My Highlander: A Cree & Dawn Novel, page 9
She nodded and pressed her wrists together, then gestured being in the stocks once again before pressing her wrists together once more and patting her chest.
The image of his wife being led around by a rope at her neck and wrists rushed a rage so strong through him that he wanted to roar with fury. He was going to find who did this to her and… he forced the thought away. There would be time for that, he would make sure of it, but now his wife needed his thoughts on her.
Cree wiped at her eyes, catching her tears before they could fall. He hated to see her cry and she had done so too often, mostly in her sleep since her return.
“Are you telling me that seeing Ann in the stocks reminds you of being tethered?” he asked.
She nodded vigorously.
“You went to see Ann?”
She kept nodding, though she clasped her hands together in prayer and raised them to her lips and lowered them, repeatedly.
“Ann repeatedly told you she was sorry and begged for your forgiveness?”
She stopped nodding and took a breath before responding with a quick nod.
Cree ran his hand gently along her cheek. “That is all well and good, but Ann’s apology appeases Ann. How can mere words be sufficient enough for what her ignorance has cost you? And if she is not punished, what then will others do when faced with the same choice?”
Dawn’s silent sigh, squeezed at his heart.
“I will see more suffer for what was done to you and I will not go so easy on them as I did Ann. After hearing what you suffered, Ann deserves much more. Ann may have been too frightened to come to me, and not want to betray her friend, but she could have easily told Sloan that a stranger lurked in the woods. That alone could have prevented your abduction.”
Dawn understood the wisdom of his words and knowing, seeing it for herself, what a fair man her husband was to the clan, she could not deny his reasoning. And part of her agreed with him, Ann should be punished. Another part of her, the part that had suffered similar to Ann, being tethered and at the mercy of others, wished for her release. But as Cree said, his word was law and she would not defy him on this like she had done once not long after they had met. It was different between them then. She was finally finding her way with him, the mighty, fearless Highland warrior who had captured her heart forever.
Cree gently ran his hand done her smooth cheek. “It is time, wife, that you tell me everything that happened to you.”
Chapter 9
Dawn was not ready to confess everything. She was still trying to comprehend it and forgive herself. She had survived and that was what was most important or so she told herself.
Cree took her hand. “My solar offers more privacy.”
Dawn was glad for that. This was between Cree and her. No one else needed to know.
Beast stretched himself to a stand.
“Guard Lizbeth and Valan,” Cree ordered and Beast cast a questioning eye to Dawn.
She nodded and the large, black dog followed her command.
“I am curious to learn where and how you came by Beast,” Cree said and called out to Flanna as she entered the Great hall. “A hot brew and food in my solar.” As he returned his attention to Dawn, he felt her steps falter slightly. “Are you in any pain?”
Dawn did not want to admit her reluctance to speak to him about her ordeal. There were things she was willing to tell him and then there were things better left alone. The problem was that she had a difficult time keeping things from her husband. They had been honest with each other and the reason trust was something neither ever questioned. How could she even think of not telling him the whole truth?
But would the truth hurt their marriage?
The thought sent a shudder through her.
“You are chilled,” he said and as soon as he got her in the solar, and sat her in a chair before the fireplace, he bent and stoked the fire in the hearth, so the flame’s warmth would reach out and warm her.
Flanna arrived as he worked on the hearth, arranging a small table close to Dawn with food and drink. Once finished, she and the servants left as quietly as they had entered.
“Eat before we talk,” he said, reaching to fill a tankard.
She stopped him with a shake of her head. She tapped her lips, then gestured shoveling food into her mouth.
Cree understood. She would eat after they talked.
She was all set to explain what had happened when she was first abducted but that was not the way of it. What she gestured even surprised her, her hands moving before she could stop them.
Cree stared at her, clearly understanding her, but surprisingly shocked by her unexpected question. “Why have we not made love since your return?”
She nodded, glad she had finally asked. It had been troubling her, the way he seemed to avoid any intimacy between them. That was not like her husband. They had made love often, all enjoyable and many more memorable and she wanted, actually longed, to make memories with him again.
She nodded, then tilted her head, showing how troubled she was by it, and waited for him to respond.
There was no hesitation in Cree’s response. “You have yet to heal sufficiently.”
It was a plausible excuse, yet somehow Dawn felt it was just that, an excuse.
A reason reared ugly in her head. Could he believe that other men had touch her and wanted nothing to do with her anymore? Could he think she could be with child and was waiting for her monthly bleeding to prove otherwise? Or did her questions come from her own doubts and fears?
Dawn silently admonished herself. If there was one thing she should never doubt, it was Cree’s love for her. She was being foolish and yet the thoughts would not stop nagging at her. Cree was not one to go long without coupling and after three months of abstinence, how was it that he still abstained? Or had he? That was a question she had never given thought to until this moment.
If he had believed her dead, had he sought to appease his desire with another woman?
“Tell me of your abduction, everything you can recall about it, and what you remember about the men who took you.”
