Chapter: 9
Author's note: Sorry for any stupid mistakes that may be found in the text and thank you to all the reviewers. Characters and story aren't mine.
It was time to have a little chat with their guest.
The woman, whom she later on found out was Jamie Severn, didn't wake until the following morning. Lily would have liked to be at her side when she first woke up but James would have probably dragged her away. It didn't matter much anyway for James assigned nanny Macnab to take over the watch throughout the night.
Lily had only just sneaked in to the room and settled herself in a chair by Jamie's bed when the woman opened her eyes giving Lily quite a start. She immediately jumped up and went to her side.
"You're awake," she whispered with relief. "How do you feel?"
"My throat hurts but then again, I did do a lot of screaming," she managed to croak out, her voice sounding hoarse. "I also have a frightful headache."
Lily nodded and hurried to fetch the goblet that had been set in the tray on Jamie's bedside along with the daily meal. She helped her sit up, trying to be as gentle as possible, but the girl still winced in pain and her hands trembled as she reached for the goblet.
When she finished, Lily set the goblet on the tray and went back to her seat. "We didn't know whether you would make it so we had father Douglas give you the last rites. It was just a precaution," she quickly added.
Jamie nodded trying to move as little as possible.
"Who did this to you?"
Jamie closed her eyes, she would have liked to avoid the question but she knew her savior would have to know sooner or later. She leaned back into her pillow, gathering her thoughts and trying to make out what she couldn't really remember.
"Tell me how I look," Jamie laughed, giving her sister a quick, hard hug.
They stopped walking, the dense woods that covered the rest of the slope blocking their way. A thoughtful smile spread across Maggie's face as she studied her sister. "Well, you're quite pretty!"
"Good, but is there anything unusual about me?" Jamie asked. "Anything that would make a man behave oddly, as father Ambrose put it?"
"No," Maggie stated, shaking her head. "Nothing at all."
A man would have answered differently for Maggie saw her sister through the eyes of a young innocent. Jamie Severn was not pretty in the conventional way but something about her was very provocative and striking. She had piercing blue eyes that shined like liquid sapphires and her hair was darker than ebony. She also had the figure of a goddess, a voluptuous body meant for a man's touch.
"Your eyes are blue," Maggie announced helpfully, making Jamie chuckle.
"Yes, and they were the same color five years ago," she said. Maggie opened her mouth to answer but the words turned into a scream that was stifled by a man's hand that smacked over her mouth as he began dragging her backward into the dense cover of the woods.
Instinctively, Jamie ducked, expecting an attack from behind but she was too late. She was soon plucked form her feet, kicking and screaming against a gloved hand and hauled into the woods.
Her sister had been tossed over the back of a horse and was lying limp like a potato sack due to the fact that she'd fainted but Jamie would not be so easily defeated. As soon as her captor dropped her on the horse, she threw herself to the side and rolled free, landing in the leaves and dirt. She crawled on all fours and then scrambled to her feet.
The man caught her again and Jamie brought him swearing as she scratched her way down his face, twisting and struggling to get free. She screamed as she gave him a good kick in the shins and bolted forward as soon as the man let go. She was not but a few steps away that her foot got caught under a thick tree root and sent her sprawling onto her face, hitting the side of her head against a rock when she landed.
"Hand me a rope," ordered her captor, a grim smile on his face as he glanced at his companion. He lifted her limp body and yanked the rope around her thus pinning her arms at her sides. Finished, he picked up his captive and tossed her over his horse, her bottom pointing towards the sky, then he swung up into his saddle behind her.
"That's terrible!" Lily cried as Jamie finished her tale, her eyes still watery from the tears she'd shed.
The girl simply smiled. "Last night, you said I was safe . I remember hearing you whisper those words to me. Were you telling the truth? Am I safe here?"
"Yes, of course you are."
"And where exactly am I?" Jamie asked, her confusion growing ever more visible as she studied her whereabouts.
