a cowherd's when approaching his king.'
The queen laughed. 'Alexander was mightily taken aback and equally offended, but the king was quite delighted to have a small defender.'
The invitation to remain had not been a request. It had been a command, and the laird knew it. He had bowed and acquiesced, but he wanted to go home. They hunted in the hills surrounding Ravenscraig over the next few days. The young king was not a particularly good horseman. Though he strove to hide it, he was afraid of the great black horse upon which they seated him. His three younger brothers took every opportunity to spook the animal, laughing as their older sibling clung to the beast. One morning, just as they had started out, the king fell off of his horse. He lay still for a moment or two.
'Is he dead?' Alexander Stewart wanted to know. 'If he is dead then I am king!'
'I am afraid Your Grace is doomed to disappointment this time,' Adam Hepburn said dryly as the king groaned and sat up.
'What an unpleasant child,' Alix murmured to the laird as they rode back to the castle, for the accident had shaken the king, and their hunt that day was over before it even began. 'How he covets his brother's place.'
'If young James grows up, his brothers will give him nothing but difficulty, I fear,' Malcolm Scott replied quietly. 'Come and walk with me on the beach, lass.'
She smiled a slow smile of assent and nodded.
When they had dismounted within the castle courtyard the laird took Alix's hand, and they quickly departed across the drawbridge. The queen, seeing them go, raised a questioning eyebrow at the Hepburn of Hailes.
'I believe she is his mistress,' Adam Hepburn said softly. 'They have been gone from their home for over ten days now, madame. I believe he misses her company.'
Marie of Gueldres laughed low. 'He misses her body, my lord.'
'I do not enjoy being separated from you,' the Hepburn said quietly.
'Hush, my lord,' she told him. 'In public we must both remain circumspect. As it is Bishop Kennedy has admonished me, although even he is not certain of what we share. I prefer he never be sure of that.'
'Why should you not be happy?' he demanded of her. 'You are a widow, not a nun in a cloister.'
'I am happy, but I am also the guardian of Scotland's king and the mother of his five siblings. Unlike a man, I may not flaunt my lover, my lord, and you well know it. Besides, there are those who, if they knew for certain, would be angry the king's mother had taken for her lover a mere Hepburn and not an earl. They would say your family's ambition was shameless. Are you ambitious, my lord?'
'All men are ambitious, madame, but not all men love you as I do,' he answered.
Marie of Gueldres smiled at him again. 'And that is why you are my lover, Adam Hepburn. I know when a man's heart is true.'
Then together they entered the castle while below them on the beach the Laird of Dunglais walked with Alix. A light wind was coming off the water. Above them the skies were partly cloudy. One moment the sun shone brightly, and then it was gone beneath the lowering gray. The dark waters of the Firth of Forth lapped at the shale beach. They walked hand in hand for some minutes, but then Alix shivered.
'You are cold,' he said.
'Aye, 'tis chilly along the water,' Alix admitted.
'The beach is low here,' he said. 'We'll climb up and walk back through the fields, lambkin.' He put his arm about her now, and together they mounted the hillock, easily gaining the field above it. They reached an open shed as it began to rain. 'It's only a shower,' he assured her as they ducked inside. And then he pulled her into his arms.
'For the first time since we left Dunglais I have you alone and to myself,' he growled.
'Nay,' she said. 'There was our first night at Ravenscraig when you accused me of flirting with other men and dragged me from the hall.'
'I'm a fool,' he said, and then he kissed her a slow, hot kiss, crushing her breasts against his leather-clad chest. The scent of her filled his nostrils, and his lust leaped.
'I miss you,' she admitted. 'I miss being in your bed, in your arms, Colm.' Her fingers brushed lightly over the nape of his neck. Aye, she loved him.
The shed was filled with fresh hay. The laird pulled Alix down upon it. His hands pushed her skirts up, and he stroked the sensitive flesh on the inside of her thighs. The bodice of her gown felt as if it would burst open. He smiled down into her face, and she smiled back in agreement. No words were necessary. He wanted her, and she wanted him. The laird released his cock, which was already hard with his longing.
Alix pulled his head down to hers and began to kiss him hungrily. 'Hurry, my lord,' she whispered hotly against his mouth. 'I have missed your hard length inside of me. I have missed the passion we share. Ahhh!' she cried as he thrust deep into her.
Having pushed within her, he lay quiet for several moments. He had been so desperate for her that he felt if he moved again even slightly he would lose control over himself. He had never needed a woman as much as he needed her. Aye! He loved her.
Alix sighed with pleasure, feeling his thick length within her velvet sheath. She undid the buttons of her jerkin and unlaced her shirt beneath so he might have access to her full round breasts. He groaned, and dipping his head, began to suckle upon one of her breasts. Her hands caressed him, silently encouraging him in his passion. Finally she whispered to him, '
The laird lifted his head up and their eyes met. 'You must keep your eyes open, lambkin, when I do. If you close them I will cease,' he said wickedly. Then he began to move on her. She was like wet silk, like honeyed fire. He had thought himself near to release when he had first penetrated her, but now he had regained control of himself. He moved back and forth slowly at first, then with increasing speed. He looked deep into her eyes as he used her, enjoying the passion that burned within them until finally he saw her struggling to keep her eyes open as he had commanded. He increased his efforts, and Alix screamed his name. 'Colm! Oh God, you are killing me!' Her eyes rolled back in her head as her body shook with fierce tremors, and he let his own passion pour into her with short, hard spurts until her sheath had milked him dry, and he collapsed atop her.
Finally they came to themselves, and he rolled off her body, laying on his back, his breathing slowly returning to normal. God help him! He would never get enough of her.
Alix sighed happily. 'I'm glad we have found this little place where we may be together. I never again want to live without your passion, Colm.'
'Nor I yours, lambkin,' he told her. 'Beg the queen to release us soon. She will give you what you desire, for your kinswoman's sake.'
'I will, my lord,' Alix promised him.
They reordered their garments, and as the shower had now stopped and the sun was peeping from behind a purple cloud bank, they returned to Ravenscraig Castle hand in hand. That night as they sat at the high board Alix spoke softly to the queen.
'Madame, my lord and his daughter are missing Dunglais, and so am I. May we not depart soon? The weather grows colder, and my lord's people will be worried if he does not return soon.'
Marie of Gueldres sighed deeply. 'I know it is not fair to retain your company any longer,' she admitted. 'You are free to leave on the morrow, Alix Givet. But before you go you will come and speak with me, for there is something you should know.'
'Thank you, Your Highness,' Alix replied. And she wondered what it was the queen could possibly have to say to her.
Chapter Eight
Later that evening in the hall Alix managed to steal a moment with her lover. 'We are free to leave on the morrow,' she told the laird. 'But the queen wishes to speak with me before we go, my lord.'
'I will alert our men,' he responded.
'Remember, she does not receive anyone before midmorning. We shall not get an early start, I fear,' Alix
