The Highlander Takes a Bride (16 page)

Chapter 11

S
aidh smiled and lay still for a moment, enjoying the warmth of Greer’s embrace. But restlessness soon moved her to raise her head to peer at him. Finding his eyes closed, she tapped his chin. “Are ye sleeping?”

“I am trying to,” he said dryly and blinked open sleepy eyes.

“How can ye sleep after something like that?” she asked with amazement.

Greer arched his eyebrows and countered, “How can ye not?”

Saidh chuckled at his expression and pushed away from him to get to her feet. “I feel most wonderful and wide awake meself.”

“While I am spent,” he muttered, his gaze warming as it ran over her body.

Saidh grinned at his expression and turned to saunter down to the water’s edge, putting an exaggerated sway in her walk as she’d seen a maid or two do to tempt her brothers.

“Oh, lass, yer like to wake the beast do ye keep that up,” Greer warned.

“And what beast would that be, m’laird?” Saidh asked, glancing back with a sassy smile. She let her gaze drop to his groin and arched her eyebrows. The man was well set in that department. At least he was if she was to judge by the glimpses she’d had of her brothers over the years. None of them were shy or overly concerned about being seen in all their glory. If she were to believe their bragging, they were all well endowed, a Buchanan trait. From what she could tell though, Greer was easily their equal. Still, she couldn’t resist pinching his manly pride and teased, “Surely ye do no’ mean that wee thing?”

“Och!” He was on his feet in a trice and rushing toward her.

Laughing, Saidh turned and started into the water. She’d barely taken two steps into the cold liquid when he caught her from behind and swept her up into his arms. Greer didn’t stop there, but carried her quickly forward until he stood knee deep in the cold water.

“Take it back,” he ordered, holding her out over the water.

“Take what back?” she asked innocently, unconcerned. She’d intended to swim after all.

“Wife,” he growled in warning and Saidh’s smile changed, softening with wonder.

“I
am
yer wife now,” she said softly and when confusion filled his expression, explained, “We’ve consummated the marriage. We’re truly husband and wife now.”

Smiling faintly, he nodded, drawing her against his chest. His voice was a soft growl as he agreed, “Aye. We’re man and wife now.”

They smiled gently and leaned toward each other to share a kiss. Their lips never met, however. The sound of snapping branches followed by whinnies from their horses made them both glance sharply toward the beasts as the mare and stallion shifted nervously away from the edge of the clearing.

Saidh wasn’t surprised when Greer suddenly turned and carried her quickly out of the water. The moment he hit dry land he let her legs drop. Once she was on her feet, he also removed the arm from around her back and then he abandoned her to hurry to his plaid and grab up his sword. Saidh was already doing the same thing herself, snatching up her own sword from where she’d left it. She then moved toward the horses even as he did.

“Do ye see anything?” she asked when he paused at the head of his stallion and peered at a fixed spot in the trees.

“Nay, you?” Greer responded and cast a quick glance her way. At least she suspected it was only supposed to be a quick glance, however his eyes locked on her and stayed, his expression turning from grim concern to flabbergasted dismay. “What the devil are ye doin’ woman? Get dressed!”

Saidh rolled her eyes at his distress. She didn’t point out that he was naked, or that bandits jumping out at them while she was in the middle of dressing would be worse than being seen naked. Nor did she point out that the dress would only hamper her ability to fight. She did think all those things though and mutter under her breath about them as she strode impatiently to her clothes and snatched them up.

The moment he saw that she was doing as requested, Greer turned his attention back to the woods. Saidh scowled at his back, then stabbed her sword into the ground so that the handle would be easily accessible should an attack happen while she was trying to dress, then she tugged on her chemise.

During the brief seconds that her vision was obscured by the soft cloth sliding over her face, Greer disappeared from the clearing.

Checking the woods, no doubt, she thought with irritation as she snatched up the dress next. She didn’t bother doing up stays or even troubling to tug it into place. The moment it was on and had dropped over her hips, she snatched up her sword again and strode after her husband.

When Greer stepped out of the woods as Saidh reached the horses, she paused to run a soothing hand down her still nervous mare’s nose as she peered at him in question. “Anything?”

“Nay. It may ha’e been a stag or some other beastie,” he said with a sigh and ran a hand around his neck as if to soothe tensed muscles.

