“That’s why I hid on your wagon and planned to stay hidden until we reached Mainland. You know I intended to find a way to sail to Scotland. I would get lost among the hills there. There are fishing ships that travel to Scotland all the time. Even if Gunter guessed I left Orkney first, he would still be a day or two behind me. I would have set sail already.”
“And you believed the coin you carry would have kept you safe aboard a ship with only men? You don’t speak Gaelic, but your Norn is enough to make Scots passable. You would have to get yourself to the Lowlands, then find somewhere to live, to work.”
“As far as anyone needed to know, I was a widow who lost her husband and infant to a fever. I left Orkney because I couldn’t manage the farm myself. I came to Scotland to find work because there was none at home. And I can speak Scots.” Elene relayed the plan she’d devised months ago.
“There is so much that could have gone wrong. But I admire your courage, and I understand your choices.”
“You don’t think me a fool?”
“Never. I still think you’re naive, but I don’t think you’re a fool. I think you’re desperate and resourceful.” Liam knew what he wanted as he leaned in for a tender kiss. When they drew apart, he offered her a gentle smile. “I’ve already told you I’ll take you to Dunbeath if you want. My family will welcome you and protect you. But I want you to come to Varrich with me as my wife. I want to marry you, Elene. I want you beside me as my partner. I love you.”
Elene’s eyes grew misty as she nodded. She forced the words around the lump in her throat. “Yes. I love you, too. I never believed I would find a man I would love. Not after being played false by Gunter. I just wanted to survive, and I knew that meant I might have to marry. But I want to marry you because I love you.”
“I told you that day in the stables when I found you that I didn’t trust you. That wasn’t right. I shouldn’t have said it like that. I didn’t trust you to stay and talk to me, but I’ve always trusted you. I know you’ve said yes, but I need you to think about it longer. One day I will be laird, and you would be our clan’s lady. That comes with duties that I don’t doubt you can manage. Those strengths you’ll need are the ones that make me love you and why I know you’re the right woman to take to wife. But I want you to think about whether being the lady of a clan is what you want. If you marry me, then you accept not just me but that role.”
“Would your clan accept me? Accept my brother and sister?”
“I wouldn’t ask you to come to Varrich with me if I doubted my clan would accept all of you. I wouldn’t ask you to take such a position if I thought my clan would reject you. I couldn’t do that to you or to them, not as your husband and not as their leader.”
“What would my life be like?”
“Busy.” Liam grinned. “My mother will help you learn, and she will probably outlive us all. She’s that stubborn. But when you would become the clan’s lady, you would manage the servants and the keep. That means making sure the meals are planned, the servants attend to their duties, the larder is full, the ledgers are balanced, that everyone in the village has enough food and what they need within their homes. Their crofts will be my responsibility. You would be in charge when I ride out. If there’s a raid, which there hasn’t been in my lifetime but might be when the leadership passes to me and others wish to test me, you ensure all our people are safely hidden or locked in the keep.” Liam knew he’d rattled off an overwhelming list. He drew her closer to whisper in her ear. “And at night, you’d let me make love to you in every way we can imagine.”
“Let you?”
Liam chuckled. “That’s all you got from what I just said. Of course let me. It’s not my decision alone when we couple.” Liam leaned back and cupped her face once more. “You will always have a say. If you don’t wish to couple, then you tell me and that’s the end. I won’t question you, and I will never force you. Your body is your own to control, Elene. I wish to share pleasure with you and show you affection, but I do not own it or you.”
“I don’t know if I know any men like you.”
Liam grinned again. “You will soon enough. There’s my father, of course. Then my grandfather, Uncle Callum, Uncle Alex, Uncle Tavish, Uncle Magnus, and my brothers and my cousins. My father believes what my grandfather does and taught my uncles. It’s why my grandfather agreed to let my parents marry. They believe in respecting their wives as their own person, to rely on them and trust them, to depend on them, and to cherish them. You are my equal in all things, Elene. It’s the only way we can be strong leaders for our clan, and it’s the only type of marriage I can have.”
“You are the most remarkable man I’ve ever met. Though I think the other men in your family shall rather mesmerize me.” Elene offered him a saucy grin, which earned her bottom a light pinch.
“Elene, I do not exaggerate when I say my family will accept you. They’ll adore you because you’re so much like the women in my family. You’re independent, resilient, intelligent—” Liam rubbed his nose against hers “—and patient as the day is long if you’re willing to put up with me. My mother and all my aunts are like that. That’s how they and my uncles and my father are raising the lasses. Some of my cousins are shyer than others, but they will all be women a laird, or a farmer husband, can rely on to help build a home and a family that can survive any challenge. That’s just the way of the Mackays and Sinclairs.”
