“Meredith’s nae precious,” a rough voice suddenly called out from the back of the room. “If she was, she wouldnae have run off with the Lairdship here as soon as she had the opportunity. Well, he’s welcome to her, though I daenae know why he wants her.”
At first, Meredith assumed Felix was making a poor attempt at a joke. Then she noticed the tumbler of whisky in his hand and realized the boy had probably been sneaking a drink at every possible opportunity — the result being that, as he staggered forward, one finger pointing at her accusingly, he could barely stand up, let alone walk in a straight line.
“Felix!” Meredith’s father made a move towards his son, but Ryder was faster, and, before anyone had a chance to intervene, he had Felix by the throat, holding him against the wall of the Great Hall with one strong hand while the other brought the knife he always carried — even at his own wedding, it would seem — to the boy’s throat.
Meredith gave a sharp cry and darted forward, grabbing Ryder by the arm as her mother and Melissa sobbed behind her. The room fell silent, the fiddle players Ryder had hired to provide some entertainment pausing in the middle of a reel when they realized no one was dancing.
“Ryder!” Meredith cried desperately, trying to pull her husband away from Felix, only to be brushed off as easily as if she were a fly buzzing around his head. “Ryder, let him go! He’s drunk and stupid, I know, but he’s still me brother!”
“Aye, and it’s time he started behaving like it,” Ryder growled, his eye never leaving Felix’s pale face. “No one talks to me wife like that, brother or no. So this fool better apologize if he doesnae want to feel the full force of me anger. And he better promise me he’ll never speak so disrespectfully to any woman again in me hearing.”
“I apologize!” Felix spluttered, struggling for breath as Ryder continued to hold him against the wall. “And I promise! I dinnae mean anythin’ by it, Meredith, ye know that! I was just speakin’ in jest!”
“Aye, and a fine joke it was,” Ryder hissed sarcastically. “But one that I wouldnae risk repeating if ye know what’s good for ye, lad.”
With that, he released his hold on Felix’s neck, allowing the younger man to drop to the floor, where he crouched, clutching his bruised throat, while his mother and Melissa ran towards him, both still in tears.
Meredith stood there for a second, her heart hammering wildly in her chest. She had not expected to find herself torn between her family and her husband — especially not so soon in the marriage — and yet here she was, quite literally standing between the groups of people she loved most, not knowing who to turn to first.
As she turned to look imploringly at Ryder, however, she saw Colby Green step quickly up beside his friend, his usual smile firmly in place.
“Well, young Felix,” he said, offering a hand to the younger man, who still cowered on the floor, his hands massaging his neck where Ryder had gripped him, “This is a fine state to get yerself into, but then again, I suppose we’ve all been there where whisky is concerned and it was very fine whisky, after all! Now, why don’t ye come with me for a breath o’ air; it’ll do ye the world o’ good.”
Meredith shot a grateful look in his direction as he pulled Felix to his feet and guided him towards the door, one hand under the younger man's elbow, to support him. “Thank ye,” she mouthed silently as they passed, then, turning back to Ryder, she slipped her hand in his.
“I think that’s enough entertainment for one night,” Ryder said softly, looking down at her. “Let’s go to bed, wife.”
* * *
In Ryder’s chamber, Meredith perched on her husband’s knee, her head nestled against his shoulder as he stroked her hair.
“I just wish the day had ended as well as it began,” she said wistfully, gazing into the fire which blazed in the hearth. “We were so happy — and then Felix had to go and ruin it all!”
“We can still be happy,” Ryder replied gruffly, still unused to voicing such thoughts. “We are still happy, I mean. But Meredith, ye must see that I couldnae just let him talk to ye like that, brother or no? Felix has been argumentative and hostile ever since he arrived here. I’ve done me best to ignore it, but when a man starts to talk to me wife like that, well, that’s nae something I’m willin’ to overlook.”
“Felix isnae a man, though,” Meredith replied, a small smile creeping over her face. “He’s still just a lad, really, and a lad who had a few too many drams o’whisky, too. Och, I daenae know,” she continued, thoughtfully. “But maybe it’s for the best that it happened. At least now he knows that ye willnae tolerate his behavior. Maybe he’ll settle down and be his normal self again. And then we can all live happily ever after!”
