"Aye, and I could kill you for it at times," she said softly. "Then when you return I fear to show you the full strength of my hunger, thinking 'twould repulse you just as I fear you will not be able to meet it, for you have eased your own while you were away." Her hand idly caressed his broad chest as she spoke.
"Since the time I almost lost you there has been no other woman, none, not even when we have been long apart. I have feared that I would frighten you with the strength of my hunger so have held back," he said in quiet wonder, and then tossed her onto her back. "Just how hungry are you now? 'Tis my first night home for days and ere that you had your woman's time."
"Ah, well, if you think of it as a meal, I have barely finished the first course." She laughed as, with a growl, he kissed her, and her last clear thought was " 'God bless you, Storm. I hope Tavis MacLagan is wise enough to know what a treasure he could have in you.' "
* * * * *
Tavis MacLagan sat drinking and cursing Storm Eldon in as many colorful ways as his ale-soddened mind could come up with. He was prone to cursing a vast number of other people as well, including his kinsmen who sat at the table, wondering if they would have to carry him to his bed. Under all his anger lay a gnawing hurt and a deep concern for the tiny woman who would soon bear his child. In truth, he was afraid of her.
"God's beard," he muttered, glaring into his ale. "The first time I didnae speak and the second time no one would let me. It seems I am fated to e'er see her ride away with that cursed Eldon."
Colin smothered a laugh. "The man does seem to e'er be about. Aye, an I had a daughter like Storm, I would be quick to horse too. The lass does seem to have a way o' getting into the thick o' it."
"Matters might have gone more smoothly had ye not had your hands all o'er that bitch, Katerine."
Slamming his tankard down on the table, Tavis snarled, "Was I to become a monk, Sholto? There was no reason to think Storm would return or e'en send word. Should I sit and pine like some untried boy?" He slouched in his chair, looking very much like a sulky little boy. "She isnae pining for me."
" 'Tis certain that I have no great opinion of the Sassanach gentlemen, but I cannae see them hovering o'er a woman whose belly is swollen with child, another man's child," Iain said dryly, and laughed at the expressions crossing his brother's face. "Aye, and a Scotsman's bairn as well."
Confusion had changed to realization and then rage inside of Tavis. "Blood and thunder, she did it to me again."
"Nay, ye do it to yourself, lad," Colin said. " 'Tis easy to see the lass isnae wanton, that she wouldnae hop from man to man, but ye always think the worst. She but plays on that. If ye mean to get her back, ye are going to have to curb your temper, not let her goad ye so."
Finishing his drink, Tavis stood up. "Ye're right. An I stay calm, she will have to listen to me in the end and then she will see that here is where she belongs." He strode out of the hall with a gait that was amazingly steady considering the amount of drink he had consumed, adding as he went out the door, "If that doesnae work I will simply drag the wench back here by the hair."
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Three weeks passed, winter settling in with an intermittent vengeance. Storm awakened on a stormy morning, instinct telling her that she was going to continue to follow in her mother's footsteps. She had not felt comfortable for many a morning, but somehow this discomfort was different. Nevertheless, with her maid's assistance, Storm rose, dressed and made her way down to the hall. She had seen, even aided in the birth of enough babies to know that there were many hours yet before her work really began.
By the time the evening meal was laid out, she knew she could no longer hide the fact that she was in labor. Elaine and a number of the women serving in the keep had been watching her so closely that Storm felt sure they would not be surprised. She found it slightly amusing that, due to the celebration of Andrew's birthday, the Fosters were now caught at Hagaleah by the storm. The Fosters and the Eldons always seemed to be together when something momentous happened in either family.
It was not simply maternal pride that made Storm think of her child's birth as momentous. In but hours, the blood of two warring factions would burst forth united in one living entity. The future heir to the MacLagan stronghold would call the lord of Hagaleah grandfather or, in the far future, uncle. She realized she had continued to be certain that she would have a boy, and smiled crookedly. It would hardly surprise her, what with Colin having three sons and her father having six. Daughters were the rarity in both families.
"Papa," she said, and then had to clench her teeth as a strong contraction gripped her, revealing that her child's patience had finally run out.
Silence fell, and every eye was turned toward Storm. Roden Eldon needed no more than one all-encompassing glance to tell him the baby was on its way. He soon had his servants working with the precision of his troops. As Storm tried to stand with Elaine's help, he strode over and picked her up.
"I
