In exasperation, he threw off the covers and leaped from his bed, stepping onto the frigid flagstones of his room and welcoming the chill of the morning air. He needed to go outside and release some of the tension thrumming in his blood.
Once he was dressed, Magnus made his way to Kenneth’s chambers, unsure if his man-at-arms would be awake yet, but he was greeted by the door opening, with Kenneth fully dressed and looking at him expectantly.
“Let’s hunt,” Magnus grunted, and Kenneth grinned with glee.
They had not gone on an early morning hunt in a long while.
As they traveled out of the castle, the morning sun was just rising, trying to burn off the mist that shrouded the ground all around them. The copper rays fell over the trees ahead of them, the perfect weather for hunting with hardly any breeze.
Kenneth laughed joyfully, his white teeth flashing as they kicked their horses into a gallop. Magnus felt the weight on his shoulders lift slightly as he lost himself in physical activity.
It was not until noon that he returned to the castle, three rabbits slung over his horse’s saddle, his léine sticking to his back from the heat of the ride, his muscles aching pleasantly.
As they approached the castle gates, he felt a swell of excitement in his chest as he saw a familiar figure standing by the edge of the water. Kenneth took one look at his expression and chuckled, spurring his horse inside, leaving Magnus to go and speak to his bride.
Magnus dismounted, pulling the reins over his horse’s head and walking slowly toward her. Leah was standing quite still, her gaze on the water’s edge, watching something he could not yet see.
He came up beside her. She was clearly aware he had been approaching but was too entranced to look back at him.
“Can you see them?” she whispered, intense excitement in her voice.
Magnus smiled at the tiny black dots that he could now see flitting in and out of the water some feet away from them. There had been a family of otters here ever since he had been a boy, and they were such a familiar sight that he barely noticed them anymore. Leah, on the other hand, was fascinated, her face bright with excitement.
“Aye, lass, they’ve lived here longer than I, and will be here for a long time after, I’ll wager. There’s about twenty of them from memory—I’ve seen them havin’ babies most years as well.”
She gave him that rare smile again, her hair fluttering behind her in the breeze that had picked up through the morning. “They’re wonderful,” she said.
“There are some cats that frequent the castles, too,” he added, chuckling as she looked up at him with pure delight. “Maybe we can leave some of these rabbits for them to feast on. Perhaps we can catch one for ye to have as a pet.”
He frowned when he noticed the look of displeasure on her face upon seeing the rabbits hanging on either side of the horse’s saddle.
“Ye dinnae like rabbits?” he asked, intrigued.
She sniffed. “I’m sure you’ll think me a typical Englishwoman, but I try not to eat meat,” she said primly.
Magnus had to hide his smile. “What do ye eat then, M’Lady? Carrots and grains like chickens?”
She rolled her eyes at him. “I’ll have you know that many lovely foods are entirely made of vegetables. I shall show them to you some time.”
“And there was me lookin’ forward to introducin’ ye to haggis,” he drawled.
“Haggis? Isn’t that a sheep’s bladder?” she asked, looking horrified.
“Nay, nae the bladder.” She appeared momentarily relieved. “But the stomach.”
She grimaced, and he laughed heartily as she crossed her arms over her chest.
“I would be most willing to feed the cats if someone else could prepare the meat for me. I imagine they must be freezing in the winter, and we have plenty of fires for them to sleep in front of. Particularly given all the wood you have a habit of chopping late into the night.”
“Are ye spyin’ on yer husband, Lady MacWatt?” he teased.
“I did perhaps see you when I first arrived, yes. I was surprised by how many fires you have in your halls until I realized you must chop down a forest every evening.”
He chuckled, pulling the horse alongside her as they returned to the castle. He did not remember when he had felt so diverted by anyone. She certainly had a wicked wit that he was enjoying becoming familiar with.
As they passed through the main gate, they were greeted by two carriages in the courtyard. It appeared Lord Burton and Oskar were departing at the same time, and Leah instantly lost her easy manner as she noticed her father directing Magnus’s servants rather abruptly. His overbearing ways never wavered, it seemed, even with servants who were not his own.
“Thank heavens he will be gone soon,” she muttered.
