Claimed by a Laird (13 page)

Anna’s heart skipped a beat. What the hell did he mean, he
was keeping her?

Galen straightened to his full height just as a warrior from
the other table stood and held out his cup.

“To the health of our laird and his lady,” the man said,
raising his arm in the air.

Benches scraped the floor as their occupants stood and
raised their respective cups toward Anna and Galen. Variations of the Gaelic
slàinte
“to your health” toast sounded as Galen took his seat.

Anna’s cheeks flushed at the attention. Disquieting thoughts
sped through her mind at the glow of satisfaction in Galen’s gray eyes. She
parted her lips to speak, but then paused asthe largest of the dogs
confidently strode over to Galen and sat on his haunches to Galen’s right. Its
coal-black eyes stared at her intently.

She shook her head, unable to tear her attention away from
the dog. The shaggy, gray-mottled beast was huge. Galen didn’t even have to
lean down to pet him. The top of its head easily reached just below Galen’s
shoulder while he sat in his chair. The dog’s long snout moved toward her, his
nose wriggling and his pointed ears rotating. He bared his teeth and emitted a
low growl.

“Dog!” Galen snapped.

Anna jumped. The hound ceased growling and she lifted her
eyes to Galen. “Did you just call your dog, ‘Dog’?” she asked, cocking one
eyebrow.

He nodded. “That is his name.”

The seriousness of his tone caused her to bite back the
laugh tickling her throat.

A young woman with rosy cheeks smiled shyly at Anna as she
placed a dried piece of scraped out bread in front of her and then filled it
with some sort of steaming stew as another servant passed a cup across the
table to her. Anna thanked them both and picked up a spoon to stir the stew,
her stomach growling as the scent wafted up to her nose. The smell was strange
and the meat almost looked like beef.

“What meat is this?” she asked, wondering if she was about
to eat another new critter she hadn’t tried before.

“Mutton,” Galen answered around a mouthful of soup. He tore
a hunk of bread off the loaf in front of him and spread some butter on it
before shoving half of it into his mouth.

Flying bones and scraps crossed her field of vision as one
by one the men tossed them over their shoulders to the dogs waiting patiently
behind them. After the offerings were fought over and gobbled up, the beasts
growled and snapped at one another as they jockeyed for the best position
behind the men.

Dog, however, seemed to have the favored position. He sat
patiently at Galen’s side, waiting for his master to toss him scraps, and then
he gobbled them up completely unopposed by the other dogs.

Turning back to her food, Anna eagerly took a bite, excited
to find if any new vegetables were hiding underneath the broth and chunks of
meat. With each meal she had been served since arriving in Galen’s home, she
had been impressed by how much flavor whomever did the cooking was able to coax
out of such humble ingredients.

Cal ripped off a piece of bread and spread some butter on it
before handing it to Anna. She smiled and thanked him. The bread was a bit
tough and coarse compared to what she was used to in her own time, but she had
come to adore it, especially with the ultra smooth and creamy butter spread on
top. If anything was likely to kill her in the thirteenth century, it was going
to be the butter.

About halfway through her stew, Anna shoved the bowl away,
her stomach filled to capacity.

“Are you going to eat that?” Galen asked.

She shook her head and he grabbed it, setting the bowl in
his own and digging in.

“The Gowrie has been quiet lately,” commented one of the
elderly gentlemen sitting across from Anna.

Galen nodded. “Aye, he is just biding his time.”

“They are all the same, them Gowries,” spat another older
man across from her. “Snakes in the grass, is what they are.”

Gowrie. There was that damn name of her ex-husband again.
Anna shifted uncomfortably and glanced at Galen’s dog. Unfortunately, the beast
still stared at her, almost as if it knew her secret. Hell, it probably knew
her dad was a Campbell and her mom a Graham, too.

“She is a delicate little thing,” announced one of the
elderly gentlemen, interrupting her silent panic attack over how she was the
very embodiment of all the MacAirths’ enemies.

