In Bed With A Stranger(18)

Anne forced her stiff fingers to release her chemise. Her hands had  fisted in the fabric but Helen grasped the hem and lifted it away.  Standing up, Anne tried to not dwell on the fact that she was bare. She  really had no idea if she was built for bearing children or not. It was  very possible that the midwife would find her lacking. Noble daughters  were often inspected several times by their own family's midwives before  marriage negotiation progressed. It brought shame to great names when a  bride was found by her husband to have deformities. Even Queen  Elizabeth had been displayed to ambassadors when just a babe because it  was rumored that she was misshapen. As the illegitimate child at  Warwickshire Anne had never seen the midwife. It was quite possible that  her body was not the same as other women. Anne snuck a peek at Helen,  to see what the woman's expression was. Helen was quietly studying her  with a knowledgeable eye. The servant shook her head.

"Stop lingering and worrying. Ye're well put together, nothing at all to fret over." She motioned her forward.

The tub was inviting with its high sides. It was better than standing in  the center of the room at least. The water was warm, delighting her  stiff toes. Helen began pulling the pins from her hair.

"I dinnae ken the English. Men don't care for a woman to tie her hair up. They like it soft and flowing."

Did they? Anne bit her lower lip as she looked down at her breasts. Her  nipples were hard from her anxiety. She studied the pink buttons,  shivering as she considered seeing Brodick's head leaning toward one to  kiss it. Her nipple drew tighter with her thoughts, hardening into a  pink berry.

He'd promised to do that.

"There. Much better. We'll give this a rinse to make it perfect."

Helen moved around, fetching a bar of soap and cloth. The woman was good  at her job, bathing Anne with confident hands. She rang for more water,  catching it in a pitcher before it poured into the tub.         

     



 

"Beware yer eyes, lass."

The water trickled over her head a moment later, drawing a gasp from her  because it was cold. Helen clicked her tongue as she gathered up the  wet mass and applied some soap to it. Using the cloth, Anne scrubbed at  the marks two days of riding had left on her hands. Dirt had made its  way beneath her fingernails and she worked diligently to clean it away.

"Beware."

Anne squeezed her eyes shut as more water landed on her head. Tension  knotted her belly as she felt like a pig being readied for roasting.  Knowing the traditions surrounding marriage had somehow failed to impact  her with just how it must feel to be taken through the steps. There  really wasn't so great a difference between what she was enduring and  what a stable master did before presenting a mare to a stallion.

More precisely, before the mare was mounted.

Her face flamed but the heat didn't remain in her cheeks. It traveled  lower until her breasts were rosy and warm with anticipation. Lust  coiled through her, spreading to every bit of her body. There was a  portion of her that looked on her situation with happiness. At last she  would understand what it was to be a woman.

She had enjoyed those kisses.

She lifted her eyelids and felt her clitoris flicker with excitement.  Heated lust was curling up in her belly, drawing attention to her sex.  There was a hypnotic feel to it, a mesmerizing need that hooked her  attention. The water felt so smooth as it flowed across her skin, almost  as if she'd never taken the time to really feel. All of her senses were  heightened. She smelled the soap; this bar had rosemary oil in it. Her  sense of smell was so keen, she even noticed what the water smelled  like … fresh and full of life. Everything filled her, touching off a storm  of longing. Her lips tingled, craving a kiss.

Brodick's kiss.

His midnight eyes sprang to mind as Helen held out a length of toweling.  Standing up, Anne stepped from the tub trying to banish Brodick from  her thoughts. She still hadn't thought of a way to keep him from her bed  tonight. Dwelling on her lust would certainly be no help. More like a  pixie leading her on to ruin.

Perth

Brodick stewed as he was forced to walk his horse in a zigzag pattern to  allow for the cart to keep up. Agnes didn't ride horses, claiming the  beasts were noble and too fine for her. She was the matriarch of her  village and had been present at his own birth, but only when she was  still a young under-maid of Sterling. Now half of the lowlands snapped  to attention when Agnes spoke.

