Chapter 8
Baile had been too busy preparing for the trade agreements to have time to spend with Siusan and Mazey.
They kept themselves busy while he worked through all the delicate intricacies.
Each day brought a new adventure for Siusan, and every day Mazey learned how to better love and care for her charge.
Mazey’s belly was much rounder, but still smaller than she should be.
The baby could make an appearance anytime.
She felt pains she thought must be signs of childbirth, but usually ended as suddenly as they started.
Today, Siusan was in a good mood. Garia let her help make cake, and she was proud of how well they had tasted. Garia had also let her lick the bowl clean. They were back in Baile’s study playing together with dolls.
“No, ye have some cake. Ah want none cause ah got a baby in my belly.” Siusan’s doll was pregnant like Mazey.
Mazey’s doll wasn’t pregnant, according to Siusan. “If ye got a baby in yer belly then ye’ll be extra hungry and ye’ll want all the cake.”
“Aye, ah’m not sharing with ye.” The rock Siusan deemed a ‘spoon’ pulverized the mud cake she made.
“Ah don’t want any. Goodbye!”
Both girls giggled and continued until Baile entered the room.
“Ah have some good news, Nguyen.”
“What is it, Faither?” She bounced up and down on her toes like she did every time she was excited about something.
“Yer sister could get time to come back home. She’ll be staying here for a while with her new husband Oidche.”
Siusan squealed so loud, both Baile and Mazey put their hands to their ears to preserve their hearing.
“Can ah sleep in her room?” Siusan asked excitedly.
Baile and Mazey exchanged a look that Siusan still wouldn’t understand. “Nay child, she’s wed now. She’ll stay with her husband.”
Siusan’s face fell, and she looked sad for half a moment before getting excited again. “Ah’m gonna go pick her flowers.”
She ran out of the room, leaving Baile and Mazey alone. Mazey should have chased her out of the room, but she was so tired lately, and Siusan knew better than to leave the keep by herself.
“How are ye fairin’, lass?” Baile moved closer to her.
She felt her mind go fuzzy with his proximity. It was almost like the closer he got, the harder it was for her to think and reason. “Um, good.” The light shadow of hair growing on his chin distracted her. It gave him a rugged look. He shaved his beard this past week.
“Ah’m sorry ah have had little time for ye and Siusan. Ah’ll be less busy once these talks are over with.”
“Ye don’t owe me anything,” she said looking at the floor.
Baile stepped in closer and she looked into his steely blue eyes. “Aye, ah don’t, but ah want to give ye my time.”
His lips were on hers in an instant. His arms locked around her waist and pulled her body in tight to his.
He kissed her passionately, but she could sense him holding himself back still.
He reserved something, and her wandering mind wondered why.
She felt pleasure ripple through her as his hand moved up and down her back.
The door creaked open, and they both jumped away from each other to look in the doorway. Siusan stood with a smirky half smile on her face and a bunch of flowers in her hand. She said nothing, but shut the door and left.
Mazey took a deep breath, trying to clear her head. She needed to slow her heart rate down, go find the child and make her promise never to tell anyone what she saw. The last thing she needed was for the clan chief’s reputation to suffer right before trade agreements.
“It’s all right, Mazey,” Baile said soothingly. He kissed her cheek, gave her a hug and walked over to the door. “Ah’ll check in with ye both tonight. Malmuira should be here later today. Ah think ye both will have some things to catch up on.”
If Baile was referring to the sparks between them, Mazey was absolutely sure she wouldn’t say anything to Malmuira. She would be crazy to hint at it. She walked out looking for Siusan and praying none of this came up while Malmuira was in the keep.
Malmuira didn’t return before Siusan went to bed which made bedtime very difficult. She cried and whined, so excited to see her sister, she was very sure she wouldn’t be able to sleep.
“Ah want to see her. Can ah just stay up a little bit more? Maze! Maze! Ah can’t sleep. Ah’m not tired.” She pulled at Mazey’s sleeve and cried, wiping her tears on the hem of her night dress.
Mazey was firm, but tried to be kind. It was a constant battle to balance the two.
When she was too kind and not firm enough, Siusan tended to find ways to take advantage of Mazey.
When she was too firm, Siusan would be sad most of the day and wouldn’t act like her normal excited self.
