The Laird of Stonehaven (32 page)

Blair’s thoughts scattered when she heard Alyce calling to her through the door. Blair opened the panel and Alyce walked past her, balancing a tray in her hands.

“I brought yer dinner,” Alyce said as she set the tray on the table. “Eat it all. Ye need yer strength. Remember, ye’re eating for two now.”

“You havena told anyone, have you?”

“Nay, I wouldna do such a thing without yer permission. Shall I stay with ye while ye eat?”

“Nay, thank you. I’m going to eat and take a nap.”

“Verra well. Nona Campbell’s bairn has a cough, and I told her I’d mix something to ease it. Stuart offered to walk me to the village.”

“You and Stuart seem to get along verra well,” Blair said. “He is a widower, is he not? Mayhap you and he . . .”

Alyce covered her mouth with her hand and giggled like a young girl. “Go on with ye, lass. The mon barely knows I exist.”

“That’s not how it looks to me. Do you have a fondness for Graeme’s uncle? He’s a good man. Would you not like someone to spend the rest of your days with?”

“Och, I have
ye
, Blair. And soon I’ll have yer bairn. What more could I want?”

“A man to love you,” Blair suggested.

“What nonsense,” Alyce huffed, bustling out the door. “Who wants a grizzled old mon anyway?”

Blair smiled to herself as Alyce made a hasty exit. She thought her tiring woman protested too much.

Blair finished everything on the tray and lay down fully clothed, pulling a blanket over herself. She was asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. The dream began shortly afterward.

She was in a lovely glen surrounded by rock-studded hills. Graeme was with her. The place was the same one she had seen in her previous vision. She sensed happiness—hers certainly and mayhap Graeme’s. It was a beautiful day with a clear blue sky, a few fluffy clouds wafting overhead and the scent of heather in the air.

They had just made love on Graeme’s plaid. Blair didn’t see that clearly in the dream but she knew because she felt her body glow with the aftermath of pleasure. Then suddenly everything changed. The sun disappeared and danger filled the air. The next thing she knew, Graeme was lying in a pool of blood.

She woke up screaming.

Moments later, Graeme burst into the chamber. “Blair! Are you all right, lass?”

As soon as he took her in his arms, her world righted itself.

“I was on my way up to check on you when I heard you scream. Are you ill?”

Blair shook her head. “ ’Twas a dream.”

Graeme rolled his eyes. “One of your premonitions?”

“Mayhap, but I hope not.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Nay, I canna.”

She refused to meet his eyes. Had she seen his death? If she was with him in the dream, then he couldn’t have been soldiering with King James. The danger existed right here at Stonehaven.

“Blair, speak to me. Tell me about your vision.”

“Just hold me, Graeme. Hold me and never let me go.”

His arms tightened around her. “I’ll never let you go, love. No matter what, you’ll always be mine.”

“Will you send Glenda away if I ask it of you?”

Graeme stiffened. “Has she done something to frighten you?”

Blair hadn’t intended to tell him about her confrontation with Glenda, but decided she had to in order to protect her baby.

“Aye, Glenda threatened me. I didna want to tell you, but I truly believe she’s mad. I would feel safer if she were nowhere near me.”

Fury hardened Graeme’s features. “The lass will be gone tonight. I’m sorry I didna act sooner. I thought she was harmless. I hope ye dinna think I took her to my bed after we were wed.”

“I prayed you would not.”

“I didna, love. You are the only woman I want in my bed.”

“Where will she go if you turn her out?”

“Glenda’s family lives in the village. She can bide there with them. They are capable of providing for her if she canna find work.”

Blair’s relief was palpable.

“Are you sure you dinna remember your dream?” Graeme persisted.

Blair refused to meet his gaze. “Dinna fret. ’Twas naught. Have you heard from the king yet?”

“Nay, but I expect word soon.”

“If you go to war, you will be careful, won’t you?”

“You know I will. I couldna bear the thought of never seeing you again. ’Tis true what they say. I am bewitched.”

She pressed her fingers against his lips. “Dinna say that. My enemies could take your words and turn them against me.”

Graeme’s expression turned grim. “ ’Tis not what I meant and you know it.”

Blair sighed. “I love you, Graeme. I have for a verra long time.”

