Tamed by a Laird (29 page)

“Aye, but we’ll be safe,” Hugh said.

“Will ye be taking that Peg wi’ ye, too?”

“That must be up to Peg,” Hugh said.

Jenny, to her shock, having focused her thoughts on her unsuccessful search for someone to support her in her determination
not
to leave, had failed to spare a single thought to warning Peg that
she
needed to pack.

Hugh waited until they were away from the Joculator before he said, “You looked a little stunned when he mentioned Peg. Did
you not tell her we are going?”

Jenny shook her head.

“What did you say to her then, when you talked to her?” he asked.

When Jenny shut her eyes, he almost smiled, guessing at once what had happened. How the lass had ever dared trying to prevaricate,
he could not imagine.

The silence lengthened until he said gently, “I must suppose that Gawkus and Gilly likewise proved unhelpful.”

She opened her eyes at that, glared at him, and turned away. Had he not caught her by a shoulder to stop her, she would surely
have stormed off.

“Nay, nay,” he said with a chuckle. “Only think what a figure you’ll make if you stride back into camp with your nose in the
air and your eyes flashing. If you don’t trip over your own feet, you will certainly stir amusement in all who see you.”

She whirled back, arms akimbo, and her chin still high—if only because she had to look up to scowl at him. “Does it give you
such pleasure then that my friends feel helpless to aid me?”

“Not pleasure, no,” he said. “But it is good to see you facing the truth and accepting it for once. That is, if you
have
accepted it. I am not sure yet that you have. Shall we go together and tell Peg, or shall I tell Lucas to do it?”

“She may be better pleased if Lucas tells her,” Jenny said. “She likes him, I think, so she will doubtless be as wax in his
hands.”

But they saw Peg before they saw Lucas, and her reaction was unexpected.

“Ye’re returning to
Annan
House? I was sure ye’d be going straight to Thornhill with… wi’ him,” she added, glancing at Hugh and then around as if she
were uncertain what to call him as they were still with the minstrels. Then, in a harsh whisper, she said, “Mistress, I dare
not go back there.”

“Don’t be foolish, Peg,” Jenny said. “I will protect you.”

“How can ye? I work for his lordship, aye,
and
for her ladyship. And if ye think she’ll keep me on after this, ye canna know her. Ye did say I could work for ye at Thorn-hill,
sir, and I might ha’ done that, although it be far from Annan and I’d liefer stay here. Sithee, Cath says I’m good wi’ a needle,
and I’d be wi’ our Bryan.”

“Would you not rather be with Lucas?” Jenny asked.

Peg looked astonished. “That one? Nay, I would
not
! I’ll help ye pack, mistress, but unless Sir Hugh— Ay de mi… unless Hugo says I must, I’d liefer stay.”

Hugh frowned. “My lass should have a woman with her, Peg.”

“She has her husband and his man. Surely, she’ll be safe wi’ the pair o’ ye.”

“I cannot command you to go,” he admitted.

“Sakes, sir, I’m thinking ye’re daft to be going yourself. Look at that sky!”

Obediently looking, Hugh saw that although blue spaces still showed among the clouds, the clouds themselves were even blacker
than before, and lower. Wind stirred leaves on the trees, but in the woods, it was hard to judge its strength.

Jenny looked hopeful. “Mayhap we should wait a day or two,” she said. “They do need you for the play.”

“Nay, they do not,” he told her firmly. “Nor do they need you. This storm will pass just as the others all have. You’ll see.”

She sighed. “I am sure you are right, sir. You do have the most annoying habit of nearly always being so.”

Hugh chuckled, but for once, he was wrong.

T
hey had been traveling a couple of hours when the snow began. At first, it was just a few gentle flakes, but when Jenny saw
Hugh exchange a look with Lucas, she knew that both men believed it would grow worse.

They kept on, but she could tell they were looking for shelter. At one point, they paused to consider a cottage on a hill
with smoke curling from its chimney.

