Page 10 of A Plaid Case of Loving Ye
When she was gone, Nicola burst into laughter.
Despite the wailing bairn, Ramsay stared at her. By all the saints, had he thought her beautiful before? When she laughed, her entire face lit up.
“What wasthat? Another holy vow?”
Knowing she was thinking of Sister Mary Epiderma’s unwillingness to utter the letter “H”, Ramsay shook his head. More to clear his own thoughts than to deny her words, but it worked. “Thatwas the result of a head wound, and I thank God daily mine ‘merely’ robbed me of my memory, rather than leaving me rhyming.”
When Nicola gaped toward the door where the nun had disappeared, he began to rub the bairn’s back. “That’s Sister Mary Incontinenta. She was placed here as a child after a fall—she struck her head—left her unable to speak in aught else but rhyming couplets. Sometimes I’ve been impressed by the way her brain finds rhymes, but it can also be bloody annoying.”
Nicola was smiling as she turned back to him. “So, she isnae to be one of my patients?”
He shrugged, the bairn still fussing, gnawing on his fist. “No’ unless she’s as accident-prone as Sister Mary Margarita or Sister Mary Rhubarbara. In the time I’ve been here, they’ve both found themselves in the ward thrice for falls and burns, and once a particularly nasty sparrow attack. Come, I need to get him out on the balcony.”
For certes, as soon as he stepped out of doors, Relic calmed. Would Ramsay ever tire of hearing the contented little sucking noises the bairn made as he sighed peacefully? Sister Mary Incontinenta was right; the bairndidseem most content with Ramsay, and doubly so when they were outside. Hopefully, he was cured of this preference by the time the winter snows arrived.
By that time, ye’ll be gone.
He was planning on leaving within the sennight to go to the King’s court. But the thought of leaving Relic…
What does it matter? Lady Helen is nae kin of yers. If she dies, some local family will raise the bairn, and the sisters will see he grows up strong and loved.
Aye, ‘twas necessary for Ramsay to learn who he was, and for Relic to…to…
He swallowed, watching the wee lad’s eyes flutter close. He didn’twantto leave the bairn, but he had to. Relic would just have to learn to soothe himself, outdoors or not.
“He’s a sweet little one, is he no’?”
The whisper startled him, and Ramsay realized Nicola was at his shoulder, peering down at the now sleeping bairn. Now he knew she was there, her scent surrounded him, teasing his senses.
He shifted, more to settle himself than Relic.
“Aye.” Ramsay moved to lean his unwounded hip against the stone railing some long-ago laird had erected. This position meant Relic would be facing the loch, while Ramsay could face her. “He likes it out here.”
She cocked her head to study the bairn. Nay, not the bairn,him. “And I think Sister Mary Incontinenta was correct—hedoesfind peace with ye.”
Ramsay’s strong forearm—the one which hadn’t been broken earlier this summer in the attack—supported the bairn’s arse, and his other palm spread across the wee back. “Aye,” he agreed again. “I dinnae ken why, but I’ll no’ argue. All the nuns are so busy, and I was just lying about, healing. ‘Twas natural to offer to hold the wee angel when he became fussy.”
That first month had been unbelievablyboringand Relic had been a spot of joy.
“The nuns didn’t leave the bairn with his mother?”
Ah. Ramsay tried to hide his wince by glancing down at the precious bundle at his shoulder. “Lady Helen…refused to have aught to do with him. She birthed him, aye, but…”
He blinked and Nicola was beside him once more, her hand covering his on the bairn’s back, peering into the wee face.
“She rejected him? I’ve heard of it happening in animals, of course, when the offspring is deformed or willnae survive. But such a strong lad…”
‘Twas sad, aye, but Ramsay was distracted by the way the breeze played with the fine strands of red gold wafting about her heart-shaped face. “She had good reason,” he finally said gruffly.
Nicola tilted her face upward to meet his gaze. Both she and Relic were on his right side, the same as his wounded hip, but opposite his broken arm and missing eye. This meant he could see her clearly. See the way her eyes sparked with curiosity and knowledge and, aye, even innocence. See the way her lips parted slightly as she exhaled. See the pulse pounding at the base of her throat.
God’s Wounds, he wanted her. Wanted totasteher. Wanted to prove he was a man, a whole man.
Whoa, calm the fook down. Ye’re just saying that because she was staring at yer cock.
His lips twitched wryly. Aye, that too.
She was still waiting for his explanation, so Ramsay shifted the bairn’s weight. This meant her hand settled more firmly atop his. She didn’t move it.
