Page 32 of A Promise of Love

J udith did not have time to be humiliated .

The MacLeod was a busy man, and it was difficult to keep up with him and remember her embarrassment .

She followed him over the track through the moors, trying to match his broad strides, but even so, he would not wait for her.

She found him, finally, stood and waited while he gave the older men instructions on how to care for the newly sheared sheep.

It was important for them to be watched, carefully, for the first few days after their protective coat of fleece was gone.

Parasites could bore within a cut or scrape and the MacLeod was taking no chances on losing any of them.

She and Alisdair skirted the empty weaving shed, but neither spoke of the fact that it was empty, the loom left bare .

Judith followed him to the fishing huts, located some distance away from the main village. The stench of curing fish permeated the air, along with the odor from the huge fields of seaweed spread out to dry .

Each activity was an industry unto itself, each populated by members of the clan, some of whom glared at Judith. The others simply smirked .

The MacLeod was having none of it .

Without seeming to do anything out of the ordinary, he would pull Judith into the circle of his arms, introduce her to people she had not met formally before, and by doing so, announced his message as clearly as if he had signaled a trumpeter .

None of them missed his meaning .

Their eyes would meet the MacLeod’s over Judith's head, or when she turned away. Without a word spoken, his intent was conveyed to every member of his clan .

She was his wife.What you do to her, you do to me .

Some would remember the scene in the cove and wonder at the sight of her now clothed in the crow's dress that hid every inch of skin from their gaze. They would remember the sight of her wrapped around the sturdy length of the MacLeod, but these memories were only indulged in after their laird strode away, his wife struggling to keep up. Still others would recall the scene in the glen, when she’d admitted being an English soldier’s widow.

Those clan members could only wonder at the MacLeod’s actions.

Their criticism was never voiced aloud - there were many people in the glen who owed their survival to Alisdair MacLeod’s efforts .

Judith thought it strange that Fiona was not present. Did she have no duties to perform? When she said as much to Alisdair, he only grinned, wondering if it was jealousy made her eyes sparkle, and turned her blush a deeper rose .

"She is in Inverness, Judith, visiting her aunt. Do you miss her presence ?”

Her look was filled with irritation, a fact which caused Alisdair’s grin to widen .

"I am sorry that you have not become friends," he said, ignoring her question.

He did not want to talk about Fiona's marital state, or in this case, the lack of it.

His kinship with Fiona did not dictate that he was responsible for her morals.

He did not know who Douglas's father was, but he did not condemn her for the child’s illegitimate birth.

In the last few years, other priorities had supplanted the rigid teachings of the Kirk.

As long as they did not include him - although he knew that Fiona wished otherwise - he was not overly concerned as to her plans for the future.

He had no doubt that she would eventually find some eager mate willing to pay for her favors by offering marriage .

"Friends?" Judith looked at him in wonder. How could he be so obtuse ?

He grinned again and could not resist fueling the fire. "She thinks you're a cuif," he said calmly, waiting for the question. It was not long in coming .

"What's a cuif ?"

"A ninny ."

"I'll ninny her," Judith snarled and for the next few minutes, strode angrily in front of the MacLeod. He thought her anger a glorious thing .

She thought him the strangest man she’d ever known .

He could not have protected her more, if he had wrapped her in a blanket and carried her from place to place.

By keeping her with him, he announced their bond.

She was not part of this land, nor was she part of the clan.

Nor, in honesty, did she know if she ever would be.

She belonged to the MacLeod, however, and not only was that message becoming apparent to every member of the clan, it was also becoming very obvious to Judith , also .

She began to wonder about this man who had accepted her into his life with more grace than she had acknowledged her own place in it .

Who was he ?

He was not like her father, whose contempt for her had punctuated her childhood.

She suspected that Alisdair would treat a daughter of his with as much tender care as he lavished on Douglas.

Nor was this new Scots husband of hers like Peter, whose gentleness was only a mask for weakness.

The MacLeod did not claim to be gentle, yet his actions of the past days had proven he was both compassionate and kind.

He was not like Anthony, who had wielded his sword with cruelty and his husbandry of her in the same way.

Yet, the MacLeod had fought in battle, surviving when many had not.

He had yelled and roared at her, but had held her close to comfort her.

He had charm, and wit, and patience, and at the same time could be caustic and surly and unkind .

He had told her she was beautiful .

By dusk, Judith was no closer to understanding him then she had been at dawn.By the time they returned to Tynan, it was turning to night and with night came another problem. What would happen now ?

Alisdair had noted her glances when she'd thought he was not looking.

He'd seen how her brow wrinkled when she was deep in thought and noticed the frown that marred the space above her nose when she was perplexed about something.

It had come as no surprise that her humiliation had dissipated.

It was difficult to feel anything but fatigue after walking for miles across the moors .

Alisdair was not unduly surprised, either, by the sight of her anxiously scanning the skies as if to hold off the night, or her faltering steps as she reluctantly entered the courtyard .

The key to alleviating Judith's fears, he had decided, was the same response he'd had when trying to restore his life after the decimation of his family and his clan.It was impossible to live as he had once lived.

Alisdair had realized, upon returning to Tynan, that the only way to abide with, and accept, his past was to alter the present.

Memories hung like dripping shadows from each room of Tynan and he consciously sought not to replicate them.

He never ventured near those suite of rooms he had once shared with Anne.

He would not sit by the fire in the great hall, as he had so many times with his father and his brother.

He never took his meals in the dining-hall, where they had all supped before, amidst rollicking discussions and fierce debates.

He would not even leave Tynan by the seaside door, much as he had as a young boy .

He would never, consciously, duplicate Judith's past, either. Judith’s horror bloomed in silence, so he would show her that words could cure.

She had feared being punished for her feelings, therefore he would encourage each one of her many and varied emotions.

Whatever had made her uneasy, he would make normal.

Whatever she had known as normal, he would make rare .

It was both a vow and a promise .