Page 44 of Highland Flame

Chapter Twelve

“What in the name of the devil did ye do?” Nash asked Cam the next day in the secret room of the catacombs. He and North had been busy fishing until late yesterday, and then the monks kept them busy cleaning the fish afterwards. By the time they’d come back to the room, Cam was already fast asleep atop the bed again as usual.

“I have no idea what ye’re talkin’ about.” Cam sat up and stretched. They’d all overslept today. Through the vents, they heard the church bells ringing. That was the signal, telling the monks it was time for some prayers or chants, or reading of psalms. Cam decided it was all the monks ever seemed to do. By the amount of sunlight streaming in through the overhead vents, he could tell it was past sunrise, but not yet noon.

“Ye ken exactly what we mean.” Nash sat up from sleeping on the floor, rubbing his back. “Ye bedded a nun, ye fool! How could ye?”

Cam chuckled, got out of bed, and started to dress. “Ye two dinna ken what ye’re talkin’ about.”

“Dinna try to deny it,” said North, dressing as well. “We both saw ye lyin’ naked on the floor with a nun!”

“Yvaine is no’ a nun.” Cam sat back down on the edge of the bed to don his boots.

“Mayhap no’ yet, but soon she will be,” said Nash. “So, ye see, it is nearly the same thing.”

“Aye, it is,” agreed North. “No’ to mention it is wrong. What do ye think Storm and Ian are goin’ to say when they find out what ye did?”

“They willna find out, because neither of ye are goin’ to tell them,” Cam answered.

“Dinna worry about Storm and Ian. I’d worry about what Old Callum is goin’ to do to ye.” Nash stretched, got up, and started to dress as well. “The whole reason ye are here, in case ye’ve forgotten, is because ye were kissin’ the wrong lassie. Ye obviously have learned nothin’.”

“I am no’ in the wrong,” Cam protested, running a comb over his head and tying his hair back with a leather band. “We were all mistaken. Ye see, Yvaine told me she is no’ becomin’ a nun at all.”

“No’ anymore,” mumbled Nash in disgust. “No’ after ye ruined her the way ye did.”

“She is a widow, ye fool,” snapped Cam, standing up and strapping on his weapon belt. While they could wear their weapons inside the walls of the monastery, they were not allowed to bring weapons into the church. “I didna spoil her in any way. She never intended on becomin’ a nun. Plus, she wasna a virgin to begin with. The lassie all but begged me to make love to her.”

“I dinna believe that at all,” snorted North.

“Neither do I.” Nash scowled at him. “Cam, sometimes ye just go too far.”

“I dinna care what ye two believe or think. It is the truth, I tell ye,” Cam answered.

“Ye are no’ usin’ yer head! What if ye got her pregnant?” asked Nash. “Cam, she is no’ one of yer usual whores and most likely doesna ken how to prevent things like that from happenin’. What are ye goin’ to do now that ye’ve planted yer seed in her?”

“Aye,” asked North. “Are ye goin’ to marry her if she is carryin’ yer bairn?”

“Stop it. Both of ye,” growled Cam. “Ye are worryin’ way too much. I’m sure she is no’ bairned, so there is nothin’ to concern yerself with.”

“But what if she is?” asked North. “Would ye just leave her here after yer sentence is over? Or would ye do the proper thing and marry her, bringin’ her back with ye to the clan?”

Cam didn’t like hearing all this talk about the future nor about doing what was proper. He didn’t live by anyone’s rules but his own. He would not condone this doitit clishmaclaver from his friends any longer. “I dinna want to hear another word about it. Do ye two understand?” Cam held up his hand in an attempt to stop their barrage of questions. “It was just one time, and I’m sure it’ll probably never happen again. Therefore, I dinna see the purpose of continuously mentionin’ it.”

“Probably never happen again? That doesna sound like ye’re sure at all,” remarked Nash.

Cam shrugged. “We’ll see what happens, I guess. In the meantime, I’d appreciate it if neither of ye mentioned it to anyone. Especially no’ to Yvaine’s brathair.”

“Aye, we wouldna want word gettin’ back to the MacKeefe Clan or ye might have to start all over with yer sentence,” stated Nash. “If Callum even gets a whiff of this, he is sure to make the next punishment ten times worse.”

“I didna think of that,” said Cam, starting to get a little worried. All he wanted was to be done with all this nonsense, and welcomed back into the clan. To have to prolong the agony much longer would kill him. “Do ye two promise ye willna tell anyone?”

“Why would we?” asked North. “If ye get a new punishment, they’d only send us along with ye. I just want my turn so I can get my sentence over with and stop livin’ yers as well.”

“Me, too,” agreed Nash.

“Hello? Is anyone here?” came a muffled female voice from outside the room that could only be Yvaine.

“She’s here,” said Cam, feeling his heart beating a little faster. He’d been dreaming of making love to Yvaine all night long. Just thinking of seeing her again was already making him excited. “Open the door. Quickly,” he told North as he picked up a shiny platter and checked his reflection in it. He quickly pushed back a stray hair.