Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

" W hat do ye mean?" Murdoch said, his hands stiffening around the arms of the armchairs as he stared at his father.

All signs of Fergus' usual cheer slipped away. He grimaced, his face contorting to something of agony as he shook his head.

"I didnae want tae believe it, but I cannae avoid it anymore." He sighed and sat back once more. "The feud with the Douglas clan has always been a tense one. The son has recently taken over as laird and the rumors are he is thirsty fer war, fer a chance tae prove himself."

"The Douglas son? He must be only a child," Murdoch muttered, remembering all the tales he'd heard of the Douglas clan over the years.

"Nae yet more than seventeen, surely," Clyde agreed from behind him.

"And nothing more dangerous than a boy who thinks he is a man," Fergus said with world weariness, wriggling his toes in front of the fire. Folding his arms, he stared at those flames. "I've prepared the soldiers fer battle, if it comes tae it, and in the meantime, I am strengthening every part of the clan I can. The council is strong, there are good men there who would advise ye, Murdoch, if something… well, if something were tae happen tae me."

Murdoch sat forward, just as Clyde moved to stand at the side of the chair.

"Father, ye willnae die in war." Murdoch insisted.

"Nae man can say that for certain." Fergus smiled sadly. "Look at me, me boys. I am nae the great warrior I once was. I'm old, fat." He laughed and patted his rounded stomach. "I hold a feast better than I can a sword these days. Nay, I ken I must prepare fer all eventualities. So, ye ask me why I hurry the marriages? This is the reason." Calmly, he looked between Murdoch and Clyde. "Unity makes us stronger. Clyde, by marrying Harper, it unites us in alliance with her father. It will give us more men, if we need them. As for ye, Murdoch. Well, there is nothing that makes a clan stronger than the surety of the line. Once ye produce an heir, people will be more settled."

An heir?

Murdoch imagined it. He saw a boy in his arms, a child to raise and care for. It delighted him, startling so, to think of being a father.

Yet his imagination shifted to how he would create that child. He pictured being in that bed with Eloise again, yet this time, there was nothing between them. Her hands trailed in his hair as his own hands went wandering, lifting one of her legs to reach for her center and listen to her gasp in his ear.

"So, ye have yer answer." Fergus' words brought him out of his thoughts. "The sooner ye are both married, the stronger the clan is."

"I'm so sorry, Father," Murdoch said with a sigh. "I had nae idea the feud had grown so bad."

"There are rumblings, whispers." Fergus grimaced and stared at the fire once more. "It's what a laird must dae, prepare for the worst, so it is what I shall dae. Ye shall see that too, someday, when ye are laird."

"Rather ye than me," Clyde whispered in a low tone and clapped Murdoch on the shoulder. Murdoch sent his brother a look that made him laugh.

"Wish tae swap places?"

"Nae a chance." Clyde returned to leaning on the back of the chair. "I'm happy tae be the younger son. Though I dinnae think I will tell Harper this is the reason the wedding is happening now. She is nervous enough as it is."

"Then ye two must dae something tae distract yer brides." Fergus clapped his hands together, his smile wide as he returned to his old self. "What about a picnic?"

"A picnic?" Murdoch smiled wryly as he gestured to the window behind them. "Ye have seen the weather, have ye nae, Father?"

"A little wind and chill never hurt anyone."

"But a lot does," Clyde added.

"Take yer brides up tae the loch on Fairbanks. Aye, it is a fine place. I took ye two there often when ye were children. Dae ye remember how many times we rode up there with yer mother?"

"Aye, I remember." Murdoch nodded, smiling at the memory of it. Sometimes it was hard to recall things of his mother as she had passed so long ago of sickness, yet the memories of that loch kept her alive, as did the way Fergus talked of her. It was plain from the day she had passed that there would never be another woman for Fergus. Their mother was the love of his life.

"Then take them. Come, come. Let us make the arrangements now." Ever the man of activity, Fergus pulled on his boots and strode toward the door before Murdoch could even think of an answer. He looked up at his brother who shrugged.

"Well, it will make him happy, willnae it?" Clyde asked with a laugh. "Chance fer us tae talk more too, aye?"

"Aye. Very well, we shall dae it." Murdoch stood to follow his brother out of the room. By the time they traipsed through the corridors and down the stairs, following the strange path their father had taken, Fergus had bumped into others to talk to.

Clearly, he had already issued orders for preparations for a picnic, as two guards bustled out of the keep calling for horses and two servants ran in the direction of the kitchens, hitching up their apron-covered skirts in their speed to avoid tripping on their hems. Fergus talked eagerly to Ian and Avery, who stood in the middle of the hallway.

Ian was smiling, happily chatting to Fergus, whereas Avery's arms were folded, and he looked around the room with plain suspicion.

