Medieval Ever After (82 page)

Maddie pulled back and gazed at him. He knew this would be hard for her, but he was afraid of the anger that might explode inside him when he saw the marks. Even though he prided himself on his strong control, this wee lass could send every ounce of control he possessed out of his body in an instant. He did not want to spend his wedding night in a fury.

She slowly nodded and reached down to untie the ribbons of her chemise. Covering her nipples, she held each breast up so Alex could see the scars. On each side, a small angry curved welt sat just above the fold where her breast met her abdomen. He leaned down and kissed each one with tenderness.

Alex breathed a sigh of relief. He could handle this. He stood, tugging her shivering body with him.

“I think it is time we head back, you are cold.” He dressed and helped her into her gown, then secured the basket on his horse. Once he was mounted, he reached down and scooped up Maddie. As soon as she was settled on his lap, he tied her horse’s reins to his.

“Alex?”

“Hmm?”

“I feel better now. I do not have any more secrets.”

He kissed her forehead and nudged his horse forward. As they moved away from the loch, his men dropped in behind them.

After they dismounted at the keep, they continued to walk hand in hand, much to the surprise of his clan.

“Alex?”

“Aye?”

“I think I would like to stop at the chapel. I have much I need to be thankful for.” She gave him a tentative smile.

“I will go with you, Maddie. I will go with you.”

RESCUED BY A HIGHLANDER

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Over the next
several days, Alex continued to roam the countryside in search of Kenneth MacDonald. Convinced that finding the man would be the answer to Maddie’s troubles, he brutally drove his guardsmen. Each day he returned, he barely had enough time to go over important clan matters with Robbie before eating and heading straight to bed. His exhaustion was so complete he was often asleep before his head hit the pillow. Of course, this prevented him from seeing the disappointment in Maddie’s eye.

But he had to find Kenneth MacDonald before the wedding.

After wearing himself—and his men—out with the constant searching, Alex returned to the keep early one day. When he entered the great hall, Maddie was sitting at the hearth with Jennie. As soon as his wee sister saw him, she bounded up from her spot and threw herself into his arms.

“Alex, look at the beautiful book that Maddie made for us. She plans to teach me how to read. Isn’t it magnificent?”

Alex glanced over Madeline’s shoulder before she snapped the book shut. The splendor of her work stunned him. He couldn’t believe she had drawn more sketches on parchment and tied them together to create a book.

He gazed at Maddie as a sharp surge of pure lust shot through him. She was breathtaking even in repose, and he stared at her for a few minutes before he was able to collect his thoughts. Madeline blushed from his perusal.

“Maddie, the book is beautiful. What talent you have! I am sure the wee ones in the village must enjoy your storytelling even more with such vivid pictures to accompany them.”

Maddie fussed with the pages, ignoring Alex’s comment, but Jennie whispered in her brother’s ear, “There isn’t any storytelling anymore.”

Alex gaped at Maddie. “What are you talking about? Maddie, you have been weaving tales with the wee ones, have you no’?” he asked.

Madeline refused to make eye contact with him. “I have been busy with the wedding plans.” She rearranged her materials around her.

“Nay, Alex, the mothers will no’ let their bairns near Maddie. Tommy told me his mama said that Maddie is dirty. She said she isn’t good enough for you. I told him that Maddie takes a lot of baths and she isn’t dirty at all.”

“Maddie, is this true?” he demanded, his gaze boring into her.

Her lack of an answer was almost answer enough.

“Brenna?” he roared.

His sister bolted down the staircase. “What’s wrong, Alex?”

“Is this true, Brenna? Is Maddie being shunned by members of our clan?”

Brenna glanced at Maddie. “I think you best direct your questions to Maddie.”

He turned again to look at his betrothed. “Maddie?”

“Alex, I can handle my own problems,” she said quietly.

“Nay, Maddie. This is my clan, you are to be my wife. I will not allow them to speak of you in such a way. Has anyone spoken to you directly?”

“This is my affair,” she insisted, staring at her hands.

Alex’s patience came to an end. “Maddie, I want names!” he bellowed.

“So you can whip them like Kenneth whipped me? Nay, Alex, I will not give you any names.” Maddie glared at him.

His voice softened when he spoke next. “I do not whip women and children, Madeline.”

Alex reached for her. His instinct was to pull her close to him to protect her. But she flinched. Her reaction horrified him. Was his betrothed truly still afraid of him?

Madeline turned and tore up the stairs.

“You know I would never hurt you?” he called out after her. Shocked by his own behavior, he paced in front of the stairway.

“Alex, it’s instinctual,” Brenna said. “She knows you would never hurt her. The sad truth is that flinching is habitual for her. You have to help her heal.”

“I know that, but I want to touch her. I want to hold her and help her. I cannot stop myself. I wish she would not stop me.”

Jennie tugged on her brother’s plaid. “Alex, you are very loud sometimes, but when you yell at me, I know you don’t mean it because you love me. Mayhap Maddie does not know you love her yet.”

