Chapter 7 #3
The men grumbled, but they too were smiling as if taking part in a game Mazey wasn’t privy to.
Baile cleaned some fish and told her what they were.
Some of them would be dried on nets. Some of them were so alien looking, she dare not touch them.
Her favorite was a large long creature that seemed to grow out of its shell.
“they call this a conch, but some men have other names for it if ye catch my drift.”
Mazey rolled her eyes and sighed. Of course they would have other names for it. The limited interactions she had with the other guardsmen told her most men were crude and insufferable. She had to admit, it was a strange animal.
“It’s good to eat. We can stew it up and serve it for supper tonight. Ye’ll want to cook it fresh. The flesh is sweet, salty and melts in yer mouth.”
“Well, do ye know how to cook it right? Ah don’t.” The sheer variety of the catch intimidated Mazey. Most of the fish she bought in the market, when she could afford it, were the same every time.
“Ah do, but ah’m not great at it, so ah’ll talk ye through it and ye can see if it turns out or not.”
He cleaned and cut the conch. She had a pot already on the fire and added the ingredients as Baile told her how to cook the meal.
“Ye have to cook it like this.” He grabbed the handle of the pot and moved it back and forth so the food inside flipped and stirred.
She tried to do that herself and almost spilled it out the side.
“It takes some practice.” He tried to help her, but it was hopeless. She ended up using a spoon to stir the food instead. She scooped up a bite and tasted it. It was light, creamy and refreshing.
“Is it any good?” Baile asked.
She scooped up another spoonful and held it out for him to try. Just before he took a bite, her hand shook, and a drop landed on her wrist.
“Mmmm…” he said with a smile savoring the flavors. He took her hand held it to his lips. While he watched her reaction, he licked the food off of her and then kissed the inside of her wrist.
A shudder tore through her and a warmth spread from her hand.
“Delicious,” he said in a low voice.
Even his voice was intoxicating. He stirred the food again and took the pot off the heat, ladling a scoop for each of them. They sat together around the fire staring out at the sea in contented silence.
“Ye’re pretty when ye are thinking about something. What is yer mind on now, lass?” Baile asked her, twirling his spoon in his fingers over and over.
Mazey wasn’t used to anyone asking her about what she was thinking.
It always seemed to catch her off guard no matter how many times he asked it.
“Just thinking about today and how much fun we all had together. Siusan was a joy and ah think she had more fun than ah’ve ever seen her have. Thank ye for bringing me along.”
Baile reached over and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear.
She dropped her gaze bashfully before she realized what she was doing.
He was looking at her. Mazey saw it then.
That look Gilla had pointed out. His lips pressed against hers.
Then his tongue parted her lips, hesitantly.
She sighed into the kiss. It was gentle and sweet and left her craving more.
He pulled her against him and ran his fingers through her hair.
She breathed faster and her heart pound out a rhythm in her chest she wasn’t used to.
She didn’t know her hands were on him until she had run them through his hair and then tucked them around his back.
She pulled back from him, startled at her response.
She didn’t mean to be so forward. She wasn’t the girl to get gushy over a kiss.
She lost control of her senses as soon as his lips touched hers.
Fear coursed through her. She couldn’t stand having her heart broken again.
If he could make her feel this way with just one kiss—she shuddered to think what he could do with more.
“Did ah do something wrong?” Baile asked. He looked hurt.
“Nay, ye didn’t. Ah just…” She trailed off, unsure what to say.
“Finish talking lass. Ah want to know what is going on with ye. Tell me what ye’re feeling right now.”
His words were so sincere that she poured her heart out to him.
“Ah didn’t know ah could feel that good when someone kissed me.
Ah don’t think my heart could take another beating.
Ah know yer a good man, but what if ye make me fall for ye and then ah lose my place or ye tire of me?
Ah don’t know what ah would do then. And ah still don’t know what to expect.
Ah’ve never been loved properly.” She cried before she knew what was happening and Baile held her in his arms, she vented her fears and frustrations.
