Page 11 of Tempted
Kirsty’s hand was at her throat as she saw Beth take both men by the arm. It was not customary for a maid to approach the head table in the great hall, but alarm made Kirsty ignore convention. “My lady, I will accompany ye, wherever it is ye wish tae go.”
Tina looked the woman up and down coldly. “Don’t overstep your bounds, Kirsty. I’m mistress here at Doon at the moment. I don’t believe Lord Carrick would enjoy your forcing yourself upon him. I think perhaps the steward would be a better choice for you.”
“But—but Beth has never been alone wi’ men,” she said angrily, as she watched her charge depart the hall.
“Then it is high time,” Tina said. “There’s safety in numbers, Kirsty. Besides, I don’t really think little Beth will arouse their carnal appetites.”
“Men don’t need much arousin’,” hissed Kirsty.
“Really?” Tina drawled, raising questioning eyebrows. “You must tell me all you know about men—sometime when you have a moment.” Tina waved to Ada at the far end of the hall. It was her way of saying, “Don’t wait up for me!”
Valentina had not ridden a mile’s distance from Doon when Heath met her. He was dressed in soft doeskin breeches and was astride an animal every bit as expensive as Kennedy horseflesh. She whistled her appreciation. “Where did that come from?”
He grinned at her and laid a finger alongside his nose. “Ask no questions, sweeting. You wouldn’t want to know.”
“Could you get me a black mare with Barbary blood?” she asked eagerly.
“That’s a tall order,” he replied.
“But not impossible?” she pressed.
“No, sweetheart, not impossible,” he admitted.
“Lovely! Where will we go tonight?”
“Wherever you fancy. Lead on.” Before the words were out of his mouth, she was off on the wind. She had plaited her long copper hair into a thick braid that fell below her waist, and it soon began to unravel. Heath chuckled to himself and let her take the lead. She had a wildness in her blood, and he understood she needed this outlet.
The River Ayr was in spate, and once they crossed over the brig, they began to climb out of the valley. The Beltane fires would not be lit on hilltops, for then they could be mistaken for the beacon fires used as an alarm system for invasion and suchlike. Tina headed toward Muirkirk, a plain stretching between the counties of Ayr and Lanark, as this was likely the closest Beltane revel. As she topped the ridge, she saw half a dozen riders coming from the opposite direction and recognized they were Hamiltons from their bright blue tartan.
She quickly brought one leg over her saddle so that their leader would not know she had been riding astride and hoped her velvet skirts would cover the fact that there was no side-saddle.
“Valentina!” Patrick Hamilton was both pleased and concerned to find her abroad this night. He dismounted immediately and came to her side. His men stayed back to give them some small privacy. Patrick Hamilton was dark and dashing, his tall slim back straight as a ramrod with the pride of clan in his bearing. He placed a possessive hand upon her knee. “I carina believe yer out without a groom, mistress. ‘Tis Providence brought ye ma way.”
The tip of her riding boot rested almost touching his hand upon her other knee. She let him know she could kick his hand away if she so chose. The last light was fading fast and wasn’t sufficient for him to see her golden eyes, but where it touched her magnificent hair, it set it aflame. Patrick felt a strong desire to pull her down to him and ravish the mouth that teased so temptingly.
“I assume you are riding to visit the admiral,” she said “If you come to Doon for dinner on Friday evening, I’ll get Mr. Burque to prepare your favorite, Patrick.”
“Thanks, Tina, I’d be delighted. Ye know my destination, but I dinna know yours.”
“You’re right,” she said laughing
Just as Patrick was about to reach for the maddening creature, Heath topped the ridge. Patrick frowned at her escort’s good looks and wide shoulders. “Ye ha’ a groom after all,” he said, sounding most disappointed.
“Good night, Patrick, I must be off. I have a most pressing appointment.”
Hamilton had ridden five miles with Valentina Kennedy filling his senses before he remembered that it was Beltane, but as soon as the dark suspicion crossed his mind, he dismissed it. “She wouldna dare,” he assured himself.
The Kennedys had laid their plans well the previous night and had even ridden out to the perimeter of the Douglas lands they were about to raid. The Douglas clan was the richest in Scotland, their acreage vast, their herds too numerous to count. Donal and Duncan had conceived the idea and laid it before the other Kennedys when they brought down their winter wool. Without going close to the castle at Douglas, which was nicknamed Castle Dangerous, Donal estimated they could lift about two hundred cattle and four hundred curly-horned sheep from Douglas tenants, and the best part was that the Douglas clan would blame their bitter enemies, the Hamiltons, who lived not ten miles away in the same county, Lanark.
The Kennedys had agreed to divide whatever they were able to steal and leave immediately for their own holdings, which lay in half a dozen different directions. Donal would take his share to Castle Kennedy on Loch Ryan, which he hoped would be his when he married. He would also leave a few on his holding in Kirkcudbright, overlooking Solway Firth It amused him that his peel tower at Kirkcudbright was only ten miles from the massive stronghold known as Castle Douglas.
Donal had given his men strict orders not to approach the castle, for he wanted no violent affray. This was to be a simple cattle raid under dark of night, and if their luck held, the Douglases wouldn’t even know about it till dawn.
All went according to plan, with the Kennedys content to let Donal give the orders. All except David who had a few ideas of his own. It was Davie Kennedy’s first taste of reiving, though he’d been anticipating the event for years, avidly listening to tales told at clan gatherings. He relished the brutish pleasure of wreaking havoc upon a rival. It was rumored the Douglases had an excess of ten thousand horned sheep, and this being the case, Davie reasoned their most vital crop was hay. Donal had ordered him to stand watch rather than rustle cattle and sheep, but he was boldly determined to play a more vital part in the operation. He set a torch to the hayfields, and the wildfire raced across the acres that hadn’t felt rain in over a week.
When Donal smelled smoke and heard the flames begin to roar like the wind, he cursed violently. “What reckless whoreson set the fire?” he shouted. Already the Douglas tenants were running to the scene and had no doubt alerted the men of the castle. Fire at night was more terrifying than in daylight, and the Kennedys were able to drive off the sheep and cattle in the chaos and confusion it caused.
Duncan rode up beside Donal. “Davie was posted guard over yon. It must ha’ been the little pisser.”
