Chapter 7 #2
At odds with the intense pleasure that she’d experienced last night, Sloane debated what to do.
What happened between a man and a wife was a private affair and yet, she had no idea what was expected of her.
Maggie MacFarlanes description hardly sounded like what Lachlan was doing to her, but she did mention that there could be pleasure.
That hardly seemed the right word for what she felt last night. She’d felt wanton and lustful, burning in places that she didn’t understand, and he’d known her body better than she did. He’d known just what to do and how it made her feel. It shamed her to think that she had no idea how to respond.
It was clear when she spoke to Maggie that the woman was mortified to talk about the subject, so Sloane decided to seek out the counsel of another. Since she only knew of one other married woman, she searched for Freya to discover the whereabouts of Elspeth.
“Excuse me.” Spying the familiar face of an older woman scrubbing the floor, Sloane hurried over. “I doona mean to interrupt yer work. I am Sloane.”
The older woman sat up and stared at her through narrow slits. “Aye. I know who ye are.”
“Might I have yer name? I am attempting to familiarize myself with the MacFarlane clan.”
“Lydia,” the woman grunted. “Now, leave me. I have the pleasure of cleaning up after yer father and his men. Pigs, the lot of yer people.”
The insult was clearly directed at her and Sloane felt it slap against her, but she chose not to answer. “I am looking for Freya and her friend Elspeth. Would you know their whereabouts?”
“Oh, aye. I know where Freya is,” Lydia said with an odd smile. “She and her friends like to meet by the loch. ’Tis not far. Jest leave the north entrance of the keep and stay straight through the woods. Ye’ll run right into it.”
“Oh, thank ye. I will enjoy the fresh air.” Hoping that she’d made an ally of someone who didn’t hate her, Sloane hurried out of the keep and followed the woman’s direction.
The autumn chill was snapping through the air and she pulled her cloak tight around her.
As Sloane walked, she felt apprehensive about making a new friend.
She wasn’t used to socializing with anyone except servants and hadn’t they told her time and time again that she couldn’t be so open when she spoke to her father and other members of the clan?
Freya was so put-together and beautiful and her mother was so elegant.
That’s how women of the keep should be. What if, when she spoke to Elspeth, she came off looking like a fool?
Suddenly, she realized that her legs were starting to ache. Glancing up at the sky, she gasped in surprise. She’d left in the morn, but the sun was high now and she had to admit that she must have heard the woman wrong. Why would Freya journey several hours away to meet with her friends?
Sighing, Sloane turned around and headed back. Her sense of direction frequently got her lost on her own land, so she was careful to remain in a straight line and keep the slowly setting sun behind her. Finally, it was mid-afternoon when she returned.
Stopping a young man working just outside the grain fields, she gave him a small smile. “Pardon me. My name is Sloane.”
“Aye, Fenton,” he snarled. “I know who ye are.”
Faltering, she cleared her throat. “Aye, well ’tis MacFarlane now.
I was looking for Freya and Elspeth. I was told that they like to visit the loch jest north of here, but it appears I misheard.
Could ye please point me in the right direction?
I have already wasted much of the day and I wouldna like to waste any more. ”
A look of disbelief crossed his face before he threw his head back and laughed. “Aye. Ye did get the information wrong. The loch isna north. ’Tis west.” He pointed behind her. “Follow the path of the sun. Ye willna miss it.”
“Thank ye.” Giving him a relieved smile, she reached out and squeezed his hand. “Might I have yer name? I’d like to get to know the clan better.”
He looked a little uncertain before he shrugged. “’Tis Kirk.”
“Kirk. Thank ye.” Pulling her cloak around her tighter, Sloane turned and hurried toward the direction that Kirk had pointed.
Exhaustion was starting to weigh down on her, and her stomach rumbled.
The sooner she reached Elspeth and Freya, the better.
Perhaps they would have some scraps of food that they could share with her.
The hope to eat brightened her spirits and eased her fears of meeting Elspeth.
It was a near hour before she began to suspect that she wasn’t mishearing the information.
They were deliberately misleading her.
Finding herself in the middle of a field of sheep, Sloane collapsed in near fatigue. Her hunger, now intense since she’d missed both the morning and afternoon meals, was starting to affect her strength and she’d walked the entire day. Her legs were shaking and her body was growing cold.
“I doona think the MacFarlanes are rude,” she admitted to the dingy, puffy beast grazing by her. “I think they are deliberately being cruel because they doona like me, but they doona even know me! What could I have done to offend them?”
The sheep, of course, didn’t answer.
Close to tears but not willing to let anyone see her cry, Sloane struggled to her feet and began the long trek back to the keep. She’d miss supper, but she doubted that anyone would miss her.
She was wrong.
By the time the castle was in her view, darkness had covered the land and torches were dancing in rapid motion as horses rode out in her direction. “Laird,” someone bellowed loudly. “Laird, we have found her!”
When the rider neared, she recognized young Jamie. “What is going on?” she whispered when he stopped short in front of her.
“Going on? Mistress, the Laird has ordered half his warriors out in search of ye. Ye have been missing all day! Ye are limping. Are ye injured?”
Embarrassed, Sloane struggled with what to say. If she admitted the truth, she would have to tell the young guard that some of the clan hated her. It was too humiliating.
“I am not injured. I was… exploring and I got lost. My sense of direction is not all that keen. I lost track of time.”
“Ye lost track of time.” He narrowed his eyes and she could see the suspicion written on his face. “Ye did not notice the afternoon or evening chill?”
“I did not.” A shiver betrayed her and she swallowed the lump in her throat. “If ye will let Lachlan know that a search is not necessary, I will make my way back to the keep.”
“I doona think Lachlan would like that verra much,” he said dryly. Even as he finished speaking, the Laird himself appeared atop a breathtaking midnight stallion. They were riding at full speed and Sloane worried that he would not stop in time. At her flinch, he growled.
Dismounting in one powerful motion, he grabbed her.
“What have ye been doing all day?” he bellowed.
“Are ye hurt? Are ye daft? Did ye not think to tell anyone that ye were missing? Freya has searched the bloody castle from end-to-end. She didna tell me that ye were missing until supper. Have ye any idea how dangerous it is out here? Even the outlying borders are wild!”
Sloane waited patiently for him to calm down before she gave him a smile.
“I didna mean to worry ye. I am fine. As I was explaining to Jamie, I wanted to explore and lost track of time. I didna tell anyone where I was going because I didna believe I would be out so long. This reaction of yers seems extreme.”
“Extreme. Extreme! I’ll show ye extreme.
” With a snarl, he grabbed her and hauled her up on his horse.
When he swung up behind her, he slid an arm around her waist and held her tight.
“Next time ye pull a stunt like this, ye willna need to worry about the lock between our chambers. Ye’ll need to worry about the lock I add to make sure ye doona leave yer room without my permission. ”
She wanted to point out that it was absurd to lock her into her room, but his body vibrated with anger, and she was already mortified by the guards that were surrounding them. Clamping her mouth shut, she decided to wait until she could have a word with her husband in private.