“Lass, ye’ve been through a lot in yer life and ah don’t want to add to the grief. Ah haven’t felt this way about a woman since my wife died. But ah don’t want to rush this. Ah know ye need to heal. Ye need to trust again and ah don’t think that will happen quickly.”
“How could ye even desire me?” She cried out. She stepped back. “Ah’m pregnant with a bastard child and widowed.”
Baile took a step closer, but didn’t touch her.
“Ye have to see that in yerself. Ah can’t convince ye that ye’re worth something.
But ah can tell ye what ye offer isn’t wealth.
It has nothing to do with yer child either.
Ah’ve never seen someone so capable of loving another person the way ye do.
And ye’re a joy to be around. Ye play and laugh.
Ye’re childish in the way yer imagination works which is how ah see myself.
Ah enjoy every minutes ah’ve spend with ye and ah want to spend even more with ye. ”
She felt her heart break anew at his words.
Oh, how she wanted them to be true. If she could only believe what he was saying, she could be happy.
But she was hurt too often, and she saw the darker side of life.
She cried again and this time Baile took her in his arms. She mourned the loss of her marriage, not the man that hurt her, but the idea of marriage.
She mourned the baby who died, the life she missed.
She cried until she was all out of tears and her body spent.
Baile led her back to the cottage. The room was pitch black, so he led her by the hand.
Once she laid down, she felt Baile removing her shoes.
Before she could object, Baile was rubbing her feet again.
The sweet man was still trying to make her comfortable and help her sleep.
She felt the tension ease in her body. Feeling more brave, she reached down with one hand and grabbed Baile’s arm.
She pulled him up to her and found his lips with hers.
The thrill of having his body against her was invigorating.
Mazey put one hand in his hair and the other around his waist. He propped himself up with one arm and the other rubbed up and down the side of her body.
He kissed her slow, his body firmly pressed against hers.
His hands strayed down her side, to her thighs and just between them.
She sucked in a breath of anticipation as he caressed her.
She wanted more. She knew how to arouse him.
She propped one knee up and pulled on his hips lightly.
He pressed into her, just as she knew he would. She heard him take in a sharp breath.
His rough voice whispered in her ear. “Lass, ye need some time to heal. Let me hold ye.”
She couldn’t deny the disappointment that flooded through her, but now was not the time or the place to get carried away in their desires. Baile wrapped his strong arms around her and pulled her body in to his. The warmth and safety she felt in his arms lulled her into a sound sleep quickly.
Just before unconsciousness claimed her, she heard him whisper close to her ear, “Ah’ll always take care of ye.”
The next day was much the same as the day before.
Siusan wanted to do all the same things again as if for the first time.
Mazey took great delight in watching her rediscover the fish, shells and tide pools.
The guardsman must have returned late that night, because they slept in late that morning.
Gilla tended to the fire and cleaned up the mess from the night before.
Baile was happy and carefree while at the beach.
His countenance lighter than in all the time she knew him.
They spent the day walking around and exploring the beautiful Scottish ocean side.
“Maze, look!” Siusan said for the hundredth time. She held up a small shell that spiraled in on itself. Inside was a luminant purple that reflected light.
“It’s lovely.”
Baile stopped after a few minutes and picked up a shell he spotted. He smiled as he pulled something out of the shell and stuck it in his pocket.
“What did ye find?” Mazey asked curiously.
He grinned mischievously. “A pretty shell.”
She didn’t believe him as he threw the ‘pretty shell’ over his shoulder and back into the sand, but she didn’t press him further.
“It’s time to be heading back, Siusan. The guardsmen will bring the catch in late again, but we have some fruit and bread to eat.”
Siusan ran back towards the cottage, while Baile and Mazey did their best to keep up with her energy. When they finally reached their destination, the sun was setting again and their time at the beach was almost over.
“We are leaving in the morning,” Baile told Siusan.
She frowned at him and pursed her lips into a big pout. “Ah don’t want to go home. Ah want to stay here.”
Baile laughed genuinely. “As do ah little’un, but we have to take care of our clan. And ah can’t do that from the beach. Would ye like to come back here in the springtime?”