“I thought I would never see you again,” he breathed. “I had just about given up hope. I love you, Grace.” He rubbed both of his hands up and down her back, wishing that they could be alone with each other, so that they could finish what they had started before. There were no obstacles now, for Grace was not going to marry Robert, and they were free to indulge in whatever pleasures they wished to.
“Kiss me,” Grace murmured, tilting her face up to his.
It was the sweetest kiss they had ever shared, a gentle brushing of lips and tongues that held the promise of a more passionate encounter later. As they drew apart, Fergus stopped and gazed into her honey eyes.
“Never leave my side again, Grace. I don't know if I could bear it” His voice was a low, husky caress that sent a thrill through her.
“Of course, Fergus.” She smiled. “Did you ever think that I would?”
Fergus pressed another soft kiss to Grace’s lips and laughed softly. “Nothing is ever certain, sweetheart.”
“My love for you is.” Grace’s voice was firm. She looked up into his face and saw that the bruise on his lip had turned to a lurid bluish-purple. “Does this not hurt when we kiss?” she asked, touching his skin gently with her fingertips.
He chuckled. “Not enough to stop me,” he replied. “Nothing hurts enough to do that.”
Just then, they looked around at William’s voice.
“Can we please move along? You two can do all the kissing you want later!” His words were serious, but he was grinning from ear to ear.
Fergus and Grace smiled at each other wickedly, then he picked up her hand and kissed it softly. “Come,” he urged. “The sooner we start the sooner this will be over.”
22
“It was Robert’s men who took you,” Grace stated firmly. “William is a friend of Callum Patterson, and he is a very good man, Fergus. It seems that not only does your brother want the Patterson land, but he wants you out of the way too.” she looked at him anxiously. “I am so scared for you, Fergus. Robert will stop at nothing to get what he wants.”
“I know all about it, Grace.” Fergus’s face was set in a hard mask of anger. “My brother wanted to kill me, but he didn’t want to finish me off at the end of a sword, but slowly, in the dark, by thirst and starvation. I can’t imagine an end more cruel. I don’t recognise Robert anymore.”
Grace was stunned into speechlessness for a moment. She could not imagine that even Robert was capable of such wickedness; it was not possible.
“I know what you’re thinking, Grace,” Fergus remarked. “I cannot believe it either, but that is the only conclusion I can come to, based on the evidence at hand. I was unconscious when they took me into the cave, and I cannot even remember them dropping me inside it.
It was cold, but thank god I had just about enough clothing to keep me warm. It wasn’t the cold that bothered me, though, but the dark, and that’s the worst thing of all. Robert knows that I am very scared of the dark. You know that ever since I was a child it had terrified me, and it still does. Ever since that night when Robert had locked me in the dungeons, I was all alone, hearing the voices of the prisoners, but unable to see anything. I know that’s a dreadful thing for a grown man to admit, but there it is.”
He looked shamefaced, and Grace reached out a hand to grasp his.
“That’s not weak, Fergus. It’s a human instinct. Anything could be hidden in the dark, after all.”
He looked up and smiled at her, caressing her cheeks and running his fingers over her dimples. “You are always on my side,” he said in wonder.
“And I always will be,” Grace said firmly, and they rode on. Despite their situation, they kept the subject away from what was uppermost in their minds; Robert. Presently, the turrets of Inverleck Castle came into view. “Nearly home,” Fergus said grimly. “I hope they will let us in without a fight.”
“Remember what Danny said,” Grace reassured him. “The guards are mostly on your side, and these men here—” She swept an arm to indicate the two guards, as well as her brother and Callum, “are behind you too. There will be no problems. As well as that, I will stand by you no matter what. I am not sure how, but I will do my best.” Her face was a firm mask of determination.
“At least you will never be confronted by a sword, Grace,” he assured her. “If such a thing were ever to happen, I would throw myself in front of you. I will die before I let anything happen to you.”
Grace was almost choking with tears as she looked into his eyes, which were shining with love. She said nothing, merely smiled at him as they rode along, seeing the mighty fortifications of the castle coming closer and closer.
As they drew nearer, they could see that the drawbridge was drawn up, and for a few moments, Fergus hesitated. He could see the guards who were stationed on the wall watching them. “Let us in, lads! We are coming to see the Laird!” Fergus shouted a few moments later.
The drawbridge creaked open, and its edge hit the lip of the moat just in front of them. They trotted inside and Fergus saw the last person he had expected to see standing by the entrance to the castle.
“Mother!” he cried, as he dismounted from Sandy, and one of the stable hands took him away. He strode forward to hug her. “I am so glad to see you!”
“Fergus,” she breathed, examining his face anxiously. “My boy! I thought I might never see you again. I have been worried to death! Are you well? Are you hurt? What is that mark on your face?”
“I am well, as you can see, Mother,” he replied, smiling. “As for this -” He touched the bruise on his lip—“a little accident at wrestling practice.” Then he stood back and gazed at her. She was wearing a simple dress of pale pink linen. “Mother, where are your black clothes? You look…” He broke off and beamed at her, “beautiful.”
“Like a normal woman again?” she supplied. “I decided that I had mourned and hidden myself away for long enough. It’s time to live again now. Besides, is my place not beside my sons? Fergus—if anything had happened to you…” She broke off and cupped his cheek in her hand.