CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
E merging from the bushes, clad only in her chemise, Paige watched as Ruben rose up, water running down his bare chest and arms down to the rippling muscles of his belly.
Ruben was nearly naked…or naked. Whatever he had for her, it was hidden beneath the blue waters.
Just the thought of being that near to Ruben naked sent her heart beating rapidly and her breasts tingling.
She swallowed and tried to look away but couldn’t.
She recalled the dark gaze that hovered over her when he pleased her, and she hungered for more of those gazes. More of him.
One corner of his mouth tilted up knowingly.
“Come join me.”
With her arms folded over her chest, furtively hiding her budding nipples, she walked to the edge of the water and dipped one toe in.
It was cool but not nearly as cold as she had expected. Ruben was waiting for her, the water brushing his lower belly. Before she lost what little courage she had, she quickly marched into the water to join him—but her foot slipped on a rock.
Her breath came out in a whoosh when Ruben grabbed her. “I’ve got ye.”
The skin on her neck pebbled where his warm breath grazed her sensitive skin. Her body responded instantly to his touch and she drew in a sharp breath. Out in the open? ‘Tis not ladylike, but oh, I want him!
“How do ye plan on proceedin’?” she asked as she did not know what he planned to do, and it worried her.
“Ye need to ken how to float,” he said. “Even if ye cannae swim, floatin’ may save yer life.”
“I daenae ken how!”
“‘Tis easy. Go limp. Ye simply trust that the water will hold ye up when ye ask it.” In the next heartbeat, he turned her and with his hands braced on her neck and below her knees, urged her on her back. The sudden change of orientation made her grab at his shoulder.
“Relax, lass,” he said. “If ye are as stiff as a board like this, ye will sink to the bottom of the water, never to be seen again.”
“I daenae ken how I can—” she dipped under the water and spluttered in fright.
“And that too is a death sentence. Ye cannae panic, ye’ll drown.” He sighed. “I think this will be a long while for us.”
By the time evening drew on, Paige had much more ease in the water.
Ruben had taught her how to float and how swim using the torrent to her advantage.
She certainly did not mind the underwater caresses and while he fixed her posture and the playful splashes he sent her way only made her enjoy the day more.
Ruben eyed the sky as dusk began creeping in. “It’s time to go back to the castle.”
Paige nodded and waded out to the banks, the chemise now fully soaked through.
As she emerged from the water, she caught sight of Ruben; his hair was dripping, and she couldn’t help but follow a drop of water as it trickled down his chest. She felt a clenching in her stomach as she remembered the way his chest had felt against her.
Flicking her eyes back to his, her face warmed when she saw that he was watching her with an amused smirk.
But the way his eyes darkened as he noticed the way her chemise clung to her body made one thing clear: Ruben wanted her as much as she wanted him.
The children’s concert was happening at a church two villages over. The large kirk was easily thrice the size of the one in Choille Village, its stained glass window sending colored light over the floor.
Two other sets of children had gone already and on the last one, the girls faltered and fumbled their way through the song. Mother Etna’s children were next to take the stage. The children, clad in their best, were fidgeting but Sarah calmed them.
“Ye’ll be fine,” she told them as they stood as headed to the pulpit. Paige did her best to smile comfortingly knowing that despite the outcome of this day, Ruben had a beautiful lunch ready for them as they returned to the orphanage.
Hanna, the lead girl, of about fifteen summers, stood in the middle and started in her high soprano. The other girls joined in the harmony with their voices, while the two boys’ tenors gave contrast to the tune.
Paige was on the edge of her seat as they went through the chorus, finished the last stanza and made it to the end of the song. She shot to her feet, applauding as the children filed from the altar. She hugged a few of the girls who passed by, assuring them they did well before taking her seat.
“They appreciate that,” Ruben murmured from her side. “I ken a lot of the girls look up to ye.”
“That’s good,” she said. “I would like to give them someone to emulate.”
As the fourth set of children took their place, a guard came to Ruben’s side. “I hate to interrupt ye, me laird, but the prisoner ye have kept under watch is awake. Ye said ye wanted to see him as soon he wakes.”
Gritting his jaw, Ruben turned to Paige, who instantly waved him off, “Go on. I will be fine with the children and the nuns.”
He pressed his lips to her hair, behind her left ear. “Be safe. Me men will be with ye all the while and hold unto the daggers.”
As he hurried out of the church, she briefly watched him swing into the saddle before he disappeared. Mother Etna came to sit by her and smiled. “I do believe we have a good chance at winnin’.”
