“Let’s finish building the fire, then I’ll explain.” It was only a couple minutes later that cheery flames snapped and popped in the evening air. Liam entwined his fingers with Elene’s and guided her to the edge of the camp where they could speak privately, but their distance didn’t expose them to unwelcome strangers. “We have to go back for the birlinns. We’ll time it so that it’s dark when we arrive. We’ll secure the curragh and barge to my ship, then the men and I will go ashore in the other one. Dermot will stay aboard my birlinn and make it appear as though he’s inspecting it before we sail. We’ll set sail for Dunbeath with the morning tide.”
Elene nodded, but her expression reflected her doubt. She feared coming within spitting distance of her home. It seemed foolish to tempt fate. She considered another possibility. “My family will hide me in Isbister. Can you return to Skaill, gather your ships, and come back for me there? If that’s too inconvenient, I can walk from Isbister to Snusgar. It’s only a few hours.”
“You are not walking across the island alone.” Liam saw the merit in Elene’s suggestion. He’d prefer not to get her anywhere near Skaill and anyone who might discover her return. But he wouldn’t leave her alone and unguarded to walk the twelve miles across the island. “Are you really close enough with this family to trust them to help you?”
“Of course. The only reason I didn’t want to go to them is because I didn’t want Gunter following me there. My father’s aunts are still alive. His cousins are the ones who let us stay with them when we visited. There are at least four homes I can pick from. My father’s parents, brother, and one uncle moved to Rousay. The rest remained on Mainland. Since this would be temporary, I’m not so scared to involve them.”
“Do you have a relative who could take you to Snusgar? I worry about you going alone. You’d be a target even without Norsemen likely searching for you.”
“One of my cousins can. They have family on their other side who live in Snusgar.”
“That’s the best place for us to sail to, but it’s a large settlement, which means Gunter might search there.”
“We’re assuming he’s looking. He’s likely to give up once he knows I’m not on Rousay. With your boats still in our harbor, he’ll believe you haven’t smuggled me to Mainland yet. If you return without me, it will utterly confuse him. I’m scared, though, that he might force his way onto your ships once you return. He would find me.”
“That’s true. Can you and your cousin make camp outside Snusgar and come into the village when we drop anchor? I can say I came to buy—mmm, smoked char.” Liam shrugged, saying the first thing that came to mind. Arctic char was a favorite of his, but his home wasn’t far enough north for him to fish for it in the Kyle of Tongue.
“Then that’s what we’ll plan for now. But I worry your family is going to wonder about delays.”
“They will, but they’ll assume weather, or something, came up that I needed to sort out on my grandfather’s behalf. Once they meet you, they’ll understand.”
The couple had no more time to talk. Men returned from hunting, and Elene wanted to help prepare their evening meal. She was determined to do what she could, so the men wouldn’t resent her. She drew a knife from her boot that Liam hadn’t realized she carried. She noted his surprise with a smile and a shrug. She set about skinning the catches and placing the rabbits and squirrels on the spit a Sinclair constructed. She remained by the fire, turning the meat to roast it evenly. By the time she finished, half the men had already bathed in the nearby stream. The other half hurried to take their turn as the meat cooled. The men teased and chatted while they sipped whisky after they tossed the bones into the fire.
Elene wondered what she would do for a bedroll, since she hadn’t been able to pack one. She jumped when Liam tapped her shoulder and drew her closer to the fire. He laid out his and handed her an extra plaid.
“What about you?”
“The fire will keep me warm enough.” He gave her a loose, one-armed embrace. “I’ll be all right. I’ll sleep close to it.”
But it dismayed Elene when she realized Liam intended to sleep a respectful distance from her—on the opposite side from the fire. She realized he did it so no intruder could reach her first. She watched him prop his head against his saddle after once more pulling the extra length of wool over his shoulders and head. He lay with his back to her, so he could watch anyone’s approach from that side. Elene could tell he hadn’t fallen asleep, even after she heard snores from the other men. She rolled toward the fire and stretched to grab a long stick that remained in the pile the guards would use throughout the night to stoke the flames. She turned back to Liam and stretched once more, poking him in the back.
Liam rolled toward Elene, ready to draw a dirk before he realized it was she who prodded him. She glanced over her shoulder, then lifted the plaid she used as a blanket. The invitation was obvious. Liam inched closer, so he could whisper without his voice carrying. “I can’t. The men on guard will see me, and the others will too when they get up to take their turn at watch.”
Liam knew the disappointment on Elene’s face matched what he felt. He longed to wrap her in his arms and nestle her against him. They’d laid together watching the night sky, so he already knew how perfectly they could cuddle together. He’d pictured them sharing his bed in his Castle Varrich chamber. However, when the wind blew his plaid around his thighs, he was certain his bollocks would shrink. But he knew the other men felt it, and he would use it as an excuse for why he needed to sleep closer to Elene. He knew none of the men would believe it, but it would save face for Elene. He inched over.
