He returned to the bed, holding a small leather bundle. “I’ve made something for you,” he said. “I want you to keep this with you at all times.”
“What is it?” I asked, sitting up.
“A knife,” he said, holding it up. It was a miniature of his large bone-handled knife, with its own fitted holster and small belt. Its blade caught a flicker of light. “I’ve sharpened it well. It will inflict a fatal wound if used correctly. I’m going to strap it to your leg, where it’s hidden from view. No one will know you’re armed. Yet you have protection, if you happen to need it.”
Kade strapped the small belt to my thigh just above my knee, cinching it and placing the knife securely in its pouch.
It felt strange to be naked like this, with him, my only adornment a small yet lethal weapon. Yet I didn’t feel uncomfortable. Already, I was adjusting to this closeness, this familiarity. Because I had been given time to get used to him, and because I knew that he would allow me all my hesitations and respect my limits, he’d effectively banished my reservations. I felt no residual fear. His presence offered me only comfort now, and promise. And I felt touched that my husband had prepared this for me. He’d been thinking of me.
Kade leaned over me, and a tiny surge of excitement pricked my intimate places. He withdrew the knife from its small scabbard. He held its sharpened blade in his closed fist and I almost reminded him to be careful. But it occurred to me, of course, who I was speaking to. He hardly needed reminding of such things. Reaching for my hand, Kade placed the handle of the knife in my grasp, wrapping his own hand around mine. The knife’s glinty tip was pointed at him and he placed it against the skin of his side, above his hip and below his ribs. “Here,” he said. “If you are ever threatened in this way, this is where you strike. Gouge deep—and put some effort into it. Muscle is more resilient that you might expect. Up and in. Twist and slice. Like this.” He twisted the knife in our collective grasp to show me the motion. “All right? Show me.”
He let go of my hand, watching me. I mimicked the movement he’d shown me, twisting, gritting my teeth, giving him what I hoped was a look of ferocious menace.
He smiled widely, flashing white teeth. Then he laughed. I thought it strange that I would feel his laughter in my deepest depths, feeding the small excitement that lurked there at the sight of his blatant, rampant desire.
“That’s good,” he said, “although you need to concentrate more on your technique than your scowl. Like this,” he said, holding my hand and jerking the knife in a more forceful thrust as he twisted it in one fluid motion.
He was more satisfied by my second demonstration, and he rose from the bed as he watched me. “Keep practicing when no one’s about.” He pulled on his trews, tucking his massive manhood into place with some difficulty before fastening the ties.
“Husband,” I said, and I couldn’t hide the shyness in my voice, even though, by now, I had little cause for it. “Would you like me to—”
His heated gaze speared me with its intensity, and I paused, not entirely sure how I would articulate my offer. “Aye, wife. I would. But that will have to wait until later. I’m needed below.”
“But your—”
“I’ve been walking around like this since the moment I laid eyes on you, lass. The daily swims, alas, have little effect. I’ll be glad when this month is over,” he said wryly. Then he pulled his tunic over his head, slid on his boots and secured the three weapons belts he always wore, plus an extra one. “And you’ll be well occupied.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
OVERTHENEXTWEEK,Kade kept to his grueling schedule of hunting, working, leading and planning. By the end of the second week he was able to recruit as many as forty-seven men, whom he organized into ten separate hunting parties. Meat was distributed, the choicest cuts going to the men who made the best kills. At least half of each beast was used for drying and salting, to sustain our clan during the winter months. The butcher was a man of importance and would be newly recognized as such. The head gardeners had been relieved of their duties and replaced by younger, keener understudies, led by the Mackenzie gardeners who had come to train them. The Morrison clan, according to Kade, was ridiculously uneducated in the ways of agriculture; our methods were archaic, our equipment lacking.
Late at night, Kade would record the days’ events in detail into one of many leather-bound books he had brought with him in his travel trunks. He sent correspondence to both his brothers every third day, letters that were dispatched by messenger—with generous bribes for quick delivery. I wasn’t invited to see his writings—aside from the letter I had read while he slept—but I was occasionally given brief informationalsnippets when I asked him about a particular detail of his work.
