She linked her hand through his arm, and they walked into the castle gardens together. “It’s so nice to be outside again.” Laura breathed in deeply and then burst out laughing. “Ye smell of me scented soap, Bruce. ’Tis very amusing.” She gave him a little push as if she found the smell repulsive but then pulled him close again. He found her gaiety so infectious; one moment, she acted like a dignified lady, and the next, she was like a child, teasing and joking with him. Then she froze.
He did not need to ask why. He had seen the men before she did. Halkerston and a few of his soldiers were strolling around the castle’s formal gardens in a small group. Fortunately for the couple, the laird and his men were chatting too closely to notice the warrior’s wide shoulders and head above the top of the tall hedges.
“Suddenly, I have no wish to walk outside anymore, Bruce,” Laura whispered. “Will ye escort me back to me bedchamber?”
He knew it was unwise, but Bruce had known for some time now that he found it difficult to say no when it came to Laura’s requests and demands. He could remember the way she had whispered his name in her sleep, tossing her head restlessly from one side of the pillow to the other as if searching for him in her dreams. Sometimes Lady Arabella or Mary would be there too, watching over Laura to check she did not get a fever after lying on the cold ground after her fall. He would lift his eyes every time she murmured or cried out for him, only to see Mary or Arabella staring at him with deep concern showing on their faces. The moment the young woman was well enough, her betrothal to Roy Halkerston would be announced. Cordial relations between the clans demanded it.
Bruce had left the next morning and gone straight to the captain of the guards. “I reckon it’s time for me to leave Laird Halkerston’s protection, sir,” he had said in a respectful tone. “If ye would be so kind as to fetch the monies owed to me, I’ll be on me way.”
There were whispers going around the camp of soldiers, which Bruce knew he had fomented by taking Davey Torrens’s wager. Other men had wanted in on the bet, and even now, the rules of fulfillment were being ironed out: how many men must witness the kiss; where should the kiss be made; no kiss counted unless it be on the lips. And Davey Torrens had agreed to every one of the bets made, putting up his own coins without a qualm! The man knew it was only a matter of time before Bruce took the bait. He had to leave before that.
“No,” the captain of the guard had replied, “there’s no way our laird can replace ye while he is so far from his own lands, Duncan. Ye can leave, but it will be without the monies owed to ye.”
He had no choice but to stay. And now here he was, back in Laura’s bedchamber, alone with her. It was almost as if the Fates were playing a wicked game with him.
“I think I’ll lie back down a wee bit,” Laura said.
She was looking fragile and tired, and he felt guilty for being the cause of it. Why could he not have just taken her money and be done with it? God knew Alice needed as much money as he could lay his hands on. But his male pride balked at the idea. No real man would accept a woman’s money. Maybe Roy Halkerston’s eagerness to get his grubby hands on Laura’s fortune was what made Bruce look so scornfully upon him. The man already had a mistress waiting for him back at his lodge. Laird Halkerston had been cavorting with one of the maids under his protection for over ten years now. Roy even had three children from the woman that he acknowledged as his own. But he could not tell Laura; it was none of his business.
“Will ye take me to go see the snowdrops on the morrow, Bruce?” She looked up at him with her beautiful moss-colored eyes.
He was already heading out the door but stopped to give her a polite reply. “The snowdrops have nearly passed, lass. Ye’ve been abed for nigh on two weeks, ye ken.”
She was a naughty incorrigible lass! All his reply made her say was, “The crocuses then? The bluebells?”
He could not say no to her. “Aye, m’lady. As ye wish.”
10
His dreams had been warm lately. He had not had such warm dreams since he was a youth, on the cusp of manhood, desperate to experience a woman’s touch, a woman’s embrace. Even the rough wool sensation of his unwrapped plaid covering his body seemed to caress his skin like a lover’s kiss. He groaned and turned on his side, hoping the succubus riding his hips would be thrown off.
“Bruce…Bruce…wake up. It’s me.”
His tormentor’s sweet voice seemed to be urging him to further his satisfaction.
“Bruce!” A cold hand shook his arm.
He was fully awake in the blink of an eye. Laura was standing next to his bed, shaking him awake.
“Have ye run mad, woman!?” His voice was hoarse, the trace of rampant excitement in his tone. “What brought ye here?”
Nothing less than an attack on the castle would suffice as an excuse.
“It’s time for us to go out riding together…” She looked unsure, her eyes wide in the moonlight streaming through his bedroom window. “Are ye too tired?”
He had changed guard at midnight. True warrior that he was, he could tell immediately that it was nigh on five bells past the midnight bell. He did not get out of bed and was fully aware of why he could not. “Laura, can ye give me a wee time alone, please? I’m as nature made me under this plaid.”
She hesitated, and for one moment, he was unsure if she understood what he meant. But then she gave him one of her elusive smiles and went out, whispering, “I’ll wait for ye in the stables, Bruce.”
He lay there with his arm thrown over his eyes, praying for his composure to return in the shortest possible time. He thought of all of his goriest battles before his thoughts left him in a fit state to dress. Thus, he was able to join Laura in the stables a short while later.
“Did yer parents nae spank ye when ye were a wee lass?” he growled at her.
He heard her giggle and smiled in the darkness, forgiving her immediately. She had not the discipline of a soldier and was used to having her way into the bargain. But headstrong as she was, the girl should know better than to come into a man’s room at night. He was not the only man sleeping in the barracks.
“Yer horse is nae saddled, lass?” He noticed all Laura’s favorite mounts were still munching hay in their stalls. “Would ye like me to do it for ye?”
“Nay,” he heard her sweet voice reply. “I want to ride in front with ye. I’m a-feared of falling again.”
