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He wasn’t He s hand ran slowly down rip on my bottom
“Mhed, and relaxed back into sleep, holding on
I nestled close, reassured The ih to banish the touch of lingering dreaht, so far as that went I was sure that if such a thing were possible, Bree would want both her fathers at her wedding
I ide awake now, but ht rain, but the air was cold and da than the distant prospect of hot coffee Particularly since the getting of coffee would involve a trip to the strea up the campfire—oh, God, the ould be da the coffee in a stone quern and brewing it, while wet leaves blew roundtree branches slithered down my neck
Shivering at the thought, I pulled the top quilt up over ue of preparations hich I had fallen asleep
Food, drinkluckily I needn’t trouble about that Jaeuests—no difficulties there We were in the hlanders in the Colonies, and food and drink were being provided Engraved invitations would not be necessary
Bree would have a new dress, at least; Jocasta’s gift as well Dark blue wool—silk was both too expensive and too impractical for life in the backwoods It was a far cry froe blosso to be ht have iined in the 1960s
I wondered what Frank ht of Brianna’s husband He likely would have approved; Roger was a historian—or once had been—like Frank hient and huhly devoted to Brianna and little Jemmy
Which is very adht in the direction of the mist, under the circumstances
You adh he had spoken the both himself and me
Ja s noises in his sleep
You know I do, I said silently I always did, and you know it, so just bugger off, will you?!
I turned my back firmly on the outer air and laid e in the feel of the soft, crumpled linen of his shirt
I rather thought Jaer credit for accepting Jeation; an honorable man could not do otherwise And I knew he had his doubts as to Roger’s ability to support and protect a faer was tall, well-built, and capable—but “bonnet, belt, and swordie” were the stuff of songs to Roger; to Jamie, they were the tools of his trade
The hand on my bottom squeezed suddenly, and I started
“Sassenach,” Ja in a wee lad’s fist D’ye need to get up and go to the privy?”
“Oh, you’re awake,” I said, feeling mildly foolish
“I aroaning His bare feet popped out at the far end of the quilt, long toes spread wide
“Sorry I didn’t mean to wake you”
“Och, dinna fash yourself,” he assured h the ruddy waves of his loosened hair, blinking “I was drea like a fiend; I always do when I sleep cold” He lifted his head and peered down across the quilt, wiggling his exposed toes with disfavor “Why did I not sleep wi’ s on?”
“Really? What were you drea about?” I asked, with a small stab of uneasiness I rather hoped he hadn’t been drea I had
“Horses,” he said, to hed
“What sort of fiendish drea about horses?”
“Oh, God, it was terrible” He rubbed his eyes with both fists and shook his head, trying to clear the dreas Ye ken what MacKenzie was sayin’ about it, at the fire last night?”
“Irish ki—oh!” I reain at the recollection “Yes, I do”
Roger, flushed with the triualed the cos, poe historical anecdotes—one of which concerned the rites hich the ancient Irish kings were said to have been crowned One of these involved the successful candidate copulating with a white mare before the asseh I thought it would be a better proof of the gentlefroid, myself
“I was in charge o’ the horse,” Ja Thefor him to stand on I found a rock, but I couldna lift it Then a stool, but the leg came off in my hand Then I tried to pile up bricks to make a platforht, they would just cut the legs off thethat, and thewas jerkin’ at his breeks and co that his fly buttons wouldna come loose, and then someone noticed that it was a black mare, and that wouldna do at all”
I snorted, hter in a fold of his shirt for fear of wakening someone camped near us
“Is that when you woke up?”
“No For some reason, I was verra much affronted at that I said it would do, in fact the black was a much better horse, for everyone knows that white horses have weak een, and I said the offspring would be blind And they said no, no, the black was ill luck, and I was insisting it was not, and” He stopped, clearing his throat
“And?”
He shrugged and glanced sideways atup his neck
“Aye, well I said it would do fine, I’d show the, and was getting ready toahof Ireland That’s when I woke”
I snorted and wheezed, and felt his side vibrate with his own suppressed laughter
“Oh, now I’m really sorry to have wakened you!” I wiped reat loss to the Irish Though I do wonder how the queens of Ireland felt about that particular cereht
“I canna think the ladies would suffer even slightly by coh I have heard of men who prefer—”
“I wasn’t thinking of that,” I said “It was ienic i the cart before the horse is one thing, but putting the horse before the queen”
“The—oh, aye” He was flushed with amusement, but his skin darkened further at that “Say what ye may about the Irish, Sassenach, but I do believe they wash now and then And under the circuht possibly even have found a bit of soap useful, inin”
“In ested “Surely not I”
“It’s a matter of readiness, Sassenach, as lance in ht require a bit of encourageh it’s in medias res, in any case,” he added “Have ye never read Horace? Or Aristotle?”
“No We can’t all be educated And I’ve never hadthat he ranked women somewhere beloorms in his classification of the natural world”
“The man can’t have beenthe knobs of h my shift “Surely he would ha’ noticed the bones, else”
I s stark and clean above a tide of auburn stubble
As I did so, I saw that the sky outside had lightened into dawn; his head was silhouetted by the pale canvas of our shelter, but I could see his face clearly The expression on it reht before Unfortunately, we had both been so tired after the prolonged festivities that we had fallen asleep in mid-embrace
I found that belatedas it did some explanation both for the state of my shift and for the dreams from which I had awakened At the saers under the quilt, and shivered Frank and Jamie were very different men, and there was no doubt in
“Kiss me,” I said suddenly to Jaly skiht the back of his head and pressed hiht to one hand, the better to adjust the tangle of bedclothes round our lower limbs