"Aye. I usually come in the mornings and swim ere I break me fast," he admitted, setting down the basket and shaking out the plaid to lay it on the grass. "O' course, I did no' come here while at the lodge. 'Tis a longer ride here from the lodge and I would no' leave ye fer that long."
"Oh," Jetta said softly, touched by the admission.
"Do ye want to eat first or swim?" Aulay asked once he'd finished with the plaid.
Jetta hesitated, her gaze sliding from the basket to the loch. The sun was higher now, nearly free of the horizon, and the sky was lightening with its arrival, but the air was a bit chilly still. Soon it would be fully bright, the sky an azure blue with frothy white clouds, and the air would warm. Jetta knew from experience--though she didn't recall what experience--that cooler air made the water seem warmer more quickly. Besides, she wasn't really hungry at the moment.
"Swim," she announced, glancing back toward the men.
"They'll no' turn around," Aulay assured her solemnly and stepped closer to help her with the fastenings of her dress.
Jetta half expected him to take the opportunity to kiss and caress her, but he didn't. He helped her out of her dress, and then quickly stripped himself, and walked her to the shore's edge. As she'd expected, the water was cold, but the cool air soon made the water seem warmer than it was so that she kept as much of herself underwater as she could. They'd been in the water for several minutes before Aulay moved closer and slid his arms around her waist to pull her to him.
Eyes widening, Jetta glanced nervously toward the men, but Aulay smiled and said, "'Tis all right, love. Much as I'd like to, I'll no' start something with the men here. We'll ha'e to save that fer another time."
Relaxing, Jetta nodded and slid her arms around his neck, holding on as he drew her through the water, moving them in front of the rocky outcropping to the right of the little beach where the plaid lay.
Jetta bit her lip as they moved. He'd said he wouldn't start something with the men there, but she was beginning to wish he would. Her breasts were brushing against his chest under the water, her nipples hardening by the moment, and his leg kept sliding between hers and gently nudging her. Trying to distract herself, she asked, "Where are we going?"
"Just here," he murmured and then paused as soon as she could see the even smaller beach on the other side of the outcropping.
Except for the small stretch of sand, the land there was not flat. Instead it looked like this smaller bay was carved out of the surrounding hill, she noted.
"Do ye see that large bunch o' bushes on the left side o' the crag?" Aulay asked in a hushed voice as if trying to be sure he wasn't overheard.
"Aye." Jetta nodded, concentrating her gaze on the bush in question.
"Behind that is a cave, with a tunnel entrance in it that leads back to passages in the castle."
"Really?" Jetta glanced to him with surprise, and then found herself staring at his lips as he answered.
"Aye. I'll show it to ye sometime when we're here alone. Fer now, I just want ye to ken where it is."
Jetta nodded, but her gaze was still locked on his mouth. Now that they'd stopped moving, she'd drifted to rest against his front more fully and she could feel that he was hard.
Groaning, Aulay said, "Lass, stop looking at me that way."
"What way?" she asked, surprised to hear how breathless she sounded.
"Like ye want me to kiss and make love to ye," he growled.
"I am sorry, husband, but . . . I do," she admitted apologetically.
Aulay chuckled roughly at her words. "Ne'er be sorry fer that, love."
"We are not going to, though, are we?" she asked with disappointment as he eased her a little away from him.
"Nay," and now he sounded apologetic. "No' with the men here. Ye're no' the quiet type when it comes to lovin'. They'd hear."
"I could try to be quiet," she offered.
"Lass, if ye were quiet, I'd fear I was no' pleasurin' ye. Besides, yer cries and moans excite me. I'd no' enjoy it as much without it, and ye'd no' enjoy it as much trying to be quiet."
"Oh," she sighed.
Pulling her closer, he kissed the tip of her nose and then eased her back again. "I promise, we'll come alone the next time, and I'll love ye til ye scream so loud ye scare every bird in every tree for miles around into flyin' from their roosts."
Jetta chuckled softly at the promise and then shook her head. "Mayhap you should let me make my own way back to where we were, then, for I do not think I could bear the trip back otherwise."
He hesitated, but then nodded. Aulay didn't release her at once, however, but carried her closer to shore so that her head was above water when he let her go.
"Thank you," Jetta murmured, and then glanced toward the smaller beach again. As they started to move back through the water toward the larger beach, she admitted, "Saidh and the others mentioned something about passages in the keep."
"Did they?" he asked with surprise.
"Aye." She turned back to him. "They were talking about you thinking that whoever pushed me down the stairs must have known about the passages and used them to escape."
"Aye," he said grimly. "The problem is no one should ken about those passages but family."
Jetta noted his grim expression, and said, "Saidh does not think they used the passages."
Aulay's eyebrows rose at that. "Why not?"
"Most of the dresses were missing from one of the chests in the hall, and the ones that remained were crushed as if someone were sitting on them. Saidh thinks whoever pushed me hid in the chest afterward."
Aulay shook his head. "Niels checked the chests."
"Did he just open each one and move on? Or did he actually pull out a dress or two or press down on them?" Jetta asked. "Because Saidh found a ballock dagger under one of the gowns and thinks they must have pulled the gown over themselves to hide, and it must have fallen out while they did, so that when they got out and dropped the dress back in it partially covered it."
"A ballock dagger?" he asked with surprise.
"Aye. It was quite lovely with figures carved on the swellings of the guard."
Eyebrows rising slightly, he asked, "What did she do with it?"
"She has it. She and the other women were going to tell the men about it after the wedding ceremony. But she suggested you not be told until the next day so we could enjoy . . ." Pausing, she blushed and shrugged. "Despite her suggestion, I planned to tell you myself as soon as we were alone back in our room after the ceremony, but we did not go to our room, and then with one thing and another I forgot until just now."
Nodding, Aulay began to walk them back through the water the way they'd come. "We should eat and return. I should like to see this dagger."
"We can skip eating here and ride right back if you wish, husband. I do not mind and I know it will bother you until you get to talk to the others about it."
When Aulay hesitated, she added, "We can break our fast at the keep with everyone else while you talk to them."
Nodding, Aulay carried her out of the water.
Chapter 17
The ride back was quicker than the ride out had been. It seemed like just minutes before they were entering the keep. It was still early, though, and while the people who had been sleeping in the Great Hall were now up and about, Aulay's brothers and sister and their mates were nowhere to be seen and obviously still abed.