5. Chapter Four

Lorena slept most of the day. He left the bedchamber in time for the evening meal. The crowd of wedding guests had mostly left for their homes. The only ones still in the great hall were those who had traveled from other clans and were spending the night.

Giles waved him over where he sat speaking with Knox. Craig asked one of the serving girls to bring him an ale. She hurried off, swaying her hips, glancing over her shoulder.

"It looks like ye have an offer there since ye willna be having a wedding night," Knox said as he watched the lass leave the room.

"I am a married mon now, or dinna ye remember the wedding this morning?" Craig asked.

"Aye. But yer wife is sick and ye won't be doing what I'm sure ye had planned." Knox smirked at him as he took a sip of his drink.

Craig shook his head. "I doona take my vows lightly."

Knox leaned back in his chair and studied him. "Ye dinna plan on marrying Lorena."

"Nay, but that doesna give me the right to break those vows I just took."

Knox laid his drink down and studied Craig. "Ye are serious, aye?"

Tired of the conversation, Craig looked over at Giles. "Since we will be stuck here for a while, I plan to make use of the lists. Do ye want to join me?"

Giles nodded. "Aye. Mayhap ye should send a messenger to yer brother so he doesna wonder what happened to ye."

The young maid placed a cup of ale in front of him, leaning over so far her breasts rested on his shoulders. Knox smiled at the lass. "Felina, ye are wasting yer time with this one."

She backed up and when Craig looked behind him to thank her for the ale, she winked. "I hear ye new wife isna feeling so well. So, if ye change ye mind…"

He shook his head and turned to his cousin. "Aye Giles, the list tomorrow first thing." He downed his ale. After some time of speaking with the two men, and ignoring Felina, Craig stood. "I'm off to bed. I might as well save my strength to best ye both in the lists tomorrow."

He strode from the great hall and made his way to Lorena's bedchamber. She was still asleep. He might not have a wedding night as planned, but he sure as hell was not going to sleep on the floor.

After removing his clothing, he made use of the bowl of warm water on the table near the door and washed himself. After using the linen hanging next to the bowl to dry himself, he walked to the bed and looked at his new wife.

A very bonnie lass, he knew naught about her. She was not the most pleasant person when she'd visited his clan when The Gunn was trying to force Robin into the match with her. But from what Robin told him, she'd taken abuse from both her brother and her deceased husband. That would make a lass a tad grouchy, for sure.

He climbed into the bed next to her. The heat coming from her body concerned him. With a sigh, he climbed from the bed and put his clothes back on and headed down to the kitchen.

All was quiet in the room, but there was a man sweeping the floor. "Can ye get me a bowl of cold water?" Craig asked. "And a few linen cloths."

The man handed him a jug. "The creek is no' far from here. Just head north for six or seven furlongs. Ye can't miss it. That's the best cold water yer going to find." He nodded at a stack of linen cloths on a shelf behind Craig. "Yer cloths are there."

After thanking the man, Craig walked to the creek, filled the jug with very cold water. He took a few cloths from the shelf and headed back to the bedchamber.

Lorena was lying very still. He removed the bedcovers and raised her shift, then began to wipe her down with the cool water. Her skin was smooth as silk and soft as a bairn's bottom. His heart began to speed up when he turned her so he could wipe down the back of her legs.

Her bottom was plump and enticing. He needed to get this over with as quickly as possible.

She opened her eyes and frowned. "Who are ye?"

He continued to wipe her down. "I am yer husband."

She shook her head and licked her lips. "Nay, he is dead."

He smiled. "No' this one."

"Avery is dead?"

"Aye."

"Good." She licked her lips again. "May I have some water?"

Craig laid the wet cloth next to the jug on the table near her bed and picked up one of the mugs on a shelf over her looking glass. He poured water into the cup, but it appeared she had fallen back to sleep, but he thought it best to awaken her so she could drink.

It didn't take much to wake her up and turn her over, careful to keep as much of her lovely body covered as possible. He placed the cup next to her lips and with his other hand, cupped her head, lifting her slightly. She drank quickly, and he had to stop her. He pulled the cup away. "Doona take too much at one time."

"I'm thirsty." She looked at him and with her hair all tangled, falling onto her forehead, covering one eye, her shift slipping from her shoulder, and her sleepy-eyed look, he became quite aware of her, not as a wife he'd married to save his brother, but as his woman, who was very desirable. And here it was his wedding night.

There was no point in following those thoughts. ‘Twould be a few days before he could make her his. "I ken ye are lass, but ye must take it easy. Ye doona want it to come back up again."

She nodded and pointed to the cup he held. He put it to her lips again and she drank slower this time. She smiled and wiped her mouth with her hand. "Thank ye."

"Go back to sleep, ‘tis the best thing for ye."

He covered her back up again and after removing his clothes one more time, he crawled into the bed next to her. He laid on his back, his hands tucked behind his head, thinking about this new married state he found himself in.

He hoped—nay expected—not to change much of his life. He would bring her to Dun Ugadale, leave her there and then head out on the next assignment Robin had for him.