“Aye,” the other man nodded. “I am not sure how she will
survive in this harsh land of ours.”

Anna opened her mouth to protest. Highland blood coursed
through her veins, after all. There was nothing this land could throw at her
that could be worse than some of the things she had already been through. She’d
survived a neglectful mother, a physical attack by someone she thought she
loved, and back-to-back shifts in an emergency room. She was nothing if not
resilient.

Galen thankfully cut her off before she could stick her foot
in her mouth. “Anna, these are two of my father’s cousins. John is on your
right and Owen to your left. They were warriors under my father’s and
grandfather’s commands.”

Her shoulders relaxed and she smiled at the elderly
gentlemen, crinkles around their eyes and at the corners of their mouths.

John smiled warmly. “Tell us about your family, lass,” he
instructed in a smooth, deep voice.

“I have no real family,” she replied with a shrug, reminding
herself to not utter the words “Campbell” or “Graham”. “It was just my mother
and me mostly. She passed away last year.”

“No family?” Owen’s bushy brows wrinkled together, forming
something not unlike a huge, wooly caterpillar just above his eyes. He stared
at her across the table, hunched over his food, unlike his cousin, John, who
sat as straight as a board. “You and your mother were all alone?”

“What about your father?” Cal asked, reaching for more
bread.

Anna shrugged again in an effort to keep discomfort in
check. “He left us when I was a baby.”

John grunted and downed the rest of his ale. “Cursed be any
man who leaves his family! And with a wee one running about!” He slammed the
cup down on the table with surprising force for such a frail-looking man.

“Yes,” Owen agreed, slowly chewing a mouthful of food and
poking the air with his knife. “It is not a man but a coward who does such
things.”

Anna smiled shyly, turning her eyes to the tabletop. Though
they spoke of her as if she were not even there, her heart warmed at their
anger over her father’s actions. The two men may have been gruff, but they had
hearts of gold, which endeared them to her immediately.

Another older warrior approached the two old men from behind
and shifted their attention away from Anna. Relieved, she took a tentative sip
of ale from her cup. Left to her own thoughts, she glanced down one table and
then the other. Adam and Geoffrey were nowhere to be seen. Though she could not
quite recall what had been said before they left the encampment, she vividly
remembered the men’s heated discussion outside the tent the morning she had
succumbed to the fever. She hated the idea she may have been such a burden to
them, they couldn’t stand to be anywhere near her. She turned toward Galen,
expecting him to be licking his bowl or something equally impolite.

Instead, he was casually leaning back in his chair, staring at
her. The silver specks in his eyes sparkled as one corner of his mouth curved
into a crooked grin. Her stomach fluttered at the gentle warmth of his
features.

Anna turned her attention to examining the texture of her
ale cup. “I haven’t seen Adam.”

Galen shifted toward her, leaning his forearms on the table.
“He is checking on reports from the clan that Campbells were spotted near our
border.”

“And Geoffrey?” she asked. He had seemed most distrustful of
her.

“He left to find Father MacIntosh soon after accompanying
you here.”

Anna nodded. “So, it’s not because they hate me they’re not
here?”

“Hate you?” he replied in surprise. He reached under the
table and rubbed her thigh back and forth as though to calm her nerves. “Why
would you think anyone could hate you, Annie?”

She hated to admit it, since it did nothing but send her
heart into a panicked flutter, but every time he called her “Annie” she somehow
felt as though she meant more to him than just some woman he got stuck with
because she had nowhere else to go. “Your brother was so angry when the two of
you were arguing about me.”

His hand stopped at the top of her leg, his thumb resting
far too close to the junction of her thighs for comfort. “Your story simply did
not sit right with Geoffrey. Both he and Adam have good instincts so they
questioned me. I would have done the same.”

“Oh,” she replied, biting her lower lip.

He squeezed her leg and she jerked as his thumb grazed her
lower abdomen, eliciting a moist surge from her core. “Do not worry. If I need
to tell them the truth, then I will. They are both trustworthy.”

