“I involved myself.” Crissy looked worried, but she said nothing to dissuade Grace. “Let me pack that bag for ye. I know what your packing is like, madam!”
Grace laughed. “I am glad you found out, Crissy,” she said softly, cupping her friend’s cheek in one hand. “I hated going behind your back.” She kissed her, smiling, then began to pack her clothes again, but Crissy snatched the bag from her hands.
“Leave this tae somebody that knows what they are daein’!” she said gruffly. “Away an’ read a book or somethin’!”
Grace did as she was told, feeling better than she had for days. She should have let Crissy in on the secret in the first place, she realized; now that she had, her burden felt much lighter.
* * *
Grace spent most of the afternoon daydreaming about Fergus; in the fantasies she had had before, she had only got as far as kissing him, but this time there had been so much more. The way he had touched her so intimately had brought her to a place she never knew existed, and yet something told her that there were even better things to come.
His eyes had deepened to a color that was almost black, and he had looked utterly determined to give her the utmost pleasure as his skillful fingers worked their magic all over her. She had never seen such a look on his face before.
As she sat thinking about his mouth caressing her lips and her neck, his fingers deep inside her, she felt a warm wetness seep out of her, filling the space between her thighs.
‘If he were here, I would ask him to make love to me right now,’she thought, as the delicious, pulsing ache that she had felt before came back to torment her in the sweetest way.
Grace could not imagine how she would be able to wait until they were married before giving themselves to each other; then a thought occurred to her. They were staying overnight at an inn. Why not persuade him to make love to her while they were there? After all, she had already decided that she would not be marrying Robert, so why not give her virginity to the man she truly loved? She smiled from ear to ear, very pleased with herself.
She closed her eyes and fell into a pleasant doze, but woke a short while later. There was the sound of a great clamor coming from downstairs, as though many people were shouting all at once. The sounds of horses neighing and somewhere else, the noise of a gate creaking loudly, groaning on its hinges, wafted up to them. What was going on? It sounded like a riot. She was alarmed for a moment before she realized that they had likely caught the big stag that Robert had been so excited about. Perhaps the men were celebrating.
Grace was not particularly keen to see such a gruesome sight, but she had to rendezvous with Fergus and finalize their plans. Reluctantly, she stood up, smoothed down her dress, took a deep breath and made her way down to the courtyard.
The stag had indeed been caught, and its carcass was dripping blood everywhere, but that was not what all the fuss was about. In the middle of the mêlée there was an empty horse which Grace recognised as Fergus’s stallion, Sandy, but there was no sign of Fergus anywhere. All the men were milling about, talking and shouting amongst themselves; something momentous had obviously just happened.
She went down into the throng of men and fought her way through them until she found William. “What is happening?” she demanded. “Where is Fergus?”
Her brother took her by the arm and led her out of the crowd, then turned to her and took her hands.
“Grace,” he said gently, “Fergus has been captured. We were attacked when we were out hunting and were completely taken by surprise; they had no clan crest, so they were likely just bandits, or pretending to be bandits. No one was prepared.” He wrapped his arms around her. “But we are sure that he was unharmed, so we will get him back. I am sure of it.”
18
For a few moments, Grace stood absolutely numb with shock, unable to believe what William had just said. Fergus could not have been captured. He was strong and fast. He could hold his own in any fistfight or wrestling bout. He could handle a sword expertly and just about shoot an arrow through the eye of a needle.
‘There must have been some mistake,’she thought desperately.‘They could have never captured Fergus.’
She looked up at William with a puzzled look on her face, and shook her head. “No, it cannot be Fergus,” she stated firmly. “Fergus would never allow himself to be captured. You must have made a mistake.”
William looked at Grace and felt a deep pity well up inside him. He could see that she was in shock, and also in complete denial. He knew that when the reality of Fergus’s kidnap hit home, she would be in a great deal of pain, and he would not be able to do a single thing about it.
“Come,” he said gently. “I will tell you all about it. It’s best you hear it from me, and not Robert.”
However, as they moved away, the very person they least wanted to see accosted them. Robert stood in front of them, turning his attention to Grace.
“So, you have heard, then?”
Grace nodded wordlessly, staring at him with loathing in her eyes. Even looking at him made her angry.
“I was right to make ready for war,” Robert said smugly. “The Pattersons had obviously been preparing this ambush for a long time, and we let our guard down.”
‘And whose fault was that?’William thought furiously, but said nothing.
“I told the Captain of the Guard we should take more men with us,” Robert went on, sighing. Then he frowned and shook his head. “But he would not hear of it. Perhaps I should replace him.”
This time William could not hold back. “Or perhaps you should take responsibility yourself,” he said through gritted teeth. “You are in charge, the clan chief, after all. Or am I mistaken?”
Robert glared at him with a malicious light in his eyes. “You are right, of course, William,” he conceded, “but I cannot do everything, so I delegate some duties to those I deem fit to do them. In this case, the person obviously made a mistake. Still, we are all human, so I will give him another chance.”