"Ye are jesting with me, surely?" Fergus laughed as Murdoch and Clyde approached behind him. Murdoch increased his pace, fearing what it was that Ian was talking so eagerly to Fergus of.

"Nae, I dinnae jest about this." Ian laughed. "None of us had any idea that they were betrothed. We didnae even realize they were courting."

"Amazing, as Eloise is my sister," Avery muttered in a low tone, his glare settling on Murdoch once more.

Nay. This could make Fergus suspicious!

"Yet the two of them are so close," Fergus observed. "Ye mean tae say ye had nae idea?" he asked, looking between the two men who shook their heads.

My father is nae fool. If he hears enough, he could figure out the truth of the matter.

Murdoch ran the last distance across the keep hall to reach his father and took Fergus' shoulder.

"What's all this?" he asked, determined to change the conversation. "Ye telling them about the ride tae the loch, Father?"

"Oh, aye, aye, that is a good idea." Fergus smiled, fortunately, distracted by the words. "Murdoch and Clyde are tae take their brides fer a ride up tae the loch at Fairbanks today. Why dinnae ye two join with yer wives? It is a fine chance tae see the beauties of this clan."

"I havenae traveled so far north before, so I'd be happy tae see more of it," Ian said without hesitation, smiling as he often did.

Avery did not look so eager to agree. He appeared distracted, staring at Murdoch a little too hard with his head tilted to the side. Murdoch felt watched, as if a peregrine falcon had dropped down out of the sky and sat staring at him, only occasionally blinking in wonder.

"Avery?" Murdoch said, trying to get his attention fixed on the idea of the picnic. "Will ye and Callie join us?"

"Mention a ride tae Callie and ye'll be hard pressed tae dissuade her from joining ye. Aye, we'll be there." Avery stepped forward to draw level with Murdoch. "I am eager tae see how ye and my sister are together, after all."

Murdoch sighed as Avery walked off to find Callie. Last night, the dance and Murdoch carrying Eloise away was clearly not enough to prove to Avery that there was something between them.

We shall have tae continue this act and make it even more convincing than before if we are tae avoid Eloise's secret coming out. What would Avery say, I wonder?

Murdoch was shaken by the need to protect Eloise's secrets as much as his own.

The scent of soap, tallow, and lavender filled the air as Eloise dropped the soap bar back down to the side of the copper tub and sat back. Resting her head on the lip of the bath, she inhaled deeply, allowing the steam to fill her lungs. The warm water enveloped her completely, soothing any sore spots after dropping to the floor the night before and pretending to faint.

What a night.

Her mind couldn't rest on one thing. She either dwelled on Avery's expression as he had walked into the feasting room and seen here there, sitting beside Murdoch, or she thought of the way that she and Murdoch had played chess for hours, talking and laughing together in the library. For a few minutes in that room, there had been no wall between them, no awkwardness. Everything had been easy, and it was all too easy to drop off to sleep.

She couldn't remember making it back to the bed, but when she'd woken that morning, the pillow wall was still in place.

He didnae disturb it. He kept tae his word.

Rather frustratedly, she had tossed the pillows away herself when she had found she was the only one in bed, and he had already risen.

Oh, in the name of the wee man, why can I nae stop thinking of him?

She plunged her head under the water, praying that the heated water would dispel her thoughts of him. Momentarily, it was a relief, until she thought of Murdoch again, then she thrust her head back through the water.

"This is hopeless," she muttered, wiping the water free of her eyes.

A sound in the chamber drew her attention. Turning her head in the bath, she tried to strain her neck to see around the screen, but it was too vast for her to glimpse beyond.

"Is that ye, Ethel?" she called softly to the maid who had helped to prepare her bath, expecting the maid to appear around the screen, but there was no answer and no sound of running feet toward her.

It must have been in me imagination.

Eloise sat back against the edge of the bath once more and reached for the soap, cleaning her legs that she raised out of the water and dropped back down again. The rich lavender scent filled the air, and she did her best to concentrate on that scent to halt her thoughts of Murdoch.

Little good this is doing me.

That sound came again, of a floorboard creaking beneath someone's foot.

Eloise sat forward, certain that this time she didn't imagine such a sound. It was even more obvious when someone walked into something. Was that a thud? A light tap? Eloise's eyes shot to the screen that covered her.

She strained here ears, praying it was the maid.

The sounds of somebody moving around fell silent.

Eloise felt an anger burning in her gut. She should not be made to feel frightened in what was now considered her own chamber. Placing her hands to the rim of the bath, she pulled herself out of the water and climbed out, reaching for a cloth and hurrying to thread it around her body, to dry the worst of the water. She moved so fast, so haphazardly, that she didn't bother to do the job properly. Her wet tendrils hung down the back of her neck, dripping a puddle behind her, and her wet feet padded fresh marks as she moved to the edge of the screen.

