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"Mayhap, but 'twould make me feel better to ken yer no' alone do ye run into difficulties," he said with a shrug and slipped out of the stall to head for the stable doors. He was halfway to them when the stable master stepped inside and then stopped with surprise.
"Oh, m'laird," the man said, then glanced down to the items in his hands and explained, "I was just getting a poultice for the horse that cut her leg yesterday. Did ye wish me to saddle yer--"
The stable master paused abruptly, eyes widening as his gaze lowered back toward the items he carried, but paused on Greer's plaid. He didn't have to look down to know why. He was aware that he was still noticeably excited, his erection poking out the front of his plaid in a most obvious manner. He supposed he should be embarrassed, but wasn't. Life, he had learned, was full of such moments for everyone. There was no sense agonizing over them, so he smiled with amusement and said, "I doubt ye've a saddle to fit that."
The stable master blinked and glanced up with confusion, then seemed to get the joke and grinned. "Nay, m'laird. But I could make one special if ye'd like."
"Reins and a whip might come in more handy," Greer said dryly.
"Aye, for most men I think," the stable master said with amusement. "I might no' be plagued with so many children if I'd had reins and a whip fer me own tarse when I was younger."
Greer chuckled and continued past the man.
"So, ye'll no' be needing yer horse saddled?" the stable master asked, making Greer pause at the door and glance back.
"No' mine, but I'd appreciate it if ye could saddle Alpin's pony. He'll be accompanying Lady Buchanan on a ride."
"Ah." The stable master glanced to where Saidh was caressing her mare's nose in the animal's stall. He then glanced back to Greer's slowly lowering plaid and nodded wisely before meeting his gaze and saying, " 'Tis fer the best it's the boy who joins her, at least until ye've found those reins and a whip."
"That was me thinking too," Greer agreed dryly and then the two men laughed and he turned to stick his head out the door to bellow, "Alpin!"
"A lady does no' climb trees."
"Ye've told me that three times now, lad," Saidh responded dryly, shifting her foot up to the next branch and hauling herself upward.
"Aye, but ye're still doing it, so I thought mayhap ye had no' heard me," Alpin said sharply. When she didn't respond to that, he added, "I could climb up there to pick the apples and throw them down, ye ken."
"Then there would be no one to catch them," Saidh pointed out.
"I was thinking mayhap ye could stay below and catch them, as a lady should," he said, sounding much put upon.
Saidh plucked the apple she'd been climbing to and glanced down to see where the boy was before dropping it in his direction. Once Alpin had caught it, and set it with the others they'd already gathered, she started to climb down and asked, "Just how old are ye, Alpin?"
"Nine," he said proudly.
"Hmmm," she muttered, easing down another branch. "Ye act ninety."
"Laird MacDonnell says the same thing," Alpin announced with disgust.
"Then we are in agreement," Saidh said cheerfully, easing down another branch.
"I suspect the two o' ye would agree on a lot o' things," Alpin said sounding annoyed.
"I suspect yer right," Saidh said with a laugh and jumped to the ground. She took a moment to brush her hands together, then released her skirt from where she'd caught it up and stuck it through her belt for the climb, then beamed at the boy and said, "Is that no' nice?"
"Nay," Alpin assured her heavily. "I'm thinking 'tis a bad thing."
Her eyebrows rose in surprise. "Why is that?"
"Because ye both just go about doing as ye wish with little regard fer how a laird or lady should behave," he said firmly. "Someone needs to take the two o' ye in hand and teach ye-- What the devil are ye doing now?" he interrupted himself to ask with dismay when Saidh moved over to the apples, caught her skirt up and knelt to begin placing the apples in the bag-type affair she'd made of her skirt.
"Gathering the apples we've collected," Saidh answered patiently.
"I can see that, but ye canna ride back like that," he said with dismay.
"Sure I can," she said easily. "I've two hands after all, one to hold me skirt up, the other to hold the reins."
"But ye can no' ride around with yer skirt up like that," he cried.