“As long as it’s nae all together,” Ryder said, returning her smile. “And now, wife, I think it’s time for bed, daenae ye agree?”
Meredith lowered her eyes bashfully. She had been thinking about this moment all night, but now that it was here, she found herself suddenly shy under Ryder’s gaze.
Ryder, however, had no such qualms.
“Come,” he said, taking her by the hand and leading her over to the bed, which had been turned back by the maid while they were downstairs at the feast. Ellen had already helped Meredith undress, replacing the dark green dress she’d been married in — green to match her eyes — with a simple white nightshift which, Meredith was suddenly aware, clung to her body, outlining every curve.
She did not know why she felt shy; it wasn’t like he hadn’t seen her in her shift before after all - or out of it, for that matter. Meredith blushed at the memory, even though it excited her. Seeing her discomfort, Ryder took a step towards her, leaning down to kiss her on the lips - the softest of touches, which gradually became harder and more insistent as she responded to his kiss, moaning softly as he pushed her gently back until she was lying beneath him on the bed, looking up at him, her eyes trusting.
“Relax, lass,” he said softly, as he kissed her again, starting at her mouth and then trailing soft kisses down her neck. “Yer safe with me. Ye can trust me.”
Meredith merely nodded, almost imperceptibly. She could feel his hardness against her body and the sensation, combined with that of his lips on her skin, was almost too much to bear. Her lips parted as Ryder’s kisses moved lower down her body before he carefully lifted the white nightgown over her head, pausing to quickly remove his own breeches and shirt before returning to the bed.
The room was warm, and the firelight flickered on her pale skin as he bent once more over her body, and she reached up, pulling him towards her, no longer feeling shy or afraid, but simply longing for the moment when she would finally be truly his.
“I trust ye,” she said, simply, her eyes meeting his.
He kissed her again, his tongue parting her lips as his hands roved over her body, firm but gentle at the same time. Reaching up, Meredith softly trailed her fingers over his arms, feeling the tightly packed muscle underneath skin laced with silvery scars. He worked his way down her body as he had a few nights earlier, his kisses making the skin on her thighs tingle in anticipation as his lips reached them, and his hands gently pulled them apart.
She gasped aloud as she felt his tongue between her legs, swirling in slow, lazy circles that made her raise her hips to meet him, desperate to feel his tongue on her skin. After a few moments, however, he pulled back to look her in the eye.
“I love ye so much,” she whispered, reaching out to stroke the hair back from his face.
“And I love ye,” he replied softly, bending to kiss her once more. No longer nervous, she kissed him back passionately, her fingernails digging into the skin on his arms as he finally entered her, making her cry out as the brief moment of pain turned into pleasure. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms tightly around him, feeling almost as if she was part of him now — or he was part of her, she wasn’t sure which. All she knew, as their bodies moved together in the flickering light of the small room, was that they fit together as if they had been made for each other — and that as her body shuddered in pleasure, her mind thinking of nothing other than the sensation of him moving inside her, she wanted this moment to last forever.
* * *
This must be what it feels like to be happy, Ryder reflected as they lay together afterward, their bodies still tangled together in the heat of the room. Until now, the word had been largely meaningless to him — much like the word love. But now he understood both well enough for a chill to run down his spine at the thought of ever losing this feeling.
Meredith had been his wife for less than a day, but, already, being with her felt so natural that his life before this, his wedding day, felt cold and empty in comparison. A life filled with duty and conflict, and not much more than that. Now, however, he had a wife. One who understood him and treated him with a kindness he had not known existed in the world. He even had a new sister-in-law, who, he remembered with a groan, he had rashly promised Meredith he’d allow to stay behind to keep her sister company once the rest of her family headed back home.
Not even the thought of being forced to listen to Melissa’s near-endless chatter over the dinner table every day, however, could dampen his mood. It had, quite simply, been the best day — and night — of his life. Of Meredith’s too, he knew — she’d told him often enough, right before she fell asleep in his arms.
In the space of just a few short weeks, everything had changed. And as he finally joined Meredith in sleep, Ryder knew that he had changed, too —and that the woman lying next to him was the reason.