“I know,” Graeme replied after a lengthy pause.

Silence stretched between them. “I know you love me, whether or not you choose to acknowledge it,” Blair said. “My powers are still with me, which proves it.”

“Mayhap the Prophecy is false,” Graeme suggested. He had no idea why he refused to acknowledge his feelings. Perhaps he still feared the danger her powers represented.

Blair caught his face between her hands, refusing to let him look anywhere but into her eyes. “Do you love me, Graeme?”

Graeme swallowed his denial, unable to look into her eyes and lie about his feelings. “Aye, lass, I love you well, but saying it makes me apprehensive. I ken the Prophecy and am aware of what loving you means.”

Blair sighed and cuddled against him. “You dinna know how long I have waited to hear those words.”

“Now will you tell me about your dream?”

Blair shook her head. “I dinna remember.”

Graeme knew that Blair’s dreams were often glimpses into the future. What had she seen? His death? Her death?

“Verra well, I willna plague you, love. Go back to sleep.”

He started to rise, but Blair reached for him. “Nay, dinna leave me. I need you, Graeme. Make love to me.”

“Sweeting, you are exhausted.”

She dragged him down beside her and ran her hand up his bare leg. Her hand found his manhood, and lust shot through him. As she fondled him, he felt himself harden and thicken. There was no holding back with Blair. He unwound his plaid and tossed it aside. His shirt followed.

His unfettered cock thrust upward, blue-veined, rigid and demanding. Removing her hands from his erection, he pulled away the blanket and quickly undressed her. Then he kissed his way down her neck and pressed his lips against her collarbone. His mouth trailed lower, settling over the erect tip of her breast. He felt her tremble as he circled her nipple with his tongue, then nipped and teased it with his teeth.

He moved lower. She called out his name and shifted restlessly beneath him as his tongue ringed her navel. He kissed her belly, found the soft thatch of blond curls at the juncture of her thighs . . . and kissed her there.

When he nuzzled the softness between her thighs, she moaned and begged him to come inside her. He grinned and shook his head. Sliding his hands under her bottom, he lifted her and pressed his mouth against her sweet femininity. Then he parted the folds of her sex with his tongue and delved inside her soft center.

Blair went wild beneath him. Then she came, her body arching into his intimate caress. She was still trembling when he moved up her body and slid inside her, drawing out her climax until his own release carried them both to oblivion.

“You’ll not die,” Blair whispered, holding him close. “I swear I willna let you die.”

Blair waited anxiously for the king’s reply to Graeme’s proposal. She had no idea what she and Graeme would do if the king refused to restore their marriage.

One glorious sunny day, Graeme asked Blair to fetch a picnic basket that Maeve had packed for them. “There’s someplace special I want to show you. Sitting here waiting to hear from the king is doing neither of us any good.”

“Where?” Blair asked, excitement coloring her words. “I didna ken there was a special place nearby.”

Graeme’s smile set her heart to racing. “You’ll see. Meet me in the courtyard. And wear a cloak. The weather can be changeable this time of year.”

Twenty minutes later, Blair arrived in the courtyard with a picnic basket slung over her arm. “Is the place we’re going to far?” she asked Graeme.

“Nay, it’s within walking distance. But if you prefer to ride, we will.”

“ ’Tis such a beautiful day. Let’s walk.”

“Are you sure?”

“Verra sure. I can use the exercise.”

Graeme relieved her of the basket, wound her arm in his and ushered her through the front gate.

They walked in companionable silence through the village, nodding to those who hailed them along the way. When they reached the loch, Graeme turned downstream, following a narrow path along the cliff.

“I’ve never been this far from the village before,” Blair said.

“ ’Tis just as well,” Graeme said. “I wouldna want you venturing out here alone. Look what happened when you went into the forest to gather herbs.”

Blair stopped abruptly, her gaze focused on a stone tower perched precariously on a rise near the edge of the cliff. “What is that?”

Graeme grasped her hand and pulled her toward the structure. “The ruins of an ancient Viking tower. I thought you might enjoy seeing it.”

“How old is it?”

“Verra old. The Vikings came to Scotland several centuries ago and built watchtowers all along the coast.”

