Chapter 15
Shaw awoke with Spring curled up to his chest and his leg thrown over her body. They’d had a wonderful night of lovemaking and he’d never slept so soundly.
“Good mornin’,” he said, kissing her on the nose. She made a sound like the purr of a kitten and talked with her eyes closed.
“I’m no’ ready to get up yet,” she murmured.
“That’s odd, comin’ from the lass who is usually up before the sun.”
Her eyes opened slowly, her big, green orbs reminding him of a curious cat. “I guess I’m changin’,” she said.
“I guess so.” He reached down and kissed her, their lips melding to one. When he pulled away, he saw the corners of her mouth turn up slightly into a smile. He had hoped to make love again before they got out of bed, but the door swung open and in ran Leith and Colina.
“Da, we’re ready to make arrows,” said Colina, stopping in her tracks when she spied them on the bed. Shaw quickly reached down and pulled the blanket up over them to cover their naked bodies.
“Dinna barge into my bedchamber without knockin’ first and waitin’ for me to invite ye in,” he scolded.
“It’s all right,” he heard Spring say, sitting up, holding the blanket to her chest. “Colina, ye and Leith gather up the sticks and meet us in the mews. We’ll need some feathers for the ends of the arrows.”
Shaw held his breath, waiting for his children to react to what they’d just seen but, to his astonishment, they didn’t. Spring had managed to distract them with talk of the arrows.
“Ye get the sticks, I’ll get the feathers,” said Leith to his sister.
“Nay, I want to get the feathers,” argued Colina
“Ye both can do it,” said Spring. “Now hurry. And find Donel and tell him to join us.”
“I’m no’ joinin’ ye!” came a shout from the open door. Shaw looked up to see his eldest son with a horrified look upon his face. “She’s no’ our mathair. I hate ye both!” Donel turned and ran down the hall.
“Donel, get back here!” Shaw started to get up, but Spring stopped him with her hand to his arm.
“Go on and make sure to close the door,” Spring told the younger children in a surprisingly calm voice.
Colina and Leith headed to the door arguing.
“Only take the feathers ye find on the ground. No’ off the birds!” shouted Shaw as they left the room and closed the door behind them.
Spring jumped up as soon as the children left, feeling sorry that they had to see their father in bed with her. She was even more upset that Donel had reacted the way he had. Now he not only hated her but also hated his father.
“I’m no’ goin’ to put up with Donel’s behavior anymore,” said Shaw, climbing out of bed. He headed over to the washstand where Spring was already cleaning up from their lovemaking last night.
“He’s at an age where he’s goin’ to behave like that on occasion,” Spring told him.
“I never acted that way at his age,” grumbled Shaw.
“Ye’ve never walked into a room to find yer faither in bed with a woman who is no’ yer mathair either, have ye?”
“But ye are their mathair now,” he told her.
“I ken,” she said, trying to figure out what to do. “But it’s goin’ to take a while for Donel to accept me.”
“It’s been four years since his mathair died, he’s had long enough,” he told her, splashing water on his face and biting his lip at the cold feeling of it against his skin. “He needs to learn to accept the fact she’s gone and that I’ve got another wife.”
“Dinna ye ever miss yer wife?” she asked him.
“Of course, I do.” He dried his face with a towel.
“I’ll always love her and think about her.
She was the mathair of my children. But life goes on,” he told her.
“If I had been the one to die, I am sure she would have remarried as well. I tried to wait – for the sake of my children. I did wait. But I am done waitin’.
I’ve found ye now and I wouldna have it any other way. ”
“Aye,” she said with a nod, feeling the same way.
But she would never be accepted by Donel.
She felt it in her bones. For some reason, it bothered her more than she thought it would.
It made her want to find a way to make him like her as well.
She went to her trunk and dressed in some fresh clothes since Shaw had ripped hers apart last night.
Then she went over to the window and opened the shutter, seeing Leith and Colina running toward the mews.
She spotted someone else next. Donel. He was headed for the stable and moving at a brisk pace.
He kept looking over his shoulder as he walked.
She had the feeling he was sneaking away somewhere and she needed to find out where.
“I’ll meet ye and the children in a short while,” she said, heading for the door.
“Where are ye goin’?” he asked.
“I have somethin’ I need to do.”
He looked at her and shook his head. “Ye’re no’ goin’ anywhere without me. I told ye that before.”
“Shaw, trust me. I just need to check on somethin’. I’ll be back. I promise.”
She didn’t think he was going to agree, so she hurried back to him and kissed him like she meant it.
“All right,” he finally said with a nod of his head. “But hurry. The children are expectin’ ye to help make the arrows.”