Progress, he said, was slow. A growing number of clansmen were warming to his methods, aye, but the majority preferred the lax, hedonistic traditions instilled in the men by my father and encouraged by Aleck.
Kade returned late to our chambers, usually in a state of exhaustion, dirty and with his weapons stained with blood from one or more duels he had either been challenged to or instigated—these, he would not discuss. He took a swim in the loch behind the manor each day, either in the early morning or late at night; it was a ritual that had been instilled in him by his father, he said, before his memories even began. He seemed pleased that the back entrance easily accessible from our new chambers led directly to the loch’s edge, and even commented that our loch had cool, clear water and a small beach that was unusually sandy. The comment stuck with me since it was the only one I could recall that was even remotely positive about Glenlochie. He spoke of his beloved Kinloch often, and any comparison between the two keeps—and the two clans—was always heavily in favor of all things Mackenzie.
During the days, while Kade was busy hunting, swimming, dueling and training, I began to tackle managing the refurbishments of the manor. The staff, true to their word, carried out all instructions I gave them, with only the occasional grumble. Kade’s very first order of business each morning was to reward any staff member I happened to praise. He asked me to writedown the names each day of those who excelled. He gave these workers meat, most of all, but also promised newly cured furs to those who were able to sustain their newfound work ethic. After a week of this routine, the kitchen workers were all but falling over themselves when I made my appearance each morning, awaiting my instructions and dutifully launching into their tasks.
And so, with much work to be done, my husband and I did not revisit the brief, private moments we had so far shared. For this, I felt both a mild sense of relief and a somewhat more pronounced disappointment. With all the stress of his situation, he had, at times, returned to the hardened warrior I had first seen him as. But now I knew better. Instead of recoiling from him in fear, I was drawn to him. I thought often of the dizzyingly pleasurable effects of his hands...and his mouth. I remembered his astonishing responses tomytouch, the scalding intimacy. But Kade was resolute about keeping his vow to me, seeing his oath as the foundation of trust he was determined to uphold. He knew of my past, that I had been forced into complying with the commands of men under threat and abuse.I will secure your trust if it kills me,he’d said to me.I am nothing like them.
That the vow was difficult for him was obvious and it occurred to me that he kept this somewhat cold distance between us to ensure his own restraint. I didn’t know if he was avoiding me intentionally or if he was merely immersing himself in the work that needed doing. Either way, we did not see much of each other for days onend. Secretly, I counted the hours until our month-long sentence would come to an end.
Nine more days.
I hadn’t even been aware of his late arrival in the night and his early predawn departure this morning. I knew he had been here, though, since the fire was lit. It was a detail he never overlooked. Fire, he said, was life. It was warmth, security, fuel, safety. And he would not have his wife getting cold.
So it was that I dressed by the pleasantly blazing flame, readying myself for my day. I heard a knock at the door, recognizing it instantly, since the knock was immediately followed by several more impatient knocks.
My sisters.
I hadn’t seen them in more than a week, since Kade had moved us into our new wing and appointed me to oversee the staff. My sisters didn’t often venture far from their quarters, and I knew they had been busy preparing for Clementine’s journey to the convent. My lingering resentment over Maisie’s betrayal, too, had kept me away. I had chosen to believe my husband’s assurances. I steeled myself now, however, as she entered my chambers followed closely by Clementine, Lottie and Bonnie.
“Stella!” exclaimed Bonnie. “I have the most outstanding news. You won’t believe it when you hear it.”
“However did you convince Father to allow you to use Mother’s private rooms?” interrupted Maisie. Her eyes were bright with the conflict between us. We both knew of her own treachery and all the sorrowful reasonsbehind it. Once I might have let the matter go, preferring to keep the peace at all costs to myself. But I had grown too attached to my husband to forgive her so easily now.
Bonnie came to me, studying my face as though she hadn’t seen me for some time. “Stella. You look different. You look...more at ease. You look good.”
