Page 20 of The Fierce Highlander

“Minor pain,” she managed to say since it was the truth, pain still lingering in her head.

“You need more rest,” he said and sat beside her, taking her in his arms again to tuck her in the crook of his arm so she could rest her head on his shoulder.

It would have been a dangerous prospect if she were not in pain, for he found he desired his wife far more than he ever thought he would. And if not for her wound, he would consummate their vows here and now.

He silently cursed himself for thinking that. This was no place to seal their vows. It would be a proper bed that he coupled with his wife in, and started their lives as husband and wife.

Leora made sure to tuck her hands in at the sides of her waist so that neither would fall where they shouldn’t and yet to her shock and curiosity, she was curious to see for herself what lay beneath his plaid and if it would bring her nothing but unpleasantness as some women claimed it did or absolute pleasure as Elsie had claimed with delight. She shook her head. Now was not the time for such foolish thoughts.

“Is something wrong? You shake your head,” he said, feeling a tenseness in her body that had not been there previously when he held her.

She spoke the truth. “My mind is cluttered, and I try to clear it.”

“What troubles you?”

“Far too much,” she said.

“Perhaps I can help clear some of it. Tell me,” he urged.

She almost did. It was on the tip of her tongue ready to slip out, to tell him what she thought, how he made her feel, which she did not understand, but she wisely held those words and instead said, “Nay, you cannot for you are the one who clutters my mind the most.”

CHAPTER6

The forest was left with the aftermath of the thunderstorm, raindrops dripping from the trees’ leaves, the ground muddy, and an undeniable freshness in the air. Noble took note of it all while his thoughts lingered on his wife’s words from last night as they continued their journey the next morning. That her mind was cluttered with thoughts of him pleased him. It meant she was not just giving him thought but their marriage as well. He would rather she remain in the marriage willingly rather than having no choice but to do so. And he also wondered if the kiss that almost happened between them last night wasn’t another reason why he cluttered her mind since it was certainly cluttering his.

His wife tensed in his arms, drawing him out of his musings and he surmised the cause when he saw her eyes widen in fright as she stared at the walls of the abbey in the not too far distance. With her terrible experience at Dundren Abbey, he imagined she never wanted to step foot in another abbey again.

“There is nothing to fear, I am with you,” Noble reassured her. “That is Whitehall Abbey, you see. It is run by a group of kind-hearted nuns who are exceptional healers. They offer help and care to those in need and provide healers to Slayer’s clan and Clan Skirling when needed, as well as surrounding crofts. We will rest here tonight and reach Clan Skirling tomorrow.”

Leora’s fear vanished, her immediate thought on a more urgent matter. If the nuns at the abbey provided healing, when necessary, then could any of them have been summoned to Clan Ravinsher since her sister’s arrival and might have met her? She was eager to find out.

She did not share her thoughts with her husband since he would probably warn her against asking questions, and she had no intention of letting anyone stop her.

She did, however, speak the truth to him. “I look forward to a bed rather than the hard ground or a leaky cottage.”

Though her body continued to ache her, and her wound continued to pain her, she had slept well in her husband’s arms last night and did feel refreshed this morning. She had, however, grown tired of the five-day journey, or had it been longer? She was losing track of time since leaving home. She was relieved their destination was finally close at hand.

“Their beds are meant for a single person, but we will make do,” Noble said.

Leora was not ready to share a bed with him, especially after last night. She did not mind being tucked against him as she had been last night and the other nights by the campfire on their travels here. The heat of his body had kept her warm and his presence had kept her nightmares at bay. But something had changed between them last night when she unexpectedly woke and found her lips so close to his and… she almost shook her head but caught herself. She did not want her husband to feel it and question her. While truth was best in starting their marriage, she would not be able to bring herself to tell him that she had an overwhelming urge to kiss him.

She hurried to say, “You can have your own bed and I will have mine,” she said.

“That is not the way it will be. We are wed, and all will know we share a bed.”

The strength of his voice sounded as if he issued a command.

Leora spoke honestly to him. “I am not ready for that.”

He was but Noble chose not to say that. “I have no intentions of consummating our marriage at the abbey, though it will not wait long. I will take no chance that our marriage can be voided, no chance that someone can take you away from me.”

“No chance that you fail at your task for Lord Slayer,” Leora added and saw annoyance spark in his eyes.

“I accepted this task willingly. Lord Slayer did not have to convince me or command me. He left the decision to me. If I did not accept it, it would have been offered to another warrior. I chose to wed you, to have children with you, to live the rest of my days with you.” A smile twitched at the corners of his mouth. “Be grateful it was me who wed you. I heard your sister Elsie was not Cavell’s father’s first choice for a wife. He wanted you for his son.”

“God forbid!” she said and shuddered at the mere thought. “We would have never gotten along. Cavell suits my sister well and I am thrilled that they have fallen in love. Elsie deserves a good man and a good life.”

“And she will have it with Cavell, though it would have never come to be if Elsie had not given him a chance.”

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