Highland Master (31 page)

“Do not try to cajole me, sir. You did not come here seeking a wife.”

“Nay, but I did find someone who will suit me if she will just agree to it.”

“I am not unwilling. I am terrified.” To his surprise, tears welled into her eyes. “I don’t want to live amidst strangers who have so long been our enemies.”

“But you would live with me,” he said.

“Only when you were at home. Men are forever going off—to battle, to St. Andrews, to all manner of places. And they always leave their womenfolk behind. I don’t
want
to live as miserably in Lochaber as Morag lives here.”

“I doubt that you would,” he said. “You are too warm, too competent, and too wise to live so. You also dwell less on your feelings than your good-sister does. I believe that you will make fast friends easily, wherever we live.”

“But I like solitude, too,” she reminded him. “Would I be as free to roam the mountains in Lochaber as I usually am here?”

Knowing that any discussion of that subject would undo the progress he had made, he said mildly, “We can talk about that sort of thing anon. For now, I just want to know if you will marry me, Catriona. I hope that you will say aye.”

“Aye, then, I will. But you don’t fool me, Fin of the Battles. God-a-mercy, but we are going to battle mightily if you forbid me to do the things I most enjoy.”

“All married people battle, sweetheart.” Seeing her eyes widen at the endearment, he wanted to kiss her. But he needed to be sure they understood each other first. “Art truly willing, Cat—even if we must marry tomorrow?”

“Will you have to go away soon?”

“I mean to talk to Davy about that, to request leave so I can take you to meet my family. I promise you won’t have to stay with them if I have to rejoin him soon, though.
I’ll bring you back here before I do. I should have other options, too, but it will take time to sort them out.”

“That is what you meant about this complicating your life, is it not?”

“It is, aye. Answer my question now. Art sure?”

“Do you think that anyone is ever sure about such things?”

“I know that I am.”

“Are you?” She searched his eyes. “Then I am, too.”

He kissed her then, and she responded at once, melting against him as she had before, her lips warm and soft beneath his. He kissed her many times, lightly and then more possessively. The thought that she would be his wife on the morrow stimulated every part of him and one in particular.

She felt his cock move, too, because her eyes widened again. When he thrust his tongue into her mouth, she moaned softly, and that moan was nearly his undoing. He wanted to sweep her up and carry her straight to her bed.

Reminding himself that Ailvie would be there, he went on kissing Catriona, stroking her slender body, achingly aware that it would soon be his to possess.

As he eased a hand gently over one soft breast, a double rap sounded on the door. The door opened on the sound, and the Mackintosh walked in.

Fin’s wandering hand moved quickly back to her waist. She had stiffened and would have pulled away, but he held her where she was.

“Forgive the intrusion, lad,” Mackintosh said. “I’ve talked with Rothesay and Alex, and I thought ye should hear what we have decided.”

Again, Catriona stirred as if to step away, and this time,
Fin allowed it. As he did, he said pointedly, “I do want to hear what you would suggest, sir.”

“Aye, well, ’tis more of a consensus, as ye might say. Sithee, Rothesay has agreed that a morning wedding will suit him. He also reminded me that Donald will be impatient to get on with our discussions. He’s proving right difficult, is Donald. So I said we should dispense with everyone save the four of us until we sort out what exactly, if anything, Donald and Alex can agree to do for their cousin Davy.”

“I’m guessing that Donald will agree to do nowt for him,” Fin said.

“Mayhap that is so,” Mackintosh said. “But whilst their so-called advisors make more trouble than not, as they have, we cannot know. Now, our James will stay for the wedding, but he wants to leave for Inverness afterward with Morag. They’ll stay the night at Moigh, he said, and I thought that ye two might like to stay there, as well. Ye’d sleep in my chamber, for James has his own rooms above it.”

Fin glanced at Catriona, but her grandfather did not allow for discussion.

“Ye’ll have a few days to yourselves,” he said, “whilst we sort an agreement out here. Then, when Rothesay is ready to depart, you can return. Sithee, Moigh sits just fifteen miles away, and the coming back takes less time than the going.”

Fin said, “ ’Tis a generous offer, sir, that we will gladly accept. But I mean to talk to Rothesay about more generous leave. If he agrees, I’ll take Catriona to meet my family before we return.”

“Aye, well, ye’ll decide that for yourself, I expect, or
Davy will. In the event, ye’re always welcome here and at Moigh, so there be nae more to say about that. As for ye, lassie,” he said, turning to Catriona. “What d’ye say to all this now?”

“I’m willing, sir,” she said, flushing deeply. “I… I must apologize to you, though, for my behavior earlier. I let my temper overcome me, sir.”

“Ye did, aye, but ye should be apologizing to your father as well, lass.”

When she nibbled her lower lip, Fin felt a strong protective urge to say that that might wait. But he knew the Mackintosh was right, so he held his peace.

Catriona wondered if she knew what she was doing. Her grandfather was acting as he always did with her, gruff and stern but kindly withal. Still, he would do nothing to make her apology to Shaw easier. Nor, by the look of Fin, would he.

For that matter, she had known all along what she would have to do.

“I will do it straightaway,” she said. “Did you and Rothesay decide exactly when this wedding is to take place, sir? Before we break our fast, or after?”

“Before,” her grandfather said. “That way, ye and the lad here can have a wedding feast and Rothesay and the others can meet after your party has gone.”

