Chapter 15
Eliza could not sleep. Every time she closed her eyes the masked horsemen came crashing out of the trees, and she lay cowering behind the cart, listening to the clashing of blade on blade and the screams of injured and dying men.
Eventually, she rose from bed and began to pace the room.
She walked over to the window, where a huge full moon was tinting the landscape silver.
It looked so serene and so beautiful that she could hardly believe what had gone on down there among the trees.
She could almost convince herself that she had imagined it all, except that there was a patch of Duncan’s blood staining the sleeves of her dress.
It was my fault, she thought. I should have gone home in the carriage, and Duncan would not have had to slow down to protect me. No wonder he is so angry with me. He risked his life for me, and I am absolutely no use to him.
She sighed and turned away from the window, then thought of asking for some Valerian root tea to help her sleep. She was just about to ring for Maisie, but at that moment a timid knock sounded at the door, and as if she had read Eliza’s mind, the maid herself entered.
“I am sorry tae disturb ye, Milady,” she said, her eyes downcast. “But I just heard that the Laird has shut himself in his room an’ willnae even let the healer in tae see him. She has been standin’ outside his door for a good while, but he willnae let her in.”
Eliza felt guilt stab her like a knife through the heart, but then determination came to her rescue. Duncan might not wish to see the healer, but he will have to see her, even if she had to enlist a guard to help her break the door down!
“Thank you, Maisie,” Eliza answered. “I will go and see what I can do.”
After Maisie had helped her put a robe over her nightgown, Eliza dismissed her maid and rushed to Duncan’s room as fast as she could. The healer had obviously given up trying to get in because there was no one waiting there as she reached the door and thumped it with a clenched fist.
“Duncan! Let me in!” she yelled.
When there was no answer, Eliza tried the door handle, and to her great surprise, it opened without resistance.
As soon as she stepped into the room, Duncan emerged from behind a dressing screen, and Eliza spent a few seconds devouring the sight of him.
He was bare-chested, his skin glistening with sweat and his face taut with pain as he held a blood-soaked cloth to his shoulder.
Despite the obvious state of distress he was in, he was a study in masculine beauty.
However, Eliza began to weep again as she realised how close he had come to death.
If the arrow had been a few inches farther down, it would have pierced Duncan’s heart, and she would be to blame.
If only she had not slowed him down, had not invited herself to share a horse that was only meant for one rider—she had been so selfish.
“Eliza…”
Duncan dropped his cloth and came over to her, then cupped her face with one hand, his face a picture of concern and anxiety.
“I’m sorry,” she said, wiping tears away as she spoke.
“This is my fault, I should not have insisted on riding with you. It was silly of me; I slowed you down, and you have every right to be furious with me, so if you would like me to go, I will find a way to pay you back. But I had to ask you to forgive me.”
Duncan smiled down into her dark eyes. “There is nothing to forgive, Eliza. This is not your fault.”
Eliza gazed at him, puzzled. “But you sent me away,” she said.
“Aye, I did,” he admitted, sighing. “I had to. There were too many people watching; the guards, the elders, and worst of all, Iona. I’m sorry, I was in shock, and I wasn’t thinking straight.
And I don’t trust the elders. There is something I have to tell you that I do not wish them to hear, but you need to hear it, Eliza, because despite the fact that we have not known each other for a long time, I trust you. ”
He kissed her softly on her forehead and led her over to a chair by the fireside before pouring them both some wine.
There was a pause while Duncan gathered his thoughts, then he said, “I had a cousin. His name was Malcolm, and he was my mother’s sister’s son.
We were the same age and we were great friends.
He was half-English like me, and we had a lot in common.
I loved him like a brother, and he felt the same about me. ”
Duncan paused again, and Eliza could see the glint of tears in his eyes.
“We went out hunting one day because Malky said that he had seen an old injured stag that needed to be put out of its misery.
But just as we left the castle and went into the trees, we were ambushed by masked men.
They burst out of the trees, waving swords and yelling.
We drew our swords and tried to fight back, but they had the advantage of surprise.
For a moment, we thought we had succeeded when Malky knocked one of the swines off his horse.
The other thug panicked and lost control of his horse. I managed to dismount so I could attack him on foot. But he grabbed me and wrestled me to the ground. We fought until I knocked him unconscious.”
He stopped and closed his eyes, and this time it looked as though he was having great difficulty going on. When he spoke again, his voice was hoarse and hardly audible.
“The other one was still fighting with Malky, but when he saw me, he managed to get away and charged at me with a dirk in his hand, intending to stab me. I could have handled him myself, but Malky threw himself in front of me and took the blow himself. He died instantly. I finished off his attacker, but it didn’t matter… My cousin was dead.”
