Highland Grace (23 page)

He turned and looked at her. “Understand you
this: Tho’ I eventually was able to win tourneys, become a knight
in the King’s guard, and earn a good amount of coin for my service
as a warrior, I was determined that I would never be a slave to
anyone again. So, by my own choice, I sold myself to the ladies of
the court, set Branwenn up with a nurse in a modest cottage not far
from the royal castle near Perth and gave her the best life I could
make for her.”

“Does Branwenn know of your sacrifice?” she
asked softly.

Bao looked away a moment, then looked back,
tightening his crossed arms over his chest and giving his wife a
piercing look. “Nay, and I don’t want her to learn of it; at least
not until she’s older. I want to keep her innocent of that part of
my past as long as possible.”

She gave him a slow nod. “Aye, that seems
best. She’s such a sensitive lass, I worry how she would
respond.”

More comfortable with this turn in the
conversation, though it still weighed heavily on him, he said,
“Aye, tho’ our worry may be needless.” He settled on a stool across
from Jesslyn. Leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees,
he continued, “She may be traveling to Cambria with Reys ap Gryffyd
soon, her brother-germane.”

A look of horror came over her countenance
and she stood up. “What mean you? Why would she leave with this
stranger, brother or nay?”

Bao rubbed his tired eyes and sighed loudly.
“Because, she is a member of the royal family of Gwynedd. The
prince persuaded Reys that ‘twas of imminent import that, should he
find his sibling, the lad or lass be wed to one of the Norman march
lords’ kin to expand the prince’s influence in that region.”

“Does Branwenn desire such a fate?” Clearly
shaken, she reached behind her and found the arms to the chair,
using them to lever herself back into the seat.

“Nay, she does not.”

“Yet you intend to allow him to take her?”
There was a note of accusation and sheer shock in her tone.

“Nay, I do not. She will not be forced to
leave, not while Daniel and I still breathe. I’ve already begun to
strengthen our battlements and prepare for the siege.”

Her jaw dropped open. “S-Siege?” Her voice
cracked on the word.

“Aye. Tho’ we don’t believe ‘twill come to
that. At least, Reys believes not. He vowed he’d speak to his
cousin, the prince, and dissuade him from such action. In any case,
‘twill be many moons before we see a legion arrive, we have plenty
of time to prepare.”

“But what of your grandmother and Maryn?
Branwenn? Alleck and me?” She leapt to her feet. “Oh, my God! What
of Maryn’s babe?” Worrying her bottom lip, she began to pace.

Bao rose as well and took hold of her
shoulders, halting her nervous stride. “Worry not. Our scouts will
give us plenty of warning, should a legion approach. The women and
bairns will be lodged at the Donald holding and will never be in
danger, I swear it.”

She gazed into his eyes a moment. “Aye, but
our
men
may be, it seems,” she said at last.

Bao wrapped his arms around her and ran his
fingers through her hair, cradling her face in his hands. He kissed
her then. Gently, reverently at first. But with ever increasing
desire as the moments passed.

She leaned into him, returning his passion
with an ardor of her own. “Make love to me, Bao. Now.”

Bao lifted her in his arms. He reached the
bed in four strides and sat her down on the edge. Placing his hands
on her shoulders, he pressed her to her back before gathering her
calves over his forearms and bringing her buttocks to the edge of
the bed. He knelt between them and stroked his hands up her thighs,
raising the hem of her garments at the same time. When her lower
half was free of encumbrances, he arranged her limbs over his
shoulders, opened her labia and settled into them for a long, humid
kiss. Almost immediately, her thighs began to quake. Soon, she
began to strain, to struggle, to cry out her pleasure, until
finally, at last, her inner muscles convulsed around his tongue.
When she settled, he stood. “I hope you’re ready for me because I
can’t wait to be inside of you another moment.” He unlaced his
braies, settled his hands on the back of her calves and opened her
wide, bringing her knees down to rest on the bed. He entered her
with a hard push, not stopping until he was fully sheathed.

Jesslyn caught her breath and bit her lip to
keep from crying out. It burned, but it felt so good to be filled
by him that she cared not.

Bao pumped into her, moaning her name as he
felt the strong muscles of her canal take him in their tight grasp.
He rubbed the nubbin of her sex as he moved, feeling the gush of
her juices around him, smoothing the way even further for his swift
invasion.