She nodded and reached under the table to shove his hand
away.

It didn’t budge.

“Please, Galen,” she whispered. “I can’t think when you’re
touching me.”

He languidly brushed his thumb back and forth against her
mons and leaned toward her ear. “Good,” he whispered back, his breath caressing
her cheek.

She jumped when Galen shoved his chair away from the table
and stood. All the men followed suit and filed out of the great hall, the dogs
bounding happily after them. The mass exodus caught her off guard and she
leaped from the bench, grabbing Galen’s arm.

“Where is everyone going?” she asked, desperately gulping
down the heated desire he had stoked in her only a moment before.

“There is work to be done,” he replied, turning his back on
her as though he hadn’t just been attempting to arouse her right in the middle
of the great hall.

“I’m coming with you.” She hurried to his side, ignoring the
growl from his dog beside him. There was no way in hell she was going to give
him the chance to leave her holed up in this place all alone when there was
fresh air and new sites to discover outside.

Galen shook his head. “Battle training is no place for a
woman.”

“We will look after her,” Owen offered, groaning as he stood
from the table. “We will make sure she does not wander into danger.”

“No, it is out of the question,” Galen stated with a tone of
finality. “She will be a distraction.”

“If the boys cannot deal with the sight of a pretty girl
around, what kind of warriors are they going to be, I ask you?” John wagged his
bony finger in Galen’s direction.

“Besides,” Owen said, “the lass needs fresh air. It will
make her hardy.”

Galen crossed his arms and stared down at Anna in
irritation. “Fine. She may come outside and watch. But you two have to stay
with her.”

Owen and John nodded.

“Just let me retrieve a few things and I will meet you
outside.” Owen slowly walked toward the stairs with a slight limp.

“Me as well.” John followed his cousin.

“And you,” Galen’s tone took on a stern quality as he turned
toward her. “You will not move from where I put you unless you have gained my
permission beforehand. I will not have you overtiring yourself. Is that
understood?”

Anna’s mouth dropped open in shock. So much was wrong with
his opinion of what she should and should not do, she wasn’t even sure where to
begin. “Look,” she propped her fists on her hips, “I don’t know how you treat
other women, but I will not be ordered around like a child. If I want to go
outside and exhaust myself, then I damn well will do it.”

His hound growled at her again and she whipped around in
exasperation. The animal was about as good-natured as his master. “Dog!”

The huge beast went silent and whimpered as it inched behind
Galen’s legs.

With a satisfied nod, she turned her back on Galen and
walked toward the door leading outside. “And you can’t just keep me, either,”
she triumphantly threw over her shoulder.

Her right foot slipped out from underneath her and she fell
backward. Galen’s hands spanned her waist and lifted her into the air. He
twisted her around and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of grain.

Ignoring her outraged protest, he strolled out the door and
into the sunshine of the early afternoon. Once in the courtyard, he stopped and
slowly drew her body down the length of his.

Anna gulped, pleasure shooting through her nipples as they
dragged against the contours of his chest. He stared at her, but she kept her
eyes on his shoulder as her feet settled on the ground.

“Look at me,” he softly commanded.

When she did not instantly comply, he took one hand off her
waist and used it to tilt her chin. “As I have already informed you, I will not
be denying myself tonight. I need you well rested.”

He released her, brushing past as he walked away, his hand
lingering briefly upon her waist. Knees weakening, Anna sunk to the steps.

Pregnant, unmarried and ostracized. That’s what she would be
if she didn’t regain control of herself.

Galen swaggered across the courtyard, power radiating from
the man with every step. He seemed to sense her stare since, as he reached his
destination and turned around, his gaze directly met hers. He threw her a
self-satisfied confident smile and winked.

Yes. She was definitely in trouble.

It was the longest training session of his life.

Galen glanced at the sun. The damn thing had barely altered
its position in the sky since the last time he checked.

