Coira beamed with their discovery. “Now the men will be safe. All will be well.”
Karma pushed around them, hesitantly sniffed at the dangerous plant, then hiked his leg and peed on it. “Thank you, Karma. That should help immensely.” Trulie ruffled the dog’s velvety ears.
He smiled up at her, his long red tongue lolling out one side of his mouth.
Trulie headed them all back toward the keep. The knot of tension centered in her chest didn’t seem quite so tight. If they could just figure out who wanted Gray dead, life in medieval Scotland might actually be enjoyable.
* * *
“Aileas is goneand Fearghal canna be found. Why will ye not settle on a date?”
Trulie didn’t turn to face him. She paused from sorting through colored threads on the table and shot a sideways glance back over her shoulder that left no doubt about her feelings. She was obviously not in the mood to discuss wedding plans.
Gray couldn’t help it. He wanted the ceremony done and behind them. The more he mused about the role of husband and father, the more he yearned to embrace it. Summer was fast approaching. It would soon be time to head out across MacKenna lands and visit all his people. When he rode across his lands, he wanted his wife at his side. Not only did he look forward to introducing Trulie to the clan, but surely enjoying Trulie’s charms beneath the star-filled summer nights would guarantee a strong son by next year.
Farther down the long wooden table, Granny thumped a crooked finger atop the square of linen spread in front of her. “I think the first of May would be a perfect date. What better time to marry than on the Feast of Beltane.” Granny leaned forward, excitement brightening her face as she continued. “A very fertile time, I might add.”
Beside the hearth, Tamhas chuckled as he chimed in. “Aye. A marriage feast on Beltane could ensure the welcoming of your first born by Brid’s day.”
Gray leaned forward and lightly traced his finger across Trulie’s hand. “What say ye,mo chridhe? Shall we plan the joining for May first?”
Trulie still didn’t speak.
His frustration grew stronger as her mouth pressed into a determined line. He knew that look. She was gearing up to list all the reasons why they should wait.
Trulie huffed a stray curl off her forehead, dampened her fingertips with the tip of her tongue, then pinched apart several tangled threads. A tense silence filled the room. Even the flames of the iron candelabra in the center of the table stilled as though awaiting Trulie’s answer. Holding the threads up in front of the light, Trulie squinted at the knotted hanks as she spoke. “Until we nail down your little pyromaniac and potential poisoner, we don’t need to get sidetracked with wedding plans.” She lowered her hands and smoothed the separated colors across the table. “Who knows what they might do if we agitate him ... or her with nuptial preparations.”
Gray wasn’t sure about some of those words, but he caught enough of the gist to know that he did not agree. He would dive headfirst into the pits of hell before he bowed to the whims of some gutless fool too cowardly to challenge him face-to-face. The more he thought about it the hotter he burned. Nay. He’d had enough. It was time to turn the tables.
“No more waiting. If it takes our joining to flush out the enemy, then so be it. May first, Trulie. What say ye?” He leaned forward and stilled both her hands with his own. She had to agree. Waiting for an attack made a warrior weak.
Granny eased away from the table and joined Tamhas at the hearth. Karma’s nails clicked across the stone flooring as he walked over to Trulie’s chair and plopped down beside it.
The low-burning fire in the hearth hissed and popped. Sparks sizzled as they rose into the darkness of the flue.
Gray glanced around the room. Time felt suspended, as though the cosmos wanted to hear Trulie’s answer too. “What say ye, my love?” She had to agree. Surely, she would not delay their day any longer.
“You really think we can marry without someone getting torched, poisoned, or maimed?” she turned toward him, one brow arched.
He bit back a chuckle. Her expression reminded him of a mother interrogating her child. “I will make it so,” he swore in a solemn voice. “I swear it.”
She finally gifted him a slight nod. “Then May first it is.”
Excitement surged through him like the burn of good whisky. Finally. They would be as one. He swept her up into his arms and kissed her soundly.“Tha gaol agam ort, mo chridhe.”
She blinked up at him and waited, both her finely arched brows raised this time.
“I love ye, my heart,” he translated as he pressed his forehead to hers.
Granny clapped her hands as her triumphant “Whoot!”rang across the rafters. Karma barked and Kismet surveyed the room with a bored flip of her tail.
“Now we are getting somewhere,” Granny proclaimed with an excited bob of her head. She turned and patted Tamhas’s shoulders, nudging him toward the door. “Come on. We have a lot to do.”
“We?” Tamhas repeated with a horrified look. “What do I have to do?”
Granny shoved him harder until he shuffled sideways. “A lot. Now get moving. There is no time to waste.”
The old sorcerer rolled his eyes, turned, and plodded toward the door. When he reached the arch, he paused and glanced back at Gray. “May the gods be with us both, nephew,” he called out as Granny shoved him into the hallway.