As Elene listened to Liam, his tone was so matter-of-fact that she knew what he shared was the truth. He sounded as though no other way was plausible, even imaginable, to him. She knew something deeply entrenched these values in who he was and the man he would be. She’d felt safe with him since the moment they met. She knew he would protect and respect her body, and she’d had faith that he could help her escape. But she realized she felt confident entrusting him with her future and her happiness. She knew he would never take for granted her love and her devotion. She’d never felt more precious than she did at that moment. He gave her something so perfect, something no one else ever had. He gave her hope. He’d done it before, and he did it once more.
“All of what you say is daunting. The duties you listed and the bond within your family. But I’m not scared. Not as long as you’re there to help me learn and to stand by me as I adjust. I’ve done all those tasks before, but not with so many people depending on me. The only one that worries me are the ledgers. Liam, I can’t read or write. I can do sums in my head, but I’ve never written a number.” Embarrassment flooded Elene as she admitted her shortcoming.
“Elene, I had to learn those things. So did my mother and father. We may have learned them as children, but we weren’t born knowing how to read and write. If you wish to learn, then we can teach you. I know you aren’t of noble birth. I confess that worried me because I felt obligated to bring an alliance to my family. But it was stupid of me to harbor that doubt for even a moment. My family believes in love matches, not matching up clans. They believe a laird and lady who love one another are what strengthens a clan because it makes them indomitable allies. It’s not the clans they come from, but the bond they form. I’ve met noblewomen, and none of them inspired confidence that I’d found the woman to lead beside me. And none made me happy. Only you do.”
“If you believe I can learn these things, and you believe I can help you lead, then I wish to be your wife. I don’t want you to regret your choice or ruin your life because I fail as your clan’s lady. I believe you love me, and I know I love you. But I understand that duty can’t be ignored either. As a nobleman, your life isn’t entirely your own.” Elene flicked her tongue against his lips before they exchanged a loving kiss. “I want to marry you and be at your side for the rest of our lives.”
Liam rolled Elene onto her back, and both her hands came to cup his face as his right hand rested against her neck. Their kiss reflected their joy and the promise of a future together. As it drew on and their bodies pressed together, passion sparked. Elene’s hand roamed over Liam’s back and down to his buttocks while he cupped and kneaded her breast. His hand slid down to bunch the fabric of her skirts and draw it high enough for his hand to graze her thigh as she pressed her bent knee against his hip. It trailed along her leg until it reached her backside.
“Do we dare?” Elene whispered.
“The others are sleeping, and the guard changed ten minutes ago.” As they gazed at one another, they were in silent mutual agreement that they wouldn’t couple, but they would bring each other pleasure. Elene’s hand dipped beneath Liam’s plaid and wrapped around his turgid manhood. Liam’s breath caught, the sensation nearly overwhelming. He slipped his fingers along her mons until he pressed them between her netherlips. Her dew coated his digits, making it easier to glide his finger over her pearl before he rubbed steady circles. Elene’s free hand grasped his shoulder, her fingers digging into his muscle as her urgency grew. Liam couldn’t keep his hips from thrusting into her hand.
“I love you,leannan.” Liam’s kiss swallowed Elene’s moan as she came apart in Liam’s arms, her body tensing, then shuddering.
“I love you,me jarta.” At Liam’s confused expression, Elene’s face softened. “My heart.”
Liam felt like his heart and his bollocks might explode. He gave one more thrust as Elene stroked his length twice more, and his climax washed over him. He buried his face against her shoulder as he felt his seed pour forth. He inhaled deeply before raising his head and sharing another kiss. As they shifted apart, Liam pulled a corner of his spare plaid to wipe the evidence of his release from Elene’s bare belly and thigh.
“One day soon…” Elene nodded, reading Liam’s mind. They both thought about when they could join and find their release together, knowing Liam’s seed might take root to start their own family. She pushed down her skirts as Liam adjusted the plaid they used as a blanket. It was only a few moments later that they were both asleep, nestled in one another’s arms.
It was early afternoon, the day after they arrived at Isbister. The sun was high overhead, and the trip of South Ronaldsay was behind them. They’d boarded the birlinns before dawn, just as Donovan advised. The Isbister village fishermen had accompanied them until this point, but they’d just turned back as Liam’s birlinns entered the open water of the North Sea. The distance they would traverse was among some of the choppiest and roughest water around the British Isles.
