A Scottish Romance - True Love's Kiss

Chapter Six

He hesitated going down the stairs. If the woman was clever, this was the time she'd hie off for help. He kept a hand on her arm going down the stairs, but she seemed to go as gladly as any willing bride. It seemed strange but Charlie MacDonald was never one to question the ways of providence. They stopped at the bottom of the steps and he took her hand in his. "What's your name, lass? Ye're Christian name I mean." "Jenny." He kissed her lightly on the cheek and touched her hand briefly to his own cheek. "Well met Jenny." He went over to the table, picked up her violin case and tucked it under his arm. "I look forward to hearing you play on many a cold night to come." Jenny smiled over at Charlie trying to ignore the wild beating of her heart. His fanciful images of a Highland rogue kidnapping a woman of a neighboring clan, even they were just a simple bit of historical reenactment fun, fired her imagination. The Highland rogue was in truth a bit of a scoundrel, but he hadn't pressed her beyond what he thought she was offering. And here she was stealing off with him now. She in her full skirt and green petticoat and he dressed in a loose shirt and plaid with a pair of pistols and a dirk at his waist. She didn't mind playing the game. If he were scoundrel enough to hint at their other activities to any of her friends at the festival, and she didn't think he was, she would simply pretend it was part of his act. She followed Charlie out the door, her hand once more lightly clasped in his and her long skirts trailing in the grass. His horse was still standing patiently, cropping bracken, in the larch grove behind the cottage. Charlie hurriedly stowed Jenny's violin away while Jenny stood stock still and stared as though she'd never seen a horse before. This was a bit much, she thought, even for the promised 'Scottish Romance' of the brochure. "Come on lass. Ye can ride pillinn." Still she stood unmoving. He mounted the beast and arranged the pillion pad behind him. "Jenny, come on. We must be away frae here. 'Tis most likely your kinsman will see us aboot now." He looked down into her face. The lass acted as though she'd never seen a horse before. He reached down and swung her up behind him. At last she seemed to regain her senses for she wrapped her arms immediately about his waist and clung like a limpet. Her soft bosom pressing against his back did terrible things to his desire for her. Mayhap she'd be willing to celebrate their nuptials prematurely once they were safely away from her clan lands. For now they must ride. Jenny had never been scooped boldly up by a man mounted on a horse before. The strength of his arms and the adventure of sitting astride the great beast with a leg on either side and her long skirts flowing about her, more like Fionna than Fionna herself, took her breath away for a good minute. She was still savoring the romance of the situation when Jamie touched his foot to the great creature beneath them and they took off. There was a rush of wind around their bodies as they galloped through the woods towards the sea and an exhilarated Jenny laughed and pressed her body closer to the man in front of her. This must be what her favorite novels termed 'hell for leather'. It was glorious. How could mankind have ever given up this magnificent form of transport for the smelly, oily machines they rode in today? Once more she sent out a wordless prayer of thanks to 'Aunty Mary' and her 'Teatime Travel'. She'd certainly have to post an excellent reference for the service in her favorite historical reenactment newsgroup. She lay her head against Charlie's broad shoulders and gave herself up to the speed and thrill of the ride. After a few hours they passed through the trees and reached the low hills beneath the coastal mountains. Charlie began to feel safer. There were no cottages about and he was sure they were well rid of Ross lands. He began to sing 'Jock o' Hazledean' in loud tones. It was a sound Jenny knew well from the winds about the loch. She joined in with a pure soprano. The notes lifted together and blended into one song. Their voices seemed to have been created to sing together: exquisitely matched, the perfect singing partners. Pressed tightly against his back it was as though their bodies also were one. The horse moved steadily forward, they sang together until their voices were shot. Finally, as they began to head up into the mountains, she shut her eyes. How Jenny ever managed to sleep astride the horse's broad back, and maintain her grip on Charlie as well, she never understood. It was daylight when she was jolted awake. She gripped the man's back tighter and he responded with a grunt. They must have been riding for hours. And now Jenny found out why people had traded in their four footed companions for cars, buses and trains. She was stiff and she hurt all over from the bumping, jolting ride. Her thighs were