Fin said, “I’ve been wondering, sir, just what the situation is between Clan Chattan and Clan Cameron. I know our truce is still in effect, but I’ve heard—”

“Whatever ye’ve heard be nobbut mischief dreamed up by them who would keep us busy fighting each other, lad,”
the Mackintosh said firmly. “If the truce betwixt our two clans should fail, it will not be Clan Chattan that breaks it. Nor do I believe that any Cameron leader wants aught at present save peace.”

“Thank you, sir. I had heard only whispers, but in such a case…”

“Aye, one’s imagination can feed all manner of bad cess into one’s mind. Let it rest, expect the best, and all will be well. I’ve a notion that a day or two at Moigh will ease your mind considerably. The place does have that effect.”

A strange sensation stirred in Catriona as her thoughts drifted. She would sleep with Fin at Moigh. The thought stirred her imagination, serving up images of what that might be like. The image of him walking naked on the shore lingered longer than most, so when she realized that he was watching her, heat flamed in her cheeks. It spread quickly then through the rest of her as well.

“Is Shaw still in the hall?” Fin asked, bringing her instantly back to earth.

“Aye, he must be,” Mackintosh said. “He said he would await my return.”

“Then I suggest that we see him and then send this lass upstairs to her maidservant. They have much to do before they sleep to prepare for the morrow.”

Catriona did not think it mattered how much she and Ailvie had to do. She would not sleep a wink.

Fin opened the door for her, and she saw Shaw standing just beyond it in the hall. He was clearly on the watch for them, because he came to meet her at once.

“Lassie,” he said.

“I’m sorry I was so rude to you, sir,” she said at the same time.

“Aye, me, too,” he said, pulling her close. “Ye deserved a good smack, lass, but ye didna deserve to bear it in front of yon rascally Rothesay and Alex Stewart.”

Glancing around to be sure that those gentlemen were not also still in the hall, Catriona said, “In troth, sir, had you not stopped me as you did, I fear that I might have said more than I should. Sithee, I was so angry that I was not thinking. I did not even see Rothesay or Alex Stewart
until
you silenced me. As it was, I am not sure but that Rothesay may have guessed I’d made the whole thing up. Do you truly believe it would not have been better just to admit it and apologize to him.”

“I am, lass. This all amuses him now, which renders him harmless. But he is a powerful man and gey reckless. To learn that ye’d lied to him would soon lead him to imagine that others were laughing at him, which would lead next to a sense of deep offense. To offend the powerful is unwise at any time, lassie, and best to avoid.”

“What did Granddad tell him?”

“Only that it never paid to rush a woman. He said he’d learned that lesson in his youth from your grandame, and he assured Rothesay that putting off the ceremony until morning would make ye gey happier and thus serve us all better.”

Glancing at Fin, she saw him frown and waited for him to explain why. He said nothing, however, and she accepted his lead by bidding her father and grandfather goodnight. Then she let Fin escort her to her chamber.

“Ailvie will be in there,” she said as they neared her door. “Grandame said that she would send her up, and I’m sure she must have done so by now.”

“Come here then,” he said, pulling her close and tilting her chin so that he could kiss her again.

She leaned into him as he did, savoring the warmth of his hard body against hers as well as his kisses. After a long and pleasant time, she said, “What made you frown so when Granddad told us what he had said to Rothesay?”

Without hesitation, he said, “Rothesay thinks only in terms of women making
him
happy, never in terms of considering any woman’s wishes. He may still ask me some pointed questions about all this. You are not to worry, though. I have managed to work with and for him these past years without incurring much of his wrath. I was just thinking about what he might ask and how I might answer him.”

“He can be gey charming,” Catriona said with a rueful smile.

“Aye, and he does trade on that charm, too. But your Ailvie will hear us if we keep talking out here, sweetheart, and this is no place for such a conversation. So, kiss me again, and then it’s bed for you.”

She obeyed, although there was much more that she would have liked to discuss with him. When he reached to open the door, she said, “I am glad that James and Morag are going to see her family, for she has missed them. But I do wish that they were not traveling with us. I want to know more about you, Fin of the Battles, and such a journey without them would give us more time to talk.”

“Aye, but we’ll find time for talking,” he said, lightly pinching her earlobe. Then, after one more kiss, he said, “Get thee in, sweetheart, and sleep.”

“I do not think you can command me yet,” she said. “I am not yet your wife.”

“True. Now go.”

She went.

Stirling Castle

The Duke of Albany was reviewing accounts with his steward when a minion announced Sir Martin Redmyre. Signing to the steward to leave and telling Redmyre to take a seat, he waited until the door had shut and said, “You have learned more.”

“Aye, my lord duke. My man heard two days ago that the Mackintosh was apparently in daily expectation of visitors at Rothiemurchus Castle. It lies—”

“I don’t care where it lies, Martin. Who are these visitors?”

“Comyn called them ‘grand lairds,’ sir. Three of them, his kinsman said.”

“Three?”

“Aye, and Davy did meet with your nephew Alex Stewart in Perth, and with Shaw MacGillivray, who is now Laird of Rothiemurchus and good-son to the Mackintosh. No one seems to know the third one, but I’d guess it must be Donald.”

“So would I if I could imagine how Donald could cross the entire western Highlands from the Isles to get to Clan Chattan country. But if Davy allies with Alex… I’ll want to think about that. How long do they mean to be there?”

“I don’t know, but my man promises that the Comyns have devised a plan to keep them where they are long enough for us to get there. However, if you are thinking
of sending someone at once to catch them conspiring together, whoever you send may meet with difficulty. There are, as you must know, only two possible routes for a force of any size.”