Peering around the edge of the screen, the one closest to the wall, she stared across the chamber. Surely, there had to be someone to have caused those sounds? She saw no one, but the door was open.

Stepping back behind the screen to hide, she breathed deeply.

It is my imagination, aye, that is all. Did I nae wake last night with the feeling I was being watched? My mind is playing tricks on me, I am certain!

That floorboard creaked once more.

Determined to catch whoever it was, Eloise stepped out from behind the screen, her eyes shooting to the far side of the chamber. It was dark, shadowy, for the maid had covered most of the windows so that Eloise could bathe in peace. By the bed, Eloise could just make out someone crouched by the bed.

Is someone trying tae hide under the bed?

Eloise reached for the fireplace behind her, her hand grappling for some weapon. She found the poker and silently lifted it from its place, holding it high in her hands as if it were a sword. It was so heavy, both hands had to grapple with the metal handle, meaning the towel wrapped around her body slipped away, falling to the floor.

Hardly caring, she stepped over the towel, moving through the shadowy room toward the figure at the bottom of the bed She didn't bother to call out anymore, but kept that poker high, ready to strike if she needed to.

Slowly, she crept up the two sets of steps in the room, coming to the highest part of the chamber were the bed rested. The figure had to be tall, for their body was practically bent in half as they scrambled under the bed. They swept away one of the furs that hung down off the mattress, no longer bothering to stay quiet.

Eloise stopped behind the figure, wishing she had opened one of the shutters so she could see more of the man trying to sneak his way under her bed. As she stopped behind him, a floorboard creaked under her own foot.

The figure's head snapped up.

Wait… black hair.

His head appeared in a single shaft of light that peeked through between the shutters. The figure acted fast. He spun around and grabbed her waist. She yelped in shock as the poker was forced from her hand. Flung back onto the bed, the figure pulled himself over her, tossing the poker to the side of the room where it clattered against the floor.

"Murdoch!" Eloise called out just as she felt something pressed to her neck.

"What in the name of the wee man!?" Murdoch cried. He had a blade at her neck, but immediately tossed that away too. It followed the poker, ending up somewhere far away. "What the hell are ye doing sneaking up on a soldier like that with a poker in yer hands? Ye trying tae kill me?"

"It looked like that was what ye were trying tae dae tae me just now."

"I didnae ken it was ye. I acted on instinct when I heard someone creeping up." Murdoch was braced above her, both hands either side of her head. In what little light there was, she could see his face contorted in frustration. "I could have hurt ye, Eloise."

"Ye still have me pinned tae the bed," she reminded him. "I thought ye were an intruder. What were ye doing sneaking around the chamber anyway?"

"Sneaking? What? I just walked into the room and dropped my clan brooch. It rolled under the bed. I didnae even realize ye were in here, and ye…" He stalled, his eyes shooting downward.

Eloise immediately covered her chest, folding her arms across her breast as it struck her like lightning that she was completely bare in front of Murdoch. He could not see her hips nor her center from how he had her pinned, with his knees either side of her, straddling her, but her breasts were completely on show as was much of her skin. She pressed her breasts down, hoping to flatten them from view, but judging by the rising pinkness on Murdoch's cheeks, it didn't help matters.

"Stop staring," she urged as he looked down at her. "Murdoch!"

"Why are ye naked, Eloise?"

"I was having a bath. Dae ye think I go everywhere this bare and wet?"

"Oh God, dinnae use words like that if ye wish me tae behave." His eyes snapped to hers.

"Behave? What in God's name dae ye mean?"

"I mean that ye have said ye will marry me," he leaned down toward her, his face coming increasingly nearer to hers, "and ye are now completely bare beneath me, speaking of being wet. What dae ye think that does tae a man?"

His words sent a thrill through her body. It coiled somewhere in her lower stomach and then shot somewhere even further south. When a rush of wetness pooled between her legs, she started to understand what he meant by her talking of being ‘wet'.

"Then control yerself," she said in challenge, lifting her head up a little with her arms still pressed across her chest. "This isnae an invitation."

"It sure looks like one."

"I thought yer were an intruder. I was ready to strike ye across the head with the poker."

"Aye, I saw that. If I was a maid, ye could have killed me." He shifted his weight to one hand above her and used the other to wave at the room. "Who else would be in here other than a maid or I?"

"I dinnae ken." She shook her head.

"What's all this racket?" a voice called from the doorway.

Eloise shifted her head, trying to peer past Murdoch's strong arm to the doorway. Two shadows were moving toward the open door.