"Why are ye doing this?" Cullen had lost his teasing tone. His brother kept his own horse under a tight rein near him.

Brodick muttered under his breath, his patience already strained. He  didn't have much left to deal with his own brother thinking him a brute.

"'Tis nae my idea."

Cullen shot him a hard look that cut clean into his temper. Pointing a  finger at his brother, he snarled softly. "Do yerself a favor, Brother,  thank God that ye were nae born first."

With a snort, Brodick turned and let his horse pace a wide circle in the  dirt outside Agnes's home. The stone cottage had dried bundles of herbs  hanging from most of the rafters. Two men were working a sharpening  stone under the eaves. They stood up as he and Cullen rode into view.

Making his bride suffer through an inspection had never crossed his mind  even if it was the custom and in his best interest. Mary's own mother  had a stench attached to her name. One girl child wasn't a very good  reference for her daughter. Marriage was for union  and dowry, but he  would be stuck with Mary as his lawful wife. If she didn't produce  children, he'd never have any legitimate ones.

"I just never figured ye'd be so hard on a little lass."

"This is her idea. Use that head of yers and remember that I was more  than happy to take care of consummating our vows last night. It's my  bride who seems to be unwilling."

Cullen frowned, his features darkening. Most people didn't think he had a  temper but Brodick knew better. Light hair aside, his brother was pure  McJames-fierce and unrelenting.

"Now why would she be wanting an inspection?" Suspicion coated Cullen's  words. "Inspections are done for the groom's family interests. She has  nothing to gain from it and much more to lose."         

     



 

"Except time or the possibility that I'll send her back after hearing what the midwife has to say."

"Will ye?"

"No." Firm and resolute, Brodick shot his brother a determined look. "She stays."

"But at what cost? I'll nae see ye stuck with a wife who isn't going to honor yer union     ."

"Suspicion's an ugly thing, Cullen. Be wary of it." Brodick kept his  voice low to hide the uncertainty in it. He was unsure of his bride and  her attempts to leave him, but he was also very intent on keeping her.

"Does she love another?" Cullen stroked his chin with one hand. "I hear  that the English ladies are marrying for love with the queen too old to  keep them from running amuck."

"I dinnae know." Yet he should have considered it. His bride had been at  the English court for many years. "She wanted me to return her to her  father at court."

"Maybe you should." Cullen sounded dangerous. "Ye dinnae need a discontented wife. She'll turn against ye. Possibly be barren."

Many men would agree with Cullen. A sullen wife often didn't conceive  just to spite her spouse. Everyone knew that a woman controlled her  fertility. Still, the taste of her sweet kiss clung to his lips. He'd  touched something inside of her that was beautiful. She hadn't  complained even once on the journey home, never muttered a cross word  for sleeping on the ground.

"She's nae a spoilt lass."

Cullen nodded, some of his temper fading. "She was pleasant enough on  the way home. I know a few Scottish lasses who would have quarreled with  sleeping on the trail with a bunch of retainers."

"Maybe she's truly afeared that I'll send her back to her father,  disgraced, after bedding her. I hear that happens in England now that  the queen is too old to care."

"I'd have to thrash ye if ye even thought of it."

Brodick grinned, showing his teeth to his sibling. "That's providing ye  could. I hate to remind ye of how ye fail to measure up to my strength."

"But I make up for it in cunning."

"Ye've got that confused with blustering." The men who'd been working  the stone tugged on their hats as they recognized the earl.

"I've a need to fetch Agnes to Sterling."

A moment later the midwife appeared. She still walked straight, even if  her pace was a bit slower these days. Her hair was silver but still hung  in a thick braid down her back. The McJames' plaid was pulled proudly  over her right shoulder and secured with a silver brooch that had been a  gift from his own mother.

"My lord." Her voice was sharp and only a bit graveled by age. "How may I serve you?"

Brodick swung out of his saddle, showing the woman respect by speaking  to her on an equal footing. She lowered her chin as he stepped closer,  acknowledging his title. When he'd been a boy, she'd swatted his ears  when he got into mischief.