“Ye do no’ sound like ye think that’s the case,” she said solemnly and he grimaced.

“Me stallion’s no’ a nervous beast. He only reacts as he did to a threat. A simple stag or doe would no’ make him dance away from the woods.”

“Hmmm,” Saidh murmured and peered at her mare. Her horse was well trained and not prone to nerves either. In fact, if Saidh were to judge by her behavior, she’d have said the mare had reacted as if a human had been approaching rather than an animal. Glancing back to Greer, she suggested, “It could ha’e been one o’ me brothers. Or even a couple or more. They all like to swim. They may ha’e come in search o’ the loch, saw that we were here and what we were about and headed away without interrupting.”

Greer snorted at the suggestion. “I suspect yer brothers are no’ the type to discreetly slip away. In fact, I’d venture to say they would ha’e taken pleasure in interrupting us.”

Saidh grinned at the words and nodded. “Aye. They would,” she agreed with amusement and then shrugged. “Then mayhap it was one o’ yer men. I ken Bowie likes to swim here.”

“Aye, he does, but I left him to watch o’er the men in practice,” Greer said. “He is no’ the only one who likes to swim here though.” Giving up on his neck, he headed for his plaid, adding, “That being the case, I suppose it was foolish to behave so out here. We should return to the keep.”

“Aye,” Saidh agreed and quickly unhitched her mare from the tree both horses were fastened to and mounted. “I’ll race ye.”

“What? Wait!” Greer bellowed when she started to turn her mount toward the woods. When she paused and glanced to him in question, he pointed out, “I still ha’e to pleat and don me plaid.”

“I ken,” Saidh grinned widely. “That means I might actually beat ye back.”

Greer shouted at Saidh to wait for him, but she didn’t obey. It seemed she hadn’t taken that part of her vows seriously. That or she hadn’t heard him over her own laughter, he thought with irritation as he quickly laid out his plaid and began to pleat it. The woman was . . . well, she was magnificent, he acknowledged, some of his anger slipping away and a smile caressing the corners of his mouth as he quickly made clumsy pleats in his plaid. Damn, she had passion aplenty, a hell of a temper and more courage than most of the men he’d walked into battle with over the years. Few of them would have had the balls to take on the seven Buchanan brothers at once, or to face off against him with swords even in a friendly battle. The woman seemed to have no fear and she didn’t half enjoy life, she did so fully.

Greer had never met a woman like Saidh before. She took his breath away . . . and he couldn’t believe he’d been lucky enough not only to find her, but to win her.

Shaking his head, he acknowledged that his life had certainly taken an unexpected turn. If someone had suggested to him even weeks ago that he’d be a wealthy laird with his own castle and a woman like Saidh to wife, he would have laughed himself silly. This was not something he’d even allowed himself to dream of as a mercenary defending other lairds’ lands. Yet here he was, a man who had it all.

For some reason that thought tugged a thread of fear inside Greer. He had so much . . . and so much to lose. Leaving the plaid only half pleated, he threw himself down on it and quickly tugged it into place. The large pin he used to secure it wasn’t even fully fastened before he was on his feet. He finished that task as he strode to his horse.

Once on the beast’s back, Greer sent him out of the clearing at a run. That thread of fear was becoming a whole skein and it suddenly seemed urgent to him to catch up to Saidh as quickly as he could.

Greer was in such a rush he nearly trampled her. It was his mount that saved the day, slowing despite his urging and coming to an abrupt halt almost before Greer saw the mare next to the body on the path. In fact, he was lucky he didn’t sail off the beast’s back and break his neck tumbling arse over heels. He managed to keep his seat, however, and instead threw himself from the mount to rush to Saidh’s side and see what was about.

At first, he thought mayhap she’d tumbled from her mare, but then he spotted the arrow sticking out of her side as he dropped to his knees beside her and his heart nearly fell out of his chest. It certainly felt as if it dropped down to somewhere in the vicinity of his stomach.

“Saidh?” he barked, grasping her shoulders and raising her upper body off the ground. Her head lolled backward, hair trailing on the dirt, but she released a small moan too and Greer could have wept at this sign that she still lived.

“ ’Tis all right,” he assured her, scooping her up in his arms. “I’ve got ye. I’ll get ye home and we’ll patch ye up, and ye’ll be fine.”

