His wife led the way up the stairs, her head high, her back straight. She would have looked confident and proud if it weren’t for the nervous way her hands gripped her tunic. Though most women had the option of hiding their hands in their skirts so likely many wives felt as she did now. His brothers had both known the women they were wed to and even coupled them before when the women had been willing and glad to join with them. This moment was not a happy or solid beginning to their lives. As she opened the door to her chamber Gair decided this was not going to go the way the emissary expected. The man would be in the room, as required, but he would not be getting the show that he had no doubt had while ensuring Paddy and Eliana were wed. Izzy stepped into the room ahead of him and Gair stopped, bracing his arm across the door and preventing the Emissary from entering. The man’s eyes widened and he opened his mouth, but before he could speak Gair told him the way things were going to happen.“You will wait here, emissary. I will open the door and tell you where you are to sit. You will stay there until we are done and I tell you to leave. Is that understood?”“That is not - ““You will see only enough to know that the deed has been done,” he interrupted, “that is all that is required, and all that I will allow.” Without waiting for another word, Griogair stepped into the room, closed and barred the door.He turned to look around his wife’s bed chamber. The bed was small, as though it had been made for her when she was a child. There was a thick fur rug on the floor to one side of it and a large chest at the foot of the bed. The candle on the bedside table looked new, the wick still long and the candle thick and tall. There was a single chair and a small table by the hearth. His wife was by the window. The fur was tied to one side and of the opening and she stood there looking out. Her whole body was tense. Up until now, when she’d crossed her arms she had looked angry about the whole ordeal, but now, the way her fingers were gripping her arms, made it look as though she were trying to hold herself together.
He went to the hearth first and picked up the chair. It was not very sturdy, but would likely hold the emissary. If not, the man and his overfed belly would fall to the floor. That would definitely change the mood of the day for them. Placing the chair by the door Gair bent to be sure that it gave only the view of the bed that he wanted the emissary to have. The man would see the motion that was required for the act, but not a single bit more than that and definitely not an inch of his wife.Gair stepped up behind his new bride but did not touch her. “Fret not, lass. It will not be what you are expecting.” He whispered to be sure his words could not be heard by the emissary who waited just outside the door.“We have no choice,” she answered softly, taking a deep breath that shuttered on its way in as though she were trying not to cry. “I will survive. We are wed and must do as the king requires. Please, do make it quick if you can. My maid said if I pleased a man it could be quick. Do I please you?” He heard the tremor and uncertainly in her words.“I think you are quite bonny, Isobel.” She nodded and took another shaky breath.“If it is permissible, when you are finished, I’d like a hot bath. A warm soak should... ease the hurt. I will be recovered and presentable in time to join you at the table for the evening meal.”“I will not hurt you.”“You must.”“No. Listen to me. I know how to make the emissary believe we have consummated the vows without me actually entering you. That can wait until we ken each other and are both agreeable to it. Today will be just for show.”A loud knock sounded at the door, “enough Alasdair! Must I remind you that I need to see this happen? The king has decreed I must be in the room to observe if no bloody sheet can be provided. Standing in the hallway will not suffice. Your bother did not take nearly so long to go about it! I wish to get on with the day.”“A moment emissary,” he called to the door, “I but undress her. You need not see her naked to witness the act. I will not have another man look upon my wife.”“How,” she whispered. Gair touched her arm, hoping to get her to turn towards him. Instead, she jumped, sucking her breath between her teeth and leaning away from him. He lifted it off her immediately, scanning her profile.
He had been with only one lass who reacted that way to a simple, gentle touch. Was the reason the same for his wife? Her father said he’d had a man try to get her with child, he had not said Isobel had been agreeable to the plan.“Your father had the man force you, and not gently,” Griogair said, feeling certain it was true. When she didn’t answer he put his hand on her shoulder and turned her to face him. Tear-filled emerald eyes blinked up at him and she nodded, obviously unable to answer with words.“All will be well, you’ll see.” He reached up and touched a curl of her hair. “I am glad that I know you have been hurt that way. I will take even more care with you. I know you do not know me at all yet, but try to trust me. I promise that I will not enter you this day, and what we do will not hurt. Can you trust my word?” She nodded, though the look on her face made it oblivious that she doubted she could trust him and was not even at all certain that she should. “Hurry now, lady mine. I will go to the door and keep myself turned away. You must take off your trews and tunic and leave them on the chest at the end of the bed. Leave the chemese on, get into your bed and cover yourself to the neck with the counterpain. The kings ass will believe you naked, or at least naked enough. Let me know when it is done so I can let him in. You will not be hurt. Trust in me.”
