Page 83 of The Highlander Who Loved Me

The world tilted. James nearly fell into the steaming water as he whirled around. “Oh, God, Davina, what are ye saying? Are ye with child?”

She tossed her hair aside and regarded him with a faint, mysterious smile. “Perhaps. ’Tis too soon to know fer certain.”

He opened his mouth, shut it, opened it again. “When will ye know?”

“Not fer another week at least.” She cleared her throat. “I shouldn’t have said anything, but I was too excited. Would it please ye to have a child?”

“Aye, but . . .” He had difficulty speaking. “We are only just married.”

She blinked at him. “Aye, and we have spent nearly all of that time in bed together. What did ye think would happen?”

Feeling a bit dizzy, James put a finger to his temple and rubbed. Davina was right. Children were the natural result of all their lovemaking and he was pleased at the idea of having them. He just thought he’d have a bit more time before they arrived, before he would have to share her.

Her expression turned anxious and he felt like a brute for causing her worry. James squared his shoulders and favored her with his most charming grin. “I’ll be happy if ye promise me that our child willnae be as willful and spoiled as Lileas.”

The tension around her eyes eased. “If the babe inherits the McKenna temperament, I cannae do much about the willfulness. But I firmly believe that no one can spoil a child as much as yer brother. Ours will be an angel in comparison.”

James settled himself in the bath. The warm water aided in lessening his shock, helped to clear his head. “Unless it’s a boy. Then I want him to be a real hellion.”

“Saints preserve us!” Davina approached the tub. She picked up a cloth, dipped it in the water, and lathered it with soap. “There is, however, one child that I would like to bring with us. Colin.”

“My page?”

“Aye. I’ve spoken with yer mother and she agrees it’s a good idea.”

James rubbed the stubble on his jaw. “That lad is frightened of his own shadow. I dinnae think he will manage a journey to a strange keep very well.”

“Then we must assure him that he will enjoy this grand adventure.”

James raised a dubious brow. “Won’t his family be insulted that we’ve taken him away from McKenna Castle? They sent him here so that he could be trained by my father.”

Davina ran the soapy cloth over his shoulders and back. “Yer father trained ye as a page and a full year as a squire before he sent ye away. Ye’ll teach the lad as yer father taught ye.”

“Most Highlanders wouldn’t think it’s the same.”

“Colin is a third son. I dinnae think his parents care where he is fostered.”

Davina squeezed the water from the cloth over James’s head, then began washing his hair. Her nimble fingers dug into his skull, massaging his scalp. He closed his eyes and relaxed.

“Are ye certain ye want to take on the responsibility of looking after the lad?” he asked.

“Aye.” Davina lifted a fresh bucket of water and poured it over James’s head. “Yer mother worries about him. The other lads tease him. Colin might do best with us, away from them.”

“Ye’ve a soft heart, Davina McKenna,” he whispered, casting her an approving gaze.

“Aye, well,’tis better than a soft head.”

She laughed and held out a towel. James rose from the tub, dribbling water on the stone floor. He rubbed himself dry, then fastened the towel low on his hips.

Grinning, he approached his wife. Her hands slipped around his waist and she held fast to him. He lowered his mouth to hers. They kissed, sweetly, lovingly.

James’s towel fell to the floor. Yet despite the chill in their bedchamber, he found a most delightful way to chase away the cold, though in truth it made his wife shiver.

A few days later, James and Davina left McKenna Castle. The journey took nearly a fortnight. They traveled with a large contingent of soldiers, wagons overloaded with food, wine, ale, and various household items. The weather remained unpredictable, mild one day, cold and blustery the next.

They were prepared for the chill, erecting sturdy tents each night to ward off the cold. But Davina was shivering when James entered their tent one evening and he hurried to her side. “What’s wrong? Are ye ill?”

“Nay.” Though she tried to prevent it, emotions made her hands shake. “I started my monthly flow this evening.”

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