The Love Slave Read Online Free PDF Page A

always wondered why she had bothered in her case, since she was to be a nun.
    Gruoch put an arm about her mother and helped her to drink. When Sorcha had satisfied her thirst and quieted her cough, she said, “Ian Ferguson will hae a virgin in his bed on his wedding night, Regan. Ye will take yer sister’s place, although Ian will nae know it.”
    “You canna ask such a thing of me!” Regan cried. “I am to be a nun. I must come to the convent of St Maire’s chaste. How can I swear chastity before God when I am nae chaste, lady? ’Tis true I dinna wish this life before me, but I hae nae choice. Will ye take away my honor before I leave Ben MacDui?”
    “Yer honor?
Yer honor?
” Sorcha MacDuff mocked her daughter. “The Fergusons took away the honor of the MacDuffs before yer birth. They slaughtered yer father and many other good men in their rapacious greed for our lands. I never told ye exactly how yer da died. What did it matter how? He was dead to us, and could nae return. But I think ye must know, Regan MacDuff—ye who are so like him. The MacFhearghuis ambushed yer da and his men as they returned from a cattle fair. Yer sire was the last man standing, I was told, the last to be slain. The MacFhearghuis and his bandits brought my Torcull’s body back to me as a final insult. They hae carved F’s in each of his cheeks and upon his forehead. He was still the bonniest man who ever lived! Then Alasdair Ferguson gie me awee box. Inside it were three bluidy bits he said were yer da’s manhood. The bastard hae personally castrated my Torcull! It ’twas a wonder I dinna miscarry ye both in that moment, but I knew my duty was to bear the MacDuff heir and revenge my Torcull.
    “I hae been patient,” Sorcha continued. “For thirteen years I hae been forced to take Alasdair Ferguson into my bed, between my thighs. I hae been made to bear seven of his bastards, and this last one hae killed me! Now when I lie upon my deathbed, within the hour of my revenge, ye would defy me, prattling childishly of yer honor? Well, Regan MacDuff, there is more involved than just the honor of our clan. Yer sister’s very life, and that of her child, are at risk. How do ye think the MacFhearghuis will react if he learns that Gruoch is nae the pure lass he believes her to be? He will kill Gruoch wi’out a single thought if he learns of it. Ye are yer sister’s only hope, Regan MacDuff. If ye dinna take her place in her marriage bed on her wedding night …” Her voice trailed off weakly, and she fell back upon her pillows.
    “What if his seed takes root in my belly?” Regan demanded. “How will I explain that to the abbess at St. Make’s?”
    “Our mam has convinced the MacFhearghuis to let you remain wi’ her and wi’ me for at least a month,” Gruoch told her sister. “If ye show any signs of being wi’ child, there is a potion that will bring on yer flow.” She caught her twin’s hands and looked up into the mirror of her own face. “
Please, Regan
,” she pleaded. “No one will ever know of this but you and I. Twill only be once. I know ye dinna want to do it, so surely God will forgie ye. Besides, in doing it ye save my life, and that of the bairn I will bear,
and
the MacDuffs will be revenged upon the Fergusons.
Please, Regan! Please!
”
    Regan looked coldly at their mother. “All my life ye hae ignored me, and now ye ask this of me. Were it nae for the love I bear Gruoch, I would refuse ye,” she said bitterly, “but I will nae hae her blood upon my conscience. Ye knew that, lady. I curse ye for it!” Then Regan stood up and stalked from the room.
    Gruoch felt the relief pouring through her entire being. “I knew she would nae fail us, Mam. Regan is a true MacDuff. She will sacrifice herself that our father be avenged.”
    “She doesna gie a thought to my Torcull,” Sorcha said weakly. “She does it for love of ye, my Gruoch. I am glad that when I am gone, ye will hae her. Dinna let the MacFhearghuis