A Proper Scottish Wife Ch. 24

"Why did you not arrive on Sunday as expected?" He asked after he'd tucked his cock away. He left her kneeling on the floor, the taste of his cum and her ass lingering distastefully in her mouth.

"Thorburn was at the house on Market Day, Master. He forgot to invite me to the Keep for Sunday, so he sent the middle brother, Frang, to invite me after he left. Frang said Thorburn had an announcement. I believed you would want me to provide this information to you, so I went on Sunday and stayed for the next two days."

"What was this big announcement?" Blackthorne asked.

"Thorburn and Frang intend to combine the Keep and McTavish's old place into a single land holding. Frang will build a new home for he and Isobel near the Keep, close enough to support each other with men if either place is attacked. Frang will continue to manage the old farm, but they believe the Cameron power and prestige will increase with a single larger holding. Perhaps enough to rival you, Master."

"He'd need more money to rival me, but no question his power increases," Blackthorne pondered. "When will I be done with the fucking Camerons!"

"Master, I understand they caught another spy."

"What spy? Which location?"

"I did not get that information, Master, but I know they've started meeting in the basement of the Keep to avoid other people from overhearing their plans. They make sure the basement is cleared and put someone on the stairs so no one can get past. They believe no voices can be overheard in the basement."

"How are you privy to this information?" He asked.

"I believe Lord Cameron intends to ask for my hand. They are comfortable with me and have included me in their inner circle. It's why I know this. They haven't yet shared it with anyone else, although Frang may have hired a builder to put together plans for his new house."

"Why would he ask for your hand? I understand he didn't even sleep with you while you were at the Keep."

How the hell was he getting information so quickly, Teárlag wondered? I just left the Keep and he already knows this. She was sure she'd told no one and her maid wasn't to enter Thorburn's room unless she invited her in. Perhaps she had other orders from Blackthorne. Maybe it was the reason he caned her, she'd told him they were no longer sharing a bed and he was afraid he lost Teárlag as a spy.

"Well?" Blackthorne demanded, already suspicious of her delay in answering him.

"It was a small argument, Master; insignificant and already resolved. We reached a rapprochement last night."

"If it's insignificant, why the delay in telling me?"

"When we have sex, he wants to use my sex, not just my mouth and ass anymore."

"What agreement have you reached, because letting him fuck your cunt would be a gross violation of our agreement."

"I told him my reputation is already poor and becoming pregnant while unmarried would ruin me. He agreed to wait until such a time we should be engaged. We'll continue as we are until he's ready to make a commitment."

"So, Thorburn wants to fuck your little red fringed cunt, huh?"

"Yes, Master. I've managed to put him off for now, but if he does propose, and I accept, he will expect me to abide by my agreement. I will not accept any proposal without your approval, of course, but I should know what you wish me to do if he asks. He's talked to me about moving to the Keep. I don't see if I'll be any help to you without maintaining my relationship with Thorburn, but I assume you don't want me to marry him if he should ask. I'm asking how you wish me to respond."

"And right now, you're in his inner circle?"

"The only one not already family by marriage or birth, Master. They still include Thorburn's uncle in the planning, although he usually stands guard to keep anyone else from coming into the basement. He'll join if anyone else is guarding the doorway."

"Well, I don't want to lose your inclusion if they're finding my other spies. I imagine the only reason they're not dead or dismissed from service is they hope to feed me bad information, but I don't want you marrying him either, nor do I want you carrying his get. Hmmm, what do I want you to do?"

"If I might suggest a possible solution, Master?"

"What? Speak up."

"If he asks me to stay at the Keep, let me move in with them. I'll be included in more of their planning if I'm there all the time. I'll try to bring as many of my servants as they allow, for sure my personal maid and my driver. I can use them to deliver messages to you. If he asks me to marry, I'll accept, but put the wedding date off as far in the future as I can; whatever excuse seems plausible at the time. If the wedding date is distant, I may still be concerned for becoming pregnant out of wedlock and can seek to dissuade him from using me in that fashion. If he insists on exercising marital rights before the wedding. I shall endeavor to do so only when I'm least fertile."

"You realize our agreement is void if you become pregnant with his bastard. I'll not marry you if you carry another man's child. You risk greatly if you let him fuck you. Everything you've done will be wasted."