He had admonished himself all afternoon for giving in to
Anna’s request to accompany them outside. Her laughter floated to him over the
gentle late-summer breeze and he grinned like an idiot once again. Owen was
obviously regaling her with tales from his youth and, since Galen had been an
audience for Owen’s stories ever since he could remember, he knew the majority
of them were of a rather ribald nature. Anna didn’t seem to mind in the least,
if her constant smile was any indication. Her joy was simply infectious.
Several times he caught a few of his men staring in her direction and smiling
every time she laughed. More than once, Galen had to stop himself from bashing
a few heads together.

He couldn’t wait to get her alone and away from his men’s
prying eyes. No one would dare touch her since he had declared her his woman,
which effectively made her his wife and mistress of the keep. But a strange
possessiveness had taken over this morning when the MacPhearson messenger rode
out of the courtyard, leaving him the knowledge none of the clans in the area
or among their relations knew a woman of Anna’s description. Thankfully, Galen
could rely on the MacPhearson to be discreet. The man had no love for the
Gowrie, the Campbell laird’s overlord, either.

The knowledge Anna wasn’t a spy sent by the Campbells was
enough to dislodge the mistrust that had settled into him. He believed she had
spoken the truth when she confessed about the pendant, but he had to be
certain—which was why he sent word to the MacPhearson. And he had to resist her
charms until he could prove his instincts were right all along—he could trust
her. Now he could relax and indulge in the scent of her skin, the musical pitch
of her laughter and the silken caress of her fingertips. Without outside
interferences, he could truly make her his.

The woman was certainly peculiar, though. Anna would shrink
from him in fear one moment, and then unleash a temper hot enough to try the
patience of a priest the next. He could barely move in anger without her
flinching, but any time he said something to displease her, she turned into a
lioness before his eyes. She’d even scared his ferocious wolfhound. She had no
problem openly defying him in front of his men, either. It was almost as if she
had never been taught about her place in the social structure.

Even more surprisingly, her defiance made him hot.

Galen’s eyes roved over her curvy figure. Damn, she was
beautiful. Full, inviting breasts and softly rounded hips perfect for a man to
lose himself in. And then there was her scent, which was nothing short of
magnificent. The faint floral aroma rising from her hair plagued him as he
slept by her side each night.

His wayward thoughts caused him to frown. He was acting like
some lovesick, adolescent boy.

Lovesick? No, that was impossible. He was no boy. He had
learned the hard lessons of love by watching the downfall of his father. He was
different. His heart was a warrior’s heart—men such as he did not fall in love.
He was simply randy and she was a bonny lass. Any man would react the same way
toward having such a woman in his bed.

Galen rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Anna had not glanced his
way all afternoon. The impulsive need for her attention irked him something
fierce.

She was being kept quite busy by the two elderly warriors
sitting on either side of her who had quickly taken advantage of a free pair of
female hands. Both being widowers and living in the keep with Galen to make
room for new families in the cottages, the old men always had to wait until one
of the household servants had time to tend to their sewing needs. The surprise
on Anna’s face had been priceless when John and Owen arrived on either side of
her and dumped clothing into her lap. When Catriona flew out of the keep to
bring Anna some sewing implements, Galen had bit his tongue to prevent himself
from chuckling over the alternating confusion, insult, sympathy and finally
acquiescence that had played across Anna’s face.

He ran his hand through his hair, unable to tear his eyes
away from her. His heart tightened as she tossed her long, shiny red curls over
her shoulder and turned her full attention to her sewing. A desperate need to
press her soft, willing body beneath him in his bed caused his cock to harden.
He wanted to taste her, make her come with his mouth while she cried his name.

He glanced up at the sun. Soon he would be able to call a halt
to the training.

Horses’ hooves pounding the packed earth reverberated off
the stone walls of the courtyard. Galen halted the training exercises and
turned toward the gate as several of his warriors galloped in on horseback. All
sat high in their saddles except for one, who slumped against his mount’s neck.