“I think so too,” Paige replied. The last set did an admirable job, but she did not think they outdid her set. The children her heart had claimed as its people. “The children did outstandingly well.”
At the end of the last recital, Paige went to sit with the children and assured them they did well and even if they did not win, they should be proud of themselves. Pulling Nera on her lap, she rocked the child.
One of the priests stood and cleared his throat, “Before we close, I must remind all of ye, children and caretakers alike, that ye have all done very well. With careful consideration and reflection, we are awarding the prize to the children of Choille Village?—”
Paige felt moved to tears and she smiled to Hannah as she went to collect the bag of coins from the priest.
“See,” she nodded to another of the girls. “Ye did very well and nay one should ever tell ye differently. His lairdship and I had every faith in ye. Now, when we return to the village, I have another surprise for ye.”
The day was dying down but Paige still lingered in the backyards of the orphanage. The children loved the lunch, especially the lemon tarts she’d asked the kitchen staff to make for them.
It was time to go home and even without Ruben’s presence; she had enough guards to take her home safely. She finished saying goodbyes to the children, promised the caretakers she would return another day and then hoisted into her saddle as the sun began to set.
“We must hurry, me lady,” one of her guards said, “His lairdship will nae like it if ye are out in nightfall.”
“I ken,” she said she and the three of the men rode off to the north on a quick pace. “I ken he is very taskin’ about safety and nae runnin’ risks one does nae need to run.”
The sky was darkening as they rode hard to the castle, trying to place the encroaching night behind them.
They were nearly halfway there, past the glen, approaching the bend in the road where they would head towards the keep. A rope snapped tight across the road, sending two horses tumbling forward, throwing their riders.
Paige gathered the reins and urged her horse to leap the rope when four men broke out of the bushes, swords out and quickly bloodied. One of the last guards gave a swift slap to her mare’s haunch.
“Ride, me lady!” he screamed as her horse took off in a sharp gallop.
Paige grasped the reins and hunched over the horse’s neck, kept her head down racing back to the keep. Midnight attacks on caravans or isolated assaults were one thing, but to attack a small group in the middle of the day did not bode well.
She turned her head over her shoulder to see the guard fared when a figure emerged from the trees in front of her. The two men had crossbows and in the fleeting seconds, she already saw her fate.
The arrows slammed into the stallion at making the animal crumble and causing Paige to fly off the saddle. The reins slipped through her fingers as she tried to grasp to catch herself. Her eyes clenched hard as she hit the ground hard, slamming her head on the firm ground, temporarily blinding her.
She did not know when someone grabbed the back of her dress and hauled her onto his horse. She didn’t even have time to reach for the daggers in her boot or bag.
“I hope ye are nae too badly off,” a voice said. “He’ll kill me if ye are too injured.”
“Please, stop.” Paige’s voice was little more than a whisper, as she trembled in fear. “I—I need to go home.”
“Ye are going home,” the voice taunted. “Just hold on.”
Striding into the infirmary, Ruben nodded to the two guards outside of the private room and stepped inside to find the man sitting in his bed. The side of his head was mottled with red and murky browns, the sign of healing injuries.
“Speak and I may have mercy on ye,” Ruben demanded. “Tell me who hired ye to abduct me wife and I will not have ye drawn and quartered.”
The man swallowed, “I daenae ken who hired us, Laird McKinnon. The only one who kenned that was Ragar, the man with the scares who ye slew. He was the one who approached us and gave us the coin. He never said who hired him.”
“So ye have nothin’ of worth to tell me,” Ruben spun on his feet. “Take him to the gaol.”
“N-nay nay, laird! Please, spare me life! I—I?—”
“Ye have nothin’ to tell me, so why would I spare yer life?” Ruben asked coldly.
“I—I can tell ye w-where we held the g-girl, Norah, yer sister,” the man swallowed. “I can bet ye that is where they are going to take her too.”
His brows lowered. “Where? How many. Tell me everythin’ and leave out not a word.”
“Before ye slew him, Ragar was going to take yer wife to the cave,” the man said, fear rife in his eyes. “He said the man who hired him wanted her and that he would nae stop until he has her. They are always watching. Chances are, they have her right now.”
Ruben demanded directions. He had to know where to search before he brought all the wrath of the Highlands down on these men. Galan nodded along, keeping careful track of the directions himself.
“MacPherson.” The words rapped out in rhythm with his rapid footsteps as he sprinted for the stables.
“When I am done with him, he’ll be fortunate to find his skin still on his body.
Ye get Elijah and go to the cave, and I will find the men who took Paige.
If anyone harms a hair on her head, they would be better off askin’ the Devil for mercy than me! ”