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Isobel watched her husband as he walked to the door. He took his shirt off and tossed it onto the edge of her bed. The muscles rippled across his tanned back like waves on the ocean and her breath caught in her throat. He was every bit as large and powerful as she’d imagined. There was no way he could couple with her and not hurt her. Besides, how could he couple without entering her? What he promised was impossible. Why would he make a promise he could never keep?This wasn't his fault, Izzy tried to reason with herself as she swallowed around the hard lump in her throat and fought the tears that burned her eyes. She knew what he had to do. It was the king's command, it had to be so. She had survived this many times before, and now she was fully grown so she would surely survive today as well. Perhaps the pain would be less since she was fully grown now.Scooting under the counterpane she pulled it quickly to her chin. She closed her eyes and took a deep, shuttering breath before tell
Griogair stomped up the steps to the castle in a very bad mood. He had spent the day talking to some of the men in the village, introducing himself and learning what he could about his new home. He was not impressed. At all. The ramparts and shops weren’t in any better shape than the castle. The crofters' homes were in shambles. The people feared their laird but wished to only grow enough to pay their rent and survive until spring. There was not a single happy, motivated soul among them. If the crofters in his clan lived in these conditions they would likely leave, but these people didn’t even have the motivation to walk away and look for something better. Most annoyingly, the men had all snickered at the news that their lady was wed! The women looked him up and down, a couple even flirting with him! Not one person that he had met had offered a single word of congratulations or well wishes. The sound of drunken laughter further soured Griogair’s mood and pulled him towards the gre
Once the door was firmly closed, Gair turned to look at his wife. His eyes were drawn first to her chest. Where and how had she hidden those under her tunic? Even if she had a padded corset on that was way more than just a handful of flesh spilling over the top of the low neckline. He felt his mouth water as his tarse rose. Bloody hell. Why could he not keep his body under control around this woman? He knew his wife would not be a willing partner yet. Probably not any time soon either. He cleared his throat and drug his eyes up to hers.“Mo bhean bhoidheach...” he couldn’t stop his eyes from travelling over her from head to toe and back up again. Her curls were pulled tightly back from her face and pinned up in a way that almost hid the shortness of it. It accented the lines of her face and made her look older, perhaps very near his own age. The skirt was green on top and grey on the bottom, the top green with silver laces and grey sleeves. The neckline was lower than some that he h
Isobel’s mind was flickering around more than the flame of the candle she was staring at. She tried to blink back the tears that burned her eyes when she realized that her mother’s old wool shawl wasn’t bringing her the comfort and warmth that it normally did. Instead, it scratched at the top of her breasts, making her feel foolish, half-naked, and scared. Why had she trusted the advice of a woman who did everything in her power to draw a man’s attention? Of course, the emissary's whore would give her a promiscuous dress! Now the womanly part of her that she kept most hidden was on full display, beyond even what a decent lady would show, tempting a man who had every right to do whatever he wished to her. Would he be angry that she was dressed this way but not eager to couple?Her husband had certainly gotten angry with Dairmaid quickly enough. Would he react as violently when she angered him? No doubt he would. He would likely be more difficult to get away from than the men of her cl
Gair was not impressed with the disaster the maid had sent him into. The expression on her face when he asked for a different room to sleep in should have been a good indication that there was nothing suitable. The bed stank so badly he could smell it from the hall! The stones under the window were growing moss and the dust over everything looked like a thin coat of snow with footprints around the rim to each wall torch and to the bed where the linens had been dropped. She hadn’t even made the bed up. He stood in the doorway, staring at the space and not at all sure what to do. He should have checked out the sleeping arrangements this afternoon rather than going to meet the clansmen. Now there was no time to fill himself a new mattress, no time to order the room scrubbed clean, no time to prepare a pallet in the hall, and no time to make himself a camp in the bush. He had searched the keep but found no staff except the cook who had just sneered at him and insisted there were no w
It hadn’t taken nearly as long as she’d expected to get her father’s friends down and locked side by side in the pillory. Their feet were locked in tight and their hands shackled behind them. She and her husband had been grinning and trying not to laugh out loud the whole time! It was more fun than she’d had in years. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be too quick to retire to his bed. As she took the stairs quickly behind him her breath caught and she stumbled a step. She stopped on the stair, staring at the ground in front of her.Did she actually want to spend time with a man?“Izzy?” She looked up to see him a few steps ahead, he had stopped and turned when she stumbled. She smiled shyly and started back up the stairs.“Stubbed me toe,” she said softly. They stopped again in the hall outside her door. He looked in, then looked down the hall to the room that had been shown to him.“Do they clean yer room?” She winced. “Nay. I clean it. None of the maids here goes in a bedroom if she can help
Gair smiled to himself when he heard a soft snore coming from the direction of the bed. His wife had finally drifted to sleep. He hadn’t been at all sure she would manage it. In fact, he’d been about to ask if she would prefer he took the stack of furs into the hall. If it had taken her any longer to settle he might have had to go find himself some ale or wine. He kept talking, letting his voice grow slowly quieter until he was certain the silence would not wake her.Rolling onto his side Gair looked out the window at the night sky. He could just as easily be looking out his old bedroom window on MacInnis land. The stars looked just the same. A smile touched his lips as his eyes blinked closed. He would dream of his soft feather bed and the gentle scent of the beeswax candles that were always used in the bedrooms of his family’s keep. Mayhap he would dream of the summer solstice festival that would be happening soon. He would miss that. It was unlikely this clan put any effort into mak
Raised voices from the courtyard pulled Izzy from her slumber before the sun had fully risen. Blinking her eyes open she found her husband’s coffee brown eyes staring back at her. A moment of panic washed over her, followed by a calmness she had not felt in a while and she couldn’t stop a smile from touching her lips. Another shout came through the window and they both grinned wide. The men had been discovered in the pillory.They lay beside each other for a while and listened to the yelling. Neither man had any idea why they were there and the three lads insisted they knew nothing. The men were yelling to be set free and Donald was yelling back, certain they deserved it but not giving any reason as to why they were there nor how long they would be locked up. Then someone started yelling about a waste of good eggs, which she guessed meant fresh eggs rather than rotting ones had been tossed. Her grin widened and she giggled. It felt unbelievably good to have those two locked up, even if