When they reached the base of the square tower, Blair stared in awe at the ancient building and started forward. “Can we go inside?”

Graeme pulled her back. “The stairs are too dangerous to climb. Look around you,” he said, pointing to several large stones littering the ground at their feet.

“These stones have fallen from the tower at one time or another, so you can see how dangerous it would be to enter the structure. I just thought you would enjoy seeing it.”

“Thank you,” Blair said. “I appreciate being alone with you as much as I do seeing the tower. We have too little time to ourselves.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Graeme murmured. “Shall we eat?”

Graeme laid out the cloth Maeve had included in the basket and Blair set out the food. Then they feasted on bread, cheese, cold pigeon pie and fresh strawberries. They also found a bottle of wine tucked into the basket.

“Wine, Graeme?” Blair asked when she saw him uncorking the bottle.

“Aye, the occasion called for wine. ’Tis the first time we’ve been alone together outside the keep. The first time we’ve made love beneath the sky.”

“We’re going to make love?”

“Aye. More than once, I hope.”

Blair swallowed hard. She hoped so, too.

When they finished eating, Graeme helped her pack up the remnants of their feast. Blair watched in avid anticipation as he removed his sword, spread his plaid on the ground in the shadow of the tower and offered her his hand.

“Come lie with me, love.”

He settled her down on the plaid, then joined her. “The loch is calm today.”

“ ’Tisn’t difficult to picture Viking ships approaching our shores.”

Blair smiled, imagining Graeme as a fierce Viking come to conquer the land.

“What are you smiling about?”

“I always smile when I’m happy.” She paused. “I love you, Graeme.”

“I know, lass, and I love you.”

His face suddenly taut with need, he pressed her down on the plaid, covering her with his body. “I never tire of making love to you.”

He lowered his head and kissed her, his mouth devouring, hungry. She tasted wine on his lips and opened her mouth to his tongue when he sought entrance. She could deny him nothing. He was her love, her life, her future. The spirits had sent him to her.

But even as Graeme’s kisses grew more fervent and his hands were hot upon her, Blair sensed danger. When a buzzing began inside her head, she tried to ignore it, concentrating instead on the heat of Graeme’s aroused body and his ravenous kisses. Then voices replaced the buzzing, and she could no longer ignore the warning. When Graeme started to undress her, she braced her hands against his chest and shook her head.

“What is it, lass? Are you not in the mood?” He gave her a seductive grin. “I can change that easily enough.”

“Nay,” Blair answered, looking about her for the source of the danger she perceived. “Something is verra wrong.”

“What do you mean? Everything is perfect.”

“I sense danger. My voices speak of it.”

Instantly alert, Graeme reached for his sword. “What kind of danger?”

“I dinna know. Mayhap we should leave. I feel . . .”

The words stilled in Blair’s throat as a strange scraping sound caught her attention. Graeme must have heard it, too, for he glanced upward at the same time Blair did.

“Sweet Mother of God!” Graeme exclaimed.

For a moment Graeme could only stare in horror at the huge stone that had broken free of the crumbling watchtower and was hurtling down upon them. Acting from pure instinct, he swept Blair out of danger’s path and attempted to follow. Unfortunately, he wasn’t fast enough. The huge stone struck his right leg before continuing down the slight incline and then rolling over the cliff into the loch.

Graeme heard the bones in his leg snap and felt the searing pain of torn flesh. The last thing he recalled before passing out was the image of a woman peering through one of the arrow slits near the top of the tower. Then agony speared through him and he blacked out. When he awakened, Blair was kneeling over him, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“How bad is it?” he gasped.

She stroked his forehead, trying to ease his fears. “Dinna worry, my love. All will be well.”

Graeme could tell by her expression that she was lying. Most likely he would lose the leg. Marshaling what remained of his dwindling strength, he lifted himself to his elbows and stared down at his injury. What he saw brought gorge to his throat.

His leg was a bloody mass of protruding bones and lacerated flesh. He knew instinctively that it was shattered beyond repair. He also knew that only one thing would save his life, and even then it was doubtful he would survive.

Amputation.

“Do what you have to do, lass.” His voice was thin and shaky, barely discernible. “Use my dirk.” Those were his last words before darkness reclaimed him.