He came hard, groaning loudly as he held
Jesslyn’s hips and rammed into her. With a final deep thrust, he
was finished. She cried out and his eyes flew open, worried he’d
hurt her.

“Don’t stop!” she said, tossing her head as
she churned against him.

Realizing she was on the verge of another
release, he continued to stroke into her, teasing the sensitive nub
at the apex of her sex with his thumb at the same time. He leaned
down and clamped his mouth over the nipple that pebbled under her
robe and sucked hard.

“Oh, God!” she cried out. And then she
climaxed powerfully. After a moment, she settled back with a
sigh.

Bao lifted his head and gazed at her. Her
eyes were closed and her face was flushed and dewy from their
recent exertion. She ran her tongue over her parched lips and Bao
took advantage. Bending down, he captured her tongue, suckling it a
moment before nipping at her bottom lip with his teeth. “Let’s get
you settled more comfortably on the bed,” he said against her
mouth.

She nodded drowsily and brought her legs down
over the edge of the bed as Bao moved away from her.

With gentle hands, he lifted her to her feet
and made quick work of getting her out of her robe and her chemise.
After he had her settled on the bed, he bent and placed a tender
kiss on her damp brow and brought the blanket up over her shoulder.
She opened her eyes and looked into his as he leaned over her.
“Come to bed,” she said.

Bao nodded and tossed off his own clothes.
When he was settled beside her, she rolled over and put her head on
his shoulder. She lifted her hand and caressed the scar that made a
raised pattern on his chest, just below his collarbone. “Will you
tell me how you received this now?”

Bao sighed and shook his head. “Nay, love.
‘Tis a long and very unhappy tale and I fear ‘twould ruin our
current feelings of bliss.”

“All right,” she said. She raised up and
kissed him.

Renewed ardor pulsed through him, making his
cock hard again. He groaned, sending his tongue between her teeth.
Without conscious thought, he ran his palm over her thighs and
derriere. When his hand skimmed over her rounded stomach, reason at
last overrode lust and he forced himself to break the kiss. With
lungs blowing, he rested his brow against hers and said, “‘Tis much
too soon for more of that, I trow. You and our babe need your
rest.”

Wrapping her arms more snugly around him, she
settled her head back on his chest. “Mmm-hmm. Mayhap a bit.”

Bao took in a deep breath. Mayhap…mayhap he
should
tell her now about what Lara had attempted, what had
almost happened between them last night. The burden of keeping it
from her had been weighing on his conscience all day. And her
reaction to what he’d done as a youth had quieted his demons more
than he’d ever thought possible.

He decided to ease into the telling. “Callum
and Lara leave at first light on the morrow,” Bao said into the
silence. He quickly explained the scene he and his cousin had come
upon earlier and Callum’s reaction.

“Poor Callum!” she said. “Has he told his
mother or Grandmother Maclean yet?”

Bao shrugged. “I know not. Nora’s birth has
been on everyone’s lips this day, and I’ve not seen Callum since
this morn.”

“How wicked Lara is. How will he bear being
wed to such a lady—and what sort of mother will she be to her
bairn?”

“I know not, but I tell you this: If ever a
man deserved to be released from his vows, ‘tis he.”

Jesslyn nodded. “Aye, but he would never
attempt it, because of the babe.”

“Aye,” Bao agreed. “I fear you are right.” He
cleared his throat. “There
is
something I—”

She sat up. “I found the bower she arranged
for the two of you last night and thought at first you had betrayed
our vows with her. But when I saw that naught had been used, I knew
you’d kept your faith with me.”

Bao’s ears started to ring. “Aye, about
th—”

“If you hadn’t, well, ‘twould be the end of
us. Faithfulness to one’s marriage vows is sacrosanct, and must not
be trifled with for any reason. Ever.”

Bao squeezed his eyes shut.
Oh, God.
He could never tell her. She’d never forgive him. Ever.

* * *

A rapid knock came on the door of Bao and
Jesslyn’s bedchamber early the next morn, waking them both.

“Get you dressed,” Daniel said urgently to
Bao when he opened the door. “The clan elders are gathered in the
great hall and demand your presence forthwith.”

