Medieval Ever After (64 page)

***

Maddie removed her dirty gown and stepped into the stream. The water was brisk but bearable. She lowered herself slowly into the water, crying out a little from the way it burned the angry, raw skin. She finally managed to get her upper body in the water, but her thin chemise still clung to her back. After several attempts to free it from her wounds, she realized it was probably stuck. If she didn’t get it cleaned soon, she feared it would fester.

Tears gathered in her lashes, but she held strong. She really didn’t know any of these men. Should she really put this much trust in them?

They certainly were handsome, especially the one called Alexander. When she’d first seen him, she’d thought he was the man in her dreams, but now she wasn’t so sure. Was he named after their king? Somehow, that seemed appropriate. Whenever he glanced her way, she felt unnerved. Her father had kept her sheltered and protected, so she was unaccustomed to strangers, but she still felt it was not normal to feel this unsettled by an attractive man’s gaze. It wasn’t just his face, but his size—Alex was a large, powerful man. Yet she knew—without quite understanding
why
she knew—that he was an honorable man.

There was too much information for her to think about presently. Truth be known, she was glad to be away from her stepbrother, but Alice would worry about her. Mac had sent Laird Grant a missive. She only hoped her maid would guess she was with the Grant brothers.

“Laird,” she called out. “How long will it be until we will arrive at your keep?”

Alex appeared at the edge of the stream, his presence taking her off-guard again. She stared at him until she recalled where she was at the moment. “Turn around, please! I am only in my shift,” Maddie shouted.

“Your pardon, my lady,” Alex said as he obliged. “We have a day or two travel ahead yet.”

Madeline sighed with resignation. She looked at the tall highlander, his back to her. She wished there was another woman to call upon for help, but she had no choice except to trust him in this, too.

“Laird Grant, I need help getting the fabric out of my wounds. Will you assist me?”

“Of course, but you may prefer to turn your back to me. I will need to doff my plaid. I only have an extra tunic with me, and cannot soak all of my clothes.” She watched Alex strip off his boots and quickly turned before he tossed aside his plaid. There was a splash as he hit the water, and then she could sense him surfacing directly behind her. She trembled beneath the water.

“Lass, I will try my best no’ to hurt you,” he said softly. As he pulled on the material, she winced. “I am afraid this will hurt a bit,” he whispered.

Maddie braced herself and said, “Go ahead. Be done with it.”

Alex worked carefully to free the material from the dried blood. His hands were so gentle, Madeline could not stop herself from sneaking a peek at the tall laird from over her shoulder. He was even more handsome now that he had washed the black soot off his face. He had the broadest shoulders she had ever seen, and his torso was all muscle. She unconsciously licked her lips as her eyes caressed his bronzed skin.

When he caught her staring, she blushed and snapped her head back around. He continued to work carefully on her back, his warm breath washing across her neck. She jumped as he freed part of the cloth from her lash marks. Suddenly it occurred to her that he might think she had done something horrible to warrant such treatment from her own kin.

“My stepbrother is demanding that I marry Niles Comming,” she offered quietly.

“And this was his way of forcing you?” Alex asked. “Niles Comming is known for treating women poorly. While you should not normally refuse your laird, you were wise to say nay.” When he finished pulling the chemise free, he said, “Hand me the bit of soap, lass, and I will wash your back.”

Madeline handed him the soap and bit her lip as she waited for the pain. But his touch was so gentle, his ministrations only burned a bit. He washed her entire back, and she melted beneath his touch. A soft moan escaped her lips.

His gruff voice pulled her back to reality. “I think ‘tis done, lass. I will leave you to finish now.”

“Thank you, Laird,” Maddie said as he turned away.

She finished bathing as quickly as possible and returned to the bank. Holding the ruined gown in her hands, she sighed. Another gown ruined, but it was the best she had for now. She managed to tie the back enough to make it decent.

Maddie returned to the clearing with her wet, ripped gown. She tugged on the sides in an attempt to prevent it from clinging to her, but she caught most of the men staring at her, including Alex and his brother. Alex made a barking noise and his guardsmen all turned away. She blushed and bowed her head, realizing what they must think of her threadbare clothing. When she returned her gaze to Alex, she noticed his face had turned dark and his lips were pressed into a grim line. He abruptly stepped away from her and busied himself with his horse. What had she done to make him so angry? She noticed the laird’s brother was looking away from her, too, his attention focused on the rabbit he was roasting over the fire. What was wrong with them?

“Come have something to eat, lass.” Brodie waved her to the log next to him.

Madeline balanced herself on the far end of the log and reached for some of the meat Brodie tore off for her. She did not wish to offend him, but she could not sit next to him. Her stomach growled at the sight of the roasted meat. She bit into it, blushing as juice trickled down her chin. The tasty morsel was better than anything she had eaten in a sennight. The heat of the fire washed over her, warming her wet gown. She shivered as she thought of her circumstances.

Alex dropped down next to her on the log. Instant sweat beaded on her forehead as his scent reached her nostrils, and a swarm of butterflies fluttered in her belly. Why did he have to sit right next to her? She didn’t want him so close, but how could she remove herself without being rude? If he reached his hand out, he could grab her or hit her. She swallowed a lump in her throat, forcing her eyes away from him.

She was familiar with the anxiety that overcame her when men were near, but this strange feeling in her stomach, this extra pounding in her veins—this was all new to her. Why was he different? Abruptly she stood. She grabbed another piece of meat to cover her awkwardness as she wandered over to a log on the other side of the fire. Her brow furrowed as Brodie glanced at his brother, a teasing grin curving his lips.

“I do not bite, lass,” Alex said as he tore into a piece of rabbit meat.

“At least not you, lass,” Brodie added with a chuckle as Alex continued to rip through his food.

