Tyler, Lynn - For Her Honor [For Her] (Siren Publishing Classic) (24 page)

Robbie sat up and rolled his head. “Jocelyn, when you can prove all this to me, you can go without the guards.”

Jocelyn looked at him, considering. “Well then, I propose a series of challenges to prove my abilities. We will have a dagger fight to prove my skill at protecting myself. To prove my intelligence, we will play chess. If I win, you remove the guards.”

“I will not fight you,” Robbie said firmly.

Jocelyn pursed her lips and looked at him for a moment. Apparently deciding he was not going to change his mind, she offered him a compromise. “A dagger-throwing contest then.”

“That is fine. If I win?” Robbie asked.

Jocelyn kissed him on the mouth. “You can have the guards remain with me.”

Robbie smiled. He knew he could best her in a dagger-throwing contest, and he was extremely proficient in chess. There was no way he could lose this challenge! “As long as you promise to keep warming my bed when you lose,” he said as he nuzzled her neck.

The beaming smile she threw his way nearly blinded him. “I promise, Robbie, if you will promise to take me to that little waterfall at least once a week when I win!”

His eyes nearly crossed. His wife had an appetite for his body! God, it was a good feeling to know she wanted him. He pulled her close and settled her head on his chest as his heart slowly came back to normal. He would never again think of this chamber the same way. His thoughts turned to more somber feelings. “Please, do not lock yourself away from me again,” he said quietly.

She lifted her head and looked at him. “I was angry with you,” she admitted. “I know I should not have thrown that goblet at you, but I just could not seem to help myself. I wanted to give you some time to get over your temper before I saw you again.”

“Did you fear me?” he asked. He didn’t like the idea of her fearing him one bit.

“A little. As a healer, I have seen the effects of a man’s temper when he takes it out on a woman,” she answered honestly. “I have treated black eyes, split lips, broken bones and women who were sodomized. As much as I hate to admit it, I fear anyone your size when they are angry.”

“Loving, you have nothing to fear from me. I would rather die than hurt you, please know that.”

Swallowing to moisten his suddenly dry throat, he steeled himself to tell her the truth. “This used to be my chamber before my father died. I moved into his chamber and gave this room to the healer because I could not stand the memories this chamber carried. It was this chamber in which she locked herself and committed suicide on our wedding night.”

Jocelyn’s eyes went wide. “What happened?” she asked softly, stroking his chest soothingly.

“Another had made her into a woman. She confessed it to me just before the wedding in an effort to get out of the contract, I suppose. My sixteen-year-old pride was wounded, and I demanded to know who it was so I could avenge myself. She would not tell me, only saying that I was a savage and that she would rather die than remain my wife before locking herself in here. I left to continue the wedding feast, and when I came back for the bedding ceremony, I found her hanging from the beams.”

“Oh, Robbie,” she said, her heart in her eyes. It was clear she was horrified, but he didn’t know why. “Robert MacGillivray, I would never do that to you! You are my husband, the only man to know me. I will not willingly leave you, ever.”

He saw the truth in her eyes and hugged her close. “Please, find somewhere else to let your anger abate. I promise you have nothing to fear from me, except that I might pounce on you and love you until neither of us can walk. Just do not lock me out again,” he pleaded.

Jocelyn nodded and let her head drop back to his chest. “I should go and check on Will,” she said finally, even as she snuggled closer to his side.

“Nay, he is well. I saw him before I came to you. Rest and go to him in the morning,” he said, tightening his grip on her to prevent her from leaving.

Grinning widely, she spread tiny kisses over his abdomen, stopping to nip lightly at the joint where his hip met his thigh. Robbie groaned and yanked her up, seeing the lust sparkle in her eyes. “God’s blood, woman,” he exclaimed as he rolled her under him and thrust into her. “You will kill me.”

“And you will be a very happy dead man,” she said on a giggle.

“Aye,” he agreed as he loved her into the night.

