“If a meal in your belly will make ye less of a surly dog, mayhaps we should run.”
He ignored her even as he mused that she was very pert, especially for a woman in her precarious position. They stepped into the great hall, and his eyes narrowed in a dangerous expression as he watched the men seated there. Their reaction to Ailis was all he had anticipated and more. The scowl on his face sent their lusty glances into hiding, but he knew that lust remained. He dragged Ailis to the head table, seating her at his side with a distinct lack of manners, then threw himself into his own chair. Alexander sternly told himself that he should not care how his men looked at one of the hated MacFarlanes, then glared another of his men-at-arms into submission.
“Ye look fine,” Rath said from his seat on Ailis’s left. “Now ye can climb trees without cursing your skirts.”
“I never curse,” Ailis lied out of habit as she idly mused that her odd attire was being accepted very calmly.
Rath giggled along with his sibling. “Nay, I must have been mistaken. What shall we do today, Aunt?”
“That must be decided by our, er, host.” She flicked a glance at a still-frowning Alexander. “What may we do and not do, sir?”
Glad to have some diversion from his thoughts, which threatened to have him dragging her back to bed, Alexander replied. Unspoken but clearly understood throughout his brief litany of directions was the fact that she and Jaime would be well watched. The freedom of movement he appeared to be allowing her was all a delusion. He would make very sure that she was allowed little chance to escape. Ailis was a little dismayed to realize that she had not really given escape much thought for a while.
Once done with her meal, she left the great hall to go and walk the grounds of Rathmor. Jaime and the children followed but not too closely. She was well aware of her constant guard despite how subtle the men were about it. Ailis was determined to ignore them. There was no real chance of escaping the fortress of Rathmor, so she felt it would be foolish to brood. If a chance presented itself, she would grab it with both hands, but she would not allow herself to fret over her captivity. She knew all too well that it could be a great deal worse than it was.
“Are ye feeling all right, mistress?” Jaime asked as he finally stepped up to her side.
“Aye. He didna hurt me save in spirit mayhaps.” She paused, then realized that, if there was one person she could be fully honest with, it was Jaime. “There was no chance of my stopping what has happened. None at all. Kenning that, I put upnofight, my friend. Fighting would have gained me naught but pain. In truth, I enjoyed myself, for he is such a beautiful man, and all I could think of was that, after this, came Donald MacCordy.”
Jaime nodded slowly. “Aye, that was best, I think.”
“Well, that makes me feel a great deal better.” She clasped his hand as they walked.
“Mayhaps MacCordy willna wed ye now.”
“Nay, he will certainly be furious that I have lost the chastity he so prized. Aye, and more so because of who stole it. However, he will still wed me. MacCordy craves my dowry and the firm alliance such a marriage will gain him.” She shrugged. “I have resigned myself to these facts. ‘Tis a fate I canna avoid.” She heartily wished that was not so, but she had yet to see how her fate could be changed.
“Then ye enjoy yourself, mistress,” Jaime said, “and dinna think poorly of yourself as ye do. Ye deserve some frolic ere your wedding day. I dinna think there will be the cause or the heart for frolicking after ye have been given over to Donald MacCordy.”
“ ‘Tis how I think on it, m’friend.” She watched as the children hurried to greet Barra, who was just coming out of the keep and walking their way. “At least I have seen the MacCordys denied the children.” Despite the pain of losing them herself, she was glad of that.
“Do ye think they meant to use them?”
“Aye, Jaime, I am fair certain of it. I thought Donald was granting me some favor when he said I could keep Mairi’s bairns at my side. But Donald MacCordy does no one a favor. I should have kenned that from the first. Donald kenned who Mairi’s lover was and whose children they were and sought to gain them through marriage. He meant to use them to hurt the MacDubhs and to gain either wealth or land. He canna do that now.” She sighed. “It sore grieves me to lose them, but they are better off here with their true father, a man who clearly adores them. Here the bairns will ken naught but kindness, love, and guidance. With me, where I must go, they willna have any of that.” That thought helped ease some of her pain.
“Aye, the bairns will be happiest here. Ah, their father means to play a little ball with them.”
“I had best join in so that poor Sibeal doesna feel too alone.”
Jaime grinned as she skipped off to join Barra and the children in a game of ball. Ailis could be as rough-and-tumble as the boys. When Barra gently scolded his sons for tumbling their aunt in the dust, Jaime laughed, for Barra had barely finished the lecture when Ailis tumbled him and raced off with the ball. Little Sibeal did her best to try and run interference for Ailis as the twins and Barra tried to reclaim the ball. It did not take long before Barra realized that treating Ailis like a lady would only give her an advantage she made swift use of. Jaime roared with laughter every time Barra succumbed to his gentlemanly instincts and upbringing, for it never failed to cost the man.
The game grew in size as other children, youths, and even a few men drifted over to join the game. Jaime soon found himself one of a large crowd who were not shy about yelling out encouragement or derision. Although it looked like a melee, Jaime knew there were rules, and he could see teams taking shape. He did begin to wonder if it was growing too rowdy for Ailis and Sibeal, however. He saw Alexander enter the bailey and decided to let the Laird of Rathmor decide.
Alexander was starting toward the stables, intending to go for a ride through his fields, when he stopped and gaped. It was not the game nor the lack of work being accomplished that caused his amazement. He was stunned by the sight of a small, lithe figure with a long raven braid disappearing beneath a pile of boys. Even as he strode toward the crowd encircling the player, Angus at his heels, Ailis was back on her feet. Yet again she was in possession of the ball and running with it. He fleetingly wondered if putting her into a lad’s attire had helped lead to this activity.
“What in God’s sweet name is the lass doing?” he demanded when he reached Jaime’s side.
“Playing ball,” Jaime answered, then bellowed, “Run with it, Ailis. There’s a lass!”
“She is very good,” Angus murmured. He earned a glare from Alexander. “Well, she is. Bad temper doesna change fact.”
“Angus, just because she is dressed as a lad doesna mean she must act like one,” Alexander scolded his cousin.
“She likes to play ball,” Jaime protested. “She likes playing with the children. They need someone to play with, and Ailis was the only one.”
The urge to immediately yank Ailis out of the rough game was strong, and Alexander gritted his teeth as he fought it. He stood for a while as part of the audience and soon had to concede, albeit reluctantly, that she was good. Her small stature combined with an admirable speed made her a worthy player. This was clearly not a new game for her. It was all the bruising her delicate figure was enduring that made him wince. He could not believe that such a tiny female could endure such a physical game. She would easily be seriously injured.
A moment later he watched his fears realized. The game came to an abrupt halt when Ailis was brought down but did not rise as she had each time before. Alexander raced to Ailis’s side, telling himself that the panic he felt was over the possibility of losing her services in his bed. He did not wish to give up that particular delight until he was forced to.