She wasn’t awake to hear his reassurances, but Greer needed to say them. He needed to hear and believe them. He simply couldn’t fathom the thought of losing her already. Repeating his reassurances over and over, he carried her to his horse and somehow managed to mount while keeping her pressed to his chest . . . though were anyone to ask him he couldn’t have said how he’d done that.

Greer didn’t bother about her mare, but left it to follow, or not, as it chose. He was halfway back to the keep before it occurred to him that Saidh might be upset with him did she wake up to find he’d lost her mare. He glanced around anxiously then, relieved to see that it was behind them. The mare was smaller and slower and couldn’t keep up. She was a good distance behind but she was there, hurrying after them and that was enough.

Greer rode across the bridge, through the gates and straight for the stairs to the keep. He spotted Saidh’s brothers by the stables, but ignored them even when one of them called out to him. He was too busy at that point deciding whether to ride his beast straight up the stairs and into the great hall or not. In the end, it was the fact that he couldn’t sort out a way to open the door while in the saddle that made him decide to rein in at the base of the stairs. Pressing Saidh tight to his chest, he catapulted out of the saddle and hurried up the stairs and inside.

It wasn’t until he was charging into the master bedchamber that he recalled Alpin was in the bed. He almost turned then and carried her to the room they’d slept in last night, but a moan from Saidh changed his mind and he hurried forward and laid her gently down. He then reached over and gave Alpin a shake.

The boy moaned but otherwise didn’t respond, and Greer gave him another, much harder shake. “Alpin!”

“Aye. What? M’laird?” Alpin opened drowsy eyes to peer at him blankly. “What is about, me laird?” He gave his head a shake and struggled to sit up. “Do ye need something m’laird? Is it time fer battle? Shall I fetch yer sword?”

“Nay.” Greer pushed the boy back on the bed. His fever was obviously affecting his thinking if he still thought them out on the mercenary trail. “Where are Tilda and Helen?”

“Tilda?” Alpin peered at him blankly.

“My aunt Tilda,” Greer said impatiently. “She was sitting with ye when I left. Her maid is a fair hand at healing. Where are they?”

“Oh.” The boy’s expression cleared a bit, but he shook his head and glanced around the room. “I’m no’ sure. Lady Tilda was here when I woke earlier. She made me drink a tincture her maid had mixed fer me.” He grimaced and gave a small shudder. “Vile stuff, but she made me drink e’ery last drop. I fell back to sleep then and . . .” He shrugged helplessly. “I do no’ ken where or when she left then.”

Greer growled with frustration at that and turned to hurry to the door. Opening it, he glanced out and spotted a maid walking up the hall.

“Fetch me Helen,” he ordered.

“Aye, m’laird.” The woman rushed off and Greer closed the door and returned to the bed to check on Saidh. Alpin followed his actions with wary eyes that widened with alarm when he noticed the woman in the bed next to him. Confusion covered his face.

“Why is Lady Saidh abed?” Alarm filled his expression and he added, “Ye’re no’ thinking o’ tupping her right here next to me?”

Greer glanced to the boy with exasperation. “Does it look as if she’s in any state to be tupped?”

Alpin glanced back to her and his eyes widened again. “Oh dear . . . is that an arrow sticking out o’ her duckie?”

“Aye,” he muttered, peering at the spot where the arrow had pierced her breast. There didn’t appear to be a lot of blood around the wound. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. He just knew they had to get the damned thing out and sew her up. He couldn’t lose her after just finding her.

“Ye shot her?” Alpin asked with dismay.

“Do no’ be daft,” he snapped and then straightened from the bed with a curse and muttered, “Where the hell is Helen?”

“What happened?”

Greer glanced around at that sharp question to see Rory rushing into the room with Aulay hard on his heels.

“Me laird shot me lady,” Alpin announced in a woebegone tone, his words slightly slurred.

“O’ course I didna,” Greer snapped, scowling at the boy. “Why the devil would I marry her and then shoot her with an arrow?”

“Cause ye came to yer senses,” Geordie suggested dryly as he strode into the room now too.

“Aye,” Dougall agreed grimly as he followed. “Ye woke up this morn, came to yer senses and realized ye could no’ keep a fine woman like Saidh happy so ye decided to be rid o’ her.”