‘Your mother Póla suggested it when I spoke with her earlier. She thought it might be a fitting gift.’ Connor’s mouth tilted up in a chagrined smile. ‘Though my own mother preferred golden jewellery. Had I the means, I would have given you that instead.’
‘This is lovely.’ Aileen tucked the ribbon away and hid her embarrassed gaze from him. Connor managed to make her behave like a flittering girl. His commanding presence had not diminished even a little, despite his wounded hands. He leaned up against the wall, and she noticed the way his tunic stretched across his broad chest. Not an ounce of fat clung to his deeply chiselled muscles.
She wanted to run her hands across that chest, to taste his kiss once more. She wanted his bare skin against hers.
Aileen shook the pleasurable thoughts away, trying to pull herself back together.
‘I brought fish,’ Connor said, pointing to a string of trout hanging near the door. ‘I tried to clean them. Unfortunately, I made a mess of it, so I stopped.’ He lifted his hands in chagrined surrender.
‘How did you catch them?’
‘Though I would like to say it was my own doing, young Whelon and his friend Lorcan brought them to me this afternoon. They gave me the fish in return for my promise to train both of them tomorrow at dawn.’
‘You?’ Had he claimed his intentions to walk upon water, she could not have been more surprised. ‘How could you train the boys?’
While they spoke, she gutted the fish and scaled them. Using salt and freshly crushed herbs, she rubbed the seasonings into the fillets.
‘I may not be able to demonstrate the skills, but I am capable of training men.’
‘They are boys, not men. Children who will grow up to tend the crops and harvest them, not slaughter one another.’ Aileen spitted the fish, hanging them to roast over the fire.
‘There is no harm in it. And it is all I can offer them.’ His defensive tone forced her to hold her tongue.
When the fish had finished cooking, Aileen set the fillets upon a platter along with a thick slab of bread and crisp spring peas. They ate seated at the low table, their knees a careful distance from one another.
‘Do you require my help to eat?’ she asked.
‘No.’
Aileen offered him an eating knife, which he accepted. Connor struggled to slice a portion of the fillet, his left hand sawing at the fish.
Uncomfortable silence expanded to fill the space.
‘Will you attend theaenachtomorrow?’ Connor asked at last.
‘Of course. Everyone does.’
‘I suppose there is always a need for a healer when the games take place.’ He grimaced. ‘Especially with the men trying to kill one another for the sake of a maiden.’
‘I am not allowed to heal any more,’ she said softly. Without intending it, unwanted tears sprang to her eyes. ‘I am sorry, but it infuriates me. This is who I am. I cannot stop being a healer, any more than—’
‘Any more than I can stop being a warrior?’
The soft query made her stop. For the first time she understood his loss. Silently she took his hands in hers, tracing the twisted bones, the angry reddened skin.
‘I swear to you, I did everything in my power to heal your hands.’ She lowered her head, wishing he could somehow see the truth. ‘I hope it was enough.’
‘So do I.’ He reached out and gently dried her tears. Though he seemed self-conscious of his misshapen hands, she did not care. She covered his hands with her own. Lightly stroking his skin, she saw his expression transform. He appeared predatory, a warrior bent upon conquering.
Then he hesitated, as if gathering his own control. ‘Perhaps on the morrow you will find a new husband to care for. There are many competitions for the men.’
She released him and stood, understanding that he did not intend to kiss her. It must have been her imagination, thinking that he might want her. She shielded her embarrassment.
‘The men try to prove their strength,’ she admitted. ‘Such idiocy.’
‘Is that how Eachan won your heart? By showing his skills in a competition?’
She paled at the mention, for he could have been no further from the truth. Instead, she brushed off his insinuation, saying only, ‘No. He was the only man who asked me to wed.’