Dawn fought against the thought that Cree had coupled with another woman, having thought her dead. He would have every right to, but had it not been too soon after losing her to seek another’s bed? But then he had a fierce appetite for coupling. Three months would be long for him to abstain. She closed her eyes against the disturbing thoughts.
“Are you feeling unwell, Dawn?”
The concern, heavy in his tone, and how his hand reached out and slipped over hers, lacing his fingers tightly with hers, to bring up and kiss it vanquished her foolish thoughts.
She smiled and patted her chest, letting him know she felt fine. She tapped her temple, her smile fading.
“Your thoughts trouble you.”
She nodded.
“If you are not ready to speak about your abduction, it can wait.”
He was thoughtful of her and she felt guilty for thinking as she had about him. Still, the thought lingered and poked and one day she would have to ask him if she was to have peace of mind.
She shook her head, sighed, and settled back in the chair and let go of his hand so she could speak with him.
Cree sat in his solar alone. He had taken his wife up to their bedchamber to rest, her endless yawns having brought their discussion of her abduction to an end. He had tucked her into bed for a second time that day, an urge to join her, and not just in sleep, overwhelming him, and it was growing exceedingly more difficult to ignore it, but until she fully healed he would not touch her.
Every time the scent of mint drifted from her mouth close to his, he could think of only one thing, kissing her. When he held her in his arms and felt her soft breasts press against him, he ached to take them in his hands and feel their fullness and taste her sweet nipples. It was not only about slipping his manhood into her and seeking relief, though he looked forward to that, as it was about the intimacy they shared. A closeness that came with simple touches, faint kisses, teasing nips, and the feel of closing his hand around hers and knowing she belonged to him.
The look in her eyes when she had asked why he had not made love with her since her return troubled him. And he wondered if there was more to her question than she had asked. He had thought to ask her, but then thought it best to wait. It was a discussion left for a better time. Besides, after learning that her abductors had tethered her with a rope around her neck, he had been eager to know more.
His wife had been generous in the telling of her ordeal. Lara had told her she had found a patch of strong, young nettles and asked her to help collect them. When they reached the spot, two men where there and grabbed her. Lara had run and listening to the two men talk Dawn had learned that Lara had been part of the plot to abduct her.
Dawn had gone on to describe the two men as best she could. One fairly tall and lanky and the other short and round, opposites of each other in more ways than one; a pug nose compared to a crooked one, dark, long stringy hair compared to short hair with a bald spot at the top. Though, the men were both the same when it came to rancid breathes that had had her heaving, and they had laughed and joked repeatedly about her not having a voice. They had found it even more amusing that they could do whatever they liked to her and they would hear not a word of protest from her. Though, the one man had reminded that they were not to touch her or they would not get paid. The other man had insisted that there would be no way of him knowing and so the two had continued to argue back and forth.
It had been difficult for him to listen to her ordeal, imagining how helpless she had to have felt. What squeezed at his heart and twisted his gut the most had been when she said that she knew he would come for her. That he would rescue her. But when she heard the men talk of how they had no worries of being found that she had been thought to drown, Dawn had felt her only choice had been to rescue herself.
On the fourth day, after endless arguments between the pair, the two finally came to blows, and she made her escape the only way possible. She had jumped in a rushing stream that had swept her away. How ironic that would have been, the tale of her disappearance proven, in the end, to be true.
It was after that her yawns had started and Cree had claimed it enough for one day. They could continue the talk another day.
Cree rubbed his chin, thinking on how to find these two men. They had not delivered Dawn as they had been hired to do. Their type would be looking for another job to compensate for what they had lost. There were places they could go for that and Cree intended to trap them in a plot of his own.
A knock at the door and a shout from Cree had Sloan entering the solar.
“The troop is set to leave by mid-day tomorrow.”
“I have another mission, an important one, for two men,” Cree said and began to explain.
Dawn woke to find herself alone in bed the next morning just like last night when she fell asleep. She wondered if Cree had come to bed at all. When she rolled over on her side, buried her face in his pillow, his scent strong upon it, and the warmth of the bedding caressed her naked body, she had her answer. It had not been long since he had left their bed.
She hugged his pillow, wishing it was her husband she hugged, wishing to feel his powerful body slip over hers and… she buried her scream into the pillow even though it could not be heard.
With a toss of the blanket, she hurried out of bed and into her garments. She combed her long hair and braided it and after slipping on her shoes, continued her hurried pace as she rushed up the one flight of stairs to see the twins.
Beast greeted her with a yawn and a stretch from where he laid in front of the door. He had taken to sleeping there when Cree had informed him that he would not be sleeping in their bedchamber unless ordered. The dog seemed to have understood him and it had become routine for him to settle at night by the twins’ door.
When she saw that the twins and Ina were still sleeping, she realized how early it was. She left quietly, Beast keeping stride with her, and once in the Great Hall saw that the room was just beginning to stir.
“Is something wrong, Lady Dawn? You have risen early.”
Dawn turned with a smile to Flanna and pointed to the window, the overcast sky making it difficult to define time, and shook her head.