Lucas said, “Happen there’d be some soul there to give us shelter, sir.”

“Aye, but I’d liefer not draw unnecessary attention to ourselves. Annan lies only fifteen miles southeast of Dumfries. We
should be able to cover that distance before nightfall, but we must find a place to wait out this storm. It won’t be the first
time we’ve provided our own shelter in such a case, Lucas.”

“Nay, sir, it will not. There be one or two villages ahead, too. Happen w—”

“There will be woodland before we reach the next village,” Hugh interjected. “I’d prefer that we keep to ourselves to avoid
any comment. If her ladyship had a female companion, no one would pay us heed. But, as it is, unless we make a point of my
being her husband… well, I’d prefer that we name no names. That would be gey difficult anywhere we might request shelter.
As we get closer to Annan, we also risk the possibility that someone may recognize her.”

Lucas nodded, but the snow fell harder, and Jenny saw Hugh look skyward more often as they rode. It had grown much colder,
too.

By the time they reached the woods he had mentioned, the horses’ pace had slowed to a walk. Jenny’s teeth were chattering,
and it was hard to discern the road.

In the woods, it was easier, because the trees were mostly beeches, creating a high, dense canopy. It thinned over the roadway
but so far had allowed snow to fall only in sporadic patches to the ground. They rode nearly to the woods’ eastern edge before
Hugh turned off the road into a small clearing under the canopy.

“We’ll stop here and make a fire,” he said, glancing at Jenny.

She tried to smile, but her lips felt numb.

Grimacing as he dismounted, he strode to lift her down, saying as he did, “Your lips are blue, lass. With that thick, hooded
cloak of yours, I thought you were warm enough. You should have said something.”

“I did not realize how cold I was,” she said as he set her on her feet. They felt as numb as her hands and lips, and when
she tried to walk, she stumbled.

Muttering an oath, he scooped her into his arms and shouted at Lucas to fetch blankets from the sumpter and to get the tent
set up and a fire going.

“Her ladyship is frozen to the bone,” he added. “Just fling over what I can use to warm her whilst you see to the tent and
the fire. Has the snow soaked through your cloak?” he demanded brusquely of Jenny.

“Nay, not yet,” she said.

“For a sensible woman, you’re as daft as a bairn sometimes,” he retorted. “You must have known your hands were cold. And don’t
try telling me they aren’t.”

“I don’t know how cold they are. I can’t feel them,” she said.

Grimly, he said, “I’m going to put you on your feet again. I’ll hold on to you when I do, but I want you to move them about
whilst I rub your hands. It will hurt, but that’s to the good. And it serves you right for not paying better heed in such
weather. Sithee, your hands and feet will freeze first, lass. When Lucas gets the pallets down and the blankets on them, he
and I will gather more wood for the fire. But in the meantime we must do all we can to warm you.”

He had spoken the truth. Her feet hurt when she moved them, and when he told her to stamp them on the ground, she said irritably,
“I can’t. It hurts too much. Surely, it cannot be a good thing to do.”

“Do as I tell you,” he snapped, grabbing her shoulders and giving her a shake before going back to rubbing her hands.

She would have liked to stomp on his feet but knew it would hurt. Also, she saw that Lucas had the tent up already and was
throwing the pallets into it.

“Ye can bring her now, sir,” he said. “By, but t’ lass looks perishin’ starved! Tha should hutch up with ’er for a time. I’ll
get the fire going straightaway.”

“I’m not even hungry yet,” Jenny protested.

“He doesn’t mean that you look hungry,” Hugh said. “In Yorkshire, ‘starved’ means freezing cold, and hutching up is one way
for me to warm you until he gets the fire going. So, get yourself moving.”

As Hugh gestured to the tent, she said, “Won’t all the wood here be wet?”

“Only on the outside, and it is dryer under the trees than out in the open,” he said. “That’s why we stopped here. Now, cease
your fretting, and get into that tent.”

