Highland Master (32 page)

“I know the one through Glen Garry. Is there another at this time of year?”

“Aye, sure, or so Comyn said. The other is through the Cairngorms to the east. Its snowy passes must be hazardous, but he swears that the route is feasible by now.”

“I’ve no intention of risking myself on such a route. This country needs me. But you will take my men and your own that way. If Glen Garry is the easier route, I’ll send the Earl of Douglas that way. He can gather his Border army quickly, and he has much the same reason as your own to interfere with any plan of Davy’s. After all, the Douglas’s sister is Davy’s unhappy wife. Also, Redmyre…”

“Aye,” the other man said, raising his eyebrows.

“If your men there can hold them for you, you know what will serve me best.”

“I do, my lord. I do, indeed.”

Satisfied, but not one to count a deed done until it was, Albany dismissed him.

Fin would have liked to go straight to his own bed, for although it was still relatively early, he had had his fill of emotion for the day. However, he knew that he would be wise to ask Rothesay straightaway for leave to take Catriona to Moigh and, if Davy would spare him longer, straight on to Tor Castle.

Finding the hall empty of everyone except those trying to sleep there, he went to Rothesay’s chamber.

The gillie who always slept on a pallet before the door was awake. Scrambling to his feet, the lad said, “My lord duke did say ye’d come, sir.”

“I want to see him if he is still awake,” Fin said.

“Aye, he said ye might wish it. But he said tae tell ye he’d be fast asleep by now.” Glancing toward the door when sounds came from within that included a feminine giggle, the lad said stoutly, “He’ll talk wi’ ye on the morrow, sir. Afore the wedding, he did say. Be there going tae
be
a wedding, Sir Fin?”

“Aye,” Fin said, wondering if the Mackintosh or Shaw knew that Rothesay had a woman in his bed. He hoped that she was as willing as she sounded and a maidservant rather than a noblewoman or a Mackintosh tenant’s wife.

On that thought, an image of the redoubtable Lady Annis rose in his mind, so he was chuckling when he added, “If you see him when he wakens, tell him that I do hope to speak with him privately before the ceremony. You may fetch me from my chamber as soon as he finds it convenient.”

Returning to his room, he woke the dozing Ian and informed him of the wedding and the journey to follow while Ian aided his preparations for bed. Having little to pack, he soon sent Ian to bed in the hall as usual, and put out his candle.

Lying in bed, he wondered if Catriona was asleep yet and how different things might have been—or if they would have ended up the same—had he insisted on continuing to Moigh the day they had met. If the arrow had killed him, he would never have met her. But what if the arrow had just missed him and he had returned to Rothiemurchus in a normal way after learning that the Mackintosh was there?

Would the Mackintosh ever have trusted him alone with her then? Or was it the fact that they had been alone in the woods that had made the man trust him?

As he tried to imagine how the order of things might have progressed, the images faded and dreams of Catriona in his arms replaced them.

When he awoke with the dawn, he was sweating, erect, and annoyed that a most satisfactory dream had ended moments too soon with the entrance into his chamber of gray, early-morning light.

The night before, the thought of marrying her had produced delightful, sensual anticipation. Now it produced a clearer, much more urgent desire for her.

Rising hastily, he dressed himself without waiting for Ian and waited impatiently for Rothesay’s lad to fetch him.

“Take off your shift for me, lass,” Fin said, smiling in much the same hungry way that Rory Comyn had always smiled at her. But Fin’s smile did not discomfit her… at least, not in the same way that Comyn’s had.

Feelings roared through her body much as the river Spey roared in full spate through Strathspey after a mighty rainstorm or when the high snows were melting fast and racing into it from every rill, rivulet, and burn.

She gazed up at Fin from under her lashes, wondering what he would do if she refused to obey his command. A husband, after all, had every right to command his wife, but if he thought that he was going to order her every breath and step from his wedding day forward, he was in for a fine surprise.

Faith, but she was flirting with him, with her own husband, whilst he stood naked before her, his eagerness plain… and she with only a thin shift to protect her.

“Take it off, Catriona,” he said, moving toward her. She felt his warm hand on her bare upper arm and heard a low, rumbling moan in his throat…

Catriona awoke with annoyance to discover that the low rumbling sound in her dream, as well as the warmth against her upper arm, was merely Boreas’s kitten curled up against her, purring loudly.

As she lay wondering if her interesting dream might otherwise have included what else would happen when she lay naked beside Fin, a memory flitted through her mind. Her grandmother had been talking to Ealga about Morag.

“James should be more masterful with that lass,” Lady Annis had said tartly. “Faith, but he should give her a good hiding to cure her low spirits.”

