s chest.

That sent the man stumbling back, giving Daniel an opening for another attack. He took another swing, this time aiming for his opponent’s unsteady feet. The dulled edge of the blade thwacked into the man’s ankles. With a surprised yelp, he tumbled to the ground on his back. Daniel darted forward, placing his booted foot on the man’s sword arm so he couldn’t land one final blow, then placed the tip of the practice sword against his throat.

The men gathered in the yard roared their approval, despite the fact that half of them had been cheering for the man now splayed on his back.

Daniel’s plan couldn’t have worked better. Just after dawn, he had set about organizing the men of the castle for a training session in the yard. Though all had sworn their fealty yesterday, Daniel suspected that some of the inhabitants of the castle and village were disgruntled about the rapid change in authority at Loch Doon. After all, when Kennedy had been charged with looking after the castle by the Bruce three years ago, he had brought many of his own men from his clan’s keep at Dunure in Turnberry.

But if there was one thing that could bond men and build a sense of respect, it was fighting. After an hour of sword drills in the chilly yard, Daniel had set up a mock tournament that pitted the men against each other in pairs and eliminated the losers.

Hours later, it had come down to him and the man that now lay prone under his blade—Harold Kennedy, he thought his name was. He was almost as tall as Daniel, yet at least twice as wide. Daniel had already noticed that many of the others deferred to him, clearly respecting his strength and experience. That Daniel had bested him in a mostly friendly match would go a long way in securing the men’s trust and respect.

He withdrew the point of the practice blade and extended a hand to Harold, who was panting and frowning in disbelief.

“I nearly had you with that blow to the ribs,” Harold said.

“Aye, and I’ll have the bruises to prove it,” Daniel said with a grin.

That seemed to please the large fighter, who thumped Daniel on the back.

“And if the men see me limping around like a lame horse, they’ll have you to thank for it, my lord!” Harold said cheerily.

The gathered men laughed and cheered as the two best fighters exchanged a forearm grasp.

As Daniel turned toward the great hall for the midday meal, his eyes caught a splash of emerald green in the doorway.

Rona stood watching him.

He hadn’t seen her after she’d excused herself to her chamber yesterday, and by the time he’d dragged himself wearily to his own chamber, he was too exhausted to spend time chewing on her strange behavior—and his strong reaction to her.

He’d woken early, having spent a fitful night dreaming of her eyes, which shifted from defiant to vulnerable and back again. His mind had also conjured up a few other choice images of her that left him feeling achy and unsatisfied upon waking.

Seeing her now, dressed in a bright green gown, her red hair flowing loosely around her shoulders, the images from his dreams suddenly came back to him.

Her, naked and spread out on his large bed.

Those pert breasts, creamy white and tipped with the same rosy shade as her lips.

Her blue eyes flashing at him in pleasure.

As he approached her in the doorway, he scooped up his discarded shirt but didn’t bother donning it. The men around him began to disperse, but he could feel the curious looks they sent toward their new lord and lady.

“Did you enjoy the spectacle, lass?” he said, stopping right in front of her.

Though she tried to put on a regal air, he didn’t miss the flutter of her eyes down the bare expanse of his torso.

“Men are strange,” she said simply, raising her eyes to his in an attempt at nonchalance.

“I’d say that at least we are straightforward. It’s much easier to gain a man’s trust than a woman’s.” He let his eyes openly rake over her. “You are looking well today, Rona. The illness you felt yesterday has passed?”

“Aye, it was nothing,” she said with a wave of her hand. They were standing so close, however, that her fingertips brushed his chest.

He clenched unconsciously, and a little gasp escaped from her parted lips.

Bloody hell, why did she have such a strong effect on him? He had enjoyed the company of a few lasses back at his uncle’s keep and had even been pursued by a couple of them. But none could have had him reeling simply by brushing his chest.

“Perhaps you look so hale and hearty today because it is our wedding day,” he said in a low voice.

That didn’t have the desired effect. Instead of blushing prettily or batting her eyelashes at him, a look of fright crossed her face, and she took an unconscious step backward. Though he’d never had a problem with the lasses before, perhaps he wasn’t as knowledgeable as he thought.

Or perhaps Rona was a different kind of lass. Her reactions kept catching him off-guard. She put up walls where other lasses would have flirted or preened, and she softened at the most unexpected moments.

“So you remain determined that we must wed today?” she said. Was that a hint of anxiety in her voice?

“Aye. There is no point in putting it off,” he said flatly, once again unsure of her reactions. “Is there a reason you wish to delay?”

