Chapter 9

© Copyright 2006 by Sara Keprensk

Three months passed slowly with no word from Aaron and Patrick. Robert was terribly worried, though he didn’t say as much to Annabeth. He didn’t think that anything had happened to his warriors for they were two of his best-trained men but he did wonder why they weren’t back. He didn’t say anything to his wife about his thoughts because he knew that she, like himself, would immediately think that something had happened to her family.

Robert didn’t want Annabeth worrying. It was more than the fact that he wanted to protect her from anything that could hurt her. He was fairly sure that his young wife was in the family way and he knew that any stress could harm the baby.

Annabeth hadn’t said anything and Robert thought that it might be because she hadn’t yet worked out why she was fighting sickness each morning and retiring early each night. She was also getting more emotional as each day passed and almost smothered poor Aurelia with her mothering.

Robert was standing by the fireplace in the great hall as he thought. A kafuffle up the stairs brought him from his reverie and he lifted his head in time to see a shrieking Aurelia streak down the stairs, closely followed by a laughing Annabeth.

Aurelia ran straight to him and hid behind his legs, using him as her defence. Annabeth had forced him into helping out more with the little girl by refusing to accept affection from him until he showed his daughter some. Since then Aurelia had been coming to him more and more. He found that he liked the affectionate displays.

Annabeth joined them and reached for the squirming child. “It’s no good, Leah,” she used the fond nickname that she herself had come up with. “You have to have a bath and hiding with your Papa is not going to change anything. We don’t want smelly little girls around here.”

“But you gave me a baf last night.” Aurelia protested, wrapping her arms around Robert’s left leg.

Robert smiled, drew his wife to his side and leaned down to kiss her, ignoring his daughter’s gagging noises. “That means that you have a whole day’s worth of smell on you.” He scooped Aurelia up into his arms. “Wolves like smelly little girls for supper, you don’t want to be wolf food, do you?”

“There aren’t any wolves here.” She squealed as he charged up the stairs with her and dropped her, fully clothed into the tub of water in her chamber. “No fair, my clothes are wet.”

Annabeth knelt down beside the tub and stripped her daughter before lathering her with rose scented soap. “They will be dry before you need to wear them again. Stop fussing.” She leaned over and planted a kiss on the little girl’s forehead.

Robert frowned slightly. His wife was openly affectionate with Aurelia, who had already taken to calling her ‘Mama’. Hugs and kisses were offered frequently and easily. In contrast to that was Annabeth’s attitude towards him. She had stopped protesting when he held her close or gave her a quick kiss but she never initiated contact with him.

“Beth,” he held out a towel in which she could wrap their wet child. “We need to talk when this wee one is in bed. I’ll be waiting in the Great Hall.” He stood up to leave but Annabeth caught hold of his plaid, stopping him short.

“No, I’ll be waiting,” she corrected, laughter sparkling in her eyes. “You will be putting your daughter to bed.”

He may have known her little more than three months but he knew what that look meant. Annabeth had decided that it was his turn to do bedtime duties and she was not going to change her mind. Having no wish to upset her before their talk, he gave in without a protest.

* * * * * * * * * *

Megan glanced over at her husband of three months. At least, Aaron said that they were married and that he was her husband. She herself wasn’t completely sure. Wasn’t one’s family supposed to be there when one got married and didn’t married people act…well, differently to unmarried ones? Aaron still treated her exactly the same way as he had when he first met her and there had only been an old English man and his old wife at the ‘ceremony’ as Aaron called it.

He was frowning. In fact, it seemed that he was always frowning now. Perhaps he was sorry that he had married her. Yes, that was probably it. Mother had always said that nobody would ever want to marry her. Mother never actually said it to Megan’s face but Megan had overheard her telling Papa on more than one occasion that no man in his right mind would ever marry a halfwit.

Megan wasn’t entirely sure what a halfwit was but she knew that it wasn’t something that people considered to be a good thing. And she knew that she was one. Everybody knew it. Apparently it was something that was obvious. Maybe it was something to do with her appearance. Annabeth had told her that a lot of people only liked people who looked good.

But then Annabeth told her frequently that she was pretty so that couldn’t be what a halfwit was. Or was Annabeth just being nice? Annabeth was like that; she always had something nice to say when Mother or Papa upset her.

Megan wanted Aaron to be like that too. She liked him, though she wasn’t really sure why. He didn’t talk to her much and when he did she found it hard to understand him. He spoke funny! But he was gentle with her and he was the first man she had ever met who had spent more than five minutes in her company.

“Aaron, am I pretty?”

* * * * * * * * * *

Annabeth had curled up in one of the big chairs by the fire in the Great Hall and was almost asleep when Robert came down the stairs after settling Aurelia in for the night. She hoped that whatever it was that he wanted to talk about wouldn’t take too long. All she wanted to do was go to bed and stay there.

She struggled to force her eyes open and moved to sit up properly in the gargantuan monstrosity of a chair. “You wanted to talk to me, Laird?”

