believe it. You’re a woman with knowledge no one should have, least of all a bonny wee wench. There are many who fear what they don’t understand, and are too ready to cry witchcraft at anything new or different. As long as you’re here we need to find ways to help you fit in, and not attract the sort of attention that might cause you harm. Until we can work out a way of getting you home.”
“Aye, Will’s right. So no showing anyone else those treasures in your bag, if you please. And if we do meet anyone between here and Stirling, try not to talk, or to ask questions that could get you noticed. We’ll conclude our business at court as soon as we can, then decide where’s best to take you.”
I manage a tremulous smile for them. “Thank you. I know you’re going to a lot of trouble for me.”
“Ah, lass, but you do have your compensations. You purport to be able to cook, for one, though we’ve yet to see a great deal of evidence for that claim.”
I take the hint. “Right. Is that rabbit ready for me then?”
The conversation drifts to less pressing topics as we roast our supper and chew on the delicious slivers of tender meat. The mood is amiable, companionable, and all talk of switches averted. For now.
* * *
“Are you tired, lass?” Robbie reaches across to stroke the loose hair from my face.
I stretch and roll my shoulders. “Yes, and I ache in places I didn’t know I had.” The combined effects of being spanked, hours spent in the saddle, and energetic lovemaking. It’s been quite a day, all in all.
“Go on then, scramble into your pretty little yellow nest. We’ll clear up here.”
I get to my feet, yawning. “Oh? Aren’t you…? I mean, I thought we’d all share the tent.”
“We will. We’ll be in there with you soon enough.”
I nod, satisfied with that, and head for the tent.
“Oh, and Charlie,” I turn at Robbie’s voice. “You’ll sleep naked, aye?”
“Aye. Of course.” I lift the tent flap and duck inside.
I wake, some hours later, to pitch black outside and in, and the gentle sound of breathing on both sides of me. I am sandwiched between two large, hard, warm bodies, my nose pressed against Will’s bare chest, and Robbie spooning me from behind. I give a little wriggle, which earns me a soft tap on my bum and a growl from Robbie.
“Be still, lass.”
I don’t answer, just slide back toward him. His arms close around me, and I drift back to sleep.
* * *
We make good time over the following two days, and encounter little in the way of local population. An occasional shepherd, on one occasion a travelling tinker pushing a small handcart piled high with goods and trinkets. I would have been fascinated to examine his wares but Robbie and Will wouldn’t hear of it.
“That’s how news spreads, lass. That fellow only has to hear your speech to know there’s a stranger in the area, and it’ll be all over the north of England in a week.”
Robbie and Will take a lengthy detour to avoid Carlisle, a lawless border town in these times I gather, and head across the open countryside of the Scottish lowlands toward the ancient town of Stirling.
Although the queen apparently prefers the luxury of her palace at Holyrood in Edinburgh, the ancient royal fortress in Stirling offers her the security she needs right now. Will explains that she is in the final stages of pregnancy, her heir expected within the coming weeks. If the child is a boy, the succession for Scotland will be secure; if a girl, less certain. Will offers me a wry smile. He and I both know that I am well aware of the outcome here, though he will have to wait like the rest of the country to learn the sex of the baby. Although Mary herself is queen in her own right, in Will’s opinion her grasp of state affairs seems to be in some doubt, and her political sense more than a little overshadowed by her questionable taste in men. He shares the common view that Scotland requires firm
“Aye, Will’s right. So no showing anyone else those treasures in your bag, if you please. And if we do meet anyone between here and Stirling, try not to talk, or to ask questions that could get you noticed. We’ll conclude our business at court as soon as we can, then decide where’s best to take you.”
I manage a tremulous smile for them. “Thank you. I know you’re going to a lot of trouble for me.”
“Ah, lass, but you do have your compensations. You purport to be able to cook, for one, though we’ve yet to see a great deal of evidence for that claim.”
I take the hint. “Right. Is that rabbit ready for me then?”
The conversation drifts to less pressing topics as we roast our supper and chew on the delicious slivers of tender meat. The mood is amiable, companionable, and all talk of switches averted. For now.
* * *
“Are you tired, lass?” Robbie reaches across to stroke the loose hair from my face.
I stretch and roll my shoulders. “Yes, and I ache in places I didn’t know I had.” The combined effects of being spanked, hours spent in the saddle, and energetic lovemaking. It’s been quite a day, all in all.
“Go on then, scramble into your pretty little yellow nest. We’ll clear up here.”
I get to my feet, yawning. “Oh? Aren’t you…? I mean, I thought we’d all share the tent.”
“We will. We’ll be in there with you soon enough.”
I nod, satisfied with that, and head for the tent.
“Oh, and Charlie,” I turn at Robbie’s voice. “You’ll sleep naked, aye?”
“Aye. Of course.” I lift the tent flap and duck inside.
I wake, some hours later, to pitch black outside and in, and the gentle sound of breathing on both sides of me. I am sandwiched between two large, hard, warm bodies, my nose pressed against Will’s bare chest, and Robbie spooning me from behind. I give a little wriggle, which earns me a soft tap on my bum and a growl from Robbie.
“Be still, lass.”
I don’t answer, just slide back toward him. His arms close around me, and I drift back to sleep.
* * *
We make good time over the following two days, and encounter little in the way of local population. An occasional shepherd, on one occasion a travelling tinker pushing a small handcart piled high with goods and trinkets. I would have been fascinated to examine his wares but Robbie and Will wouldn’t hear of it.
“That’s how news spreads, lass. That fellow only has to hear your speech to know there’s a stranger in the area, and it’ll be all over the north of England in a week.”
Robbie and Will take a lengthy detour to avoid Carlisle, a lawless border town in these times I gather, and head across the open countryside of the Scottish lowlands toward the ancient town of Stirling.
Although the queen apparently prefers the luxury of her palace at Holyrood in Edinburgh, the ancient royal fortress in Stirling offers her the security she needs right now. Will explains that she is in the final stages of pregnancy, her heir expected within the coming weeks. If the child is a boy, the succession for Scotland will be secure; if a girl, less certain. Will offers me a wry smile. He and I both know that I am well aware of the outcome here, though he will have to wait like the rest of the country to learn the sex of the baby. Although Mary herself is queen in her own right, in Will’s opinion her grasp of state affairs seems to be in some doubt, and her political sense more than a little overshadowed by her questionable taste in men. He shares the common view that Scotland requires firm
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