Yawning, Bao scrubbed his hand through his
tousled hair and looked at his brother through squinting,
sleep-filled eyes. “Know you of what they wish to speak?”

Daniel’s jaw clinched. “Aye. I shall explain
once you’ve dressed.”

Bao nodded and shut the door, leaving his
brother to stand in the passage until he and Jesslyn were fully
attired.

Jesslyn, having risen while he and Daniel
were speaking, was busily completing her morning ablutions at the
basin as Bao walked toward her.

“The elders wish to meet with me,” he
explained as he watched her dry her face before taking a
nearly-sheer yellow cotton thing from the chest that held her
clothing. He turned toward the basin then and began lathering the
soap to wash and shave his face, saying, “They await my arrival in
the great hall.”

She tossed the saffron chemise over her head
and quickly shimmied into the garment. “Think you it has to do with
Daniel’s bid to make you chieftain?” she asked as she did the same
with her gold velvet gown embroidered with red roses along the neck
and sleeves.

“Nay,” he replied as he began to scrape the
stubble from his cheek. “There’s something amiss, but I know not
what. Daniel will explain as soon as we’ve readied ourselves.” They
said naught more as Bao hurriedly dried his face with the linen
cloth and then grabbed a shirt and hose from his chest and put them
on. Once his black-woolen tunic, leather belt and boots were in
place as well, and his wife’s hair was adorned, he opened the door
and beckoned with a wave of his hand for Daniel to enter.

His brother moved through the doorway, not
stopping until he stood in the middle of the chamber. He crossed
his arms over his chest and stared at Bao for a moment without
saying a word. When he finally spoke, his voice was filled with
anger. “Robert MacVie came to speak with me before dawn. It seems
he was given a bit of information last night which could, if
handled poorly, cause you to be banished from this place, this
clan, for evermore. Unfortunately, the other guard overheard and
gave the tale to one of the clan elders before I could speak with
you first. I sent him to my MacLaurin holding to deliver a missive
before he had a chance to spread the tale throughout the entire
fortress.” Walking a step closer to Bao, he asked grimly, “Is there
something you wish to tell me, brother, about the work you did at
the king’s palace? I mean, other than soldiering?”

Bao felt the blood leave his face as
lightheadedness set in.
Blood of Christ!
Lara, the vicious
bitch, had somehow managed to tell all before he’d mustered the
courage to speak with his family. He’d not fully appreciated the
depth of the woman’s spite and now he would pay the price, it
seemed. A sense of doom settled in his chest and, with a dull
voice, he began his explanation. “Aye, there is....”

His wife walked over and stood next to him,
taking his hand as she listened to his halting reply and it gave
Bao courage.

* * *

“Jesslyn has been in there for two hours now.
How much longer will the meeting continue, do you suppose?” Maryn
asked Branwenn and Maggie softly as she held her sleeping babe to
her breast.

The three ladies were seated in the solar,
awaiting the end of the meeting so that they could learn what the
elders had determined to do about Bao.

Maggie looked up from her embroidery and
shrugged, silently shaking her head.

“I know not, but I pray ‘twill be soon,”
Branwenn replied. Bao had evidently cautioned the others not to
tell her the reason he had been summoned, nor why his wife had been
so determined to speak on his behalf, but Branwenn knew there was
something amiss. Else, why would everyone insist upon keeping the
information from her? And, she wondered, what could it possibly
have to do with Callum? He’d been called upon to speak with the
elders as well. Aye, there was something very, very wrong, Branwenn
could feel it in her bones, and she was hurt and angered that her
brother refused to allow her knowledge of it.

Reys ap Gryffyd had left at dawn to return to
the Gwynedd realm in Cambria and speak with his cousin, Prince
Llywelyn. Branwenn still could not think of Reys as her brother,
nor fathom having a relation as noble as a prince. Her mind
churned. What if Reys was not successful in his bid? What if Bao
and Daniel were forced to battle for her right to remain here? And,
whatever was the purpose of this secret meeting regarding
Bao?
Might he be banished?
Oh, Lord.
Feeling panicked
now, Branwenn forced herself to focus instead on the tapestry on
which she was working. When she realized she’d dropped a stitch
several loops back, she sighed and let her hands fall into her
lap.