“I will, I promise.” She hurried out the door and started toward the stable.
Heading across the courtyard, she saw Donel atop a horse, speeding away over the drawbridge. She ran into the stable to find Baen talking to the stableboy who was saddling a horse.
“I need to borrow this horse,” she said, hopping up into the saddle before either of them could object.
“Where are ye goin’?” asked Baen.
“I’ll be back.”
“Does Shaw ken ye’re leavin’?”
“He kens,” she said and took off over the drawbridge to follow Donel.
The boy was an experienced rider. With his head start, she soon lost sight of him.
She followed his tracks for a while that headed toward her clan but, when they hit the river, they disappeared.
She spent some time looking for him with no results.
About ready to turn around and go back to Shaw, she stopped when she heard a female giggle.
It came from behind a huge tree down by the river.
After dismounting her horse and tying the reins to a tree, she sneaked forward toward the sound.
As she rounded the tree trunk, she stopped dead in her tracks with her mouth opened wide.
Donel was naked and atop Vika Gunn – a young lass from her own clan.
“Donel?” she said. The boy looked up, horrified. He grabbed his plaid and threw it around him while Vika did the same. “What’s goin’ on?”
“Are ye daft?” he growled, standing up and pulling his plaid around him and fastening his belt. “I’m doin’ the same thing ye and my da were doin’. Does it surprise ye?”
“Aye,” she said, remaining stoic and looking at the girl. “What about ye, Vika? Does yer faither ken ye’re here with one of his enemies?”
“We’ve made an alliance with the Gordons,” said the girl, hurrying to get dressed. “We’re no’ enemies anymore.”
“Then why are ye two hidin’ in secret? I think yer faithers both need to ken about this.”
“Nay!” shouted the girl. “Please, dinna tell him, Spring. I thought ye were my friend.”
“She’s no one’s friend,” snapped Donel. “She’ll tell them. I wouldna put it past her to stab us in the back as soon as we turn around.”
“Is that really what ye think of me?” Her eyes bore into the boy.
“Aye. It is,” he spat. “My faither doesna trust ye and neither do I.”
His words were like a knife to her heart.
“That might have been so at first, but Shaw trusts me now,” she said, feeling guilt gnawing at her gut.
She didn’t think Vika knew the Gunns planned on taking Edinvale Castle.
If so, she would have surely already told Donel and he didn’t seem to know either.
The sound of someone whistling was heard and everyone looked up to see a group of men emerging over the hill. They were in Gunn territory. She could tell by the plaid it was men from her clan.
“It’s my faither,” said Vika, her face turning ashen.
“Dinna worry. I’ll protect ye,” said Donel, pulling his sword from his sheath. Spring had to step in and do something fast. If not, Donel was going to get himself killed.
“Go,” she said to Vika. “Stay to the river and get back to camp. I’ll keep the men occupied so they dinna see ye. Donel, get on yer horse and ride back to the castle as fast as ye can. Do ye understand?”
“Ye – ye’re no’ goin’ to tell them?” Donel asked, shaking his head as if he couldn’t believe it.
“I’ll let ye both tell yer faithers in time. But for now, it’s best if ye leave.”
The two ran off, leaving Spring by herself. She wished she had her bow and arrows right now. The group of men headed toward the creek and she stepped forward to make her presence known. Their heads jerked upward and they all drew their weapons.
From where she was, she could see her brothers, Egil and Bodil, as well as her father. Vika’s father, Dearg, as well as Fergus, and her least favorite man of the clan, Gawl, was with them.
“Put away yer weapons, it’s just me,” Spring called out to them.
“Spring?” Her father looked up and smiled. The men hurried over, sheathing their weapons as they walked. “Tell us, is it time to attack the castle? Can ye manage to open the postern gate and let us in or should we ride in through the front gate?”
“Neither,” she said, nodding to her brothers in a greeting.
“What do ye mean?” he snarled. “Ye are no’ stickin’ to the plan. Ye are there for a purpose or did ye forget?”
“Nay, I didna forget,” she told him. “It’s . . . it’s just no’ the right time yet. I came to tell ye no’ to attack until I give the word.”
“Ye’re stallin’ for some reason,” said Dearg.
“Mayhap yer own daughter has turned traitor on ye,” said Gawl with a sneer.
“Is that true, Spring?” asked her father. When she didn’t answer, her father grabbed her by the hair and twisted it, causing her pain. Still, she didn’t cry out. “If I find out ye are double-crossin’ yer own clan, ye will be verra sorry.”
“Nay! I’m no’ a traitor,” she told him, biting back the pain.