Her heart beat fast in her chest. Did he know about the English soldier? Is there any way he might have seen when the soldier pushed her to the ground and pulled up her skirts? Surely, he would not be touching her if he knew: if there was anything she had learned from Eleonor’s world-wise friends in England, it was that men could not stand the thought of other men on the women they wanted. They punished the woman for it sometimes: by calling off engagements or letting it loose that she was tainted to ruin her reputation.
“About anything at all?” she said, her voice small.
“Anything,” Alistair said, and kissed her hair.
“The soldier, he…” Jane trailed off, and then began again: “He threw me on the grass and intended to have his way with me. But he did not, I swear. He did not go far. He tried to…He tried to lift my skirts all the way up and…But I didn’t let him. I kicked him in the nether regions and ran as fast as I could. That was when you found me.”
For the longest time, Alistair was silent. Jane’s heart sank. She gathered courage and turned to face him, but there was an unreadable expression on his face.
And then he burst into laughter.
It was so unexpected, Jane jumped.
“Kicked him in the bollocks, did you?” Alistair asked. “A feisty woman.Mefeisty woman.” He touched, first, one of her knees and then the other. “Was it this one? Or this one? Who would have thought dainty knees like this could inflict such damage?”
“Alistair!” Jane protested. “Are you really amused by it?”
“Nae amused,” Alistair said, “impressed.” Then his eyes turned steely. “I should have killed the bastard meself, fer daring tae touch what is mine.” He pulled her closer, and she buried her face in his chest. “Nay one shall hurt ye like that again, I swear it,” he said. “Not while I still draw breath. It is a solemn promise I make tae ye. Tonight. Under the stars. Upon the earth.” He shifted so that she had to turn to look at him.
“Alistair-”
Alistair put a finger over her lips. “Nay matter what happens tomorrow, Jane, ken that ye
have touched me in ways I never thought possible.”
“Stop!” Jane cried. “Nothing will happen tomorrow. Nothing that does not favor us. You will get Ramsay back, and your people will be free of Commander Pierce’s presence…” She sat up straighter. “And I had never even considered the effect of a victory over Commander Pierce’s forces on me, personally. If… if he were subdued, he could be forced to withdraw his claim over me, and I would be free. And he could be forced to swear not to reveal my sister’s tenancy to the duke-”
“The duke?” Alistair said.
“Oh, Alistair, it was in the letter, did you not see it? My sister is engaged to the Duke of Lancaster. Commander Pierce eavesdropped on Eleonor and I when we were speaking of her pregnancy. He threatened to tell the duke and my father offered him my hand in marriage to buy his silence. Or he may have asked my father for it outright. I am not sure. But it does not matter. What matters is that my hand is the cost of his silence. I missed talking about this part when I showed you the letter. How remiss of me, but we were so surprised about the connection we had discovered and planning battle…”
In the dim light of the fire, Jane saw Alistair’s face painted in rage. “Ye are marrying him only tae save the reputation of your sister… at yer faither’s behest?”
“With his approval, at least,” Jane said and smiled sadly. “Alas I am no better than a commodity on the market. Do you know that for days after the deal was negotiated, I dreamt I was a sacrificial lamb? Anactualsacrificial lamb?” She chuckled, but Alistair was having none of it.
“I had thought that ye were marrying the commander because yer sister couldnae on account of her pregnancy. I thought she had been engaged to him first, and that the duty fell tae ye tae protect the family name, which is barbaric in itself. Scots dinnae have such customs. At least me clan doesnae. But the truth is even worse.”
“Eleonor, engaged to Commander Pierce?” Jane laughed mirthlessly. “Faither would never have allowed it. The man is much too old and much too under-accomplished to be worth her hand.”
“And ye think he is worth yours?” Alistair asked sharply.
“No,” Jane said. “But that is what my father thinks.” This conversation was not going in a direction that Jane was comfortable with. Tears welled in her eyes, but she turned her face and blinked them back. But Alistair saw it. He cradled her face between his palms and brought Jane up flush against his chest.
“I see that this upsets ye, so we shall nae talk about it today,” Alistair said.
“Thank you.”
“I kenned ye were the one fer me the first time I saw ye,” Alistair said.
The switch in the subject of conversation surprised Jane. She cocked her head. Perhaps he only wanted to make her feel better? “Truly?”
“Aye,” Alistair replied. “I looked upon ye and I kenned that I would never look at anyone else in that manner. I tried tae fight it, because things would have been much less complicated if…”
“If you had fallen in love with a Scottish woman,” Jane supplied. “I understand.”
“But there are some things a man cannae fight.” He chuckled. “I am sorry fer kidnapping ye that day. I was a little rough.”
Jane thought for a moment, “No, not quite. ‘Rough’ does not aptly describe it. You carried on like a bull in rutting season!”
