“What is it?” Ingrid asked suddenly.
Jenna glanced over her shoulder at the younger woman. “Sorry? What?”
“Ye seemed like ye were miles away. And ye looked sad.”
“Did I?” Jenna asked, surprised. “I guess I’m just a little wrung out by what happened today. That must be it.”
Ingrid watched her for a moment and then went back to rinsing her hair. “Ah, that must be it. For a minute there, it seemed as if ye might be thinking of something in particular. Or someonein particular.”
Jenna swiveled to look at Ingrid. “What do you mean by that?”
Ingrid shrugged innocently. “Nothing. Nothing at all. Now turn around so I can finish yer hair.”
Jenna didn’t. She wasn’t fooled by the maid’s bland expression andfeigned innocence. She narrowed her eyes. “What have you heard?”
“Nothing!” Ingrid said quickly. “Nothing at all.”
“Ingrid,” Jenna said, scowling at the younger woman. “Spill. What have you heard?”
Ingrid bit her lip and then put down the wooden ewer she’d been using to rinse Jenna’s hair. “Oh, all right.” She shuffled forward, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. “Well I’m… friendly… with one of the lads who rowed out to bring ye back. Robbie, his name is. Anyway, he said ye and the laird looked a bit… flustered when they picked ye up.” She paused and bit her lip again, as if deciding whether to continue. “And that yer clothing looked a little… hastily donned. Apparently, the laird had his breeches on back to front.”
Jenna stared at Ingrid for a moment longer and then burst into laughter. It was such a ridiculous image of Arran that she couldn’t help herself. She hadn’t noticed his slip, and neither, it seemed, had he. After her mirth subsided, she put her head in her hands and groaned.
“Oh God, Ingrid! What am I going to do? Does the whole keep know that Arran and I… that we… that we… oh, you know what I mean!”
“Dinna fash. The lads from the boat are the only ones who know, and they wouldnae breathe a word for fear of the laird’s anger. They willnae tell anyone.”
“But Robbie told you.”
“That’s only because we are… close.”
“Oh, close are you?” Jenna snorted. “In the same way that the laird and I are close?”
Ingrid grinned. “Aye, something like that.”
Jenna blew out a breath and then slapped the surface of the water, watching the droplets catch the light as they fell back down. “This is such a mess, Ingrid. I didn’t mean for this to happen. What am I going to do?”
“I dinna understand,” Ingrid replied with a frown. “Why is it amess? The laird is unmarried so—” Her face suddenly went pale. “Oh! Ye aren’t married in the future, are ye?”
Jenna laughed at the shocked expression on the younger woman’s face. “No! Relax, I’m not married.”Although I was going to be, she thought, as an image of Alex flashed through her mind. She pushed it away. She wouldnotthink about him now. She would not think about him ever again.
Ingrid breathed out, pressing a hand against her chest. “Oh my. Dinna give me a scare like that! But if ye are unmarried why are ye so concerned?”
“Because I don’t know how to handle this! It’s not like I planned for it to happen.”
“But if ye and the laird are… close… isnae it obvious how ye handle it? Ye do the same thing Robbie and I are going to do.”
“And what’s that?”
“Ye marry the laird, of course!”
Jenna felt her mouth drop open. She couldn’t have been more shocked if Ingrid had told her she had to run naked around the island under a full moon.
Marry Arran? Was she crazy?
With an effort, Jenna snapped her mouth shut. “Um… that’s not exactly what I had in mind.”
“Why not? He’s the laird, and a more eligible bachelor ye’ll not find in all the islands. And you’re a MacFinnan spellweaver. What a match ye would make! And what children ye would produce!”
