LOCH MORAR, SCOTLAND
The Past
The following morning, as reddish hues slanted across the green rolling hillsides, dappling down through trees, over the crystal waters of the loch, the sun also filtered into the room where Gavin lay awake. It wasn’t the sun that woke him though. The noise that woke him was a familiar sound of his men, what was left of them, having a fit about something in the courtyard below his window. Bits and pieces of their quarrel filtered in his chamber but was too disjointed to make out what was actually being said.
With a slowness of an old feeble man, Gavin rose from bed and steadied his hands on the table at the side. Using the table as a brace until his legs cooperated, he moved along the edge until he was able to grab hold of the windowsill.
Moving the tapestry aside, he looked down.
Muir, Graham and Alec were in a semi-circle with their swords unsheathed, pointing them at a woman. His heart leapt at the sight, for it was not just any woman, but the very one who had been plaguing his dreams.
“Bloody Hell!"
Turning from the window, he made his way across the room as quickly as he could. Stepping out into the hall, he spotted the other lass. The one who was supposed to be his betrothed, still wrapped in the fur he had given her the previous night…asleep.
Not knowing why, he did what he did, he purposefully stepped past her, and then with a shove of his booted foot, jostled her sleeping form until she came awake.
Rather unpleasantly, Paige came awake and looked up at Gavin, who was standing above her with an unreadable look on his face.
“Do you need help?” she asked, sitting up, guessing that was why he woke her so rudely.
“Nay, I do no need any help from ye, lass.”
“Okay,” she said, not sure what his problem was. But she could tell by the look on his face he was none too happy, which, of course, was nothing new these days.
“Is there any particular reason why you woke me?”
Gavin’s brows creased as he took in her dishevelled appearance. And even though her hair was a mess, and dark circles under her eyes, he felt a pull to her. One that he did not welcome one bit. “Aye,” he said. “It is time ye get off the floor and get ta yer chores.”
Paige blinked a few times, thinking at first, he was surely kidding. But when his countenance did not falter, nor did he smile, she knew he was not kidding at all.
He was dead serious.
Trying not to let her temper get the better of her, Paige asked with a hefty amount of sarcasm, “What exactly would you like me to do, Master?”
Gavin pressed his shoulders back, completely oblivious that in truth he was poking the proverbial bear, and that bear was getting quite angry. “Ye can start in my room,” he said, but then added, “Prepare it well, for I will have company later.”
Her eyes boggled at that. And at first, Paige had a hard time forming her next words. “Who, pray tell, might that be?”
“Ye need no worry about that, lass.”
“Let me get this straight,” she began, balling her hands into fists. “You woke me up, to get your room ready so you may entertain another woman in there?”
“Aye,” he said, smiling now. “That is what I said.” He eyed her for a moment more, waiting for her to move. When she didn’t move, he added, “Come lass, time is a wasting.” He held out his hand.
Paige grabbed his hand and let him help her to her feet. Once she was standing, she was very aware of how close they were to each other and the familiar pull that she always had to him kicked into overdrive. And even though she was mad as hell at him, Paige couldn’t stop her betraying body from leaning just a bit closer.
Gavin had no idea why he was dawdling in the hall with the lass when the true woman he loved was outside, surely waiting on bated breath for him to come rescue her from his men. But instead of rushing to do just that, he found suddenly that he was unable to move just yet.
Regardless of how Gavin was feeling, (not that she knew he was feeling anything at all) Paige suddenly felt much better about her little indiscretion with the dark Gavin she had encountered the previous night.
“Laird,” Callum said, breathing heavy from his trip up the stairs. “There is someone here…” he trailed off, cutting his eyes to the lass.
“I know,” Gavin said.
“Och, how do ye know?”
“Makes no never mind, how,” Gavin said, clearly not in the mood to answer his questions. “I am on my way ta see her now.”
Callum got an uncomfortable look on his face and avoided direct eye contact with Paige.
“I will tell her ye will be down directly.”
Before Gavin could respond, Callum took off back the way he had just come.
“Come, lass.”
Gavin took her arm and turned Paige towards his bedroom door.
“Once ye are finished in here, go ta the cook room and try ta make something fer us ta eat, aye?”
Paige jerked her arm from his grasp and stormed off into his room, slamming the door behind her.
Gavin stood there a moment more at odds with himself and did not know why. In the end, he squashed down his apprehension and went downstairs to see the lass of his dreams… or so he thought.