* * * *

Jocelyn sat at Will’s side, waiting for him to open his eyes. Sarah had wakened her in the middle of the night when she realized the fever was upon him again. They had spent hours wiping him down with cold water, Robbie and Jamie hovering behind them and helping when they could. Finally, somewhere around the noon meal, his fever had broken, and he slept comfortably. Jocelyn had dismissed Sarah, telling her to get some rest.

She gazed at her brother-in-law and wondered how much more the poor man’s body could take. He was losing weight rapidly, and his handsome face was gray and haggard. His lips were chapped from the fever, and though the sweat had been cleaned off by his cold sponge baths, his long black hair was lank with perspiration and dirt. Men rarely survived the fever the second time around, and that he had was a testament to how strong he really was.

“Water,” Will murmured in a raspy whisper, his eyes cracking open.

Jocelyn held the cup of water to his lips and allowed the cool liquid to run down his throat. “Take it slowly, Will. I do not want you to choke.” When he drained the cup, she refilled it and offered him more.

“Thank you.” He fell back on his pillow. The water seemed to have revived him, and he pushed the cover off his abdomen and inspected the skin of his stomach. It was still blistered, but the edges of the burns were pink and healthy looking. “It itches,” he complained.

Smiling, Jocelyn gently placed a restraining hand on his arm. “Yes, it is starting to heal. Do not scratch at it. I will spread some nice salve onto it to soothe it.” She smoothed the silky salve over his skin to help relieve the irritated flesh.

“Thank you,” he sighed again as he relaxed.

She watched as he glanced at the chair next to his bed. “Sarah is not here?”

“No. I sent her to get some rest. She has rarely left your side since we brought you up here,” Jocelyn replied honestly.

He nodded before closing his eyes again. “I know.” He swallowed a few times. “Might I ask you a question?” he asked.

“Of course,” Jocelyn said, moving her chair closer to the bed so he didn’t have to speak so loudly.

“Is she in love with me?”

Jocelyn eyed him, considering. Normally she wouldn’t get involved in other people’s affairs, but perhaps he needed a little nudge in the right direction. “Aye, I believe she is.”

Will’s startling green eyes opened again and fixed on her seriously. “I have known her almost all my life,” he said. “Jamie and I used to torment her, or try as the case may have been. Sarah and I always had so much in common, and I just assumed we would get married.”

“What happened?” Jocelyn asked curiously.

Shrugging and wincing with the pain the action caused, he struggled to sit up. “We grew up,” he said simply. “I overheard her speaking with her sister one evening. They were talking about what a good match she would be for Colin. I just assumed I should cast my eye elsewhere.”

Memories of her own assumptions about Robbie crowded into her mind. It seemed as if assumptions rarely led people in the right direction. “Whom did you look to?”

Will shook his head and closed his eyes again. “No one caught my eye until recently. I have been contemplating asking Elizabeth for her hand. I am the second son and your son will be laird one day. I have the luxury of marrying whom I want.”

A quiet knock sounded on the doorframe, and they looked over to see the object of Will’s desire standing in the entrance.

Elizabeth was stunningly beautiful, all blonde and blue-eyed. She stood a little taller than Jocelyn’s own height but was still dwarfed by Will’s large frame. Jocelyn had to admit the two would look good together but couldn’t help feel Elizabeth was the wrong woman for Will. She was simple and loose, offering her body to any man willingly. Just the other day she had seen Elizabeth sneaking out of the forest, her clothes and hair mussed and lips swollen.

Sarah, on the other hand, was tall, her eyes level with Will’s nose. She had black hair like Will and white skin. Her eyes flashed the same blue of the sky in the spring, and her chastity was well known by all. Having spent hours with the woman, Jocelyn knew her to be intelligent, kind, and stubborn. She would give anything to be with Will but was willing to settle for friendship if that was all he would offer.

“Is there anything you need, Lady MacGillivray?” Elizabeth asked in her sweet, breathy voice.

