If his rough loving earlier had set her body aflame, then the strange tone of his heartfelt words scarred her heart, and she had to blink back the emotional tears that filled her eyes.
James cleared his throat and made to rise, obviously unsettled by his sudden, affectionate words. Clenching her fingers so he couldn’t slip away, Tosia tugged him back to the bedding. She placed a tender hand on his lightly-furred cheek.
“Thank ye for those words. Ye are a man of war, no’ sweet speech, and they could no’ have come to your tongue easily. And I well understand how ye have taken strides to keep me safe, to ease my move here with ye. I’ll have ye know, I no longer see the Black Douglas when I look upon ye. I see James, a man, my husband whom I am eager to have in my bed. And if anyone took ye from me, I, too, would pine and fight with the same vengeance as the king to have my retribution.”
The side of his lips curled. “Bold words from such a tiny lass, but seeing as how ye tamed the king’s beast, I’d quiver in my boots if ye sought vengeance upon me.” Then he lifted her fingertips to his lips and kissed them. “’Twould seem we are well met, wife. Much to my surprise.”
Tosia’s lips also curled as she gazed upon her husband. “Well met indeed,” she whispered.
James finally stood and assessed the mess of his arms and tunic. “I must wash. The king will want to discuss our next steps, and the next time I come to ye, I should be much more presentable.”
His gaze lingered on hers for several more heartbeats, then he turned and left in search of a water bucket.
Tosia leaned back on her elbows and admired the man as he left. This crazed, violent man who was her dear husband. Then she adjusted her skirts and bodice, trying to salvage what remained of her laces, and rose as well to make herself useful in the kitchens.
Chapter Seventeen: Private Trysts
Tavish healed quickly, and all too soon he was back out in the bailey, training with the king’s men and their squires. James took his vow to Tavish to heart, and when he wasn’t with Tosia or in attendance with the king, he was outside, his practice sword raining blows upon Tavish without mercy.
Tosia was pleased that her brother was coming into his own, finding his place with James and the other soldiers. Yet, at the same time, the sight made her stomach tighten in a hard knot. He didn’t need her anymore, and she’d miss the adoring brother he’d been.
“Are ye ready, lad? If ye are, then we will make certain ye are more than ready for the next time we ride for battle.”
James had stripped to nothing but the plaid that swirled around his thighs as he circled the yard adjacent to the stables. Several of the men abandoned their duties to watch and offer advice to and tease Tavish. The kitchen maids who’d fawned over Tavish for the past sennight also gathered around, their faces alighted at the excitement of watching their present love interest exert his manliness in mock battle.
Tosia stood behind the lassies and cast a cursory glance at her brother who seemed somehow larger and more vibrant after his injury. A crooked smile pulled at her lips — it was obvious to Tosia what the cause of his radiance, and they stood before her, sighing. She bit back a giggle as her gaze shifted from her brother to the powerful dark man striding half-naked around the yard.
“Come on, ye laddie. Ye’ve lazed about the keep long enough. Do ye even recall how to hold a sword?” James taunted, and Tosia bit back another laugh.
The sky was overcast and warm, and a thin sheen of sweat coated James’s back and chest. The dark hair on his head had started to grow back where he’d had it shorn, and the hair on his chest was rich, trailing across his sculpted chest and down the flat planes of his belly. He lifted his sword over his head, and the muscles in his arms flexed and bulged. So much power and strength that he contained, and a dizzying tremor engulfed her. The memory of his words, of belonging to someone, rang in her head and she smiled to herself. This mighty warrior, he belonged to her.
As much as she wanted to keep her eyes fixated on James, it was more his sword, his movements and those of her brother that interested in her. Having been kept busy in the keep and with her own sudden marriage, she hadn’t seen any of her brother’s training. A bit selfish, she hated to admit to herself, but she was here now.
Had she even known that he was receiving any training? What exactly did squires do after all? And in truth, what did James do when he left with the king to do battle with the English? How did he manage to return every time, when so many men had given blood and life for the Scottish cause?
Her interest piqued, Tosia pressed her way into the throng of onlookers to observe the training in action.