She wished he would carry her. He was strong and able, and the tent, though only a short distance away, seemed too distant
for her aching feet.

“Go,” he snapped.

She went. Each step shot pins and needles through her feet, but her legs were no longer numb and would, she hoped, soon feel
normal again.

When she ducked into the tent, Hugh followed her, ordering her to lie on the pallets, which Lucas had stacked one atop the
other.

“I’ll cover you,” he said. “You’ll be warm again in no time.”

“I should take off my cloak,” she said.

“Aye, give it to me. I’ll shake it out and lay it on top. It still has your body heat and will help warm the blankets.”

She lay down and let him pull off her boots and pile blankets on her, but still she shivered. The blankets felt cold, her
feet icy, and her teeth chattered again.

“Damnation,” he swore, staring at her. “Lucas was right.”

Laying his cloak atop hers and pulling off his boots, he slipped into the bed beside her, pulling her close. “This is what
he meant when he told me to hutch up with you, although he meant skin-to-skin, like rabbits. Try to relax now,” he added.
“Slip your feet between my legs and press as close to me as you can.”

She had stiffened as he got into the bed, but the warmth emanating from him was irresistible, and when he slid an arm around
her, she snuggled closer. His breeks felt damp through her stockings, but even damp they felt toasty warm.

As his warmth penetrated, she did begin to relax. Then he shifted position, and her head came to rest on his shoulder with
her cheek against his hard chest.

A short time later, he said quietly, “Better?”

“Aye,” she murmured. “I’m nearly warm again. Should you not help Lucas?”

“I’ll go presently. He doesn’t need me yet, but I think we may be here for a while. We may have to build a stronger shelter.”

“How?”

“We’ll make one from branches, so when the snow in the canopy begins sifting or clumping down on us, as it will, it won’t
smash the tents or melt through.”

“We’re using two tents then?”

“Aye, Lucas does have his own, after all. You and I will share this one.”

“Won’t he get cold, all on his own?” she asked, noting with a sense of gratitude and other less identifiable feelings that
he had not suggested that he and Lucas sleep together and let her have a tent to herself.

“Not unless it gets much colder than it has been. If it does, he’ll come in here with us. It will be a tight fit, but we’ll
stay warm. I don’t expect this storm to last long enough or grow cold enough to warrant that, but we’ll do what we must.”

“Are you still angry with me?” she asked abruptly.

“Nay, lass. I wasn’t angry before.”

“You sounded angry.”

“I warrant I did. I was worried that you’d done yourself an injury through being too prideful to ask us to stop and let you
get warm.”

She thought about that. “I suppose I did fear you’d think me a nuisance,” she admitted. “I also thought that you and Lucas
must be as cold as I was.”

“Next time, don’t think about anyone’s needs but your own.”

“No one has ever told me
that
before,” she said with a chuckle. “From birth, I’ve been told that I must always think of others first, especially our people.”

She could not see his face without shifting her position, but she heard amusement in his voice as he said, “I’ve heard those
words many times myself. But my advice now is a matter of survival, Jenny. You won’t be of any use to your people if you freeze
to death because you were too prideful to ask for help.”

“Aye,” she said. “Although I don’t know how much use I’m going to be to them now, anyway. Your brother will take over.”

He was silent for a time before he said, “Reid will need your guidance. You will remain Easdale of Easdale, after all.”

“Aye, but in name only. Phaeline and his lordship said that after we marry, I must leave the management to Reid. He said the
same. In fact,” she added, “I doubt that he will
allow
me to guide him. He told me he looks forward to schooling
me
.”

His arm tightened, pulling her closer.

“I think he looks forward eagerly to that,” she said. “Were you eager to school your wife, sir—your first one?”

His arm twitched again. “I’d rather not talk about Ella,” he said quietly.

“I know what you mean,” she said, nodding. “I don’t like talking about my father either, particularly with people who did
not know him well.”

“Like Phaeline and your uncle?”