Robert smiled at her before sitting down in the adjacent chair. He leaned over and plucked her from her perch, dumping her unceremoniously on his lap. “I did indeed, wife.”

She waited for him to continue and looked up at him in confusion when he didn’t. “Are you going to tell me what you wanted to talk about?”

He was silent for a couple more minutes before answering. “Why do you behave the way that you do with Aurelia? I mean, why do you hug her and kiss her?”

Annabeth reminded herself that she was tired and perhaps that was why she thought the question a particularly dumb one. “Because that is the way that I can tell her that I love her.” Her yawn popped her jaw and she was too tired to put her hand over her mouth. “Is that all you wanted to know?”

“No.” Robert’s eyes reflected a little hurt.

Once again he didn’t expound on his answer for several minutes and Annabeth felt obliged to prompt him. “So…what else? Does me hugging and kissing her make you uncomfortable? Do you want me to stop?”

“No, not at all!” the answer was instantaneous. “I just…wanted to know why you don’t act that way with me.” He shifted her back to the other chair and stood up, heading toward the front doors. “I guess that I have my answer. Goodnight Beth.”

Annabeth was suddenly wide-awake. She had never intended to hurt him but the tone of his voice indicated that she had done exactly that. “Robert,” she called after him. “You aren’t a five-year-old who has no one else to love her. Aurelia needs to know that I love her.”

He stopped and turned round. “And do you think that I don’t?”

What kind of a question was that? Of course he didn’t need to know what she thought of him. He was a warrior for goodness’ sake! Having feelings for him wouldn’t help him any; it would just make her more vulnerable. “Well…yes, that’s exactly what I think.”

Was that relief that shone in her husband’s beautiful eyes? He smiled at her and approached her just as she scrambled out of her oversized haven. “I hate to contradict you, love, but you are wrong. I need to know that you love me just as much as Aurelia does or…” he hesitated a moment, “as much as this little one will.” He pulled her to him and laid one large hand over her abdomen.

It took a moment for his meaning to sink in. “Do you think that I am…?” she couldn’t finish the question for her thoughts were running riot. But she didn’t need his answer for she quickly saw that he was right. How she had missed it she didn’t know. She was going to have a baby!

“Yes Beth, I think that you are carrying my baby.” A previously unknown softness came into Robert’s face as he confirmed his meaning.

“But I can’t have a baby! Not like this.” Annabeth went into overdrive panic. “We can’t bring a baby into this family. You don’t even love me yet. It can’t be true.”

“Beth, if God thinks that the timing is right, who are we to contradict him?” Robert wrapped her in his arms and ran his hand up and down her back in a soothing rhythm. “Besides, who told you that I don’t love you?”

Good question. “Nobody did.” She muttered into his chest. But that didn’t change the fact that it was obvious.

“Good because I would hate to think that any of my people could have lied to you.”

Annabeth was confused. Was he trying to tell her that he did love her? Surely not. “I don’t understand…”

The only warning she got was him moving her a little way back from himself. Then his mouth was on hers, gentle but insistent. Suddenly understanding didn’t seem to be particularly important.

“I love you, Annabeth MacAllen.” He announced when he released her.

If only he knew how many years she had waited for someone to say those words! Tears came thick and fast and it was several minutes before she could speak. But, all the time, Robert held her fast.

“And I love you, Laird.”

* * * * * * * * * * Aaron stared at Megan in the gloaming. From where the dickens had that question sprung? His answer seemed to matter to her, her large eyes filled with uncertainty. “Aye, lass, you are the prettiest lass in England and Scotland together.”

The uncertainty vanished for a moment but quickly returned again. His answer hadn’t completely satisfied her. She turned her eyes away from him and looked straight ahead, chewing on her lower lip. She had been quiet for a while now, something that usually only occurred when she was asleep.

Another five minutes of silence passed.

Aaron coaxed his horse nearer to Megan’s and laid his hand on her knee. “What is worrying you, lass?”

“Nothing.”

He raised one eyebrow. “I may look half-witted, Megan, but I can assure you that I am not. If I believed that answer I would believe anything.”

“Do I look like a halfwit?”

Aaron began to worry in earnest. Something was deeply bothering his young wife. “Nay Megan, you look bonny. Why do you ask?”

“I am a halfwit, so why don’t I look like one?”

“Och Megan!” He drew both horses to a halt, despite the fact that he wanted to make it home by night and they couldn’t really spare the time, and tipped her chin with one finger. “You are not a halfwit and I never want to hear you say that about yourself again. Understand?”

She shook her head. “I am. Mother said so. So did Papa.”

Aaron seethed. Of all the mean things for parents to say to their child! “You are a very special woman, Megan, and perhaps in some ways you are different to many others but don’t believe for even one minute that you are half-witted.”

“Mother told Papa that no man would want to marry a halfwit.” The statement was so quiet that the misunderstanding and hurt were more audible than the words.