Lily hurried to introduce herself and then explained what had taken place the day before. She deliberately forgot to mention the arrow she'd sent flying into Rabbie Mcduwee's thigh and the threat James had given. By the time she was finished with her explanation, Jamie was falling asleep again.
"We'll talk later, you need your rest," Lily promised. "You may stay with us as long as you like. Nanny Macnab will bring you something to eat in a little while…"
Lily quit talking when she realized Jamie Severn was sound asleep. She tucked the covers around her, moved her chair back and left the room.
oooooooooooooo
James was reaching for his boots when Lily walked into their chamber.
"Good morning, milord," she said in greeting. "Did you sleep well?"
He frowned in reaction. "Where were you?"
Lily went over to the window and pulled the furs back, hiding her smile. "I fancied a stroll around the holding. Why?"
"I'm responsible for you, that's why. What were you doing? You were gone a long time."
Of course, he'd known what she'd been doing, the proof of her weeping still lingered in her eyes and the only reason he'd asked the question was to see whether she'd admit to her weakness.
"I was crying like a baby," she calmly stated, her grip on the furs tightening as she prayed James wouldn't see passed her lie. She could feel his eyes on her, following her every move, observing and calculating.
She turned away from the window, letting go of the would be curtains, to see her husband smirking. "What, in my pain, do you find pleasing, husband?"
"I smiled because you told me the truth."
She would have given herself a pat on the back had James not been sitting right in front of her.
"I always try to tell the truth, lies become to complicated," she proudly announced, as she studied her husbands attire. "And must you always walk around without any clothes on?"
She sounded worried about the possibility. "Only when I'm chasing after inconsiderate wives," he answered.
"Why did you marry me?"
Her question came as a surprise, one he didn't feel like thinking about. "I'll explain tomorrow," he replied, as he took a seat on the bed.
"You don't believe I'll like hearing the truth, do you?" she spat out, getting frustrated. "You could have married any woman from the Highlands!"
"It's simple then, Lillian. That brute Malfoy wanted you and the land that you possess."
"And so you took away any chance he might of had of getting me. Why didn't you just kill me then?"
"I don't kill women," he bit out, feeling rather insulted.
"Forgive me if I have insulted you, milord. It is really mind blowing; you would never kill a woman and yet you don't mind using them to get what you want," she explained. "Now, how does that work?"
His frown intensified. Lily decided to try to placate him. "I thought I'd rest for a few minutes before going downstairs. I am weary," she sighed.
"You look half dead, but who cares about your appearance anyhow," James announced pushing off the bed to leave room for her. "You will remain in bed as I have ordered and you are not to wonder around. Is that clear?"
Lily slapped his hands away, as he tried to untie the belt which held her plaid together. "I am not some toy you can lift off the shelf and play with whenever the mood strikes you, milord. You would do well to remember that…" Her sentence remained unfinished as James crushed her to him and kissed her, thus shutting her up.
He held her in place, his strong hands gripping her upper arms rendering her weak and unable to struggle. He pushed into her, trying to get as much access as possible and found himself growling as she softly moaned into his mouth.
He would have liked for the moment to last an eternity, to hear her cries of pleasure. He wished to hold her to him as their bodies met at their center, after each thrust, growing equivalent in strength. He wanted to feel her tremble beneath him as he covered her with sweet kisses and she would answer to his demands.
He raised his hand to the neck of her gown.
"Don't rip my clothes."
"I won't if you do as I tell you," he answered.
Lily was flushing like a maiden when her husband reprimanded her. "Why do you blush, wife? I have already seen you naked with your legs sprawled apart while you welcomed me into your body. All women are the same you know and you are nothing out of the ordinary. You haven't any reason to be embarrassed."
Lily's eyes fell. She hated him with a passion. "Let me go," she begged quietly.