A hush fell over the crowd, the horses kicking dust high
into the air as they came to a stop. Galen peered in concern through the dust,
his eyes on the dark-blond hair of the man slumped over his horse’s neck. Adam.

Galen rushed over and caught his friend just as he slid off
the side of his horse. “Easy there, old man.” He slowly helped Adam to the
ground.

Galen pulled one of Adam’s arms over his neck and slipped an
arm around Adam’s back to steady him, his attention drawn down to Adam’s
blood-soaked shirt. “What the hell happened to you?”

Anna raised her head from her sewing as shouts arose from
the courtyard. She caught Catriona out of the corner of her eye, rushing out of
the keep. The young woman came to a dead stop only a few feet in front of Anna
and screamed.

Anna shoved the sewing off her lap and ran to her friend. As
she was about to slip her hand into Catriona’s, the crowd parted and Galen
slowly eased a bloodied man to the ground.

She brushed past Catriona and shoved through the throng of
people encircling the injured man. As she finally broke through, she recognized
Adam.

“Adam,” she whispered in anguish and placed her hands on
either side of his pale face.

He raised his brown eyes to hers and smiled weakly. “I see
you are feeling better, my lady.”

“What happened?” Galen barked at the men who had accompanied
Adam.

“It was a surprise attack,” one of them replied. “Adam
separated from us to investigate a sound he had heard while we were looking for
the Campbells near our border. Three men fell upon him while about a dozen
other men attacked us.”

“They were Gowries, Galen,” Adam stated through gritted
teeth. “I am certain of it.”

“Are the rest of you all right?” Anna peered into Adam’s
pupils to assure herself he hadn’t suffered some sort of head trauma in
addition to his more obvious abdominal wound.

“Yes,” a voice came from behind her. “We have nothing but a
few scratches and minor cuts.”

“Adam, where are you hurt?” Her heart pounded in a mixture
of anger and fear. “Is it just your stomach?”

“Yes,” he whispered, his arm twitching against his abdomen.

“I need to see the injury so you have to move your arm for
me,” she instructed.

Grimacing, Adam slowly moved it away. Anna knelt down before
him, taking in the ghastly slash across his lower abdomen, and moved part of
his blood-soaked leine. Whispering an apology, she leaned in for a closer look.
The cut didn’t appear to have punctured his internal organs, but she could not
be certain until she cleaned him up. Unfortunately, the wound was at least
eight inches long.

Her stomach churned in dread. She would have to put the man
through hell. Her heart ached over how much pain he must be in and how she
would have nothing to give him to ease his suffering while she worked on him.

Anna rose to her feet and turned. Catriona had slipped
through the crowd and stood next to her, pale-faced, her eyes filled with
tears.

“Get her out of here,” Adam grunted from behind Anna.

Adam and Catriona exchanged a strange, tortured look. Under
normal circumstances, Anna would have broadly smiled over discovering the
secret romance, but instead sent Catriona on an errand in order to ease her
patient’s fears. “Catriona, have Adele boil some water and bring it to me in
two separate bowls, along with clean washcloths and bandages.”

Catriona sniffled, her lips pursed as though she had just
been insulted. Anna grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing Catriona to look her
in the eye. “They have to be cleaner than clean, do you understand?”

Catriona nodded.

“And I will need whatever needle and thread you use around
here for sewing injuries. But before you bring them to me, have Adele boil them
in another kettle of water for a little while.” She wasn’t sure how on earth
she was going to prevent Adam’s injury from becoming infected without the
modern antiseptics she was used to using, but the more precautions she took,
the better.

She turned Catriona by the shoulders and gave her a little
shove toward the keep before facing Galen.

His tightened jaw and stormy eyes belied his outwardly calm
but grim expression. “Where do you want him?” he asked.

“Upstairs in one of the bedchambers,” she stated, somewhat
surprised he deferred to her as some sort of authority figure. “But be careful
to not jostle him too much.”