“There you are then. If no man would marry a halfwit and I married you, you can’t be a halfwit, can you?” he was proud of his logical argument. Megan may not be quite normal but there was no way that he was going to let anyone call her half-witted.

“You didn’t want to marry me though. You did it because you had to.” Megan looked away again and urged her horse to walk. “So you don’t count.”

“Nay, lass. Twas only an excuse. Come here.” Knowing what she needed maybe better than she herself did, he reached for her and transferred her to his own horse, catching the reins of her mount. “I wouldn’t want you any different, love.”

“Really?”

The hope in Megan’s eyes nearly broke Aaron’s heart. When was the last time someone had truly accepted her for who she was. He knew that Annabeth loved her sister but had she ever told Megan that. “Really Megan.”

“Will your people like me?”

It seemed that she believed him. Good. “My people will love you, Megan, just like I do.” That wasn’t even a question. He would make his people love her. Megan had coped with indifference and misery for long enough. He knew his people. He would let everyone know that she had never known love and they would automatically work to make up for it. It would be a good life for her.

Megan snuggled close to his chest and wrapped her arms around him. “I love you too.”

* * * * * * * * * *
“I think horses just arrived in the courtyard,” he fastened his plaid and pulled on his boots. “I need to go and check. You stay here and go back to sleep. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He leaned down and kissed her before leaving the room.



Annabeth swung her legs off the bed and squeaked as her bare feet touched the cold floor. She hurried over to her shoes, pulling on her robe as she slipped her feet into them. Her husband didn’t know her very well if he thought that she was going to stay put.

She ran lightly down the stairs, reaching the bottom just as Robert lifted the last bar on the door. She stayed in the shadows so that he wouldn’t notice her but watched very carefully as the large doors swung open.

“Sorry to disturb you at this time, Laird.”

It was Patrick! That meant that he and Aaron were back with news of her family. She ran over to her husband’s side, wanting to be near enough to hear everything. There had to be a reason why the two men weren’t waiting for the morning to bring their report to their Laird.

She stopped short at the sight of the person next to Patrick. It certainly wasn’t Aaron! “Mother!”

She nearly threw herself into her mother’s arms but Lady Morris knew her daughter and premeditated her reaction. The look on her face warned Annabeth not to make a scene. Annabeth should have expected it but it still hurt, just like any other time her parents had warded off displays of affection.

Her husband drew her close, silently telling her that he understood, offering his support and comfort. She leaned into his side and drew from that comfort. “Where’s Megan? Where’s Aaron?” she asked.

“The answer to both of those questions is ‘I don’t know,” Patrick was the one that answered. “But wherever one is, the other one will be too. We got lost and had to separate.”

“Do you mean that my unmarried sister is alone with your unmarried friend?” Annabeth asked in absolute disbelief. “How on earth could you allow that?”

Patrick stuttered and stammered, looking helplessly to Lady Morris to give an explanation. He went red, realising that both he and Aaron should have thought of that dimension. He had only been glad to be free from Megan.

“There was no avoiding it,” Lady Morris said coolly, entering the Great Hall. “And I’m sure everything is fine.”

The utter indifference in her mother’s tone provoked her. She opened her mouth and spat the words out before she though about it. “Oh, you’re sure are you? And were you sure before they went that all would be fine too? I bet you never even thought of it. It’s common knowledge that you couldn’t care less what happens to Megan…or me for that matter. I think…”

“Beth.” Robert squeezed her hard, stopping her flow of angry words. He turned to his mother-in-law. “Please excuse my wife, she is in a fragile state at present. Her emotions are a bit vulnerable.” He led the group over to the fireplace and lit a fire in the hearth.

“Robert, if anything has happened to my sister…” Annabeth’s feelings were so strong that she was shaking.

“There’s nothing that we can do about it at this time of night,” her husband interrupted. “So there is no point worrying about it just yet. I want you to go back to bed. Remember you have two people to think about now. I promise that I will send a search party for your sister tomorrow.”

“There’s no need for that.”

Everyone swung round to look at the doors, which had been left open. Aaron was standing in the opening, cradling a sleeping Megan in his arms.

Annabeth rushed over to them instead of following her husband’s instructions. “Is she alright? I hope…”

Robert clamped his hand over her mouth and drew her back against himself. “You don’t have to accuse Aaron of anything, Beth, I trust him implicitly. Why don’t we just let him tell his story?”

“There’s not much to tell, Laird. After Patrick and I decided to separate, I found an English Priest and an old couple who were willing to be witnesses. We married and since then I have been trying to get us home.”

“Married?”

The fourfold question disturbed Megan and she opened her eyes. On seeing Annabeth, she squealed and leapt from her husband’s arms to embrace her sister. “Annabeth.”

Annabeth clasped her sister to her and locked eyes with Aaron. “Thank-you, Aaron, for rescuing my sister.” She turned to her husband. “And thank-you, Laird, for rescuing me!”


HEY! and don't forget to e-mail Sara Keprensk if you have a comment! She would really like to hear from you.





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