James drew a deep breath and pulled away, replying in a low voice. "Stop disobeying me, Lillian or so help me I will take you against the wall, right here, right now."
"You cannot," she whispered, backing away from him.
"I can do anything I wish. The fact that you are my wife doesn't make a difference, you are what I choose to make you. You will remain where I tell you to and you will not go anywhere without an escort. Either Remus or another will watch over you."
With that said, he left the room.
oooooooooooooooo
Lily was so angry with her husband that she felt it necessary to do the contrary of everything he said and so that afternoon, she almost killed herself… several times.
The stable boy swore to Remus that he never would have allowed his mistress to even look at the laird's stallion if he had known her intentions. The boy had explained that the horse needed to rest and feed because it had been ridden so hard and he had found himself agreeing with Lily when she'd suggested the beast needed a little pampering.
"When she asked me if she could take the stallion out for a stroll, I made her give me her assurance she meant only to walk the black up the hill and back so he could get a little exercise," the boy rushed to explain. "The stallion is taken to her!"
Watching the docile way the animal pranced up the hill at Lily's side had assured the boy he had made the right decision. "I would not have let her lead the black away had she asked for a saddle but she didn't so I saw no harm in it. I'm not suggesting she might have lied to me Remus, I think she just changed her mind as she reached the top of the slope."
Remus accepted the boy's explanation. Like the stable master, he didn't think his mistress would be as senseless as to try and ride the horse. A second later, as he was striding up the slope, he saw her sitting upright on the stallion's back.
He stood there for a long while watching her, even though he knew he should put a stop to her fun. He was quite impressed for she managed to stay seated for several minutes before she was tossed to the ground.
Remus waited for her to get up and when she didn't budge, he went running down the hill to her side. He feared the black would trample her for it came charging back but instead, the horse nudged her receiving a laugh in response.
Watching his mistress burst into fits of laughter, he grabbed the reins out of her hands. "I thought you were dead when you remained still."
"'Tis a game Trist and I play. If I lie still enough, he comes and he lets me mount him again. Otherwise, he makes me chase after him."
Remus was too stunned to pay attention to a word she said. He kept telling himself not to raise his voice to her but his annoyance was quite clear when he said. "Have you lost you mind?"
"Not that I know of."
"If you insist on killing yourself, do so on someone else's watch, not mine!"
He pulled her to her feet, then stood back while she brushed the dirt off her plaid. "You sit too far back on the black's back," he calmly stated.
"Ah, so that is why I can't stay very long on him. I certainly could have used your advice before. I fear I might have pulled to hard on the reins and poor Trist couldn't stop tossing his head back at me. I'm quite certain he thought me daft."
"I doubt that, milady."
Lily shrugged. "Perhaps not," she agreed, not entirely in accord with him but trying to remain polite.
They walked back up the slope and a few seconds after Remus had given the reins to the stable boy, James came charging out of the holding.
"Remus," he called, making Lily jump.
"Milord?" the captain asked.
"Come, she is awake."
"Who's sitting with her?" Lily asked gaining her husbands attention.
"The priest is with her now," he answered. "She wished to speak with him."
Lily nodded.
"Why did you not tell me she was awake?" she carefully asked.
Her husband didn't answer her and she had to run up the steps to the holding to catch up with his long strides.
"James?"
His stop was so abrupt that Lily bounced right off his back when she bumped into him. He then slowly turned. "Perhaps you can be of some use, wife. You did, after all, ignore my orders and speak to the woman."
Lily couldn't bare to look at him when he was angry and so her gaze wondered around the floor seeking refuge between the cracks in the stone.
"You've questioned her already, then."
James gave a curt nod.
"What did she say?"
He shrugged. "She gave a name."
Lily's gaze shifted back up. "Oh?"
James nodded and leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "Sirius Black."
AN: This is what we would call a mash of different scenes taken from various books. Sorry for the long update and for any stupid mistakes there may be. Please review, it is essential that you do.