“She has gone all sad again,” Hesther whispered to Bella, but her hushed tone carried through the stall.
“I am not sad,” Lorna said. Well, shewassad, but she wouldn’t burden the children with it. “Sometimes when I am deep in thought, it makes me seem like I’m sad.” A pitiful lie, but hopefully they believed it.
“Were ye thinking about our plan?” Bella asked after glancing around to be sure no one else was near. “That woman sure has been acting nice since she made a fool of herself at the feast.”
“It willna last,” Frances said. “She is a sly one. I am a warnin’ ye.”
“She has thirty days,” Lorna reminded them.
Bella shook her head. “Six and ten now. She has been here a fortnight.”
Lorna granted the child a proud nod. “Well done on yer mathematics.” That also confirmed she had been in the past for two solid weeks. Between sidestepping Jasper’s advances and trying to ignore her growing attraction to Gunn, the days had somewhat muddled together. “Did Freyda teach ye, or does yer da bring in a tutor?”
“Mama taught me a little reading. After she went to heaven, Mrs. Thistlewick helped me learn more reading and how to do sums.” Bella dangled a piece of straw in front of a kitten, then giggled when it pounced. “All Freyda knew to teach me was stitching and how to mix dyes for threads.”
“What about the cittern? Who taught ye to play so well?” Every evening, Bella played lively tunes on the instrument that looked like a pear-shaped guitar. Lorna hadn’t known the name of the instrument until Gunn told her.
The wee lass shrugged without taking her gaze from the playful kitten. “I just play what sounds nice to me, and everyone seems to like it.”
A natural-born musician. Lorna rose and brushed bits of straw from her skirts. “Well, ye play beautifully. Maybe ye could teach me how.”
“Teach ye what?” Jasper said from behind her.
“Will ye stop sneaking up behind me?” Lorna shot him an irritated glare. “It is just plain rude.”
The war chief cocked his head to the side and looked even prouder. “I nay sneaked. Ye merely failed to hear me.”
She ignored that and turned back to the children. “Are ye ready to go in by the fire?”
All three shook their heads. “We are not cold,” Frances said, holding his sleepy little calico closer. “’Tis warm here in the straw with the kitties.”
“They have the good sense to come inside if they get cold,” Jasper said. He slipped his hand into hers and turned her toward him. “Would ye care to go for a ride?”
“A ride?”
“Aye, a ride.” He flashed a bright smile. “I know the day is brisk, but the horses need a good jaunt, and I thought ye might enjoy it.”
“I canna ride.” There was no getting around it. She had hoped the subject wouldn’t come up until spring, but now it had.
“What do ye mean ye canna ride?”
“I dinna ken how to ride a horse.” How much plainer could she put it?
“Then ye can ride with me,” he said, his tone filled with innuendo. “We shall stay even warmer.”
“Da said the messenger brought a missive from Esther Oliphant,” Bella said with a sly grin. “Did ye get it, Jasper?”
The war chief’s mouth tightened, making his ruddy beard twitch. “Aye, Mistress Bella, thank ye.”
Lorna seized the opportunity Bella had so artfully provided. “Who is Esther Oliphant?”
He cleared his throat and shuffled in place. “Daughter to the chief of Clan Oliphant.” He avoided her gaze, squinting at something on the other side of the stable.
“Jasper means to marry her come spring,” Bella said as if on cue.
“I had considered it,” the war chief said through clenched teeth. Then he offered Lorna a nod that begged her understanding. “But now, I am none too certain. My interests could verra well lie elsewhere.”
“Yer interests should remain with Esther Oliphant,” Lorna gently advised. “A chieftain’s daughter is a fine match. One that shouldna be rashly tossed aside.” She kept her gaze firmly locked with his, willing him to get the message and accept it. Jasper was a nice enough man, but theirs would never be anything more than friendship. She simply was not attracted to him.