Startled, Alex turned to wee Jennie and hollered, “Jennie, you don’t know what you are talking about!”

Jennie smiled up at her huge brother, “I know you love me, so I don’t mind if you have to shout at me to feel better about loving Maddie.”

Alex stared off over his sister’s head, befuddled. What was happening to him? Did his wee sister know his mind better than he did?

Skipping off to play with her dogs, Jennie said, “Just tell her, Alex. Then she won’t think you are mad at her when you yell so.”

Brenna raised her eyebrows at him and smiled.

***

By the time Madeline came down the stairs to break her fast the next morning, Alex and his men had already left on horseback. Perhaps he did not want to be around her. She had hardly seen him since the day at the loch. Maybe her disfigurement was more than he was willing to accept. But then why had he kissed the marks on her breasts so tenderly? Confusion muddled her thoughts.

Of course, they had also argued last night. She had defied him, which was no small thing since he was now her laird. Had one of his guardsmen refused to give him information, she could not imagine the consequences. She was still eager to improve her relationship with the clan, but as the wedding grew closer, the animosity toward her only worsened. Yesterday, a small stone had grazed her back as she strolled to the gardens. Wee Tommy had been in the area, but she had decided not to confront him. She realized now that it might have been a mistake. What if the stone was larger the next time? Too late to rethink it now.

Maddie spent most of the day embroidering fabric to dress the tables for the wedding feast. The busy work kept her from thinking about her problems with Alex and his clan. Who would have thought a betrothal would cause this much trouble? And this much work? Alice hemmed Maddie’s dress in the solar while Brenna stitched Jennie’s. Jennie was off playing with friends so she would not be put to work. Thankful for the quiet time, Maddie tried to sort out her thoughts.

Her thoughts were interrupted by shouting in the courtyard. She ran to the door to seek the cause of the yelling, praying it had nothing to do with Alex. Several lads were hollering in the middle of the inner bailey. Something about a bairn. She rushed outside for a better look, and Brenna did the same. Both of them gasped at the next word they heard: “Jennie.”

Maddie charged into the middle of the group. “Where is Jennie, Tommy?”

“Out there, my mama told me to come get the laird. Something’s happened. They are hurt!”

Brenna shouted orders to several of the guards, instructing them to go after Alex.

Madeline’s head reeled with the possibilities. She grabbed Tommy by the shoulders. “What happened?”

“Jennie,” he cried. “Jennie and wee Emma. They disappeared into a hole!” He pointed out the gates.

Madeline’s heart lurched. Her stomach was in her throat, but she scrambled after the lads, rushing through the gates.

“What happened?” Brenna shouted out after them. “Where are they?”

“In a hole! A sinkhole just opened up in the ground where they were playing and they both fell into it.”

Madeline found Emma’s mother sobbing in the middle of the meadow. Several clan members were ushering everyone away from the site.

“Stay back, stay back or you will collapse it on top of them!”

“They both fell in the hole,” someone else said, “but only Emma is crying. We cannot see them, and Jennie doesn’t answer.”

Maddie’s heart stopped beating. How could they just stand around while the lasses’ lives were clearly in jeopardy? Jennie could have hit her head. Emma may have broken her leg. Both of them could be bleeding profusely. When she glanced back at Brenna, she saw the raw fear in her friend’s eyes.

“Go in after them!” Brenna shouted as Robbie arrived and assessed the situation.

“We can’t do that, my lady,” said one of the men Madeline recognized from the armory. “The hole is too small for any of us and I will not send another child down there. It is in danger of collapsing as it is.”

“We need to wait for the laird!” someone shouted. “He will know what to do.”

“We sent the guards to fetch him, but we cannot wait for him. It could be too late by then,” yelled another.

Emma’s mother, Moira, collapsed to the ground sobbing. “Oh, my bairn, my wee bairn. Someone help her!”

Robbie walked up to get a better look at the scene of the accident, then made his way over to Brenna. “It is small, Brenna, too small for any of us. I heard faint crying, but I think it is Emma. She sounds far away, so it must be deep. I called out to Jennie, but there was no response.”

He turned to one of his men and sent him back to the keep to retrieve ropes.

“I will go down,” Maddie said. “I am sure I will fit.”

“You may fit. You are slimmer in the hip than many, but it is no’ safe. We must find a solution that does not jeopardize any more lives.”

Maddie’s hands fisted at her sides. “Robbie, either one of the girls could be bleeding to death. We cannot risk the wait. I can handle it. Lower me down. You can help me.”

“Nay, Maddie, Alex would have my hide. We will wait for the rope.” Robbie’s stern look forced Madeline to turn away in frustration. Clearly, he would not listen to reason—there was no choice but for her to act on her own.

In the confusion, Robbie would have to turn away at some point—and in so doing, he would give her the time she needed. She could not stand idly by. She would make her way down the hole as soon as she had the chance. Perhaps she could help the girls climb up. Determined her plan was sound, she waited impatiently. The instant Robbie turned toward his guard, she darted forward, ignoring the yelling. Judging the fit, she lowered herself into the opening and let go.