Chapter 5
The festivities were still going on outside when Sloane quietly slipped up to her bedchamber.
At first, it had felt inappropriate to take the chamber adjacent to Laird MacFarlane.
Now, it was her place as his wife to be in this chamber and knowing what was about to happen, it felt like the room had developed a life of its own and might even suffocate her now.
Lachlan’s mother had explained, in a gentle voice, what was expected of her tonight.
The pity in the woman’s eyes was enough to embarrass Sloane.
At her age, she should have known such things.
Even beyond tonight, she had no idea what her duties would entail.
Freya had agreed to help and for that, she was grateful, but it was still humiliating that the daughter of a laird had no idea how to act as a laird’s wife.
Freya did things like check up on food preparation and plan events. Who had done that at the Fenton keep? Her mother had died when she was young and her father had never remarried, so who was in charge?
Sloane had no idea. She didn’t even think that someone had to be in charge. In her mind, the servants did everything and answered to no one. How naive she’d been.
There was a knock at the adjoining door. Clutching her stomach, Sloane cleared her throat. She thought Lachlan would still be celebrating, but there would be no one else at the door.
“Come in,” she said in a trembling voice.
The door opened, and Lachlan filled the room.
In sheer size alone, he moved the air as he walked, but there was a certain power that radiated from him as he paced and gazed around the small space.
His handsome face was unreadable, but there was something in his eyes that mimicked the same look his mother had given her.
Pity.
“Sloane, I wanted to have a word with ye before we retire for the evening. Ye did not have much to eat at dinner. Would ye like me to have a tray sent up?”
Just the idea of eating something made her stomach roll, so she shook her head.
He frowned in displeasure but didn’t push the issue.
“I am aware that marriages made to further an alliance are not all that uncommon, however, it was never my intention to wed a stranger. Ye arrived on my lands expecting to attend a funeral and now, yer wed. We have not spent much time getting to know each other.”
“What would ye like to know about me?” she asked nervously as her gaze slid to the bed.
It still unnerved her to learn of what was to happen there tonight.
“I am twenty years of age. I enjoy reading and learning new things. I doona enjoy being in large crowds and in fact, it makes my chest tight, but I will learn because I know that it will be expected of me. When I was seven, I fell down a hill and scarred my leg. When I was…”
Clearing his throat, Lachlan shook his head. “Enough, Sloane. Ye doona need to tell me everything tonight.”
Fearing that she’d angered him, she quickly looked away, but he growled.
“Sloane, please look at me. While I would like to spend some time with ye and get to know ye, I have no intention of doing it tonight. Ye look exhausted. Furthermore, I am sure that, as ye are aware, the consummation of a marriage is an intimate act. We can take that slowly. There are ways to fake what should happen here.”
Maggie had told her that it was tradition to collect the sheets from the marriage bed as proof of consummation. It seemed a humiliating ritual.
Lachlan must have read the expression on her face. With a small smile, he produced a small dirk from his boot and walked over to the bed. When he lifted his tartan, Sloane immediately gasped and whirled around.
“’Tis all right,” he said a few minutes later. “’Tis done.”
Hesitantly looking over her shoulder, Sloane saw the small spots of blood on the sheets. “This is just a nick on my thigh. No one will question it. That doesna mean that I intend to keep my bed empty for long, but I am willing to wait until ye are more comfortable around me.”
“That is… kind of ye,” she said slowly. “But ’tis unnecessary. I have promised my father that I would do my part to uphold the peace and I doona think that fooling our kin is the best way to start.”
Before she could change her mind, she turned her back and reached for the buttons of her dress.
She’d just managed to slip the fabric off her shoulders when she suddenly felt him behind her.
His hands gripped her arms, stopping the dress from falling down, and he pulled her against his body.
There was an unfamiliar hardness pressing against her and the heat flushed her skin.
“Ye surprise me, Sloane,” he whispered softly in her ear. “I was led to believe that ye were timid and delicate, yet here ye are, willing to strip naked right before me.”
His voice was lined with velvet as his breath tickled her ear. The strange tingling that she felt before intensified and she shivered.
“I thought it would please ye.”
“Ye have no idea what ye do to me, do ye?” His lips brushed along the column of her neck.
