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Chapter 32
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The Invisible Bride (By the King's Command book 4) Chapter 33
A soft whimper pulled Gair from his sleep. He blinked his eyes open and looked around the odd structure that Isobel’s friends called home. From the outside, it had looked like a pile of fallen brush wedged into the trees. From the inside, the frame seemed to be made of giant ribs with animal skins stretched between them and a layer of plush furs covered the ground. If they were ribs, they were from an animal far bigger than anything Gair had ever seen. It seemed impossible any animal could be this big, but at the same time, it did look as though they were sitting in the belly of a great beast. He’d have to look through the animal book when he got home and see if he could find a mention of an animal big enough for several men to stand inside of it.A hole in the top was directly over the fire, and the smoke escaped through that. The cavernous space was still hot, even though the fire had died to just coals and embers. At one end there was the door, where the soldiers were sleeping. At
The Invisible Bride (By the King's Command book 4) Chapter 34
Two days later, Izzy had had all she could take of the grand old Duke of York. She stood by the horse she shared with her husband, adjusting her weapons and wishing she could shoot the man where he sat. She was sick of hearing about Protestants and Catholics and Anglicans. She was sick of hearing how to bring peace to Scotia, England, and Ireland. She didn’t care, so long as the fighting stayed away from her. Apparently, it hadn’t, which is why she and Gair were not heading back to Sinclair. Mostly, she was tired of being told to change who she was. “Honestly, Isobel,” James said, looking down his long nose at her from where he was perched atop his horse. “Trews, a sword, and a bow? They haven’t even any feminine adornment. Have you no shame? Your husband will have to hire a proper English tutor just to be sure his daughters will not be shunned when the time comes for them to wed.”“He does nay have to worry on that if I do nay bare him any children.” “You may dress a lad, but you
The Invisible Bride (By the King's Command book 4) Chapter 35
Gair clenched his jaw and shifted on the saddle, trying to get his manhood under control. Since his wife looked like a lad from behind he had not anticipated this problem. Especially since it had not happened to him in the past few days. The tunic, trews, and short hair didn’t fool him at all this day. The longer they rode together the worse it got. She smelled of woman, his body knew she was his, and his mind knew what was hidden under that tunic. Every time she brushed against him desire shot through him. When he closed his eyes, the image he saw was not that of a lad or even a woman dressed like a lad. His mind created a picture of her in a soft dress the same shade of green as her eyes. Lord she was bonny with those red curls bouncing around her speckled face. She would not want a big skirt like London's pale, fashionable ladies. One that clung to her hips and legs would suit her better. They were so much more alluring anyways, hinting at the shape of what lay beneath rather than
The Invisible Bride (By the King's Command book 4) Chapter 36
“Messengers from the Royal house!” the travellers called back as they approached. Izzy scrunched herself up as tightly as she could, hoping no piece of her was visible from outside the trees as she listened to the horses' approach. She wished even more that she could pull her clothing down and get herself properly cover herself. She nearly screamed when a deep voice called out, “Is that you, Laird MacInnis?”“Aye, ‘tis I.”“Good! I’ve yer horse and some of the contents from your lady’s chambers.”“Some? You didn’t bring the whole trunk?”“It is a long tale. We have come to cool ourselves in the water. I see you have a fire, perhaps we can talk over a meal?” Panic rose like a lump in her throat, choking off her air as she heard the horses start to walk through the stream.“Lady Isobel has recently bathed,” her husband said, “place yourselves around the bend for decency.” Izzy couldn’t see them, but since she heard his sword slid into its sheath she assumed they were doing as he’d sugge
The Invisible Bride (By the King's Command book 4) Chapter 37
Like a candle burned too low, the brightness of her hair flickered for a moment and then was swallowed by the darkness. Gair cursed the night and the trees as he urged his horse to go faster. The animal tossed its head, reluctant to travel quickly over unfamiliar ground that it couldn’t clearly see. “Easy, Cazador, just a wee bit faster,” he urged. He didn’t want the animal to be hurt, but he wanted to get to the bush before his wife disappeared completely. When the horse came to a stop, refusing to step even a single hoof into the bush, Gair dismounted. His feet snapped on some twigs when he swung to the ground at the edge of the brambles and someone not far inside the bush cried out in fear. It was not his wife’s scream. He slipped into the bush and headed in the direction of the scream as quickly as he was able, unsheathing his dagger as he went. With no further noise to direct him, Gair stopped, waiting for some indication of where to go. Either from the person who had screamed
The Invisible Bride (By the King's Command book 4) Chapter 38
Gair held his nephew in front of him on his horse. The lad was wearing Isobel’s shawl tied around his hips. The younger one was wrapped in linen and happily sleeping in the maid’s arms. Isobel was barely speaking to him. Her attitude towards the boys since the sun had risen was bothering him. Before she’d gotten a good look at them she had wanted to hold them while they slept, but the moment the sun had risen she’d become quiet, and after they’d broken their fast she had given the child to her maid without saying a word. When he spoke to her now her answers were as short as possible.David really did look like he and his brothers. From his thick black hair and eyelashes to the coffee brown of his eyes. He had Gair’s own faint dimples too. Something his brothers lacked. So even if she met his brothers the lad would appear more his than Dair’s. “Why is it the boy has yer name if he is really yer brother’s lad?” Gair clenched his jaw then relaxed it and tried to speak with patience in