Catriona’s mother had protested that James was rather more prone to lecture a woman than to behave masterfully. But Lady Annis had said, “Pish tush, he must learn to take a firmer hand if he would stop her complaints. All women prefer men who will stand up for themselves to those who will not.”

Catriona had a strong feeling that she would never complain of Fin’s failure to stand up for himself. She was not as sure as her grandmother seemed to be that she would prefer that he always be masterful.

Ailvie’s entrance put an end to her fantasies, so she got up to prepare for what promised to be a long day. When she descended to the great hall a half-hour later, she found everyone else gathered near the huge fireplace, waiting for her.

Swallowing, hoping she was not making a mistake that would end in misery as Morag’s had, she obeyed her father’s gesture and went to stand beside him.

As she did, she heard Rothesay say in a voice that carried to every corner of the hall, “But of course you cannot ride off with the lass before you consummate your marriage, Fin. Bless us, man, it will not be a
real
marriage until you do.”

Conscious of a strong desire to throttle Rothesay, and not for the first time, Fin said, “We are eager to consummate our union, sir. But I’d liefer reach Moigh at a good hour than linger here. James and his lady ride with us and are eager to be off.”

“Don’t be daft, man. Your bride is his sister, and his lady will do as he bids.”

Fin knew he had erred in mentioning Morag’s wishes. But he’d seen Catriona come in and knew she had overheard Davy’s comments. Even in the dim morning light, he saw her cheeks darken but could not tell if she was vexed or just embarrassed.

Hearing James clear his throat behind him, Fin hoped that his soon-to-be good-brother would support leaving as soon as possible.

James said, “Your company would be gey welcome, Fin. But I did promise Morag that we’ll take no more time than necessary here or at Moigh. Sithee, my lady would prefer to spend the night with our kinsmen at Daviot, five miles nearer to Inverness. That would shorten our journey tomorrow and likewise leave Castle Moigh to you and Cat for your wedding night.”

Looking again at Catriona, who stood by Shaw and
gazed into the fire, Fin said, “I will talk with her, James. You and I can easily find time to discuss this more before you must leave.”

James nodded, but Rothesay said, “You are a fool, Fin, if you think these Mackintoshes will let you leave with their lass still a maiden. They’ll not risk your returning her in a like state and demanding annulment due to lack of consummation. Mayhap they should watch it, just to be sure,” he added with a mocking grin.

That grin made Fin nearly certain Davy had guessed that Catriona had either exaggerated their relationship or lied about it. That he was still enjoying himself was likely due to the evident intent to conceal the fact.

Fin glanced then at Mackintosh and got a curt nod, indicating that Rothesay was right about one thing. The family—the head of it, at least—would insist that he and Catriona consummate their marriage before departing.

Mackintosh came forward then to say lightly, “It takes little time, lad. The first coupling is a shock to any young bride, but if ye’ve a good appetite for her, it need take just a minute or two. James can wait that long. I’m thinking, too, that ye’ll have more energy for it if ye eat first, and will thereby enjoy yourself the more.”

Rothesay’s grin widened, making Fin wish fervently that one could horsewhip the young Governor of the Realm without hanging for it.

James, still behind him, said quietly, “A private word with you, Fin?”

Nodding, Fin moved away with him, and James added softly, “My lass says she wants time alone with me. She says such time has been sadly lacking in our marriage. It may seem a small thing—”

“Nay,” Fin told him. “Catriona and I have things to discuss, too. But we can all travel to Moigh together and still give ourselves distance enough to talk with our wives. Then, too, you will be alone with Morag from Moigh to Castle Daviot.”

James agreed, and they saw Morag approaching, so Fin moved to join Shaw and Catriona by the fire. Donald and Alex entered together shortly afterward, followed by their retainers and Donald’s mendicant friar.

Catriona turned to Fin when he neared the hearth, and as her gaze met his, a slight smile touched her lips, lingered there, and grew warmer.

Feeling himself stir in response, Fin smiled, too.

C
atriona’s first thought as she watched Donald and Alex enter with their attendants was that the friar looked too shabby to be performing a wedding.

She wore a gown of soft tawny velvet, and Fin looked particularly fine in a green velvet doublet and darker green hose that she had not seen him wear before. All the talk of their consummation and the thought of coupling with him had stirred her curiosity again. When he looked at her, she felt suddenly shy.

She had no time to think after that, because the friar said to Fin, “We’ll begin at once if ye please, sir. The ceremony be short, and the Mackintosh said that nae one wants to sit through a nuptial mass. We’ll eat when we’re done here, he said.”