“Most lasses—”
“I’m glad ye arenae like most lasses, Saoirse.” Magnus stepped closer, so he could whisper to her. “Being who ye are isnae a bad thing. It’s what draws people to ye.”
She canted her head to look up at him since he stood so close. The rest of the world disappeared as Magnus made her feel like she was all that existed to him. She nodded, but she didn’t know what to say. Fortunately, her fishing line bobbed. She drew it out of the water, hand over hand, until she held up a shimmering fish.
“Lady Saoirse is Queen of the Fishers!” Magnus bowed to her, his fanfare exaggerated with a twirling arm before he bent forward. “She caught the first. What say ye? Does she keep it or toss it back?”
“Keep it!” A chorus of young voices cheered. Saoirse giggled as she looked at Magnus, who grinned.
“Queen of the Fishers?” Saoirse shook her head as she withdrew her dirk and cut the head from the fish. She tossed it back into the water before placing the rest of the fish on the grass.
“Ye canna be king.” Magnus shrugged as his line bobbed next. He withdrew his line to find a much smaller fish at the end. He called out, “Keep it or toss it?”
“Toss!” The kids laughed at the fish that was barely the length of Magnus’s hand.
“But ye can still be the King of the Fishers,” Mary assured Magnus with an assertive nod. “Óg is king, and Lady Saoirse is queen. They’re king and queen together.”
Magnus enjoyed the sound of them being anything together. He leaned over once more when Saoirse came to stand beside him. “Shall I make ye a flower crown?”
“Do ye ken how?” Saoirse couldn’t stop smiling. Between more time with Magnus and the children’s jests, she felt a lightness she rarely experienced now that pain and death surrounded her.
“Mayhap ye could teach me.”
Saoirse’s lips pulled between her teeth before she nodded. They remained at the loch for more than an hour. They sent the children back to the keep with their catches. Meanwhile, Saoirse and Magnus walked toward the meadow. Cows grazed in the tall grass, swishing their tails periodically, their deep brown eyes following the visitors. When they arrived at a flower patch, Saoirse kneeled and pulled at stems. Magnus sat facing her, his long legs stretched in front of him and beside her.
“When’s the last time ye made a flower crown, Saoirse?”
“May Day.”
Magnus felt his cock twitch as he thought about the ancient holiday. The Church renounced its pagan history, but it was still an excuse for festivities. He could picture Saoirse’s hair flying around her back as she twirled around a May pole with the other maidens. He wondered what types of flowers she wore. He also thought about the traditional fertility ideas and how many bairns were born nearly nine months to the day. He swept his gaze over the field and imagined stripping her bare and laying her on the soft bed of grass. He would worship every inch of her as she watched him.
“Magnus?”
“Hmm?”
“Is there something else ye need to do?”
“Nay. Why?”
“Ye’re distracted and seem to be thinking of something else. I dinna wish to keep ye.”
“I’m exactly where I want to be. Ma mind wandered to this blonde wood nymph I met as I rode into Castle Dunbeath last sennight. She drives me to distraction.”
“Do ye think that nymph thinks aboot ye?”
“I hope so. I pray so.”
“I think she does.” Saoirse handed Magnus the flower crown she made. She covered her mouth with her hand to stifle her laughter when he placed it on his head.
“Will ye teach me to make yers?”
Saoirse realized he was in earnest. She nodded, and they spent the next five minutes making hers. They returned to the keep nearly two hours later, having spent the time talking and getting to know one another more. People stared, and some pointed to Magnus as they laughed. Timmy was the one to announce the King and Queen of the Fishers had arrived at their royal court. People nodded their approval as Magnus carried their miniature town crier on his shoulder. Saoirse imagined Timmy was a son she shared with Magnus. She wished any of the children who went with them to the loch could be theirs. She hoped one day they would have their own family.
After their fishing adventure, they found time to talk every day for a fortnight. Sometimes they captured minutes here and there, and at other times, they spoke at length. It was usually when she worked in her storage building, and he accompanied her. They always kept the door open and a safe distance between them. If asked, they would have said it was for propriety. But it was to keep them from indulging in their growing feelings.
CHAPTER4
“Óg, have ye been avoiding me?”