The Invisible Bride (By the King's Command book 4) Chapter 39
“By order of the Royal House of Stuart, show yourselves or we will open fire!”Gair rolled his eyes. “Does that ever actually work?” Isobel asked. Gair almost ginned at the skeptical tone of her voice.“Not usually,” the soldier admitted.“I thought not. Wolves would nay understand and a band of thieves would nay be so daft as to believe showing themselves would do anything by giving you a clear shot.”“The Duke requires we give warning before we open fire. It is cowardliness to do otherwise.”“I see. Well, they’ve been warned now, aye?”“Aye.” The agreement was barely out of the man’s mouth when Izzy loosed her first arrow. The second was ready to fire before the man on the other side of the bush started to squeal.“Do nay fuss like a wee bairn” she called out, “ye were warned and me arrow but hit yer foot if anything. Hobble on out the lot of ye or the next arrow will be higher. Right about heart level, so like as not I’ll hit yer face since yer all bent low.”“Did ye have to shoot
The Invisible Bride (By the King's Command book 4) Chapter 40
Isobel could barely keep her eyes open as the rising sun turned the sky pink. Thank goodness they’d had clear skies and a full moon! The horse had been able to guide itself, for she was certainly too sleepy to do it. She wasn’t sure what the MacInnis men had told her husband, but they had ridden in silence all day, not even stopping long enough to make a kill or cook a meal. Their pace was steady, just the right speed that the horses did nay seem to be growing overly tired. The soldiers seemed as alert as ever, likely they had slept the night before. It was now more than a day she’d she’d napped the afternoon away by the river. The heat of the afternoon had been hard on her. The sun had burned her, she could feel the heat in her hair even now as the next day’s sun was rising. Her face would be as red as her hair.Fortunately, the lads had fallen asleep near sunset, after having some cheese and ale from the MacInnis men. Mary was holding the smaller one and her husband held the older b
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The Invisible Bride (By the King's Command book 4) Epilogue
“Are you sure about this Izzy-bee? Ye don’t have to. I could go first.”“I want to,” Izzy insisted. She stepped quickly forward and lowered her naked bottom slowly onto the padded seat. “I am the one likely to back out. It is only right that I first see if I can do this before I ask it of ye.”“I will stop whenever ye say.”“I know,” she took a deep breath, spread her legs wide, bent forwards, and fastened her own ankles. Gair didn’t miss the change in her breathing.“Maybe just yer feet this time?” She shook her head and leaned back in the seat, resting her wrists in the cuffs. Gair looked down at her. In the past, seeing a woman held open this way, willingly putting herself at his mercy, had excited him. Seeing his wife struggle so mightily with it was not appealing to him at all.Her chest rose and fell quickly with each breath. Every muscle seemed taught as a bow ready to fire. “Izzy, I -”“Please, Gair. I want to try.” She looked to her wrists, then her ankles, and licked her lip
The Invisible Bride (By the King's Command book 4) Chapter 79
Gair watched the arrow leave Fann’s bow and heard it thunk into the oak high above them. The gasps and mutters from the men behind him told him that Fann had hit the mark as easily as his wife. Before he could comment, Johne’s voice came through the bush beside them. “Ye have come at last, old friend.”“There was narry a sign of ye when I came to lay claim to all ye had promised.”“Aye. I failed in that. But I did nay fail completely.”Gair smiled at Davina as she stepped out from behind a tree. She was nearly as silent as his wife. She tipped her head to one side, looking at Fann.“I donna remember ye,” she said softly. Gair saw Fann’s fist clench at his side and then relax. “I am nay surprised. Ye were quite wee when I left for London.”“And ye have come to marry me off now?”“Nay.”Giar saw anger and surprise both in Johne’s eyes. He seemed about to speak, but Fann spoke first.“I donna know the woman ye have become any more than ye know me. As yer kin, I could choose a man for y
The Invisible Bride (By the King's Command book 4) Chapter 78
The icy water ran from her hair and clung to her wool tunic, but Izzy barely paid it any attention. She forced her nearly frozen fingers to uncurl themselves, then curl again around the rope to pull herself forward again. And again. The tunnel had always seemed longer and steeper in the cold. Izzy could hear the scurrying of rat feet on the rocks around her. There seemed to be more of them than usual, but their numbers usually increased in the winter. Hopefully they hadn’t started to gnaw at the rope yet this year. If it gave way, the plunge back into the icy water would not be pleasant. It could very easily attract the attention of some of the guards too. There were so many more of them standing out on the walls! Either the mercenaries really had taken over, or her father had noticed there was a threat.She found the torch and flint against the wall at the top of the slope, just where she always left them. Cursing the cold and damp, Izzy struggled with the flint, trying to spark the
The Invisible Bride (By the King's Command book 4) Chapter 77