After a few minutes of rumination, Lorena rolled over in his direction and pressed her soft breasts against his side.

‘Twould be a long night.

***

Lorena woke from a sound sleep, still feeling hot, but not as bad as the last time she had awoken. Suddenly she realized she was not alone in her bed.

A man's arm was wrapped around her middle.

She looked over her shoulder. The man was Craig. Her husband.

Ach. She'd forgotten that for a moment.

Then as she attempted to pull away from him, she realized he had no clothes on. Naked! Nude! She released his arm that she'd been holding, and pulling her arm forward slammed her elbow back into his middle.

"Fooking hell!" Craig shouted as he released her and pushed himself up onto his elbows, glowering at her. "What the devil did ye do that for?"

"Ye are naked!"

"Aye. ‘Tis how I sleep."

"Why are ye in my bed?"

He ran his fingers through his hair. "I am yer husband."

"I dinna give ye permission to sleep in my bed."

Craig leaned forward until he was nose-to-nose with her. "Where did ye expect me to sleep?"

"Where did ye sleep before?"

"In another room, but since I now have a wife who has a bedchamber, I decided to sleep with her."

He hopped up and strode with absolutely no sense of modesty to the water bowl—her water bowl—and splashed his face with the refreshing liquid. He turned and looked at her, his hands resting on his hips. His slim hips below a muscular chest, and above a…" She licked her lips again.

Craig groaned. "Stop looking at me that way or I'll be back in that bed in a second and I am no' the kind of mon who takes advantage of a sick woman, even if she is my wife."

As he struggled into his breeches, she lay back down, her head pounding. She felt a bit cooler than she had at the wedding breakfast the day before, but her stomach was still queasy, and her bones ached. It didn't stop her from admiring Craig's chest as he slipped into his leine.

His muscles rippled and a light sprinkle of black hair went down the center of his impressive chest, forming an arrow right down to the part of him she'd gotten quite a glimpse of when he was strutting around naked. She took a deep breath and noticed her fever was rising again.

"I'll ask the healer to stop in and see ye. I will be at the lists most of the day."

She frowned. "Why are ye still here?"

"I'm getting dressed."

"Nay, I mean why will ye be at the lists? Why are ye not going home?"

He shook his head as he pulled his boots on. "Ye are too sick to travel, Lorena."

"Aye, but that doesna mean ye can't go home."

He sat on the side of the bed, his clasped hands dangling between his spread knees. "What are ye talking about?" He waved between the two of them. "I ken ye have a fever, buy I'm sure ye remember we got married yesterday."

She huffed. "Aye, I remember. But that doesna mean we have to live together."

"Is that what ye had planned? Is that how yer first marriage went?"

She shook her head. "Nay. I wish it had."

Craig stood and tucked his leine into his breeches. "We are no' living in separate places. I dinna want this marriage any more than ye did, but I'm no' going to deny it by pretending it dinna happen." He reached over and touched his palm to her forehead. "Yer fever is back again. That's most likely why ye're talking nonsense."

She slapped her hands down on the bed on either side of her legs. That had not been a good idea because her headache grew worse. "I'm no' talking nonsense."

After a quick brush of his hair, Craig strode to the door. "I'm sending the healer up to see ye. I will stop by later after I've spent time at the lists."

***

He entered the great hall. Giles sat with Knox again and they were eating bread, cheese, apples and fried meat. He joined them and asked for a mug of apple cider.

"Have too much to drink last night?" Knox asked.

"Nay. I just doona like to drink ale before I hit the lists." Craig reached for bread, butter and the fried meat.

"How is Lorena?" Knox asked as he gulped down a full mug of ale.

"Still sick. Yesterday, the healer said it was sweating sickness. I had it last year, and it could make ye feel miserable for a week or two."

"I assume since the lass canno' travel, that ye'll be staying with us for a while?" Knox asked.

"Aye. The fool lass wanted me to go home." He shook his head. "Where I go my wife goes."

"Lorena doesna like being told what to do, and what no' to do." Knox rested his forearms on the table.

"'Twas time, then, that she learned what a husband says is what she does."

"I doona ken too much because Lorena keeps to herself, but I'm quite sure she had a hard time with Avery when she was married to him. I just ken she was quite happy when she returned here after he died."

"Yet, from what she told Robin yer father was no' much better to her when she lived here."

Knox looked a tad guilty. "Aye, he took his fists to her a few times. I always attempted to stop him, but when he is in a rage, there is no stopping him."

Giles looked from Knox to Craig. "It sounds like the lass has had a hard time of it."

The three men didn't say anything more as they finished their meal. Craig waved over one of the serving lasses. "Can ye ask the healer to look at my wife? She was still warm again this morning."

"Aye, I will ask Bridget to see her."

Knox stood and looked down at the two men. "Are ye ready to have yer arses beat?"

"I'm ready anytime ye are," Craig stood and adjusted his sword. "I look forward to show ye how the MacKays take care of braggarts like ye."

With a hardy laugh they left the great hall and headed to the lists.