“Do you suggest we retire to your chamber? Is that the only way you’re aware of to get to the bailey?”
Caitlyn shook her head. “Laurel insisted I learn how to enter the passageways from near the Great Hall and the queen’s solar. I don’t know from your chamber, but if we can make it to my chamber or either of those places, I can get us out.”
“Do you really believe it’ll come to that?”
“I believe neither of us should put aught past the Bruce. We’ve defied him now that he said he intended to match me to someone else.” Caitlyn didn’t mention that she feared Alex winding up in the dungeon. She had only a vague sense of how to navigate the hidden tunnels if she had to reach him there.
“What would you have us do?” Alex trusted Caitlyn’s judgment. While he visited Stirling multiple times a year, he realized that Caitlyn was more experienced with surviving life at court.
“Go to your chamber and pack. I will go to mine and pack a satchel with what I most need. I will make sure my riding gown hangs from a peg in case I must change quickly, but I will dress for the evening meal. It’s surely happening now. If we hurry, we can make it before it ends.”
“Should we enter together?”
“Absolutely. There is naught anyone can do to end the marriage, short of death.” Caitlyn’s cheeks flushed crimson, and Alex wondered about Caitlyn’s unexpected embarrassment. “My chemise from the other night.” Caitlyn’s cheeks burned hotter. “It proves I was a maiden. I hid it in my chest before my maid could find it. The kirk registry proves a priest officiated. There can be no annulment.”
Alex kissed Caitlyn’s cheek, regretting the circumstances around how they consummated their relationship. Sensing his shift, Caitlyn shook her head. “Don’t feel badly. I wanted it, and I accepted what might have happened if you hadn’t changed your mind. Passion or love didn’t blind me. It was my choice as much as it was yours.”
“I know, Caity. And I don’t regret making love to you. I thank the saints that we did, or I might have died a fool. I only wish it were someplace where I could have introduced you to passion without fearing we’d be overheard or hadn’t been rushed.”
“I think you made up for it today.” Caitlyn’s grin was pure seduction, but it was fleeting. “We must hurry.”
Seventeen
Caitlyn threw open the lid to her chest, taking in the various items and making an immediate decision about what she needed to pack. She prayed it didn’t come to them slipping away in the middle of the night, but she knew not how the royal couple would respond. She also didn’t know who pursued her that day and whether they continued to pose a threat. Her three guards stood in the passageway waiting for her. It disturbed all three to learn strangers chased Caitlyn through the castle that morning. She hadn’t needed to ask that they accompany her to her chamber. It was irregular for the men to be there, and it would have caused a scene if everyone weren’t in the Great Hall.
Caitlyn tossed three chemises, six pairs of stockings, a pair of slippers, and two of her plainest kirtles into the satchel, making it nearly burst at the seams. She pulled her riding gown from her armoire and hung it on a peg before placing her riding boots beneath it. She yanked at her gown’s laces and shed the garment, barely taking the time to lay it on her bed before she pulled a fresh gown from the armoire. It laced on the sides, making it possible for Caitlyn to dress without needing help. She scrubbed her face and hurriedly put her hair up, appropriate for her status as a married woman.
She was ready in less than a quarter hour and breathed easier when she spotted Alex waiting for her in the passageway leading to the Great Hall. He slid his hand into hers before leaning in to drop a petal-soft kiss on her lips. Hands still clasped, Alex wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her against him.
“There is no woman more beautiful than you,mo ghràidh. I don’t doubt that there will be few kind words, but I confess I’m excited and proud to enter that chamber with you beside me as my wife. I’ve never cared what anyone said aboot you or Cairren, and now that I’ve seen my wife as I make love to her, I’m certain there is no one more alluring than you. We will leave here in the morn, if we can, and you will not suffer another insult.”
“Alex, you know I feel the same, don’t you? You know I desire you as I always have, and you are no less handsome to me. I’m proud that you’re my husband, and I wish I could crow it from the rooftops. I wished no one cared aboot our appearances, and I don’t believe leaving here will protect either of us from ever being insulted aboot our own appearance or each other’s, but I am excited to go. Let’s get through this meal, hopefully be able to take our time tonight, then leave this den of iniquity in the morn.”