Galen would need help carrying his friend, and she spotted
Cal standing just behind his laird. “Help him, please,” she instructed as their
eyes met.

Cal nodded. “Yes, my lady.”

She searched the nearby men for additional assistance.
“You,” she said, snapping her fingers at a young dark-haired warrior she had
not yet met. “Take a friend and clear a path for them. Be sure to light a fire
in the fireplace and draw the shades back from the windows.”

“Yes, my lady,” he replied with a rushed bow.

Anna hurriedly followed them inside, careful to watch her
step as they made their way over the rushes in the great hall. As they reached
the stairway, she recognized one of the young women who had served lunch earlier
in the day and asked her to bring whatever candles she could find. She was
going to need as much light as she could muster.

Easing Adam up the stairs was difficult at best. Galen and
Cal took it slowly, but the slightest jar caused Adam to grunt and Anna to
wince in sympathy. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally reached the
top and turned down the dim corridor to one of the chambers opposite Galen’s.

The young warriors who had preceded them hurriedly threw
some sheets across the bare mattress before turning to start a fire. Anna
cringed inwardly as Galen and Cal lowered Adam to the bed. She had never tended
an injury this severe on her own before, let alone without basic medicines and
medical equipment. Right about now, she would have been shoved out of the way
by an emergency room doctor, and then had orders thrown at her. Instead, she
was the one issuing commands and wasn’t even sure how to best proceed in these
bare-bones conditions.

Catriona entered the room, arms laden with washcloths and strips
of cloth Anna assumed were to be used as bandages. “Adele is bringing the water
to a boil right now,” she softly commented, setting her bundle upon the wooden
trunk at the foot of the bed. “Mary will be up with the other candles soon.”

As if on cue, Mary swept in with a stool in one hand and her
skirt bunched up in the other. “I thought you might need this, my lady.” She
set the stool beside the bed then opened her bunched skirt, revealing candles
she had gathered from the keep.

“Thank you both,” Anna said with a smile.

As Catriona helped Mary unload the candles, Anna sat on the
stool and scooted toward Adam. Taking a deep breath, she reached for the hem of
Adam’s leineand pulled it toward his chest.

Adamgrabbed her wrist and nodded toward Catriona.

“Catriona and Mary, please go see how close we might be to
having that boiled water,” Anna instructed.

As the door shut behind the women, Adam mouthed his thanks.

Anna nodded with a gentle smile and turned her attention
back to his injury. Galen stepped forward and pulled a short blade from his
boot. He cut through his friend’s leather belt then sliced the leine in half
and cut through one leg of Adam’s trousers. Together, Galen and Anna carefully
peeled the blood-soaked clothing away from Adam’s injury and off his body. Adam
did not make a sound though he winced several times during the process.

“A candle, please,” she softly commanded of no one in
particular.

Cal jumped up and lit one of the candles in the fire before
bringing it to her.

She held the flame as close to the injury as she dared
without dripping hot wax into it. She examined the wound carefully, and then
finally sat back in relief just as Cal lit and passed out candles to everyone
in the room.

“How does it look?” Galen asked.

“Better than I thought,” she replied. “His internal organs
have not been exposed, so I should be able to just clean it and sew him up. I’m
more concerned about infection.”

Galen nodded as the door creaked open. Adam’s face twisted
in panic and Anna turned, hoping Catriona wouldn’t rush to Adam’s side. She
wasn’t certain she could deal with both an injured man and a hysterical friend
at the same time. Thankfully, John and Owen entered. She patted Adam’s hand in
reassurance and instructed one of the younger warriors to stand guard so
Catriona could not burst in unannounced.

Owen limped toward Galen and shoved a flask in front of his
laird. “Here, the lad is going to need this.”

“Oh my, lass!” exclaimed John from behind her. “Galen,
should you be letting her do this? Perhaps one of us—”

“It is too late, old man,” Adam stated with a pained,
gravelly chuckle, motioning for the flask with a curl of his fingers. “My lady
has already seen everything.”