“You can stand here. I still need to swim a few more feet.” Elene continued swimming as the men switched to walking. It was only a moment later that she waded beside Liam. When they reached the shore, all of them wrung out their clothing as best they could. Elene put her finger to her lips as they began their walk across the island. Ten minutes later, Elene once more put her finger to her lips, this time pointing to smoke rising from a croft. She leaned toward Liam to whisper. “This is as far as they can come. They can hide in the tall grass. You and I go together.”
Liam relayed Elene’s instructions before they set off together. Elene and Liam skirted the crofts, and it wasn’t long before they reached the loch. They exchanged a longing glance, both recalling their times together at the loch near Skaill. There was no opportunity to linger now. They’d barely finished filling their last waterskins when a voice carried to them.
“Who are you?” An angry man demanded. Elene spun around with a smile plastered to her face. She prayed she’d receive a better welcome once the man recognized her.
“It’s me, Malcolm.”
“Elene?” Malcolm furrowed his brow before pointing to Liam. “Who’s that?”
“My husband, Liam.”
“Husband? Last I heard, Gunter Haakonsson intended to take you and your family back to Norway. I didn’t get the impression he would let you marry.”
“It wasn’t his decision to make.” Elene shrugged.
“Does he know that?” Malcolm chuckled. Elene shrugged again, the cool air making her skin prickle. She kept to the shadows, hoping Malcolm wouldn’t notice how their wet clothes stuck to their bodies. When she offered no response, Malcolm asked, “What’re you doing here?”
“We were fishing for the sennight, and I was clumsy and knocked over our water barrel. I knew we were close to the loch, so here we are.”
“This is why women are bad luck on boats. I warned your father.” Malcolm tsked and offered Liam a sympathetic grin. Elene grimaced. She relaxed as Liam slid his hand into hers and squeezed her fingers.
“I get lonely without my wife,” Liam grinned. Malcolm’s gaze swung to Liam, shocked that the man clad in abreacan feilespoke Norn. Suspicion became obvious on Malcolm’s face. Elene appreciated Liam’s support, but she wished he’d stayed quiet. She pressed her nails into the back of his hand. He gave a quick flex of his fingers and added nothing more.
“We just finished filling our waterskins, so we will be on our way,” Elene nodded.
“Join us for an ale.”
Elene knew he didn’t offer hospitality. He was nosy and a gossip, worse than any woman she knew. She wanted to share nothing that would spread across the Orkneys by the first wave of fishermen meeting on the water.
“We didn’t plan to stop here, so we must be on our way. My father’s family expects us, and we are already late.”
“Why didn’t you just get freshwater in Isbister?” Malcolm pressed.
“Because we need freshwater now?”
“Why?”
“I’m thirsty. Malcolm, the tide is about to change. We need to go. We have our water, so we will be on our way.”
“Felicitations on your marriage. Where are you moving to?”
Elene grinned. “I’m making an Orcadian of my husband.”
“He’s already learned Norn. You must be a good teacher. He practically sounds like a local.” Malcolm stared at Liam, assessing him.
“He wishes to fit in with our people.”
“The Mackays already fit in.” Elene and Liam froze. They’d fooled Malcolm not at all. “You must have traveled here often with Laird Mackay if you know Norn so well. What does he say about one of his warriors choosing to live on a small island rather than fighting for a powerful clan?”
Liam and Elene realized Malcolm didn’t recognize Liam as the clan’s tánaiste. As the Orcadian farmer stared at them, Liam wrapped his arm around Elene and looked down at her. Her beseeching eyes made him cautious, but the trust he saw made him feel as though he were a thousand feet tall.
“My laird knows how important Elene is to me. He understands why I choose to make a life with her. Laird Mackay loves Lady Mackay more than aught but his children. He knows what it is to choose a woman because she’s the ideal helpmate. He doesn’t question my decision.”
Elene felt the truth in Liam’s words as though he made a pledge to her rather than justify their appearance on Egilsay. Malcolm nodded and stepped aside, seemingly satisfied with the couple’s explanation. Neither Liam nor Elene wasted time with their goodbyes as they hurried back to the path. Liam shook his head to his men as they walked past. The men remained hidden in the tall grass until Liam and Elene walked around a bend in the path. When the couple looked back, they could no longer see Malcolm. Liam released a soft bird call, and his men materialized from the shadows. The group hurried back to the shore, where they could see the birlinns bobbing high in the water. Liam’s heart slowed, having feared he would discover his men battling angry Norse warriors. It wasn’t long before Elene and the men were aboard their ships.
“We can’t stop to fish or hunt until we make it to South Ronaldsay,” Elene blurted. “We can’t risk going anywhere on Mainland. Malcolm will have told everyone on Egilsay by now. The few fishermen who live on the island will tell all the men who sail past in the morning.”
Liam relayed Elene’s warning to the men, who exchanged uneasy looks. Liam feared they would resent Elene, but most looked at her, then her siblings, before taking their seats at the oars, unbidden by Liam or his captains. They were soon on their way, giving Mainland a wide berth as they rowed west. Finally, they pointed in the right direction to make their way to Dunbeath.