They shared another kiss before a royal guard opened the door for them. The meal was nearly at its conclusion, but people remained at their tables, conversing during the last course. As the couple moved toward a table with space for them and their entourage, it was as if a wave passed through the crowd. Heads turned toward them, followed by a pause in conversation; then the diners they passed exchanged a rapid fire of words. Caitlyn kept her chin up and eyes on the king and queen, who watched them approach. Their expressions were inscrutable, so Caitlyn paid attention to the table as they neared.
Alex sat beside Caitlyn as a handful of servants scurried to bring trenchers to the late arrivals and the last course. Caitlyn was starving since neither had eaten since the morning meal. She prayed they could get through their food before whatever awaited them befell them. She forced herself to slow when she realized she inhaled her food lest she miss her only chance to eat. Alex passed her the chalice whenever she reached for it, and when she realized her eyes were bigger than her stomach, she pushed a healthy portion onto his side of the trencher.
“You shall make me go to fat, wife.” Alex’s warm breath tickled Caitlyn’s ear. “I will have to work up an appetite if this is how you shall feed me.”
“Fear not, husband. Both dessert and exercise await you this eve.” Caitlyn’s hand rested on Alex’s thigh before her fingers skimmed toward his groin. She stopped before anyone could notice, but she felt Alex shift.
“Caity, unless you wish for me to drag you out of here and really make it obvious, spare me.”
“Tempting as that is, I have enough restraint—barely—to recognize that isn’t wise. King Robert has been glowering at us since we arrived, and it feels like everyone is still staring.” Caitlyn glanced at the tables nearby, noticing the conspicuous gazes that remained on them. When the meal ended and servants cleared the tables, Caitlyn wondered if they could make their escape or if that would be when the Bruce summoned them to account for their actions. When the music began a dance that kept partners together, Alex nudged her.
“It’s our wedding day, and this is as close to a feast as we shall have. I wish to dance with my wife.” Alex led them among the dancers. Caitlyn rested her hand on Alex’s right shoulder as his hand rested on her waist. She used her other hand to hold her skirts away from her feet. It was all she could think of to not draw even more attention to their unusual positioning. They’d danced together so many times that they moved with a natural grace and synchronicity. It was easier than either expected, and Alex relaxed in a Great Hall for the first time in half a year. He never imagined he could dance again, let alone with Caitlyn, but he found he rediscovered his bravery when she was at his side.
“Alex, hold me closer. I wish I could lean my head against your chest while we dance.” Caitlyn sighed when Alex’s arm wrapped around her waist. The dance didn’t call for the man to hold the woman in that posture, but it was what they wanted. They drew strength from one another and enjoyed a pastime they both had feared they would never share again. “Can we go? Dare we?”
As if to answer the question for them, a royal guard came to stand beside them, announcing the king requested their presence. Caitlyn shot Alex a panicked expression. They’d both known the summons was coming, but now that the time came for them to explain their unsanctioned marriage, Caitlyn feared one of them losing their temper, and she was certain King Robert had already lost his.
“Armstrong, Lady Caitlyn.” King Robert cast a gimlet gaze at them when they both rose from their genuflection. “You absented yourself today, Lady Caitlyn. The queen wondered if you’d forgotten where you are.”
Caitlyn kept her gaze cast down, but her eyes flickered up to meet the queen’s. There was none of the chastisement she expected. Rather, Caitlyn found humor. She wasn’t certain she appreciated being laughed at.
“Armstrong, you test the bounds of any mon’s patience, and I find mine has worn out. I made it clear this morn that Lady Caitlyn was to marry, yet you enter my Great Hall as though we never spoke. You spoke to me of the Scotts’ blatant disregard for my orders, but you stand before me guilty of the same offense. What say you?”
“My wife and I spent the day together.”