“We are still strangers, my lord, and—”

“Call me Daniel. That’s at least one formality we can do away with.”

“Very well…Daniel. We hardly know each other, and yet we will be expected to—that is, we will…tonight…”

Now she blushed, but it wasn’t coy. Her face was filled with deep embarrassment, and something else, something like…fear?

Realization hit him like a splash of cold water.

“Has no one explained to you what happens between a man and a woman on their wedding night?”

If it was possible, the redness in her cheeks darkened. “Nay, my mother and Agnes…I understand the basic events.”

Suddenly Daniel felt like the barbarian she had called him earlier. Here he was, thrusting his bare chest in her face and speaking to her quietly about today being their wedding day when instead of enticing the lass, he was terrifying her.

He pulled his shirt over his head and extended his arm to her. “Take a turn around the yard with me, Rona.”

Hesitantly, she placed her hand on his, and despite how uncomfortable she seemed, a bolt of heat shot through him at her touch.

“Why isn’t your mother here with you and your father at Loch Doon?” he said casually, hoping to ease the lass’s discomfort.

“She came with us when we moved here three years ago,” Rona replied, “but within a matter of months, she moved back to Dunure. She said it was too drafty here. She’s never been very…hardy.”

Nothing like her daughter, then
, Daniel thought.

“And what of the rest of your family?”

“I have three older brothers—had.” She swallowed but went on levelly. “Philip was killed fighting for the Bruce. John is at Dunure, running the clan and keep in our father’s stead, and Bran…well, Bran is still finding his way.”

No wonder the lass and her father had bristled when their loyalty to the Bruce was called into question. He hadn’t known that they had already lost a member of their family to the wars for independence.

“Your family sounds a lot like mine, though we have been fortunate—we haven’t lost anyone to the wars. As you have so politely pointed out, I am the third son of the Sinclair clan in the northeast corner of the Highlands.”

She shot him a look of horror, but he sent her back a crooked smile to let her know he was only teasing her. Her hand relaxed more on top of his, increasing the contact.

“I also have a cousin who is of an age with my brothers and me, so it has often felt like I have three older brothers.”

“Did they pick on you, as my older brothers did to me?” she asked with a sideways glance at him.

He snorted in amusement. “Oh, aye. They left me in holes they dug, forced me to climb trees up to the thinnest branches, and regularly pummeled me in our play-wars.”

That actually drew a giggle from her.

“My childhood suffering amuses you, Rona?” he teased.

“Nay, it just sounds all too familiar!” she said, turning her radiant smile on him. His chest squeezed as he gazed at her sparkling eyes and merry grin. His eyes lingered on her lips, and for an instant he thought he might kiss her, but then she turned away again.

The silence stretched as they began their second loop of the courtyard.

“I suppose,” he said quietly after another moment, “that we should thank them for all their torture.”

She glanced up at him quizzically.

“For our older brothers’ rough treatment of us has made us what we are today.”

“And what are we?” she asked softly.

“We are strong. We do not bend to the slight breezes around us, or even to the strong winds—for better or worse.”

She stopped and turned toward him but kept her hand on top of his. The light of recognition glowed in her eyes as she studied him. But then her eyes shifted to the ground.

“Mostly for worse, in my case. Sometimes I think life would be easier if I weren’t so stubborn and hot-headed,” she muttered

“I’ll take that as fair warning for our impending marriage,” he said with a raised eyebrow.

He started them walking again, savoring the delicate amiability they were building. It was certainly an improvement on their first encounter.

“What else should I know about you before we are married?” he said.

Somehow, yet again, he had said the wrong thing. She stiffened.

“What do you mean?”

“Do you have any other interests or skills? Surely as the daughter of the Laird of the Kennedy clan you must have some talents or expertise. Needlework, perhaps? Or can you sing?”

“Nay, my lord.”

“Daniel.”

“Nay, Daniel,” she said mechanically. “I am a disappointment in the ladylike arts.”

Why did he get the impression that she was holding something back? He glanced at her face and noticed that her eyes shifted restlessly across the yard and her lips were compressed.

“Is there something you’re not telling me?” he said, suddenly wary.

“Nay! There is nothing.” Her voice was strained though.

He halted them again and turned to face her, but before he could interrogate her further, she withdrew her hand from his and bolted for the tower keep.

Daniel watched her go, a growing unease creeping into his mind. One minute they were building an amiable acquaintance, and the next, she was being evasive and flighty. What was the lass hiding?

HIGHLANDER’S RECKONING