It was as she dried herself and slipped on her shift that she finally plucked up the courage to discover the answer.
“Katherine, I need tae ask ye something. But ye must swear tae me that ye willnae laugh.”
Her words brought Katherine to a stop, and taking leave of her duties, she turned around and looked at Skylar. Her expression was one of surprised curiosity, but nodding solemnly, she replied. “O’ course, I willnae laugh. What is it?”
Heat rose in Skylar’s cheeks, and she nearly shook her own head in disbelief at the words that were about to come out of her mouth. Yet, what choice did she have? Her sisters were not there to help her, and she had no one else close enough who would tell her the truth.
“When a man and woman lie together in the marriage bed,” she began nervously, “what happens?”
Katherine did not break her promise, for she did not laugh. Instead, she just gazed at Skylar in bewilderment, her eyebrows raised in surprise.
“I ken ye might have thought I ought tae ken,” Skylar continued, “that perhaps I may have been with a man ‘afore. But the thing is, I have not. Before the laird found me, I’d been in a nunnery for years—”
“Ye’re a nun?” Katherine blurted, her eyes now even wider with surprise.
“Nae at all,” Skylar half laughed, her mind immediately going back to the night Maxwell had come to her bedchamber. “Thank goodness. But I did live in a convent for quite a few years.”
She was careful with her words. While she liked Katherine, she did not think she could keep secrets like Kendrick. She was a maid, after all, and maids were renowned for gossip. If Skylar told her anything now, she had no doubt it would have traveled through the entire castle before Skylar could even make it to the altar.
“I couldnae ask such questions of the Sisters. They had all made a vow of chastity. But the truth is, I dinnae ken what will be expected o’ me or what I’m supposed tae do.”
“Nothing,” Katherine said plainly, with a dismissive shrug.
“Nothing?” Skylar cried.
“Well, nae quite, but more or less.” She grinned. “When ye go tae the bedchamber and ye ken it’s nearly time, ye just lie down on the bed and act like yer dead. The laird will do everything himself.”
Skylar gawped at Katherine in astonishment. “That cannae be what happens, can it?”
“It’s nae all of it,” Katherine giggled. “When ye’re ready and he’s ready, take off yer dress. Ye can leave yer shift on.” Katherine nodded to the shift Skylar currently wore. “Ye shouldnae speak or move. Just lie there like ye’re dead. It will hurt, so ye will need tae be prepared.”
Skylar was becoming more terrified as Katherine went on and now regretted asking her anything about it.
“Having something tae bite on will help ye. Take a handkerchief or a bit of cloth. That way, ye can bite down on it, and it’ll stop ye from screaming.”
Skylar now stood with her jaw gaping open and her imagination running wild, thinking of the torture she was going to have to endure. Maxwell was a big strong man. By the sounds of all that Katherine had said, Skylar may not have to worry about being wedded against her will and having to live her life in a loveless union. Maxwell may kill her tonight in their marriage bed.
“At least, that is what I’ve heard,” Katherine said finally, turning back to her duties. “I’ve never laid with a man myself.”
As Katherine finished helping her dress and led her through the castle, Skylar remained in shocked silence and could do nothing but fearfully wonder what would really happen to her that night. The small chapel on the grounds of Dunvegan Castle was filled with people Skylar did not know. She had not even had the chance to be properly introduced to Lady Macleod with the suddenness of everything. It certainly was not how she had imagined her wedding day would be, but as Bram walked her down the aisle, Skylar could do nothing but go along with it, as though she were an observer, looking from the outside in.
Maxwell stood waiting for her at the altar, and while she had not expected him to look angry or annoyed, the way he did look at her surprised her. It was as though he had waited for this day all his life as he gazed at her with a tenderness she had not yet experienced from him.
Perhaps it was partly her attire, a beautiful embroidered white dress that Katherine had managed to source. Maxwell had not seen her in anything so striking, and she imagined it certainly had some impact. Yet, she did not believe his affectionate gaze was from the dress alone.
He had indeed been kind and understanding on some occasions, but since their return to the castle, everything had been so rushed and aggressively pushed forward. The only time they had properly spent together had been in her bedchamber. As she recalled, his head had been verily buried in her bosom, hardly a position for her to ascertain any expressions of tenderness.
Her own feelings were indeed a jumbled mess, for while she had openly protested that she was being forced to marry against her will, she knew deep down that her protestations had mostly been about marrying Bram. When Maxwell had informed her she would be marrying him and not Bram, she had felt relief, even if under the strange circumstances she had not shown it. In truth, Maxwell Macleod had not left her mind since that first night they had shared the tent. Her future was not entirely dire, for if nothing else, there was a strong sexual attraction between them, yet the unknown still lay like a path ahead of her.
The vows were spoken, and Skylar left the chapel a married woman. She had been nervous about the proceedings but not as anxious as she now felt, for all Katherine had said continually played on her mind. It did not really fit with what had happened between herself and Maxwell, but then, perhaps that had been different because he had not taken her. Tonight, she would have to give herself to her new husband, and the thought of it simply terrified her.
Later on, at the top table in the great hall, the feast was well underway. Maxwell sat to Skylar’s right, Bram to her left, and Lady Macleod sat on the other side of Bram nearer the end of the table.
“We’re related now,” Bram was saying. “Ye’re a Macleod through and through at any rate—stubborn, headstrong, and with a fiery disposition tae boot,” he chuckled.
Skylar tried to laugh along with him, but with the worry of what was yet to come, she simply could not bring herself to do it. Perhaps engaging him in further conversation would take her mind off what must happen that night, and thinking of something to say, her mind went to Lady MacTavish. Those who had attended the first feast, the feast to celebrate the union of the Macleod and MacTavish clans, had not yet left, and in some strange and bizarre circumstances, had been there that day, attending her and Maxwell’s wedding.
“Did Lady MacTavish nae protest that she had tae attend today after Maxwell broke off their betrothal?” Skylar asked Bram.