Again he stopped, and this time Eliza saw tears beginning to leak from his eyes.
“We never found the other murderer, so he is still out there somewhere. But the worst thing of all was that no one except Malky and I knew that I was going out with him. He was not the target.”
Eliza gasped, her eyes widening as realisation hit home. “You mean the attack was meant for you?”
Duncan wiped away her tears with the heel of his hand, and nodded.
“So someone inside the castle betrayed you,” Eliza said, hardly able to get the words out. “And now the same thing happened again, and I was almost responsible for your death because I didn’t ride in the carriage.” Her voice was bitter. “I’m truly sorry, Duncan.”
“No,” he said firmly. “The only people who should be sorry are the men who attacked us. You were not responsible, Eliza.”
There was a brief silence while Eliza digested Duncan's words, then she said, “Let me tend to that wound. I may not be a proper healer, but I have had to patch my sisters up many, many times!”
Eliza sent for Maisie, who brought bandages, a healing salve and some willow bark tea for Duncan’s pain. She left with an almost disbelieving look at Duncan. Perhaps she had never seen a half-naked man before, especially not one as well-made as Duncan, Eliza thought, laughing inwardly.
Eliza washed the wound, then applied the salve and tied the bandage around Duncan’s shoulder, passing it under his arm to secure it. She almost had to force him to drink the tea, which was very bitter, but he consoled himself with a small glass of whisky, which Eliza refused.
“Do you not like our national drink?” he asked with mock outrage.
“Keep it a secret, but no,” Eliza replied, pretending to look around to see if anyone was listening.
She touched the bandage again to make sure that it was secure and in the process accidentally brushed over a sensitive spot, and Duncan winced.
“I’m sorry, I—” She began to apologise, but she never got the chance because Duncan’s lips were suddenly upon hers, caressing them tenderly.
At least, it began that way, then it became deeper, harder, hungrier, until he broke away and said desperately, “I need you so much, Eliza.”
“I need you too,” she replied, her voice husky with desire, then, despite his injured shoulder, Duncan picked Eliza up and laid her tenderly on his bed. He climbed on after her and knelt beside her to untie her robe.
Meanwhile, Eliza undid the belt on his kilt, letting it slide down over his lean hips, and she saw again the shaft of his manhood that had intimidated her so much the first time she laid eyes on it.
But it was not a source of fear any more, but a source of pleasure, and she was desperate to have him inside her.
Duncan followed her gaze and asked, “Are you wondering what you can do for me?”
“Yes,” Eliza admitted. “You gave me so much pleasure last time.”
“I can think of dozens of things,” he breathed, his eyes smouldering with desire. He stepped forward and stripped Eliza’s nightgown off by pulling it over her head, almost tearing it in the process.
Then he took her hand and wrapped it around his shaft, showing her how to move it up and down so that he was gasping with pleasure.
It felt very strange, Eliza thought. The skin on top was as smooth and soft as velvet, but it slid over flesh that was much harder underneath.
Presently, he said, “Take him in your mouth.”
Eliza did as he had instructed and immediately, to her amazement, felt his flesh fill the whole of her mouth. She had no idea he was so big.
“I love to see you obeying me,” he said gruffly.
At first, she had no idea what to do, but Duncan cupped the back of her head and eased her into a gentle back and forward rhythm.
Then she remembered what he had done to the most sensitive parts of her body, and began to suck, lick and gently scrape him with her teeth. When her tongue touched the tip of his shaft, he groaned and pulled out of her.
Alarmed, Eliza asked, “Did I hurt you?”
“God, no,” he replied fervently. “But if you do that for much longer I will not be able to satisfy you, Eliza.”
“Then satisfy me now,” she whispered. “I love to see you obey me.”
Duncan grinned. “I am happy to oblige,” he told her.
This time there was no tenderness. Duncan plunged inside her and thrust with such force and speed that Eliza reached the peak of ecstasy in minutes, and slowly sank into the afterglow wrapped in Duncan’s strong but gentle embrace.
Their lovemaking had been sublime, Eliza thought, but in some ways this was better; lying here nestled in the embrace of the man she loved with his glorious musk in her nostrils, hearing him breathe, feeling the soft warmth of his skin against hers.
This was exactly where she was meant to be. Then she remembered his injury.
“Your shoulder—” she began, concerned as she saw the bandage again.
“Stop worrying, Eliza,” he said softly. “If I was in pain before, I certainly am not now. I have not felt so good for a long, long time. Thank you for looking after me.”
Eliza’s only answer was to nestle deeper into Duncan’s arms and close her eyes. She fell asleep to the sound of his heartbeat in her ears.