Gair stared into the fire. He’d kept on the road to Campbell, but his eyes had been searching the bush for any sign of Izzy or her dogs. He knew it had been hopeless, even if she’d come this way she would not have stayed near the road. He tensed as Fann took a seat beside him and refused the flask of ale.“Most men,” Fann said, “would be glad for a wife they favour and a clan to rule. Why is it you are not?”“Have you been there?”“No. I should have been, but when I heard the Laird was not the one who had invited me to visit I left. Mercenaries are not usually welcome unless they are invited.”“It is not a clan I can rule. The men are everything I despise.”“Why?”“They are all lazy drunkards who rape and beat their women and children.”“When the women see that Izzy expects better from you, and gets it, the women of Sinclair will expect better too. Young men who wish to wed will have to do better to get their attention. Your reputation for putting rapists in the stocks naked won’t hur
The Invisible Bride (By the King's Command book 4) Chapter 76
Once again, the smaller pup broke his stay. The runt was cute and liked to snuggle, but he was not very smart. The larger one looked back and forth between Izzy and his litter mate, then yipped and bounded out from the cover of the trees. There was nothing she could do for them this time. The mercenaries were too close, if she made any noise at all they would find her. Once they saw how well-fed those animals were, they’d be combing the bush for their owner and the pups would help them. Her only option was to make for the water.Suddenly a hand grasped her arm and Izzy found herself standing with her friend Johne in front of her. He scowled at her, “Ye daft lass! Now that yer full grown ye can nay pass so well for a lad.” He slammed a hat on her head and pushed her ahead of him out of the bush. “Yer nose is too fine for a lad this tall and yer legs! I wish those trews were baggy ones. Just keep yer chin down and say naught or ye’ll get us both killed.” His whistle pierced the air and
The Invisible Bride (By the King's Command book 4) Chapter 75
It had been three days since Gair had arrived home to find Izzy’s note. He had no idea what to make of her prolonged absence. At first, he’d thought she was off hunting. He was ticked that she’d snuck out without the guard, but not really all that surprised. Leaving would have been a way to rebel against her forced confinement. She was not prone to staying put just because a man told her to. If anything, she would do the opposite just on principle.Paddy had been furious the guards had let her escape. He had ordered them to track her at once, but the rain had washed away any trace. He had looked himself as well, checking the areas he thought she might have gone for shelter, but none looked recently used. Gair folded up the paper and worked it into the seam of his tunic so he could take it with him. It was foolish he knew. But Izzy didn’t keep trinkets or embroidered kerchiefs. This was all he had of hers that he could carry with him. He scowled at himself. That had been careless of h
The Invisible Bride (By the King's Command book 4) Chapter 74
As the cold rain drizzled down around the tiny home, Izzy sat by the fire with her dogs and watched her husband prowl the room like a caged beast. He was not accustomed to such small quarters. She remembered having the same restless feeling he seemed to be experiencing the first time she took to the tunnels for an extended time. There had been a lot of changes in the last few weeks. They’d enjoyed much time in each other's arms and it was nice to do so without interruption. There were no more meals atop the tower, though they still often ate under the stars. They had hunted until dark many nights at first. That was stopping now too as the air got colder and the rain more frequent. The colder and rainier it got the more moody and restless Gair became. She wasn’t scared of him exactly, but seeing him so agitated wasn’t comfortable either. She looked to the corner where the play stocks were tucked up against the walls and just barely peaking out from under a pile of furs. She shivered a
The Invisible Bride (By the King's Command book 4) Chapter 73
Izzy skipped along the trail with the two pups yipping at her heels. With her swaying hips and bouncing curls, there was no doubt she was a lass. She looked a wee lass in her excitement. He had never seen her so happy. It saddened him to think that it was leaving his home that made her so light-hearted. She turned to catch his eye and he couldn’t help but grin back at her. She laughed as the pups bumped her knees to get her to continue down the trail. Gair sighed as they dipped out of sight.He could understand her contentment, to be in their own space would be nice, but he couldn’t help but feel he was losing some part of himself, leaving it behind in his childhood home. He scowled for a moment. Izzy had already done that. And as the only child, she was heir to all of Sinclair. He followed along the trail as it dipped down over the edge of the cliffs and looked at the cottage. It was tiny, but it would be warm and cozy. He and Izzy would have plenty of peace, quiet, and time alone.
The Invisible Bride (By the King's Command book 4) Chapter 72
Gair looked towards the river and smiled as he saw the group on their way back. Izzy and Ellie seemed such unlikely friends. At first glance, they seemed opposites in so many ways, but they were fast friends nonetheless. Izzy still was not certain that he didn’t fancy his childhood friend more than her, but in reality, what drew him to Ellie as a child, Izzy had simply magnified and carried with her into adulthood. “I had an interesting chat with James today,” Dair said as he leaned back against the tower wall beside his brother. “The proxy marriage was even more mixed up than we thought.”Gair scowled. “How is that possible?”“Apparently, the original plan was for me to wed Mairead, Paddy to have Lia, just as we thought. But you were to wed Ellie and Fann was to be the one on Sinclair with Izzy. He changed his mind at some point on that one, James wasn’t sure when or why, but that had been the original plan.” Gair looked at his brother, then back out at his wife. “Given his reputati
