‘Lyall, in truth, I do not know what to think of you. In some ways, I feel safe with you, but after what happened in that loch, I know full well, I am not.’
For an innocent virgin, she had a way of saying things which aroused and enticed him. And the strange thing was, she had no idea that she was doing it.
Giselle bit her lip anxiously, and her colour rose. ‘That William O’Neill fellow, the one who threatened us by the loch, how does Morna know him?’
‘You will have heard of the battle of Bannockburn, well, Cormac and I were in the thick of it. Ravenna heard of a plot to kill Cormac and to betray the King. Morna came with Ravenna to warn us, and, on the way, they were taken by some outlaws. O’Neill was one of them and, for some reason known only to him and the grace of God, he freed them both. He was later captured, at Bannockburn, as a traitor, and was to be executed for fighting on the side of the English. My sister spoke up on his behalf, and got Cormac to free him.’
‘So they feel they owe each other a debt?’
‘Aye, and I don’t know what passed between them, but whatever it was, Morna has not forgotten him. I think she nurses some kind of fancy for him, but it is a dangerous one, you’ve seen why for yourself. Cormac says Will Neill is known along the coast as a thief and a pirate and people fear his name. But Morna will not be told, for she is headstrong. It is past time she was wed, but my sister refuses to settle on a man, and rejects any who pay court to her. I think it is because she saw things at Bannockburn that frightened her, as have you at Wulversmeade, things no young girl should witness. I think it has made Morna wary of men, and now she does not trust easily.’
Lyall followed Giselle’s eyes to where Ravenna was leaning against Cormac’s back as he ate his supper. She leaned in and kissed her husband on the crown of his head and Cormac placed his hand on Ravenna’s where they lay on his shoulders.
‘Ravenna and Cormac seem very much in love,’ said Giselle, wistfully.
‘They are now, but ‘twas not always so. Those two were ordered to marry by King Robert. Ravenna is a Gowan, and her clan and ours have been in a kind of war for years. King Robert wanted us to stand united against our common foe - the English. So, he ordered them married, to seal an alliance between the Buchanans and the Gowans. Those two may have hated each other on their wedding day, but eventually, they found they wanted each other, and love grew from there.’
‘They certainly don’t look like enemies.’
‘Nor do we, Giselle, talking before the fire, like old friends.’
‘But that is just for the sake of your family. We are all pretending tonight, that I am not English, that you don’t all hate me, are we not?’
He took her by the elbow. ‘Of course, we don’t hate you, well, Ramsay does a bit, but he hates everyone who is not Cormac, and Cormac hates everyone who is not a Scot. As to Ravenna, she is like Morna and does not trust easily. And my sister, well, she is in a fearful sulk with me and is trying to discomfort me. What a strange lot you must think us.’
‘Everything is strange here. All I want is to go home.’
Anger flared in his breast. He was trying to be kind to this girl, so why must she insist on ignoring his good intentions. It irritated him to be so misunderstood. ‘Well, you can’t,’ he said in frustration.
‘Then I would beg your leave to go to bed. I am fearfully tired, and my bones ache from that ride and sleeping on the hard ground.’
Now she was making him feel guilty. ‘I will take you to your chamber, Giselle.’
‘I’ll not run off, and I can find my own way, I am sure.’
‘No, you can’t, so, like it or not, you will endure my company.’ Before she could protest, he took hold of her hand and led her from the hall.
Lyall could feel eyes boring into his back, but he kept on going. He was heartily sick of his family’s stares and their judgements. He didn’t need their leave to take his prisoner…ah, there was that word.
‘Lyall, please,’ protested Giselle, trying to tug free.
He ignored her, and they walked in silence to the upper level of the keep and her chamber. At the door, he turned to her.
‘Giselle, listen to me. You may not want to be here, but it is here that you find yourself. It may be some weeks before a ransom comes, and so you must reconcile yourself to it. I will not force my company on you if you find it distasteful. This ordeal will all be over soon enough, and you will be gone, back to England.’
To his horror, she burst into tears, soft sniffs turning to great big sobs and, before he knew it, there was no stopping her. Lyall froze for a moment and then gathered Giselle into his arms, feeling her body heave and shake against his chest. How delicate and small she was as if she would snap like a twig if he hugged her too hard.
Lyall daren’t move, for fear of making things worse, but he put his hand gently on the back of her head and cradled her for the longest time, as she cried out her misery. When Giselle’s sobs had subsided, he pulled her back from him. Some hair had stuck to her face, so he reached up and gently swept it back.
Giselle sniffed and drew a hand across her nose, like a child. Even crying, with a red nose, she was bonnie, and his hand still rested in her hair. Lyall stared down into her wide, blue eyes as a strange tenderness made his chest ache. Did she fear him? She should, for he wanted to kiss her more than anything.
Instead of being the honourable man he strove to be, Lyall took her mouth with his, in a rush of feeling. She gave a little moan but did not resist, and before he knew it, he was pulling her tight against him. Their kiss became heated, and Lyall dragged her through the door of the chamber and kicked it shut. Every carnal urge seemed to come on him at once, hands searching, grasping at her throat and then down to cup her perfect breasts in his hands, hot flesh against flesh, his mouth devouring hers in a rush. They staggered over to the bed and fell onto it.
Lyall kissed her over and over, with a passion that surprised him. Remembering her wet body in the loch brought a pulsing hunger to his loins, so he pulled her dress quickly up to her waist, exposing a bright triangle of copper curls between her legs.
‘By all that’s holy, a saint could not resist you, Giselle, and I am but a man.’
Lyall lay over her, tearing at his braies, pushing her down into the bed and spreading her thighs with his knee. He readied himself to enter her, with a cock like an iron bar. The lass wasn’t pushing him away, so surely she wanted this too.