“Oh, that’s . . .” Her protest ended on a sigh as Geordie gathered her closer to his chest and followed Aulay down the hall.He’d lifted his arm slightly as he pressed her against himself, so that her chest was against his. He’d had to. Staring downat her swelling breasts pushing out of her gown was affecting him as much as touching and suckling them had and he didn’twant to embarrass his sister-in-law by walking into the master’s bedchamber with his cock pushing his plaid out like a travelingtent.
“Just let me see that she is still dressed,” Aulay said as he slid into the room. Jetta was apparently decent, because Aulaydidn’t even close the door, but simply warned his wife that they had company as he swung the door the rest of the way openand stepped out of the way.
“What is— Oh, Dwyn, you are bleeding,” Jetta cried, hurrying toward them as Geordie carried her into the room.
“Aye. Someone broke one o’ Mother’s glass goblets in the hall and Dwyn stepped in it coming out o’ the garderobe,” Aulay explained.
“Oh, dear,” Jetta muttered as she quickly glanced over Dwyn’s feet, then she turned and rushed to a chest against the wall,and began to dig through it. “Set her on the bed, Geordie. Aulay, can ye ask a maid to fetch me boiled water? Oh, where arethe bandages Rory prepared for me ere leaving? I know I put them in here somewhere.”
Smiling faintly, Geordie carried Dwyn to the bed as Aulay left the room. He set her down gently, straightened, glanced aroundto see that Jetta was still digging in her chest and turned back to quickly tug up the neckline of Dwyn’s gown to better coverher nomadic breasts.
Caught by surprise, Dwyn gasped, and then flushed bright red and muttered, “Thank ye,” as he released the material.
“Me pleasure,” Geordie said with a grin, but the truth was he would rather tug the material down. The woman was on a bed,after all. However, he wouldn’t dare do something like that with Jetta just feet away.
“Here we are,” Jetta said brightly, hurrying back to the bed, her arms full of bandages, a bag with what he presumed weremedicinals and a spool of thread with a needle in it.
“Oh, surely I do no’ need stitches,” Dwyn said with alarm when she saw what the woman carried.
“I hope not,” Jetta said solemnly as she moved around Geordie to set her items on the table next to the bed. “But one of thecuts is bleeding quite freely, and ’tis better to be prepared.”
Dwyn groaned at that as Geordie moved down the bed to bend and examine her feet. He winced when he saw them. The bottoms ofher feet looked almost shredded. There were several cuts still with bits of glass in them that would need to be dug out, andone with a very large shard of glass poking out.
Moving back to the head of the bed, he scooped up Dwyn, settled himself on the bed and then set her down between his legsand wrapped his arms around her waist.
Geordie expected her to be embarrassed and protest at once. Instead, Dwyn proved how clever she was by sighing unhappily andsaying, “’Tis that bad, is it?”
Jetta smiled crookedly as she glanced from him to Dwyn, and then said, “It might be.”
“A maid will bring up the water as soon as it boils,” Aulay announced as he reentered the room then. “And I ordered that theglass be cleaned up. Apparently whoever broke it had no’ even bothered to tell anyone so that it could be taken care of.”
Jetta clucked with irritation at that as she knelt at the side of the bed to look at the bottoms of Dwyn’s feet. “That isjust . . .” Apparently unable to find a word to finish her thought, or perhaps unwilling to voice it, she muttered instead,“I shall certainly be wearing my slippers around here until everyone leaves.”
“I’m certain wee Dwyn will too,” Aulay said, casting her a sympathetic look, and not even seeming to notice that Geordie wassituated behind her, holding her in his arms. At least, he didn’t think so until Aulay said, “Ye may want to hold her by theshoulders rather than around the waist, brother. Ye’re pulling the top o’ her gown down.”
Dwyn gasped and glanced down at her escaping bosom even as Geordie did. She immediately started to raise her hands to rectifythe situation, but his hands were already there, tugging the material back up into place.
“Thank ye,” Dwyn moaned. Covering her face with both hands, she shook her head. But she just as quickly dropped her handsand straightened her shoulders as she admitted, “I fear in their enthusiasm to help get me wed, me sisters took in me gownsand lowered the necklines so I canno’ e’en breathe without me bosoms threatening to spill out. I see a long, embarrassingstay ahead o’ me and will offer me apologies in advance fer the way I’ll no doubt be unintentionally waving me naked bosomabout at every turn.”
Geordie grinned at the back of her head, quite liking her forthright attitude on the subject. The lass was a strange mixture,seeking out the solitude of a high perch in the tree or a book in her room, yet facing embarrassing situations head-on andwithout flinching. He couldn’t think of another lass who would handle the difficulties she was having with her gowns withsuch resigned strength. Most would be blushing, and running from view. Even most of his sisters by marriage, fine women all,would not have handled it as well, he thought. Certainly, Jetta had begun to flush bright red and looked embarrassed for herthe moment Aulay had pointed out what was happening. Although, he noted, the color was quickly receding and she was relaxingafter what Dwyn had said.
And that was Dwyn’s magic, Geordie realized suddenly. She could make a person completely comfortable around her with littlemore than a few words. She could
