“Aye.” Cairstine nodded as she continued to check Twinkle’s saddle then bridle.
“Are you headed back to Freuchie already? I thought you had several more sennights to search for a husband.” A thought crossed Eoin’s mind that gave him an inexplicable pain in his stomach. “Or have you already found one?”
Cairstine cast him a withering glance as she checked the fastenings to her satchel. “Hardly. You know that.”
“Then where are you going, lass?”
“You have a habit of being far too nosy. God fashioned hell for the inquisitive, ye ken.” Cairstine bit her tongue as her Highland burr slipped with the ancient proverb.
“If I’m headed to Hell, it’s because my inquisitiveness wasn’t of the nosy sort,” Eoin grinned, but morphed into a deep laugh when he held up his hands. “I already know. I’m despicable.”
Cairstine narrowed her eyes but struggled not to return his smile, his laugh infectious. “Incorrigible, I suppose.”
“I am improving in your estimation,” Eoin offered her a courtly bow.
“Enough of that. Do that at home, and your men will think you’ve gone soft. You’re no courtier, and you look ridiculous pretending to be one.” Cairstine remonstrated, but there was no bite to her words. She couldn’t suppress her own laugh at the stricken look on Eoin’s face. “Cease. I relent. I’m on my way to Dundee.”
“Dundee? As in the priory? So you were able to get the queen to take up your mantle.”
“I was. She has agreed to inform my father that she supports my choice. I should be in a novice’s gown in sennights’ time.”
Eoin couldn’t believe his ears. It bothered him more than he understood to learn Cairstine was moving forward with her plan to enter a nunnery. He felt off-kilter as he looked at the vibrant young woman; he was learning there was far more to her than met the eye. He looked away when movement caught his attention. Members of the queen’s guard entered the bailey, surrounding the monarch. He bowed with proper deference this time as Cairstine curtsied.
“Lady Cairstine, Eoin Gordon,” Queen Elizabeth greeted them. “I wasn’t aware the Gordons were riding out this morn. Had I known I would have saved my guards the time of preparing their horses. I suppose I shall go for a ride to make it worth their effort. Lady Cairstine, the Gordons will serve as your escort. God be with you.” The queen swept past them, leaving no opportunity for anyone to disagree.
Eoin and Cairstine stood staring at one another, both at a loss for words. Eoin recovered sooner. “How many guards do you have? Is it just the four I saw yesterday?”
“Yes. The queen feared that was too few, so she was going to send some of her men with us.”
“She’s right. Four and your maid aren’t nearly enough to protect you.” Eoin’s face hardened as he registered Cairstine’s intention to refuse. “Even if the queen hadn’t decreed it, common sense says you should. Your guardsman–Bram, if I remember correctly–will agree with me. Cairstine, you’re headed to a convent. This isn’t time for you to be prideful.”
“I don’t want to be an inconvenience. I fear I’ll slow you down.”
“Don’t add lying to your list of sins. Pride is bad enough. I saw you ride yesterday, and I know you made good time traveling to and from Freuchie. You’re an experienced rider. You won’t slow us down. Besides, I’m sure Allyson wouldn’t mind the company of another woman.”
Cairstine’s eyes widened as she peeked in Allyson’s direction. “Your sister-by-marriage doesn’t care for me, and rightly so. I have a reputation for being mean spirited.”
“But you’re not. Do you really need to preserve it now?”
“She won’t believe I’m genuine. She’ll assume I’m trying to manipulate you.”
“Give Allyson more credit than that. She had her own reputation to reform. You know everyone believed her a notorious flirt, but there was more to it than that. Everyone has their reasons for why they act as they do.”
“And why are you and Ewan known for being womanizers? And don’t tell me it’s because you are. I already know that, but if your mother was so devout, why did you choose gluttony and lust when you could have chosen the virtues?”
Eoin shrugged. “You forgot vainglory. We aren’t hard on the eyes, apparently, and few women refuse us. Before Ewan married, we only took what was freely offered since neither of us was pledged to someone. Our parents’ marriage was not an ideal model, so we lived as bachelors are wont to do, unworried aboot what a future bride might think.”
Cairstine was unprepared for Eoin’s honest assessment of his own character. She found it oddly refreshing after the smoke and mirrors that were part of daily life at court. “How can I be sure Allyson won’t hold my past against me?”
“Don’t say aught that’s mean, and don’t flirt with Ewan.” Cairstine noticed a hardness enter Eoin’s eyes as he warned her away from his brother.
“I’ve never flirted with him.” Her hushed tone barely reached Eoin, but his breathing eased to know the beautiful young woman before him wasn’t interested in his brother. “Eoin, I assumed you and Ewan told each other everything. But if I’m to travel with you, then I suppose I should reassure you. I’ve never kissed Ewan. Only you.”
Cairstine’s cheeks heated, and she couldn’t meet Eoin’s eyes. Her past choices felt more like indiscretions since she was about to embark on a lifetime of prayer and self-denial. Eoin eased her hand onto his arm and led her toward the other Gordons.
“Father, Ewan, Allyson, we have a slight change of plans. Lady Cairstine is traveling to Dundee, and the queen suggested she join us since it’s along the way to Huntly.”
Andrew and Ewan nodded, but Allyson was slower to accept the news. She and Cairstine stood, eyes locked upon one another until they both nodded. Eoin didn’t understand what passed between them, but he sensed it was some sort of truce.
