“I ken,” Catherine smiled softly. “I suppose it’s me trying to protect ye.”
Rab nodded before looking back at the keep. “We’ve been out here far longer than I think either of us realizes. Someone is bound to have noticed that ye’re gone.”
“Aye. But—” Catherine pursed her lips and managed to turn them down at the same time. “Evina Murray is now ma roommate. She kens I slipped off with Edgar more than once. She willna ken I’m with ye, but she’ll ken nae to say aught. She’ll say that she didna see me awake, or that she didna speak to me. It willna be a lie, but an evasive truth. Seems she’s quite good at that. I got the feeling she did it for Caitlyn Kennedy before she married Alexander Armstrong.”
“When can I see ye again? I canna court ye in the open.”
“True. Nay one can catch us together. Meet me tomorrow eve in the hayloft.”
“Is that…” Rab didn’t want to know once he began his question.
“Nay. I met him in the garden a few times but never somewhere where we could—recline so easily.” Catherine squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m nae saying I suggested the hayloft so we can. But I—”
“Wheest. I understand. It was probably wise of ye with a mon like Edgar. Ye risked a great deal being alone with him. He isnae kenned for his gentleness with women.” Rab straightened and narrowed his eyes.
“Before ye start, nay. He was never rough with me. It was passable, and I could have lived with it, but I never enjoyed his touch. But neither did he have to force me. He may nae fear Óg, but I ken he fears Mòr. He never risked his own life by doing aught I didna want. He’s too fond of himself for that.”
“After the evening meal?”
“Aye. Wait until it’s nearly over. I slipped out without waiting for the queen to dismiss us. I canna leave before the other ladies-in-waiting again, or people will talk. When everyone retires, I will slip to the loft.”
“Vera well. I dinna care for ye wandering the bailey in the dark.”
“Ye can watch the side door I’ll use from the stable’s entrance. Ye can watch me.”
“That makes me feel better.”
“I ken,mo chridhe.” Catherine knew it was the truth when she called Rab her heart. He was. He’d been a part of it for years, and it felt as though it finally beat strongly again.
“Mo piseag.” Rab stroked the pad of his thumb over her cheek. “It’s been too long since I called ye that.” When they were in the cave the day Rab gave her the pet name, he hadn’t merely called her Kitty. He’d said “my kitten.”
They left the orchard in silence, holding hands, passing through the gardens and crossing the bailey in the shadows. They didn’t dare another kiss when someone might catch them so close to the keep. They squeezed each other’s hand before Catherine slipped inside. Rab waited a couple minutes before entering the castle and making his way to his chamber. He willed himself to believe Catherine made it safely to hers. He fell into a deep slumber once he pulled the covers around his shoulders. His recurring dream of walking through a high meadow with a little boy on his shoulders and a babe tied to Catherine’s back made his lips twitch in his sleep. For weeks, nightmares of what his cousins did, or what could have happened if Catherine had been there, plagued him. He finally had a restful night’s sleep.
Chapter 6
“MacLaren.”
Rab steeled himself for Andrew’s approach as he waited outside the Privy Council chamber. He’d been waiting in the passageway all morning and skipped the midday meal in hopes of keeping him from losing his place. It had done him no good. It was midafternoon, and the chamberlain didn’t indicate King Robert intended to summon him that day.
“MacFarlane.” Rab kept his tone civil despite all eyes upon the two men. Whatever Andrew had to say, Rab was certain he preferred it be in private.
“Stay away from Catherine.”
Rab appreciated Andrew’s directness, even if he wanted to shake the man for speaking Catherine’s name with so many big ears and loose tongues milling around. He nodded and moved to turn away, but Andrew pressed on.
“I know you listened to us last night. I made certain you did. She has at least two men inquiring aboot her. Do not ruin her chance for a happy life by dragging her down with you.”
“And discussing her with me isnae going to do exactly what ye warn me against?” Rab swept his eyes over the people leaned against walls and those grouped together, talking. Plenty of people watched with open curiosity. “Ye could at least keep yer voice down. I heard, and I’m nae disagreeing with ye.” Rab planned to be careful not to ruin Catherine amid making her his wife.
“Hear me well, MacLaren. I know what’s between you, and it will never work. My father will kill you before he ever lets his only niece marry you. Aught that’s between you ends now before you’re the one who gets half your clan killed.”
Rab straightened from leaning casually against the wall. He stood a fraction of an inch taller than Andrew, so they still stared one another in the eye. “We’ve already proven we dinna take well to threats. I have nay interest in shedding more blood, enough has already been lost. But I will defend ma people just as ye will yers. Do nae bring Kitty into this and make things worse.”
“Kitty? Kitty? You make it worse by using that bluidy name. She isn’t your woman to speak so familiarly aboot. Stay away.”
“At least pick a mon who can make her happy. She’s young and has a full life ahead of her. Dinna think of it as me asking but think of her. Dinna sentence her to misery. She doesnae deserve it. She’s lost enough in this lifetime. Dinna take her last chance for happiness.”
Andrew’s jaw set as his gaze traveled from Rab’s boots to his hair. “If you love her as much as you sound like you do, then realize this is her only chance for happiness. I love her like I did—do—” Andrew flinched, unwilling to accept that Fia and Greer could never again tease him, hug him, talk to him. “—My sisters. I will do what’s right for my clan, but I will do right by her too. I almost made the gravest mistake by pushing my father to betroth her to Edgar. My bad choices ended up saving her. I won’t make the same mistake twice.”
