Asshe walked into the stable she saw Ruari jovially arguing with several of hismen, and studied him for a moment. When she looked at him, she sometimeswondered if she was reaching far too high, thus dooming herself to a very hardfall. Ruari was not only as handsome as any woman could wish for, but healthyand strong, wealthy and possessing some of the most fertile lands in the area.He could have any woman he wanted. At times it seemed preposterous that shethought she could win his heart.
Shequickly shook away that assault of self-doubt. There was a lot she could offera man. The only thing she felt went against her in a way it would be hard toovercome was her family’s dismal record of producing sons. There were a greatmany male Kerrs about, however, close and distant cousins of Ruari. His namewas not in danger of dying out as hers was. If she could win his heart, hemight be able to accept that he had only daughters; he might be willing togamble that she was one of the few Hay women who could produce a son.
“Thereye are, dearling,” he said, extending his hand to her and smiling as she walkedover and placed her hand in his, then glanced at the sword she wore. “Do yethink ye will need that?”
“Icannae feel safe riding out alone without some weapon on me.”
“Ifear we cannae ride out alone. My men stand firm. We will have a small guard.”
“Verrawise of them.” She winked at him. “After all, someone may try to kidnap you.”She smiled when the men laughed, realizing that her having taken Ruari forransom was no longer considered a crime, even by Ruari. “Where is Rosse?” sheasked as she looked around and saw no sign of the huge red-haired man. “Is henot the one who watches your back?”
“Aye,but his wife is verra near her time, and he likes to stay close at hand whenone of his bairns is to be born. Since I am not riding out to battle, there isno need to demand that he join us.”
“Ofcourse not,” she agreed as he helped her mount the sturdy brown mare he hadchosen for her. “So, we shall be a group of a dozen,” she murmured as shewatched the other men mount with Ruari.
Ruarichuckled as they rode out into the bailey. “Not the private little trot I hadenvisioned, but ‘tis the time of the year when raiding is a real danger, and Iwould rather there were men to protect you than lose ye to the English becauseI wanted a wee bit of privacy.”
“Ithink I would prefer that as weel. I have met with the English and have nodesire to do so again.” She shivered slightly as talk of the English made herthink of Simon Treacher, a man she thought she had successfully banished fromher mind.
“Wasthere trouble when ye went to ransom Dougal?” Ruari asked when he saw theshadow that abruptly clouded her expression, a shadow he knew was not cast bythe gates they rode through.
Aftera moment of consideration, Sorcha decided there was no harm in telling himabout Simon Treacher. Even though she could not believe the man was still athreat or that he could find her at Gartmhor, it could also prove helpful. Shewatched the expressions on Ruari’s face with interest as she told him thetrouble she had had with the Englishman. Ruari was furious, the extent of hisanger quite possibly a mark of the strength of his feelings for her. After all,he would not find the fact that another man had looked at her lustfully soinfuriating if he did not care about her.
“Whydo ye think the mon is no longer pursuing ye?” he asked, his voice tight withan anger he struggled to control.
“Thespies he sent to Dunweare disappeared. We assumed he stopped sending thembecause his lustful interests had turned elsewhere,” she replied.
“Ormayhap he just sent better ones, ones ye and Crayton didnae see.”
Athrill of fear went through her along with one of pure joy. She dreaded thethought that Simon Treacher could still be hungering for her, but she waselated at the way Ruari spoke of Crayton as if he was real. There were more andmore such slips of the tongue on his part, revealing that slowly, ever soslowly, he was beginning to believe. She had never demanded that he believe inall the same things she did, but a touch of belief would certainly make herlife easier if she was going to spend it with him. Knowing it would be unwiseto point out what he had just done, she centered her thoughts on thepossibility that there was still a lustful Englishman on her trail.
“Ifthere had been any sign of Simon at Dunweare, Neil would have mentioned it andtold you to tell me,” she said.
“Lass,both sides of the border teem with spies and men highly skilled in ferretingout any sort of information one wishes to gather. I can tell ye almost to ahead how many cattle Lord Selkirk has in England. I suspect he can tell ye muchthe same about me. There are few secrets.”
“Thatis rather alarming news.”
Hebriefly smiled at her reaction. “‘Tis the way of it when two countries sit sideby side and have fought each other since long before the first Graeme leaptover that Roman wall. Every soldier kens that it is best to learn all ye canabout his enemy. ‘Tis one of the first lessons a warrior learns. Nay, trust mein this, if Simon Treacher still wants ye, if another poor lass hasnae caughthis eye, he kens what ye are doing and where ye are.”
“Thenwhy did we catch so many of his spies or send them fleeing back to England?”
“Arroganceon his part, I think. He simply didnae believe he had to use his best men tokeep watch on one tiny Scottish lady from a poor border clan.”
“Oh.I would appreciate it if ye would tell my aunt about this when she comes again.Dunweare needs to ken that it might have a traitor or a spy close at hand.”
Ruarinodded then reached over to pat her hand. “Ye are safe, lass. Even if he kensthat ye are here at Gartmhor, there has yet to be an Englishmon who could takethis place.”
Sorchawished she felt as confident as he sounded. Gartmhor may well have never beentaken by the English, but Simon did not have to assault the keep to get hishands on her. The man could simply skulk around Gartmhor waiting for her toventure out.
Likenow, she suddenly thought and nervously looked around. Despite her efforts toshake the thought from her mind, Sorcha could not dispel the notion that thisride over Gartmhor lands was ill-advised. The further away from the keep sherode, the more uneasy she grew, but she hesitated to tell Ruari to turn back.He could easily think that his talk about clever spies had frightened her or,worse, believe she was saying that he and his men were incapable of protectingher. That was not an insult she wished to deliver.
Shetook a deep breath to steady herself and smiled at Ruari as he pointed out thecattle grazing on a hillside. Gartmhor had good grazing land as well, and shewas almost envious. The rocky land covered thinly in scrub and moss thatencircled Dunweare could not support many cows, sheep, or goats. There had beensome very lean winters at Dunweare, something she suspected Gartmhor and itspeople saw only rarely.
Itwas more than her lack of a dowry that separated her and Ruari. Every aspect ofhis life, from the food on his table to the number of well-armed men onGartmhor’s high walls, enhanced their differences. Sorcha began to find theconstant signs of Ruari’s wealth very depressing. Despite the near equality oftheir births, it was painfully clear that Ruari would have to step down tomarry her. She was not all that confident that she had given him enough reasonto do that.
“Yehave been graced with verra fine and fertile lands, Ruari Kerr,” she murmuredas they paused by a small rivulet so that the horses could drink.
“Aye,I have been weel blessed,” he agreed, dismounting and helping her do the same.