rubbed raw from the saddle, her bottom and back were stiff, and she had to go to the bathroom. Jenny moaned. Charlie seemed to interpret her moan correctly. He pulled up on the horse. Jenny started to slide off but he stopped her with one quiet arm. Charlie threw a leg over the beast's head and slipped off. When he helped her down into his arms, her legs crumpled beneath her and she would have fallen to the rocky ground if he hadn't kept his hands firmly about her waist. Not that it was such a terrible thing to be held closely and firmly next to his chest with his arms about her. Jenny swayed against Charlie and looked about. They had stopped beside a clear running mountain burn that ran merrily down the hill through a flood of quintessentially Scottish bluebells. The blooms grew so thickly that the hillside seemed to have been dyed blue. Below the flower strewn hillside she could see a grove of Scotch Pines and farther down were birches. Jenny had read her Highlands tree and plant guides pretty thoroughly. None of the plants should have been growing anywhere near the cottage in the glen. It was clear they had left Ross lands far behind. Something funny was up and she was pretty sure it had nothing to do with Aunty Mary or Tea Time Travel. A cold feeling was starting to creep up her spine. The scene wasn't playing out like a typical historical reenactment anymore. They should have been riding up to the festival by now, laughing about her brief 'Highland kidnapping'. The actor shouldn't still be speaking so seriously about his need for a bride and transporting her to some island. The guy didn't seem like a nut case, but then again maybe she wasn't the greatest judge of human character. She backed stiffly away from Charlie. Her legs were steadier now. "It's a bit late for bluebells, isn't it?" He looked surprised as he released his grasp. "Aye. They had a late winter hereabouts. Snow melted late. Everything bloomed late. Everyone's hoping their crops will ripen in time to be cut before the frosts and the rain." Jenny swallowed carefully. "Why did you take me so far away, Mr. MacDonald? Or are you really Charlie MacDonald." Charlie wondered if the lass were truly daft. He had made his mission in securing a wife more than clear, and she had seemed more than willing. Still a woman might have a reason to talk daft when you took her away from all she knew. No doubt she'd regain her senses in time. He spoke slowly and carefully to the woman as though she were a bairn. "I took ye because I needed ye. Last year the Ross and his man came to our islands and took a number of our women. We were out fishing for a good bit of time and we dinna have a chance to defend them. Some of the men went after them, but they found that your men had treated them well. They were married proper and they'd bedded their husbands. They were happy living on the mainland and they had no desire to come back to the islands." He paused wondering how this woman would take to island life. "I thought they were crazed. It's fine here," he swept one hand about him gesturing at the bluebells and the pines, "but there's nothing like the islands for living. I was needing a wife this past year and with so few women left, well I needed to get me ain." "I need to use the - I need a tree or a bush." Ever the gentleman Charlie gestured towards a nearby thicket and Jenny hurried away. She finished her business behind the bush, settled her skirts back around her ankles and stepped out to shade her eyes with one hand and look out over the valley. On the other side was a beautifully preserved stone manor house. It looked much like Tocher House, a beautiful historic site she'd visited on the drive in yesterday, except that this estate was in much better shape. She glance casually to her left. The ruined peel tower had been just there. Right where this one was. The lookout, like the manor, was in a much better state of preservation than the one she seen the day before. Jenny walked slowly back to Charlie. He was leaning against a rock humming 'Jock o' Hazledean' and sunning his back. His golden brown head was bent over a cluster of bluebells that he was twisting round and round in his fingers. Charlie looked up and smiled at Jenny. Her heart turned over and something inside her gut made her want to reach out and grab him. Sternly she reminded herself that know matter how cute he was or how well he sang. he was playing some kind of weird game with her. A game that had to stop now. "What's the name of that manor over there? It looks like one I saw recently." He glanced over."Tocher house? It's well known in these parts." Jenny sat down suddenly. "Tocher? As in 'dowry', tocher, right?" "Aye. He stood up. Do you want something to eat before we go on?" "Charlie-" "Hum." He was busying himself in the saddlebags. "Charlie what year is it?" He stared at the daft woman but played along with the game."Year of Our Lord fourteenth hundred and sixty-five".