"Yes, Master, but I don't see how I can remain valuable to you otherwise. I still hope to avoid his fucking me as long as possible. Hopefully, we can end this soon and I will become Mrs. Calum Blackthorne before I'm faced with that choice."

"I'm still undecided. I'll consider your proposal overnight. Stop by again on your return from Tobermory and I'll give you your answer then. What do you plan on doing while you're in Tobermory this time?"

"I intend to check on my house there, make sure it's clean and tidy. If our agreement does become void, I'll need a house to return to when our relationship has ended."

"Even if I abandon my plans to marry you, I may keep you around for fun. You've been most compliant and I take great pleasure in our time together. You are a great little fuck and I can continue using you as such."

I'll kill myself first, Teárlag thought, before I would ever consider such a life for myself. "Yes, Master," is all she said.

"Speaking of pleasure, it's time we enjoy a little time together. Grab your things and go down to my dungeon. I'll be along shortly."

"Yes, Master." I agreed to do this, she thought. I knew what I was agreeing to. This is part of it. You've withstood it before for less reason, you can do it again.

Teárlag gathered her clothing and descended the stairs. Thankfully, she was the only one who would be here this time. Màiri was gone. McTavish was gone. No one else would witness her shame. She set her things down. Perhaps she could influence him by placing herself in a piece of his equipment rather than wait for him to choose. If she put herself in the pillory, it would make it more difficult for him to strike the front of her body. When he hung her in his chains, her entire body was subject to his blows. She chose the pillory.

Blackthorne came down the stairs and looked around for Teárlag. He saw her clothes, but didn't immediately see her waiting for him; until he looked at his pillory. She was bent over which is what made it harder for him to see her. Her head and hands were laid in the bottom of the holes; he had only to bring the top board down and she'd be trapped. He kept it low to bend his prisoners down, almost parallel to the ground. Her buttocks were arrayed fetchingly for him to use, as was her mouth, which he decided he would use again straightaway. He dropped the upper part of the arm down trapping her hands and neck. She remained calm and composed, a trait he wished to alter before she left. He pulled out his cock and pointed it at Teárlag's mouth.

"You know what to do with it, don't you."

She opened her mouth and Blackthorne thrust his cock in it, Teárlag obediently taking it down her throat.

"Make it nice and wet, now. It's going to be going in your ass shortly. Might as well make it a little easier on yourself."

She bathed it in her saliva, hoping to ease his entry. He slowly got harder and harder, enough to push it in her ass. She sucked hard, hoping to get him to release in her mouth. Or at least close enough to climax he wouldn't spend as much time in her ass. Alas, it was not to be. He pulled out of her mouth and walked around behind her, patting her bottom as he moved.

"I can hardly wait to shove my cock into your tight ass, see what Thorburn has been fucking recently."

"Yes, Master."

Not recently. Not since telling Thorburn I've been your spy on his household. No fucking of any kind. She grunted as he pushed his cock into her, a sudden pain emanating from her rectum, relieved he wasn't larger. Blackthorne started pumping his pathetic prick in and out of her ass. He made no effort to ease his entry into her, nor to allow her time to accustom herself to his violation. Tears rolled down her face. Teárlag tried clenching her buttocks together to increase the pressure on his prick in an effort to make him climax sooner, but his previous episode with her maid gave him more stamina than was his wont and the clenching just increased the pain for herself, so she relaxed as much as possible. Eventually, he grunted gutturally, rammed his cock as deep as it would go, and released, spurting his seed into her bottom.

"I can't believe how much satisfaction I receive from fucking what Thorburn believes to be his," Blackthorne said. "The feeling is exquisite, more than mere fucking. If you were a disgusting sow, it would still be perfect because he thought you belonged to him."

I no longer belong to Thorburn, Teárlag thought. Only you. Only you will use this body until I'm gone from your life forever. No more to mate with a real man, one who knows how to please a woman. Only you. The tears flowed harder.

Blackthorne offered his cock to her mouth once more and she dutifully cleaned it, fighting her nausea. When he was satisfied to it's cleanliness, he pulled out and returned it to his pants.

"Since you're in this position, I'll finish by marking you."

"Yes, Master. I'm to stop by the Keep again tomorrow. I remind you so your marks don't remain overlong and alert Thorburn to your ownership of me."