“I must stay on top of the plaid, but I can hold you while we sleep,” Liam explained as he placed his sword behind him but within reach. He slid his arm beneath Elene as she wiggled closer. Her contented sigh shot straight to his groin. He’d brought her to release earlier on horseback, but his unspent lust still strummed through him.
“Would that we were alone,” Elene whispered. “If only you could share this blanket properly.”
If we share a blanket, we’ll be handfasted before the sun rises.Liam nodded as he adjusted the spare plaid around Elene before he adjusted his own around his shoulders. He kissed her forehead, the back of his fingers stroking her cheek. It wasn’t long before their eyes grew heavy, and they were both asleep. But Elene’s eyes snapped open the moment Liam pulled away when it was his turn at watch. She didn’t fall back asleep until he returned an hour later. She realized, despite the surrounding men, she didn’t feel at ease until he returned. She trusted the men because Liam trusted them, but only he kept the fear from overwhelming her.
Morning came all too soon for the Sinclair party. Elene made bannocks with the oats she asked for. She assumed it would be like the bannocks she made with beremeal. She was careful not to burn them, unsure if they would cook as quickly over the open fire as the beremeal ones she made at home. They were back in the saddle as the sun rose over the horizon. It was only two more hours to Dingieshowe. Seated in front of Liam on Urram’s back, she listened to the men whistle.
Liam could see the side of Elene’s mouth turned up, so he knew she smiled while she listened. When there was a pause between tunes, he hummed. He felt Elene jump when his rich baritone rumbled behind her. He chuckled and squeezed the arm wrapped around her waist. He chose a ballad that he’d heard since he was a child. It was a song about two lovers separated by a sea. The woman prayed to God to reunite them, but it was the fae who answered. They agreed to turn her into a selkie, a sea creature that shed its skin to become human. But if anyone ever found her seal-like skin, it would force her to make her life among the marine animals when she sank to the depths of the sea. It was her lover who found it, not knowing the arrangement she’d made. The one person she longed to be with was the person who forced her away.
After humming a few bars, Liam sang. He’d loved to make music as a child, and he often sang alongside Tristan and his brothers. The four men had deep, resonating voices that could fill Castle Varrich’s Great Hall. When she grew old enough, Ainsley would join them, her contrasting soprano sounding like tinkling bells. Only Mairghread refused to sing, claiming she sounded like a magpie among doves. Liam knew his mother loved to sing, but she hadn’t been blessed with the gift of singing well. Still, she spent hours singing to her children when they were little. She need only sing a couple of lines of any song, and Liam calmed. Even at two-and-twenty, hearing his mother sing made him wish he could crawl onto her lap like he’d done for half his life.
He knew Elene couldn’t understand the Gaelic words, but he hoped she understood he was serenading her. He infused all the emotion he could into the song: the longing while the lovers were apart, the joy when the fae granted the woman’s wish, and the melancholy once the selkie returned to the sea. Elene rode astride, so when she leaned her head against his chest and crossed her arms around his arm that kept her snug on the saddle, he knew she understood. She linked her fingers with his, hidden beneath her cloak. Her other hand stroked his forearm.
She wasn’t certain Liam meant to be romantic, but to hear him unabashedly sing to her such a heartfelt song in front of his men made her feel cherished. He’d offered his protection the first night at the loch. It was the first time she’d felt safe since her father died. He’d given her the gift of hope when he agreed to help her. Now he gave her the gift of feeling cherished. She didn’t know how he understood just what she needed, what she never received from anyone else, but she refused to take any of it for granted.
When the song ended, the group rode in silence. Elene sat in awe of Liam’s talent and the sentiments she felt from a song she didn’t understand. None of the men wished to ruin the moment, and none knew what to say after such a moving rendition of a song they all knew. Several exchanged glances. All the Sinclair warriors but Cadence remembered Liam’s birth and the pride their laird felt when he welcomed his first grandchild. They remembered the toddler who chased his father and uncles, begging to ride on their shoulders, fisting their hair like it were reins to a stallion. They remembered the holidays when the Mackays joined the Sinclairs, and the journeys they’d taken to accompany their laird and his family when they visited the Mackays. And they remembered the lad who grew into a man while fostering with his Sinclair family. For them, all but one of whom were old enough to be Liam’s father, it was as though they watched their own son falling in love.
It was summiting the rise that overlooked Dingieshowe that shattered the reverie. Beyond the village, moored along its coast, sat three Norse longboats. The group reined in and looked down at the bustling village. It was clearly prosperous, with a market and several central buildings that were likely grain stores, along with their mead hall.
“We don’t know that it’s him,” Liam said to Elene as her body went rigid.
“I don’t need to get close enough to see the prows. He must know that you planned to speak before thething. He’s here to cause trouble, regardless of whether he thinks I’m with you.”