“You were unaware of the time. It is barely past sunrise, though the sun was not seen this morning,” Flanna said.
Dawn nodded.
“You are healing well. It is good to see you looking better every day.”
Dawn’s smile widened and she patted her chest in appreciation of her thoughtful words.
Flanna looked about at the empty room, before taking a step closer to Dawn, and whispered, “Lord Cree is sending two of his warriors on a secret mission.”
Flanna kept Dawn informed about all that went on in the keep and the village, the woman having the uncanny ability to find out anything.
Dawn pointed to Flanna’s lips and motioned for her to tell her more.
“That is all I know of it… so far. Lord Cree also sends a troop of his warriors to the Clan MacLoon, the Clan Macardle threatening war with them, and with no Lord of Fire to protect the MacLoon Clan they requested Lord Cree’s help.”
That news was of little help to her, but she appreciated anything Flanna gave her and she thanked her. Dawn’s stomach chose to rumble just then.
“Sit and I will get you a brew to quell the rumbling.” Flanna urged.
Dawn sat and waited until Flanna left the Great Hall, then she rushed off, knowing there was only one person who could help her make sense of her worries.
She tried not to look anxious as she set a hasty pace through the village, Beast at her side, and was glad only few were about. Normally, she would be happy to see Paul, Lila’s husband, but she was relieved to catch only his departing back as he walked to the fields to begin the day’s work. She did not wish to stop and talk with anyone. She wanted to see Old Mary.
Dawn stopped before turning up the short path to Old Mary’s cottage. She looked at Beast, patted her chest and pointed to the cottage, letting him know this was where she would be, then waved him off. He appeared reluctant to go. She patted her chest again, then crossed her arms over it, smiled, and pointed to the cottage again.
She smiled when he rubbed his head against her leg and took off. He had understood that he had nothing to fear in leaving her side, that she was visiting a friend. Dawn had no doubt he would be waiting for her outside the door when she was done.
She kept her steps quick up the path to the cottage that had once been her home where she had lived with her mum after arriving here. It had been her sanctuary, a place of love and acceptance, and she smiled at the memories.
The door opened before Dawn reached it.
“Come, I have a nice brew waiting for you and a sturdy shoulder for you to lean on,” Old Mary said, with a smile and waving her in.
Dawn loved Old Mary. Some thought her a bit touched in the head and others whispered she was a seer and were frightened of her, but all respected the old woman, and sought her out in time of need.
Old Mary lowered herself with a wince to the chair at the small table. “These old bones continue to protest more each day.”
Dawn reached for the pitcher and filled the two tankards on the table. She placed one in front of Old Mary, hoping the steaming brew would help ease her aches.
“Do you doubt Cree’s love for you?”
Dawn was taken back by her question. It was not what she had expected her to say or ever question. Cree loved her and always would and that made her realize what the old woman was trying to say.
Dawn shook her head.
“And do you question your love for him?”
Again she shook her head.
“Then what troubles you should not trouble you at all,” Old Mary said. “It is the strength of your love for each other that gave you the courage to find your way home. And I believe it was why Cree had such a difficult time accepting your death. I do not believe he never truly believed you were dead. Yours and Cree’s love is like no other. Trust it. It will not fail you. And do not be so hard on yourself. You did nothing wrong.”
Dawn patted her chest and frowned.
“You may feel like you did, but in truth you did not.”
Dawn imitated her husband’s scowl to show she spoke about Cree and nodded.
“You know your husband well. Of course he will be angry, but he will get over it, after he throws the man a beating.”
Dawn paled.
Old Mary stilled, her eyes intent on Dawn.
Dawn waited, knowing Old Mary saw what she had been hiding.
Finally, Old Mary spoke. “Now I see what has been eluding me and why you worry and I will say again… trust your husband’s love for you.”
Chapter 10
“Flanna,” Cree said, his tone sharp as he entered the Great Hall, seeing her speaking with some of the servants who quickly scurried away.
“What may I do for you, my lord?” she asked.
“My wife, have you seen her?”
Flanna gave a brief nod. “Aye, my lord. She was here about an hour ago. I went to get her a hot brew and when I returned she was gone. If I were to guess where she went, my lord, I would say—”
“Old Mary,” Cree said and turned and left the Great Hall.
Cree had risen before sunrise this morning to speak with the two warriors before they left on their mission. It had taken longer than he had intended, but he had no worry about Dawn waking before his return. She had slept well past sunrise since her return home, so it had surprised him to find her gone. He had thought she might be with the twins, but had not found her there either. He had found Beast gone from where he slept each night in front of the twins’ door and assumed his wife had been there and having found the twins sleeping, which was what their mum should have been doing, she took Beast with her.
He made his way directly to Old Mary’s cottage and was pleased to see Beast sitting in front of the door that opened before he reached it. He stopped when he saw the smile that lit his wife’s lovely face when she saw him. It spoke more clearly than words could. Her dark eyes sparkled with joy and love and he spread his arms out to her, arms that had missed the feel of her and since her return wanted to hold her forever.