"I'm wearing braies under me skirt, Alpin," she pointed out dryly.
"I ken that," he said with disgust, "but ye do no' want the whole bailey kenning it. And ye surely can no' be planning to walk through the castle like that too. What if Lady MacDonnell or one o' the servants sees ye?"
She couldn't tell which idea horrified him more, the servants seeing it or Lady MacDonnell. Saidh shook her head. Truly, the boy acted like an old woman. He'd done nothing but nag at her since they'd started out on this ride. She shouldn't ride astride, he'd instructed. What the devil was she doing wearing braies under her gown? That wasn't proper. She shouldn't ride so fast. She shouldn't be jumping boulders or bushes on her mare. She shouldn't climb trees. Truly, Saidh felt sure if she had to listen to his nagging much longer, she might be tempted to kill the lad, and had no idea how Greer had managed not to before now.
Finished collecting the apples, Saidh stood and moved to mount her mare. The action was a bit awkward with only one hand available, but she managed it and then glanced around to see if Alpin was ready. He wasn't. The boy still stood by where the apples had been, hands on hips and glaring fiercely.
"Alpin," she said patiently, "If ye plan to accompany me back to the keep, I suggest ye mount up . . . else I'll leave ye behind."
"A lady should ne'er ride alone. There could be bandits or--hey!" he bellowed, and ran for his horse when Saidh set her mare to start moving.
Laughing, Saidh urged her horse to more speed, uncaring if the boy caught up or not. Really, he was a little pain in the arse and she didn't know how Greer bore it.
That thought brought Greer firmly to mind and Saidh sighed and relaxed in the saddle, unintentionally allowing the mare to drop back to a trot. That man, she thought almost dreamily and shivered as she recalled the pleasure he'd given her in the stables. Her body was still tingling from what he'd done, which she didn't understand at all, because the tingling hadn't lasted as long after that time in the clearing.
Of course, perhaps the dunking in the loch had put an end to it then, she thought now. There had been no cold water to cool her fevered body this time, and not only was it still tingling, she could feel the dampness still between her legs. She even felt more pool there every time she thought of Greer and what he'd done. He'd driven her out of her mind with his talented fingers and God it had felt good.
Although, she thought with a sudden frown, it would have felt better had he kissed her while he was doing it. Saidh had missed his kisses. Without those, it had felt less like something they were doing, more like something he was doing to her, and for some reason that bothered her. Had he enjoyed it at all? she wondered, and then glanced around with a scowl when Alpin rode up beside her and began to lecture, "A lady does not--"
Saidh didn't stick around to hear what she was doing wrong this time, but urged her mare to move faster and rode ahead again. She shouldn't have slowed down anyway, Saidh thought. She had no time to sit about fretting over Greer at the moment. She had to get the apples to Cook.
Saidh had considered what she'd learned from Lady MacDonnell and had come to the conclusion that she needed to talk to her cousin and ask some hard questions. The apples were supposed to help with that. Saidh was hoping if she got the apples to Cook quickly enough, he could make Fenella's favorite dessert, applemoyse, in time for the sup. Because Saidh was hoping that the dessert would disarm her cousin and make her speak more freely when she asked the questions she wanted to.
"Is the meal no' to yer liking?"
At Greer's question, Saidh glanced up from the piece of cheese she had been tearing to shreds and smiled faintly.
"Nay. 'Tis fine. I am just . . ." Shrugging, she set down the remainder of the cheese without saying that she was simply trying to sort out how she was supposed to ask her cousin if she had killed any of her last three husbands, without sounding like that was what she was asking. Saidh was sure if she went charging into the room sounding accusatory Fenella would shut down and refuse to speak to her at all. And she was already at a disadvantage, to her mind, since it had been too late for Cook to make the applemoyse in time for sup when she'd got the apples to him.
"Saidh?" Greer prompted.
"Hmm?" she glanced to him, noted his questioning expression and realized he was waiting for her to finish her answer. Sighing, she shook her head and muttered, "I was just thinking."
