Chapter Six
Lindsay opened her eyes to darkness and confusion. She was lying in a comfortable bed, which meant she wasn’t at her uncle’s cottage. Was she home? Had her father come for her? Regardless of where she was, she wished she could remain there despite the great discomfort she was in.
She lay still, trying to decide which part hurt more. Her back was stiff. Her face and head throbbed. Her side felt like fire, but, most of all, she needed to get to a privy. Sitting on the edge of the bed brought stars to her vision. She caught her breath with shallow pants as she took in the room. Enough light came from the moon and the low embers in the hearth for her to recognize it as Shane’s cottage.
“How did I get here?” she whispered to the little dog by her side. Why was she here at night? Where was Shane? The answer to that final question was answered by the slight snore coming from the large lump next to the fire. He was sleeping on the floor while she had taken up his bed.
Touching her face, she felt the swollen, tender bits. Her lip. Her eye. She stood slowly, giving her battered body the time it needed to straighten, but as soon as she was upright, she pushed through the pain to get out the door and behind the nearest bush.
Of course, Treun had followed her and was now coaxing her back in the house by running and looking back at her as if it were a game. She hobbled back to the cottage to find Shane looking at her as if she were a ghost.
“What are ye doing out of bed?” He gestured to the bed where she’d been sleeping.
“I had pressing needs,” she answered and smiled when his cheeks seemed to grow darker. She wished for more light to see better. Was the soldier blushing? She’d seen him look at her. Not leering stares like her uncle but rather with appreciation.
The thought of her uncle brought back an unpleasant memory, and she swayed where she stood.
Shane was quick to put an arm around her waist to support her, and she enjoyed his warmth and closeness. “You should have woken me. I would’ve helped ye.”
She looked around the cottage, noticing the herbs and things that hadn’t been there when last she’d visited. “It appears you’ve already helped me a great deal. How long have I been asleep?” Her mind was muddled, but more memories were coming now. Uncle Randall had come home in his cups and said he wanted to make her his wife. After trying her out first.
She slumped on the edge of the bed, unsure if she could remain standing even with his help.
Shane took the opportunity to guide her back. Her head sank into the soft pillow as he tucked her legs under the blanket.
“You arrived about this time the night before.” She’d slept through the day. In his bed.
Even now, she could smell the scent of him on the bedclothes. Leather, woodsmoke, and the forest where he seemed to spend much of his time.
“Did your uncle do this to you, lass?” he asked, his jaw tense.
What would he do if she told him what happened? A small part of her wanted to see her uncle punished for what he’d done, but not at the cost of Shane’s life. If he killed her uncle, he’d pay the price at the end of a rope.
“Do you promise you’ll not do anything foolish if I tell ye?”
That made a smile pull up on one side of his mouth.
“Aye. I’m not one to be foolish. And I guessed it was him, for the little ones wouldn’t cause this much damage.”
She nodded and remembered poor Robbie. “The boys aren’t monsters. They haven’t been given the chance to be raised with love. I’m worried about them alone with him. Robbie was hurt as well.”
“You see to healing. I’ll take care of the rest. Now tell me what happened.”
“He was drunk. But this is nothing compared to what it could have been. He plans to wed me so he has…a wife.” She swallowed, remembering the vulgar way Randall had said he wanted a wife to warm his bed. “And someone to care for the children.”
Though that would never come to pass, the thought still frightened her. Even if her father didn’t send for her or offer her a reprieve from marrying, she would surely take her chances at the castle before ever allowing her uncle to touch her.
Shane frowned and paced about the room a few times before he came to sit on the bed. His weight on the mattress caused her to roll toward him. “I have something to say to ye, and I want you to sleep on it and give me your answer in the morning.”
She waited silently as he seemed to struggle with this question.
“I think ye should marry me, Lindsay.”
She shook her groggy head. “Marry you?” she asked, wanting to be sure she’d understood correctly.
