A nod and a sigh were all he received in response. As Elene’s breathing slowed, and her body sagged against him, he recalled the story of how his parents met. Laird Liam Sinclair and Laird Tristan Mackay arranged for Mairghread Sinclair to marry Tristan’s younger stepbrother, Alan, to end the clans’ feud. Tristan arranged the marriage, hoping to avoid the matrimonial noose and hoping it would reform his wayward stepbrother. The moment Mairghread and Tristan met, magnetism drew them together as though an invisible thread bound them. It took only a night for Alan to ruin the pending betrothal and nearly get himself killed after he insulted and threatened Mairghread. Laird Sinclair intended to return to Dunbeath with his five children and happily continue the feud. It was Mairghread who convinced her father and four brothers to remain.
Liam remembered his parents sharing how they’d stood together on the battlements early the morning after Alan’s disastrous behavior. They’d admitted their attraction, and Tristan asked Mairghread to remain at Castle Varrich so he could court her. It took much longer to convince her father that they were a sound match. But everyone knew from the start that the couple was besotted with one another. His parents claimed it was love at first sight. Watching them after two decades of marriage, Liam believed it was likely lust at first sight. But he knew it took only days before genuine feelings blossomed between the couple.
As he peered at Elene’s sleeping face, he wondered if God had granted him such an opportunity. His esteem grew each day as he got to know Elene better. There was no doubt that they were attracted to one another, but he found he enjoyed merely being in her company. Their couple of nights stargazing had been two of the best memories he had. He couldn’t think of anything that had felt more natural than lying beside her and talking. The only thing that came close was the feel of his sword in his hand. He’d held one every day since Tristan gave him his first wooden sword at five years old. Holding Elene as she slept, knowing she depended on him and trusted him enough to lower her guard, made something change within Liam. He was certain his heart swelled, but he felt worthy in a way he’d hoped representing his grandfather would create. He didn’t want to imagine the feeling ending when he left Orkney and parted ways with Elene. He wondered if he would ever feel this way about another woman, the woman he would eventually marry.
CHAPTER8
“How long are ye going to keep pretending?” Dermot asked as he and Liam collected firewood. Liam looked over his shoulder toward the camp they pitched halfway to Dingieshowe.
“I dinna ken. As long as it takes to get her away from Gunter and keep her from going back to Skaill.”
“Ye ken we have to go back to Skaill, dinna ye?”
“Of course I do. I may be enamored, but I havenae forgotten everything else aboot this voyage. Our ships are there, and Androw expects us to return within a sennight.” Liam considered that while they rode south of Kirkwall. They’d traveled two hours before they stopped for the night. Elene woke after only a half an hour, but she looked more rested. They’d spoken little while riding, both watching the surrounding landscape. It gave Liam more time to plan now that he had an unexpected member of their party. “When we arrive back at Skaill, we’ll do it in the dark. We’ll bring the curraghs straight to the birlinns. That way, people believe we’re securing them and the barge. Elene will lie in the hull of our curragh while it’s hoisted and battened down. We’ll all come ashore in Alfred’s curragh. She will have to remain hiding in the curragh until we can set sail in the morning.”
“She’ll freeze. And what aboot food and water for the lass?”
“We fill the waterskins before we leave Kirkwall and make extra bannocks that morning. We have enough oats. There’s dried beef aboard the birlinn, and I’m certain we can get pickled herring in Kirkwall. Elene will need spare plaids to bed down with, but it should keep her warm.”
“Ye’d best pray the weather holds.”
“I ken. I dinna like the idea of leaving her alone all night. If ye’re willing, I’d ask ye to stay aboard. As captain, I can make reasonable excuses for ye to be checking the ship before we depart.” Liam locked eyes with Dermot, the warning clear.
“I willna touch her or try to seduce her. She’s yer woman.” Dermot threw up one hand while the other arm carried twigs and branches.
“See that ye dinna. Ye have a way with women.”
“Dinna I ken it.” Dermot grinned and waggled his eyebrows. But he grew serious, looking around at the men near them also gathering wood. His cheeks flushed. “I’m mending ma ways.”
“Ye think Hildie will have ye?” Liam named a young woman he knew Dermot had fancied for years, but she’d never shown interest.
“Aye. I talked to her before we left. I told her the whole truth.” Dermot’s good looks and charming disposition drew women to him easily, but he’d been just as careful as Liam in his partners. People assumed he had far more prowess than he did. He’d confessed his bravado to Hildie, fearing she might choose someone else during his mission.
“Wise. She’s a good lass.”
“Just as yer Elene is.”
“Wheest. She isnae ma aught.”
“But ye’d like her to be.”
“It’s too soon to tell. And I have to think aboot the clan before I can think aboot asking for any woman’s hand.”
“That’s a pile a shite. Ye ken that, and I ken that. Yer mother and father wish all of ye to have the same fulfilling marriage they do. They dinna care if ye marry a princess or a peasant as long as ye choose a woman who can help ye lead. We’re prosperous enough without a bride’s dowry. None of yer aunts came with a dowry nor alliances, and ye ken yer father and mother welcomed them just the same, as did yer grandfather.”
“That’s easy for ye to say. The duty doesnae rest on yer shoulders.”
“If I have the courage to tell Hildie I’d be muddling along with her on a wedding night, then ye can find the courage to admit she’s who ye want.”
“Who I want isnae the same as who I need.”
“Keep following the lass like a lost puppy, and ye’ll find ye need her to keep from pining yerself sick.” Dermot cocked an eyebrow before stepping back into the camp. The two men dumped their loads beside the fire ring. Elene stepped forward to build a blaze. Liam handed her his flint and squatted beside her to help stack the branches and twigs.
“Is everything all right? You and Dermot seemed to have a heated conversation.”
“We’ve been friends since we were in raggies. We tease one another aboot almost everything. It was naught serious, except for the part where I shared what I think we must do when we return to Skaill.”
“Return?” Elene shook her head and rose, but Liam caught her hand before she could step away.