“Mayhap you could finish with this salve while I go and stir up another pot? I would ask Sarah, but she really should sleep,” Jocelyn said, glancing at Will. She really didn’t want to leave him, but the cream she needed would be gone at the end of this application.

“Aye, my lady,” Elizabeth breathed as she moved closer to Will’s bed. Will nodded at her once and turned his attention back to Elizabeth.

“Smooth it over his burns carefully. You do not want to tear his flesh,” Jocelyn instructed. “If you need anything, have someone get me in my apothecary. Or fetch Sarah, she knows what to do.” Will caught her hand and squeezed it gently. “We will be fine, Jocelyn. Go, make your salve. God knows it is the only thing that soothes my sore flesh.”

Jocelyn sighed and nodded, glancing one last time at the pair before leaving. Her stomach growled, and she realized abruptly she had missed both the morning and the noon meals. Perhaps she would join Robbie at the high board for supper before mixing another batch of the salve.

Entering the great hall, she saw the meal was just about to be set. Grabbing a couple of trenchers, she added meager portions of the offerings. She shook her head at the skimpy offerings and cursed the Campbells for raiding their crops.

She carefully made her way around the milling crowd and smiled indulgently at the child who clung to her dress. “You are beautiful,” the tiny lad said, flashing his gap-toothed grin.

Jocelyn smiled at him and, balancing both plates on one arm, stroked the top of his golden head with her free hand. “And you, my boy, are going to be the talk of all the lasses. Try not to break too many hearts,” she admonished, seeing a future Jamie in her midst.

“Aye, my lady,” he said before running off to join the other children in a game of chase.

She was still smiling when she reached the high board. She served her husband and his brother before going back to get a trencher for herself. When she finally sat down at her husband’s side, he leaned forward. “You do not need to serve me, loving. That is why we employ maids.”

“I know, husband. I wanted to. Just do not come to expect it,” she warned.

He chuckled and kissed her knuckles. “I am learning to expect the unexpected with you, wife.”

Chapter
15

Robbie glanced around the hall with satisfaction. While they had never lived like pigs, their living conditions had improved drastically since he had married Jocelyn. She had insisted on the removal of ground rushes, saying they attracted vermin. Spills were cleaned immediately, and some of the maids were assigned to scrubbing the floor daily.

What they lacked in food was made up for in other comforts. Sweet-smelling lavender and heather were burned on the fire and covered the sharp smell of male sweat. She’d had a huge wooden tub made, much like the one in their chamber, and had it set behind a screen in the kitchens. A schedule had been drawn up so that every man, woman, and child in the keep could take a bath at least once per week. Robbie had to admit it certainly smelled better in the keep.

His wife was intelligent and taught those willing how to read and write. She showed many of the women how to grow and use herbs. She tended to the sick, cleaned and dressed his warriors’ wounds, and played games with the children. She worked with the cook and even scrubbed floors and walls with the maids. She nursed Will and teased Jamie. Best of all, she came to his bed willingly every night.

Will adored her, Jamie revered her, and he himself was falling more deeply in love with her every day. Every night she came to his bed eagerly, and every morning he woke her with his mouth. She had stopped complaining about the guards, and he rewarded her by taking her to the waterfall often.

Three months passed comfortably and left Robbie to wonder about the challenge he had made with his wife. She had not yet mentioned it, and he certainly did not want to push the issue. He supposed it was possible she had forgotten about it, but he knew her to be smarter than that. He wondered briefly if she had decided he was right but put that thought out of his head. If she had one fault, it was surely that she could not admit when she was wrong. All he could do was wait until she deemed it fit to hold the challenge. It turned out he didn’t have to wait long.

Robbie had stretched out his tired, sore muscles and was contemplating asking his Jocelyn to rub them for him when he noticed the crowd by the hearth in the great hall. As he had just come in from patrolling the borders, he grabbed a hunk of meat sitting on the high board, slapped it between a few slices of cottage loaf, and wandered over to see what the fuss was about.