“Aye. If we married, you would be protected from your uncle. You’d not need to toil away in his cottage. Instead, you would stay here with me.” He paused and ran a hand over the bristle of his chin. “Or wherever else I may go.”
She wanted to ask him about that last part. Where was he thinking to go? But he distracted her by speaking again.
“Don’t answer right now. Go back to sleep and let your mind work things out while ye rest. You’ll have your answer in the morning, and we can’t act on anything tonight anyway.” He tucked the blanket around her and winked. She heard his heavy footsteps as he crossed the room and saw his shadow as he settled back on the floor.
“Rest well, lass.”
That was easy for him to say. She had much to think about. She ran her fingers through Tre’s coarse fur and pondered what to do. How did she want to answer his question? That was the problem. What she wanted to do didn’t align with what she ought to do.
He was offering her yet a third option. To not marry the laird or go home. She could stay here with a kind man she’d come to admire. Her father had promised her to the new MacPherson laird. Her sire wouldn’t be pleased to find her married to a soldier. He’d be angry for sure. And after she’d already broken a previous marriage contract. Would he ever speak to her again? Would she be disowned? But would that matter? She wouldn’t see her parents if she married the MacPherson laird anyway. Still, the thought of displeasing her father didn’t sit well with her. She’d been nothing but a disappointment. Marrying the laird might make him look upon her with pride.
What was she willing to sacrifice for only the chance to win the man’s approval? Surely not the rest of her life, her happiness, her heart. Marrying Shane would mean she wouldn’t have to marry the MacPherson laird. She’d have Shane instead. She’d know his touch and finally understand what happens between men and women in the night. And maybe, most importantly, she’d be shown by a man she cared for. A kind, gentle man with intriguing eyes and a naughty grin, despite the shadows and secrets. Would he ever trust her enough to tell her what still caused him so much pain?
She thought through the things she wanted and didn’t want. She didn’t want to ever see her uncle again. That was first and foremost. She didn’t want to marry the laird. She realized she’d made the man to be a monster in her mind. She didn’t know what he might look like, but his younger brother, the war chief, was called Beast because of his large size, scarred face, and constant sneer. She shivered and then winced when doing so pulled at her sore ribs. Recognizing the things she didn’t want, she focused on the things she did and only had one answer. Shane.
With her mind made up, she drifted off to sleep but was woken a short time later by someone calling for help. She sat up too quickly, thinking she needed to help Robbie, but as the pain faded, she recalled where she was. In Shane’s home. It was Shane calling for help. Was he dreaming of fighting the French, or was his nightmare filled with the flames from his childhood? Either way, she wanted to help him.
“Maria! God, no! Please. Maria.” Her earlier fear turned to soul-shattering agony as she wondered who Maria was.
Struggling with the stiffness of her sore body, she managed to get to her feet, but when she reached the place where Shane slept on the floor, she couldn’t bend over to wake him. A plan came quickly as she went to the small larder and claimed a piece of dried meat. Waving it in front of the dog, she carried it over and dropped it on Shane’s bare chest, where Treun jumped on him to snatch it up. When the treat was gone, she licked the place it had been, which roused Shane from his bad dream.
“What—?”
“You were having a night terror, and I used her to help wake you.”
He closed his eyes a moment while petting the dog. “I guess I should warn you, it is common for me to call out while I’m sleeping. Something to consider as you think over my earlier offer.”
She wanted to tell him she’d already made up her mind, but she wasn’t sure either of them was awake enough for serious conversation. Instead, she shuffled back to the bed and held in a whimper as she pulled herself up on the mattress.
This time, she dreamed of her and Shane at the rock by the river and that near kiss. Only this time the kiss happened. The scene was foggy, as dreams often were when one didn’t know the details.
She woke again, later in the morning. From the bed, she watched Shane go about making their morning meal as he hummed a happy tune. She wondered if his proposal in the dark had been a dream, but when she moved to sit up, the pain in her head proved it had been real.
Shane MacPherson had asked her to marry him, and she was going to accept. It was her only real option, one that at least had some hope of offering a bright future.