“Siusan, we don’t know if she will be in tonight.
The best thing will be to just go to sleep and see if she is here in the morning. Now ye need to sleep.”
“But can ah just stay up a wee bit more? Ah wanna.” Big tears streamed down her cheeks.
The tears made Mazey’s resolve shake, but she knew she needed the sleep. “How bout this, wee’un. When Malmuira gets here, ah’ll wake ye. What do ye think?”
Siusan stopped whining and considered the proposal. “Aye, ah’ll sleep then. But ye have to wake me for Mally.”
Mazey kissed Siusan’s head, smoothed her hair on the pillow and walked away with a smile.
That sweet girl was the cutest bairn she’d ever seen.
Siusan didn’t make another sound, so she left and headed to bed herself.
It wasn’t very late, but she was tired nonetheless.
Baile hadn’t been able to visit with them before bed, and so Mazey entertained Siusan all day without break.
She plopped down on her bed without even pulling her clothes off and fell fast asleep. Her mind wandered through strange dreams.
The door opened and Mazey awoke, alarmed.
It was still dark out, but the moon puddled in the open window.
A floor board creaked and movement in the room alerted her to someone unknown.
Baile appeared before her, his hands streaked with ink from work and his hair tousled.
Soothed, she relaxed. Wait. Why is he here in the dark?
She sat up quickly. “What’re ye doing here so late?” Mazey asked incredulously.
The handsome man said nothing, but climbed onto the bed.
His muscled chest was bare and enticing in the outlines from the moon.
He took her in his arms and laid her back on the bed with ease.
His tongue ran over her lips, then he sucked in her bottom lip.
He tore at her skirts until they moved above her hips, then lifted his kilt and thrust his hard shaft deep inside of her.
She cried out in surprise and pleasure. What made him change his mind?
She grabbed at his back, urging him on. Over and over he rocked until she felt him climax.
Instead of cuddling with her or pleasuring her, he propped himself up on one arm, kissed her gently on the lips and stood.
He fixed his kilt and left without another word.
When stood, she realized she wasn’t actually in bed at all.
She was back at the beach. Baile was handing her something small.
She thought it was a shell, but to her horror it was a baby—the size of her hand, too tiny to live.
She cried out and fell to her knees, cradling the bairn that didn’t survive.
Mazey woke with a start. Her brow dripped in a cold sweat.
The chill night air sent her into shivers.
She climbed under the blanket and wrapped the fabric tight around her shoulders.
The dream seemed so real. Perhaps she should talk to Cohlm.
He had to have some herbs she could take to stop the dreams. This was the third night in a row strange dreams plagued her.
Every night this week Baile haunted her sleeping world.
The dreams were enticing—kissing, family time, sex, trips together.
Everything she hoped for in a husband. She often wanted to return to the dream after waking.
The rest of the night was peaceful, but the dream about Baile stuck with her throughout the next day.
Malmuira arrived, and it was all Siusan could talk about. They spent most of their time together. Malmuira’s maid didn’t accompany them back to Clan Buchanon, so Mazey volunteered to help her. Malmuira was the closest thing she had to a friend.
“Tell me all about yer marriage and yer travels.” Mazey enjoyed a seat by the window that afforded her a view of the garden.
Writing in a book distracted Malmuira. “Not much to tell, really. Oidche is all right. His family treats me well.”
That was vague. Mazey tried again. “Are ye getting to know each other? Does he even want to get to know ye?”
“Mazey, ye realize ah just married him to bring peace to the clans right? There wasn’t any other reason.” Malmuira fidgeted with a thread on her sleeve.
“Aye, ah know, but ah hoped he would be a good man and ye would fall in love.”
“That’s just a tale we heard as little girls. There isn’t love. Not really.” The edge in her voice denoted bitterness.
Mazey frowned at her friend. “Ye know that’s not true.”
Mal looked up, her eyebrows pulled together. Mazey usually wasn’t one to argue, but she couldn’t let her get away with this line of thinking.
“Yer faither and maither were very much in love. Ye told me yerself.”
Her lips pursed together, and she nodded. “They were. Ah don’t think real love happens often.” She left the room without another word. Mazey spent time with Siusan giving Malmuira the space she needed.