"There is a feast,” he exclaimed with open anticipation. “Far better than what sets in that pot all the men gather round."
"Aye, so t'would be almost unkind to dine upon such right afore their eyes. I havenae brought enough to share with all here."
"We could dine within Muircraig,” he said thoughtfully as he tried to shake the feeling that he was being gently drawn into a trap.
"On such a fine day? ‘Tis not often we have such sun and warmth to enjoy, Iain. I have brought a blanket to spread upon the ground and but a short distance from here is a muckle fine spot with clear water and a carpet of flowers."
"We shouldnae be off alone,” he murmured, hesitant to refuse her such a treat yet not sure he could resist all the temptations of being alone with her. “MacLennon still lives and but awaits a chance at me, at us."
Tugging him closer to her horse she pointed out the horn that hung from her saddle. “To call for aid if ‘tis needed. The place I saw is near enough to Muircraig that one blast upon this will be heard clearly here yet we will be private."
"Aye, t'would work an he gives us time."
"An he falls upon us so quickly and quietly, then all the men here wouldnae be enough protection. Ah, Iain, t'would be so fine. I havenae much time now to enjoy the few fine days the summer brings."
He sighed for he knew he would go. She was tied to home and hearth by the babes. Somehow she had managed a few hours of freedom and he did not have the heart to deny her simply because he had a fear that he would weaken in his resolve to leave her alone. When he saw Lady Mary moving their way he decided there was another good reason to go. He would rather chance breaking his vows of restraint with Islaen than stay within the reach of the persistent and increasingly annoying Lady Mary.
"Iain, where do ye go?” Lady Mary demanded as he called for his horse to be saddled.
"To dine quietly and privately with my wife, m'lady."
"But what of me? I am your guest,” she almost hissed.
"There are many here to see to your needs, m'lady. Ones such as Robert, Alexander or Phelan, wherever Phelan has hied to.” He was a little startled when Murdo brought his mount over. “That was quick."
"Weel, sir, Sir MacDubh said ye'd be wanting him saddled so I had done it afore ye asked."
Looking at Alexander who simply smiled sweetly, Iain murmured, “I see."
As Iain helped her mount, Islaen fervently hoped that he did not see. If he did, she was sure he would either stay at Muircraig or thwart all her attempts to put an end to the abstinence that was making her nights much too long. She breathed a sigh of relief when he mounted, then looked at her expectantly. If this plan failed she had but one move left to make and she was loathe to employ such drastic action. With a little smile she led him out of Muircraig.
Islaen spread out the blanket and watched Iain tether the horses. She wondered a little crossly why she had to love that particular man past all reason. If hers had been as so many other marriages were, she would probably find his aloofness and constant absences a blessing. She would find her happiness in running the household and making the greatest use of whatever prestige her marriage had brought her. Instead, she constantly tried to reach his heart and did not seem to know how to stop even though she seemed no closer to him despite so many months of marriage. A person with some sense, she thought crossly, would have given up by now.
Sighing a little as she set out the food she tried to ignore the fact that what she planned would probably solve very little. It might bring him back to her bed but a man in her bed did not make a marriage, not the sort she craved. She needed his love and she was beginning to wonder if everyone was wrong, if perhaps Iain MacLagan simply had no love to give. It was a thought that chilled her for it made the years that stretched ahead of them look frighteningly barren.
"Did ye leave something behind?” Iain asked as he sat down. “Ye looked mightily upset for a moment."
"Nay, ‘tis all here.” She smiled at him. “I feel certain I have brought all ye favor."
"Aye, and more than enough of it too. I think ye have some grand ideas about the size of my appetite."
"Weel, if there is much left o'er,” she murmured as she served him, “ye can keep it at Muircraig to add to your camp fare."
"An I do, I shall need to keep it weel hid for such as this would tempt the most honest of men to thievery."
He asked about the children, which did not surprise her but she had to bite back a sigh. It was good that he had such an interest in his offspring but it seemed as if they had little else in common.
She forced away such dismal thoughts. It would be impossible to enact her plan if she grew sad or angry.
Struggling to recall all that Alexander had told her she began to seduce Iain or so she hoped. At any moment she expected him to guess her game and hurry them back to Muircraig. She also worried that he would be totally unmoved, that she would see all too clearly that she had lost his passion. If that was true then she knew she had irrevocably lost.
There was also a look in his eyes on occasion that made her wonder if she was doing it right and it caused her to hesitate a moment to try to recall Alexander's instructions. As the meal progressed and she seemed to stir little more than confusion in him she grew frustrated. According to Alexander, Iain's lengthy celibacy should have made him highly susceptible to seduction and success should have come quickly, yet they had already finished the meal and were enjoying the sweet but he had not even kissed her. The only person she seemed to have seduced was herself for she was certainly feeling very warm and eager.
Iain watched his wife closely as she broke off a piece of sweetmeat and fed it to him. It was very nice to lie in the sun and be so waited upon but he felt sure she was up to something. She was constantly touching him, found every opportunity to lean close and brush her body against his. So too was she acting strangely flirtatious. Occasionally, she would hesitate and a cross look would swiftly pass over her face, but then she would renew her apparently unconscious assault upon his starved senses.
He crossed his arms beneath his head to keep himself from grabbing her. The resolve to leave her alone was crumbling swiftly. An urge to hurl her to the blanket and thoroughly ravish her was becoming too much to resist. ‘An I didnae ken her better,’ he mused idly, ‘I would think she was trying to seduce me.'
That idle thought stuck firmly in his mind. She was still innocent, still somewhat unpracticed in the arts of love, yet she had put herself in his bed the last time he had kept himself away from her. The more he watched her the more certain he became that she was trying to seduce him. It was subtle, even hesitant, but it was definitely a seduction.