Her arranged marriage would have been important for her people, an alliance between clans. Her father wouldn’t be pleased.
…
“You’re awake,” he said with a smile that warmed her to her toes. “Are you hungry?”
“My stomach thinks my throat’s been cut,” she said, making him laugh.
“I’ll bring you something to eat.”
“Nay. I must get up and move around.”
He came to assist her to her feet, and with one arm around her back, he led her around the small cabin so she could work out the stiff parts, Treun quick on her heels.
“The wee one guards ye,” he said of the dog. “If it hadn’t been for her, I might not have known you were lying out there on the path.”
She was moving more easily, but when she attempted to bend to pet her small friend, she realized it was too soon for such things. She sucked in a quick breath, and Shane hurried to support her. She nodded toward the chair. He helped her settle in, but before he’d taken his seat across from her, she blurted out a question.
“Did you ask me to marry you, or did I dream it?” If she had dreamed it, he would now know he inhabited her dreams. But she didn’t have time to be embarrassed, for he nodded.
“Aye. I hoped you would pick me over your scoundrel of an uncle.” He frowned as she shook her head.
“There is no question of who I would pick between the two of you.”
“Then the question is: Will you marry me?”
She studied him for a moment, trying to see if he wanted this as much as she did or if his proposal came only from a sense of protection, but his expression was well guarded, and she looked away knowing little more than she had. It seemed like such a question should take more thought, but answering him was one of the easiest things she’d ever done.
She nodded while catching her sore lip between her teeth briefly. After nodding more vehemently, she answered. “Yes. I’ll marry you.” Whatever happened when her father found out, Lindsay would manage it. But she could not let this opportunity pass her by. She had the chance to find happiness, and maybe someday even love. She couldn’t let it pass.
She hated to disappoint her father, but she thought being with Shane would be worth it. She would have to apologize to Shane eventually for lying about who she was, but for now, she would have this time for herself first.
As Shane’s wife.
…
Shane hadn’t expected the wave of emotions that crashed over him when Lindsay agreed to marry him. The largest being guilt. How dare he move on with another woman after what he’d done to Maria? Because of him, she had died, yet he planned to marry another.
Lindsay didn’t have many choices before her, but he was glad she’d agreed so he could protect her despite having forsaken Maria. He would not fail again. This marriage would not be like his first. He’d not be the eager groom waiting for the priest to declare them man and wife. Yet this wouldn’t be the cold ceremony he’d expected with an arranged wife who didn’t know him well enough to want him, either.
This would be a necessary agreement and friendship. It was the most he had to offer. He would need to apologize for lying about who he was. He’d hope she would adjust to her duties. He remembered the interest he’d received before he’d left. He knew the lasses may have liked the way he looked, but they liked the status he offered even more.
But Lindsay had said yes to him. As far as she knew, he was nothing more than a soldier returned from war. She wasn’t marrying him to become the laird’s wife or to make an alliance. Yes, she was also marrying him for the protection he offered, but he saw the smile on her face and knew it was due to more than just safety. “As soon as ye feel fit to stand, we’ll see it done.”
“Today.” She swallowed and smiled shyly. “If it suits you, I will be ready to marry you today.”
He wasn’t prepared for it to happen so soon. But he understood her haste. Every minute she was unattached was one her uncle could show up and claim her back. As her kin, he’d have the right to take her home. Not that Shane would allow that to happen. Even if it meant claiming his title and giving up his quiet peace in the woods, he would never allow an innocent lass to fall into the hands of such a man.
“Aye. It suits me. But you need more time to heal. I have some things to see to in the village. I’ll help you back to bed to rest before I take my leave.” He did have things to see to in the village before they left. But he also needed a moment to himself, to make sure he could go through with such a commitment.
She frowned. “You will come back, though?” He could guess what she was getting at. If he attacked her uncle, he could be carted off to the dungeon.
“Get some rest. I’ll be back,” he said before he turned to the dog. “You stay here and watch over her.” He slipped out the door and went to find the coward who’d hurt her.