“Forgive me, Laird, but the smoke bothered me,” Madeline said, lowering her eyes. She needed to change the subject quickly. “When do we move on?”

“Right now,” Alex stated as he jumped up. “Brodie, take care of the fire and get ready to move. We cannot wait around in case MacDonald has sent men after us.”

“Mayhap I should ride with Brodie this time, Laird. I do not wish to be a burden to you.” Maddie glanced from one brother to the other, sweat breaking out on her face again as she thought of having to be so close to one of them. At least Brodie did not appear to be angry with her. He always had a smile on his face. Truth was, Alex frightened her, especially these strange feelings he brought out in her. Perhaps his brother would be safer.

“Whatever you wish, my lady.” But there was a strange tone in his voice. Could it be disappointment?

Once they had cleared the site and retrieved all their belongings, Maddie waited patiently by Brodie’s horse. Alex finally strode over, lifted her as if she were a feather, and placed her in front of his brother.

“Be careful, Brodie,” Alex ground out before he turned.

“What did he mean by that, Brodie? I won’t break,” Maddie whispered.

Alex barked loud enough to startle her. “It means I am watching my brother, not you, my lady.”

***

They rode hard all day, stopping only to water the horses and to take care of their own needs. Madeline tried her best to sit up straight and not rub her back against Brodie. The frequent jarring up and down in the saddle gave her a sore bottom. While she prided herself as being a good horsewoman, she had never ridden this much or this far. She did not know which hurt more at the end of the day, her back or her bottom.

When darkness started to fall again, Alex found a small clearing where they could spend the night. Madeline was eager to stop—owing to the constant pain, she had been unable to sleep at all in the saddle.

Alex helped her down, holding on to her when her knees buckled. She tried to push him away, but he would not budge.

“Be patient, lass. You have been in the saddle too long. The strength in your legs will return.”

His grip loosened eventually. He could not understand how stressful being close to him was for her. It made her think of the other big man she knew, and what they had done to her…and it also frightened her in a different way. In a giddy, strange way that made her feel as if she were in danger of losing what little control she had.

The guardsmen rushed off into the forest while Alex found a place for her to sit. He removed a hunk of cheese and some dried beef from his bag. “This will have to do for tonight,” he said to her. “Take care of your needs first and then we will eat.”

Alex waited in the center of the clearing until Madeline returned.

He put an extra plaid on the ground for her before passing the beef and cheese around. They ate in silence. Exhaustion caused her head to drop occasionally, but she knew she needed to keep her strength up. She was not sure why he pushed them so much, but she had to believe it was done in an effort to guarantee her safety. Alex probably wouldn’t relax until they were on Grant land.

“You need to get some rest, my lady, as we will not be staying here long,” Alex said. “We need to keep moving.”

Alex settled down on the ground not far from Madeline. He turned his back to her and promptly fell asleep. Brodie was quite a distance away, and the guardsmen were on the other side of the clearing. Madeline settled herself on the soft wool and tried to sleep.

Niles Comming crept into her thoughts. She remembered being tied to the bed, watching as Niles stroked himself, listening as he told her about all the things he would do to her once they were married. Squeezing her eyes together did nothing to forestall the unwelcome images. She jumped up off the plaid in a cold sweat, her breath coming hard, and started pacing. Finally, she picked up the plaid to move it farther away from Alex. She glanced at him.

Alex did not seem to be the type of lad who would attack her in her sleep, but how could she be sure? Weren’t all lads the same as Niles? She glanced over to where Brodie slept, wondering which one of the brothers she could trust. Would either one help her if the other groped her in the dark? Probably not—they were family. She finally dropped the plaid about halfway between the Grants. She lay back down and tried to sleep, but found it nearly impossible.

***

Alex opened his eyes as he sensed movement in the clearing. He watched as Madeline moved her plaid away from him and closer to Brodie. Did she really dislike him that much? But then he saw the raw fear in her eyes. He ached to haul her up against him and soothe her, but he knew that would only make her more afraid. He reminded himself she had a reason to distrust men. Patience was key.

Did she prefer Brodie? He could not bear the thought. He had never wanted a lass more than he had wanted her when she appeared in front of him with her wet gown clinging to her, yellow curls in disarray all around her face. He’d turned away quickly in the hopes that she hadn’t noticed his plaid at full attention. Saints above, he needed to get himself under control. He doubted she had noticed. She was probably bewildered from all the stress and trauma of the past few weeks. He closed his eyes and fell asleep with the vision of a golden haired, blue-eyed angel in his mind.

A few hours later, he was awakened by a scream. He jumped up, his dirk in his hand, only to see Madeline thrashing on the ground. “My lady, what is it?” he shouted. Brodie leapt up as well, scanning the clearing for intruders.

Madeline sat up abruptly and frantically looked around. The tension visibly eased from her body, and she let out a deep sigh. Alex decided she must have been dreaming. She stood and hung her head. “I apologize. I must have had a nightmare. Please forgive me.”

She was magnificent even in the middle of the night with her hair mussed about her face. His heart went out to the poor lass. She would probably have nightmares for a while. His head ached from the memory of her brother poised behind her with that whip. He glanced around the clearing and said, “Let’s take our leave now. We need to get home soon.”

She picked up his plaid and handed it to him. After thanking him, she stumbled over to Brodie’s horse. She clearly had not slept much in the past few hours.

Alex climbed onto his horse and held his hand out to her. “You will be riding with me the rest of the way, lass.” He noticed the dark circles under her eyes and cursed himself for pushing her so hard, for not stopping for the night, but there was no choice. They needed to get away from her brother. He lifted her onto his horse, then placed his soft plaid between them to help cushion her wounds. “This should help.” He settled her back against him and pulled on the reins of his horse, whispering in her ear, “Close your eyes, I will not let anything happen to you.”