“Where would you like to go? Would you care to stroll through town?”
“Not at all. There are paths leading toward a meadow and one into the woods. I’d rather move toward the fresh air rather than away from it.”
“I’m relieved to hear you say that. I was dreading a stroll through the littered streets.”
Abigail studied Ronan for a moment before she smiled shyly. “But you would have if I’d asked, and if I didn’t know you for an islander, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you hated it.”
“Is that why you’ve suggested going another route?”
“Hardly,” Abigail laughed. “Birds, trees, and grass. I much prefer that over refuse and the rotting of God only knows what. The only thing missing is—”
“The sea,” Abigail and Ronan said in unison. They both chuckled as Ronan wrapped Abigail’s arm around his. She shifted so their upper arms rubbed together. They fell into companionable silence until they passed the last cottages of the village, which lay west of the center of town. When Ronan cleared his throat, the MacKinnon and MacLeod guards fanned out, maintaining a protective barrier around the couple but not within earshot if Ronan and Abigail kept their voices low.
It amazed Abigail that a simple sound conveyed an order to not only Ronan’s men but men from her clan, who owed him no obedience. But she supposed that wasn’t true; as a laird, they would show him deference.
“I asked them to give us some space once we were away from the keep,” Ronan explained, guessing at what made Abigail furrow her brow. “They do not read minds.”
Abigail sucked her cheeks in before casting a rueful grin at Ronan. “They may not, but you already seem to have a habit of reading mine.” She found she didn’t mind that Ronan already understood many of her thoughts. In fact, it intrigued her to guess what else he might perceive.
“I don’t read your thoughts, Abby,” Ronan said, returning her grin. “I watched the confusion on your face as you watched the men spread out. It was easy to tell what you were wondering. As for this morning, I told you. You’re not the first person to make assumptions aboot me. I haven’t been divining your thoughts.”
To Ronan, Abigail’s expression seemed indulgent, bemused, and skeptical all at once. It made her startling eyes twinkle while the brisk air brought color to her cheeks. She was breathtaking, and Ronan couldn’t look away. He adjusted their arms, so Abigail’s forearm rested over his rather than around it, making it possible for him to hold her hand without drawing attention. Her arm brushed his once more, and Ronan felt a little added pressure as she leaned toward him. He wanted nothing more than to wrap his arm around her, but she’d only agreed to consider him the night before. Despite their tryst that morning, he didn’t want to make her fear he expected more.
Abigail inhaled the fresh air as they crunched over the dusting of snow that had settled from that morning. There was little wind compared to what she lived with on the Isle of Lewis during winter. With no gusts coming from the sea to nearly knock her over, Abigail felt like she could spend forever outdoors with Ronan. She was in no hurry to return to the keep, so when Ronan didn’t object, she guided him and their men across the meadow and toward a stream that turned into a surging river in spring. If they’d been riding, she would have urged them to ford the waterway and climb the far embankment to gaze at the vista. They would have seen mountains in the distance, a sign that the Highlands beckoned them.
A thicket came into view, and Ronan squeezed Abigail’s hand. When she looked up, Ronan raised his eyebrows. She nodded, and they continued toward the trees. Bursts of sunlight around the canopy of trees made the snow twinkle. It was thicker where the sun hadn’t melted the last dusting they received. As they entered the tree line, the guards fanned out further, giving the couple privacy. Abigail didn’t doubt Ronan knew where every man stood, but she couldn’t see any of them. They came to a stop in one of the patches of sparkling snow.
“Abby, there is so much I wish to know and to ask you, and it feels as though there is so little time to get to know you.”
“I feel the same. We have a sennight before we depart. I still have duties to the queen that I can’t neglect no matter how much I want to. What will you tell the king?”
“The truth. You have agreed to let me court you, and we intend to travel together to the Hebrides. We haven’t come to an agreement yet, but I will hold to my word and inform him of who I choose by Epiphany.” Ronan watched as Abigail cast her gaze aside, uncertain what to make of his final comment. He nudged her chin up. “Abby, you’re the only woman I’m considering. If we find we don’t suit, then I will have to choose someone else. But until we decide one way or another, there is no one else. I ken it only gives us a moon, since I must dispatch a messenger at least a fortnight before Epiphany. It’s the only way for the mon to arrive back here in time.”
“That isn’t long, but it’s longer than most couples have. Do you have to be wed by Epiphany or merely betrothed?”
“I have to make my choice by then. The king didn’t say aught aboot being betrothed or married.”
Abigail bit her bottom lip. More than a moon’s time gave her more time to get to know Ronan than she’d taken to become acquainted with Lathan. But she’d never considered needing to get to know Lathan. She’d assumed everything would work out perfectly merely because that’s what she wanted to happen. As she stood with Ronan, she realized in the space of a day, she knew more about Ronan’s character than she likely knew about Lathan’s during the first six months of their handfast.
“Abby?”
“I was thinking aboot how I feel like I ken you better after a day than I did—him—after the first six months there. I want to get to know you, which I hadn’t considered the last time. And I feel like you’d let me. I don’t feel like you’re keeping me at arm’s length—” Abigail smiled guiltily. They both knew neither was keeping the other physically at an arm’s length. “I believe you’d like me to know you better. I don’t think you’d hide aught from me either, or at least, you wouldn’t play me false in what you let me see.”
“I may not always be able to tell you everything when we both might wish, but I won’t purposely deceive you to hurt you. The only time I will be less than truthful is if I believe you or our family is in danger.”
Abigail focused on Ronan’s earnest gaze, and she knew the man before her had too much integrity to lie to her. She understood it wasn’t about her or how he felt about her. It was his ingrained sense of honor and duty that guided him. She knew that he wouldn’t fail her, because to do so would be a failure he couldn’t live with. He’d admitted that was his greatest fear. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Ronan’s waist. He returned her embrace, and she rested her head against his chest.
A sense of security and peace washed over Abigail, one that she hadn’t felt since she was a child and her father embraced her. As the youngest, he’d spoiled her, and she’d always gone to him when she hurt herself. Just as her father made her feel as though the world couldn’t reach her, Ronan offered her the same solace. As a woman fully grown, pressed against the man she desired, she wished she could show how she appreciated the comfort he offered.
Abigail inhaled deeply before releasing her breath gradually. One hand fisted the back of Ronan’s leine as the other glided over his ribs and swept over his chest. She strained to kiss the bare skin at his collar. She inhaled again, the fresh scents of mint and musk filling her nostrils. Ronan’s scent hadn’t been unappealing that morning, even though he’d come from the lists. But Abigail knew he’d cleaned up before going to the midday meal. She found she’d happily grow accustomed to the mixture of smells if it meant she was near Ronan.
“Abby?” It was the second time Ronan had to bring her thoughts back to their conversation.
“I’m sorry. I confess, I was enjoying standing here with you.”
“So am I. I wasn’t sure if I said something that made you withdraw.”
“Ronan, I’d climb inside your clothes to be closer to you right now.” Abigail jerked backed, once more shocked at what she said aloud. She winced as her cheeks went up in flames.