"Of course. It wouldn't be good for him to know you're my little pet. Mmmm, I think this soft whip will do today."

Teárlag knew well which whip he spoke of. He often used it when he didn't want marks lasting more than a night. It wouldn't leave long lasting welts, but it's stinging strands were quite painful. It was the reason she chose the pillory. At least it wouldn't be applied to the front of her body. Her buttocks were inured to most pain now, having experienced most every form of abuse Blackthorne could imagine.

"You've never chosen a position for your punishment before, "Blackthorne mused. "Why do so now, I wonder? Have you resigned yourself to my perversions and seek new experiences? Were you tired of hanging from your arms? Or was it because you realized we must resort to this whip to avoid marking you longer and hate having it used on your tits and cunt? Which is it, Teárlag? I don't quite believe you're accustomed to my perversions. You hoped to avoid me striking those lovely breasts and your sweet cunt, didn't you?"

Damn, nothing escaped him. "Yes, Master."

"Of course you did. You'll be unhappy to learn I will not reward your little deception, Teárlag. Spread your legs," he ordered. I obeyed, he would tolerate nothing less. He patted my head and disappeared behind her.

Fifteen minutes later, Blackthorne stopped. Satisfied, Blackthorne released her head and hands. She resisted the urge to crumple to the stone floor. Every tender part of her body was sore.

"I suggest you no longer attempt to steer me in certain directions, Teárlag. It only gives me new ideas to try out to give you most that which you are trying to avoid. You may get dressed now."

She stood a while longer, letting the pain wash over and through her, slowly dissipating to something less desperately immediate. Blackthorne waiting patiently. Her nipples and areola stung and her sex still throbbed, but she would survive. He seemed to accept her story regarding her lateness and why Thorburn and she had not slept together. She went to her dress and started putting it on. When she reached the blouse and bodice, she needed to leave the laces loose, her breasts too tender to subject them to fashionable confinement. She left the dress open and her breasts out, hoping she might fully dress before she got on the carriage, exposing herself to her servants.

When she was dressed as best she could under the circumstances. She started for the tunnel entrance.

"Don't forget to stop her on your way back tomorrow. I'll give you my decision."

"Yes, Master."

Teárlag gingerly walked down the long length of the tunnel. Reaching the end, she climbed the stairs, extinguished the candle and placed it in the drawer. She loosely covered her breasts, they were still smarting.

Who cares if the servants see me, she thought. Blackthorne may end up sharing me with all of them anyway. He certainly has no care for my nudity. She walked carefully out to the carriage, unconcerned for her disarray and climbed in with the assistance of her maid.

******

"You see how she went to the carriage with her dress loose," Thorburn said. "I told you she was a whore."

"She did not look well to me, Thorburn. She was almost limping. Her maid had to help her into the carriage."

"So she was limping," Thorburn said. "What's it to do with her breasts, unless she was walking on them?"

"Before I called her a whore, I'd ask her why, brother."

"We can't ask anything about this. She can't know we were spying. If she's still false, knowing we've been here will reveal to Blackthorne we're considering an attack through his tunnel system. If we ignore it, hopefully he leaves it defenseless."

They watched another shift change at mid-afternoon in which everyone was replaced and another at dusk where most of the guards left, leaving only the watch in the house with a view of the tunnel house. Thorburn had read and re-read the map, familiarizing himself with every word, particularly how to move the cabinet and the latch at Blackthorne's end of the tunnel.

"We should be able to get in the tunnel after dark," Thorburn said. "We have a way to approach which is out of sight of the guards station, along the Southern side of the town and then straight in. It will be black tonight, new moon and some clouds besides. The candles Teárlag mentions can't be lit until we're under ground."

"The watch does have full view of the only door to the house, Thorburn. Even on the darkest night, how do you expect to get in without them noticing?"

"It appears I still have things to teach you, Stuart. I'll show you something new tonight. We cannot carry any metal. We'll have to leave our swords and knives here. Any sounds they make could give us away. Carry your bow and arrows only. Start preparing. It should be fully dark in an hour."

