“And Grandda will outlive us all. Ye have decades before it’s yer turn. Ye’re likely to be an auld mon before Da passes. Ye have time.”
“Rosie, is it just because we’ve only lived apart when I fostered with Auntie Mairghread and Uncle Tristan? Or has something happened? Are ye scared to be here?”
“Nay. Naught like that. Everyone has been so kind to me, and I feel like this is ma home. When ye fostered with the Mackays, I kenned ye were coming back. It was easy to visit ye. But I’m nae going back to Dunbeath to live there. It’s just scary to think I would live anywhere without ye.”
“Ackergill is even closer than Varrich. I can ride here to visit any time. Ye can come back to visit whenever ye want.”
“I ken.”
Thor gave his sister a tight squeeze. “I feel the same, Rosie.”
No one but Thor ever called her Rosie. Her husband, Blaine Keith, only called her Kyla. Both were special to her.
“Ye’ll miss me?” It was a heartfelt question, and it saddened Thor that she doubted for even a moment how he’d pine.
“Like I would miss losing ma sword arm.”
“I choose to take that as a compliment. I’d hoped to hear something like half yer heart.”
“It’s the ultimate compliment.” Thor grinned, and Rose couldn’t help but return it. “I dinna want to leave for a while. I canna make ma home here, but neither Grandda nor Da need me so desperately that I canna stay longer. Besides, we have a slew of cousins who can fill ma place for now.”
There were ten cousins who now lived at Dunbeath. They had four more who were Mackays and lived at Castle Varrich, and their cousin Saoirse was married to a Mackenzie. Rose now called Ackergill Tower her home. Their parents and uncles each had three children, and their Auntie Mairghread had four. Their father, Callum, was one of five children by Laird Liam and Lady Kyla Sinclair. While their family missed them, there were plenty of hands available to fill their duties.
“Then I’m glad ye’ll stay awhile longer.” Rose returned his squeeze as the song ended. The next one required they change partners. Thor knew he would inevitably partner with Greer for at least one portion. When their turn came, and their arms linked for a twirl, Thor attempted another smile. Greer nearly missed her step. She would admit to no one what everyone already knew. Thor was a devastatingly handsome man with his strawberry-blond hair and deep whiskey-brown eyes.
“Lady Greer.”
“Thor.”
It was the most civil they’d been to each other in days. They moved on to other partners, but this time, Thor noticed Greer watched him. She was already looking at him each time he swung his gaze to her. When the music brought them back together, Thor decided it was time to clear the air at least a little. He steered them away from the others and to the main doors of the keep.
“I’m nae going outside alone with ye, Thor.”
“Do ye fear me that much?”
“I fear for ma reputation. I havenae feared ye since I came to Dunbeath that night.”
“Ye feared me before that.”
“Can ye blame me? Ye werenae as massive as ye are now, but ye were still intimidating back then.”
“Ye believed me so dishonorable that I would break ma family’s creed that ye never hurt innocents.” Thor’s arm dropped from around Greer, and he reconsidered trying to clear the air with her.
“Ye dinna get to be insulted when I ken ye remember it all as well as I do.”
“We canna discuss this here, but it’s clear we must. Yer memory fails ye.”
“Thor, I am nae going outside with ye. The last thing I want is to wind up married to ye.”
“Ye dinna need to fear me ravishing ye.”
Greer’s eyes spat venom, and Thor knew he hadn’t needed to add the last barb. While he didn’t know all of Greer’s past, he knew that comment would cut far too deep. He wished he could pull it back as it hung heavily in the air.
“Lady Greer, I apologize. That was uncalled for and unforgivably cruel. I’m sorry.”
“Dinna fash.” Greer’s tone was the opposite of reassuring. It mocked him. His resolve to speak to her came back with force. He maneuvered her closer to the doors, even as she tried to stop him. He opened the massive wood door with the studded metal and more gently guided her to stand beneath a torch. Anyone on the battlements could see them speaking, which meant they would also see them not touching and standing apart. The key would be to keep anyone from guessing they were arguing.
“I am going back inside, Thormud.”