“I saw ye yesterday when ye were playing in the creek. Ye looked so delighted in the water and ye have no idea the picture that ye painted. I didna want to invade yer privacy, so I went to another spot to bathe, but a question has burned a hole in me, Sloane. Tell me. Did ye remove yer dress and bathe in that water?”
He’d been there watching her? The idea should have terrified her, but it just heated her blood. The air grew heavy around them and she didn’t understand the way her body responded to him.
“I didna bathe,” she whispered. “But my skirts grew heavy with the water, and I feared it might drag me under. I removed it. I didna know that anyone was watching.”
With a groan, Lachlan tightened his grip. “I wouldna have left ye there if ye were in danger, lass. I have dreamed of taking ye in that creek, of seeing your body slick with the water and yer own juices and sliding my tongue over ye until ye screamed.”
“I doona know what that means,” Sloane confessed as she squeezed her eyes shut.
“Nay, but ye will. Slowly, I will introduce ye to the more pleasurable side of marriage, but ye will do it on my terms. Ye are my wife. Doona concern yerself with yer father’s expectations. The only man that ye have to please is me. Do ye understand?”
Mutely, she nodded.
Lachlan grazed his teeth over her delicate skin and darted his tongue over her. The tingling turned into an ache and a throb, and she gasped. Slowly, he pulled the sleeves of her dress back over her shoulders.
“This is costing me tonight, Sloane, but I look forward to watching ye bloom. Goodnight, wife.”
Holding the bosom of her dress against her, she looked up at him and nearly melted under his hot gaze. She had no idea why he was leaving her tonight, but she felt strangely empty as he walked out of the room and closed the door.
Lachlan was in a sour mood the next morning as he rode to the gate of his keep.
Most of that was due to his inability to sleep.
Visions of Sloane unbuttoning her dress and the fabric sliding off her bare shoulders haunted him and he spent the night imagining how sated he’d feel if he’d stayed in her chamber.
Since she had looked just as uncomfortable at breakfast, he hoped that the same thing had kept her up as well.
Lachlan prided himself on his control, but he felt it give last night and it had taken considerable energy to keep from ravishing her.
He had hoped to give her a few weeks to settle herself in her new role as wife.
Now, he wasn’t sure he could give her the day.
At the very least, the other four clans were leaving and that would give him some peace. He’d seen Gair take Freya aside and share some quiet words with her. He had no idea what the Brisbane Laird had said, but Freya no longer glared at Lachlan angrily, so that was something.
“Despite the sad circumstances, I am glad that we got together,” Laird Brodie Donahue said as he clasped Lachlan’s hand. “Although yer wedding was quite a night. I trust that the next time we see each other, it will be under happier circumstances.”
As he led his men out, Cunningham gave him a similar farewell and escorted his men as well.
Gair and Errol both eyed each other and Gair finally urged his horse forward.
“Lachlan, I hope that ye doona mind seeing my face again soon. While I will honor Freya’s mourning period, I do hope to use the time to visit and speak with her. ”
“Aye,” Lachlan agreed. “Just send word of yer arrival. We will always be happy for yer visit.”
Gair led out the Brisbane clan and Lachlan turned to face Errol. “I thought ye might want a word with Sloane before ye left,” Lachlan said quietly. “But I did not see ye tell her goodbye.”
In fact, the entire time that he had hosted the other clans, he hadn’t seen Errol say much of anything to Sloane.
Errol smiled coldly. “There isna any need to say goodbye to my daughter. I intend to visit her soon enough. I want to make sure that she is… pleased with her new place with ye.”
Stiffening, Lachlan gritted his teeth. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell the man that he wasn’t welcome on MacFarlane lands. Every bone in his body was telling him that Errol was responsible for Quinn’s death, but Lachlan was now married into his family. He needed to keep the peace.
“I am sure she is looking forward to yer visit,” Lachlan finally managed as he shook the man’s hand. Ness followed behind Errol and they raised the Fenton banners as soon as they cleared the gate, although it wasn’t necessary until they’d reached the edge of their lands.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Lachlan turned and urged his horse back to the keep. He was surprised to find Blaine waiting for him with a pained look on his face.
“Is there a problem?” Lachlan demanded as he dismounted. One of the stable boys hurried up to walk the stallion back.
“Nay, I jest wanted to let ye know that Kenzy is gone.”