Stuart set aside his metal weapons, wrapping them against the night air. Thorburn did the same. Stuart shouldered his sheath and carried his bow. Thorburn carried only a wooden staff he'd fashioned during the day as they watched. Stuart knew the damage he could do with a quarterstaff only too well. His brother was none too gentle using the weapon, even when practicing with family. When Thorburn felt it was dark enough, he set off down the hill towards where he planned to enter the town, not far from the copse where guards watched during the day, but was abandoned now. Thorburn moved silently for one so large, but he'd been fighting for close to seventeen years and bound to learn martial skills useful to his profession as mercenary. The closer they got to town, the slower he moved, going from shadow to shadow, crawling where necessary.

"Take a look around, Stuart. This is where we must come to find our way back to our nest. I warn you, your night sight is better out of the corners of your eyes," he whispered, "not the front. If you hear a sound, don't look at the sound, look to the right or left of it. Your chance of seeing something is enhanced."

"Aye."

They made their way to the back of the tunnel house, on the opposite side of the guards. Thorburn motioned for Stuart to boost him to the roof. After Thorburn made his way to the top, he turned and lowered his hand for Stuart to catch, and lifting him up in a feat of strength which awed Stuart. When they were both on the roof, Thorburn began removing the straw, opening a hole in the roof. He carefully laid it aside to be replaced later. He lowered himself between the rafters and waited to lower Stuart when he started to drop through. He found candles where Teárlag said he would, pulled the cabinet aside slowly to assure there was no noise as it moved, then made his way down the stair, waiting for Stuart at the bottom.

"Did you pull the cabinet back?" Thorburn whispered.

"Done."

"Good."

Thorburn put a few stalks of the straw from the roof on the floor of the tunnel and used a bit of flint and steel to spark it to life, lighting the candle from the brief flame. He looked around. The candle didn't provide a huge amount of light, not seeming to reach from one side to the other, but he could see the tunnel leading in the direction of Blackthorne Manor and started in that direction with Stuart close behind. It lead almost straight, with very few bends at all. They reached the end of the tunnel and it almost looked like the tunnel just ended in a rock wall, but Teárlag said that's what it looked like.

Thorburn put his mouth close to Stuart's ear and breathed, "Listen at the wall for fifteen minutes for any sound from the other side. If you hear anything, we'll not go through. We'll have to blow out the candle before we open the door. Okay?"

Stuart nodded and put his head against the rock, listening. Thorburn searched for the latch on this side of the door. Once the light was extinguished, he thought it might be impossible to find the latch. Even with the candle, the task was daunting. He finally found it. He put his ear to the wall and listened as Stuart was. Five minutes, ten, fifteen. Not a sound from inside. Given the time of night, he'd hoped to find it quiet, but who knew.

He patted Stuart's shoulder. "Arm yourself," Thorburn whispered. Stuart stood and put arrow to bow. He held a second and third arrow in his hand, ready. He could draw and shoot in an instant. Thorburn gripped his quarterstaff in his left hand tightly and raised the candle to spot the latch once more before blowing out the flame and dropping the candle in the dirt. He reached for the latch, finding it with his finger and slowly released it.

There was a barely audible 'snick' and Thorburn felt the wall release. He pushed and the wall pivoted, silent on it's invisible hinges. There was a dim, flickering light on the other side, so Thorburn slowly eased the door open, Stuart with bow extended, crouched below. As soon as it was wide enough, both stuck their heads through the opening, peering intently into the gloom, looking for any sign of habitation or danger. It was still quiet and seeing nothing if immediate peril, stealthily slipped through the opening.

Thorburn sniffed the air. It contained the unmistakable stench of adrenaline based fear and the coppery scent of blood. This was not a happy place. Thorburn put a hand on Stuart to get his attention, pointed to his eyes, and then the door and stairway faintly visible across the room. Stuart nodded and found a spot from which he could easily watch both, while Thorburn carefully searched to room.

It was all here, everything used to torture Màiri. Racks, pillories, wheels, knives, whips, chains, and other devices Thorburn could not recognize, though if he studied it long enough, could realize its intent. Horrible things. Some still had blood on them, never having been cleaned from their last use and he wondered if it was Màiri's blood, or if others had spent time here since then. A cold shiver went down his spine. There was a cage, barely large enough to get in, let alone stand or sleep in which he recalled from Teárlag's description was where Màiri was kept.