“Could ye hand me the ladle, lass? I’m quite thirsty on this warm day.”
Elayne said not a word but gave him the ladle holding the cool water and arched her brow at him. His hands brushed hers as he took the ladle from her, sending fiery sparks shooting up her arms.
“Thank ye.” He drank with great thirst. His deep warm voice resonated inside her, and she shivered in the warm spring sun. Elayne turned and walked away, breathing in deeply as soon as she had passed the castle gates. Free—at least for a few hours. She hoped to find a few herbs she could dig up, collect in her basket, and transplant into the herb garden Cailean had built for her.
Along the path to the forest, he jumped off his horse and stood beside her. “Good afternoon, Elayne. How are ye?”
“Good afternoon, Cailean. I am well.” As he tilted her chin to gaze deeply into her eyes, he saw her tone and eyes did not match, however. A fierce storm brewed in her eyes.
“I ken ye are upset about something that bothers ye. I want to ken what it is, but let’s ride first.” She nodded in agreement, so he lifted her into the saddle and got on behind her, drawing her to his chest as he gripped the reins. Night took off in a canter, as if sensing the storm of emotions emanating from Elayne and Cailean.
Sensing that Elayne needed to vent her anger or frustration through riding before disclosing the reason behind her feelings, Cailean unleashed the beast inside his warhorse, and they flew like the wind across the wide expanses of the meadow. The wind whipped their hair and their faces as they raced. The speed and unfettered freedom that flooded Elayne helped her lose herself in these sensations and calm her inner turmoil and worries. After they rode an hour, Cailean led them to a shadowed meadow.
He dismounted and lifted Elayne from the saddle, then tethered Night by the stream. “The healer said this was a suitable spot to find herbs for yer garden. Let's search now, eat lunch, and talk then.” They walked in different directions, but remained aware of each other and their nearness.
A beehive in the distance hummed with active occupants. As they searched, the sun bathed them in the afternoon light as it filtered through the trees. They found the healing plants of comfrey, nettles, betony, and heather. Cailean helped dig up the plants with his dirk and set them inside Elayne’s basket. Shewanted to return to the meadow with the healer and learn more from her to help her find additional useful plants.
Comfrey helped heal open wounds and lung infections common in the winter. Betony and nettles helped heal infections, and heather was an antiseptic. Elayne relished smelling the heather and often used it when making soaps. They had to rely on what nature provided and what grew in their gardens for medicines. On their way to a picnic spot, they found mint for stomach ailments and wild coriander, used to reduce fever.
“We will dig those up, too, before we leave today.” They washed their hands in the cold water of the raging burn. Cailean placed a tartan blanket on the ground and unpacked his sack for them to eat. Bessie had given him meats, cheeses, and bread, with lemon tarts for dessert. He poured ale, and they ate in silence at first, both hungry from their work earlier in the day. Elayne had not even broken her fast yet.
“How was yer morning?” she asked after taking the edge off her growling stomach.
“I worked at the farrier’s and did the work of each of the apprentices, so they got bathed and scrubbed clean, and afterward put on new clothes, shoes, and boots. They were most appreciative. Between the seamstress, and myself, we outfitted the grooms too.”
Elayne clapped her hands with admiration and happiness. Cailean had acted on her ideas to improve the lot of the apprentices to the farrier as well as the grooms. “That’s wonderful! Ye must do something similar to discover useful things the other clans need. It will help ye to determine the best course of action.”
“I don’t want to leave ye for so long, Elayne. I recommended I stay behind and watch over the clan in my father’s absence as he attends the wedding, but he informed me my older brother, William, will act as laird.” Cailean’s gaze looked out into the distance. Cailean’s distress was evident to her as he avoided eye contact.
Elayne grabbed his hands in hers, immediately capturing his attention. “Ye have the most important job in the clan, except for yer father’s role as laird. Ye have a vital quest. By making these agreements between clans, ye will improve the welfare and lives of many people in our clan and in many other clans. It hasn’t been yer role to venture out into the countryside to visit individual families, but I urge ye to accompany the laird or his steward to look into the lives of how each clan lives and survives. This will show yer genuine interest in their clan’s welfare, not just yer own.”
“I understand what ye mean.”
“The laird will be more willing to engage in yer business proposition. Ye have the most vital role. Yer goal before was to become a powerful warrior, and ye proved yer valor last summer when ye fought. Now, ye have new goals and skills ye must learn. I ken ye will be successful. That does nae mean that every single laird will wish to do business with our clan. Ye must be open to new ideas.”
“Ye are right, Elayne. I have learned so much from ye and will continue taking yer advice and doing what ye recommend. But I still wish I didn’t have to leave ye. I will worry about ye while I am gone. If ye need something or any help, please visit Bessie, and she will help ye.”
“Aye, I enjoyed meeting and working with her. I ken if ye have any time to write to me, she can make sure my reply getssent to ye. I have a question for ye.” She searched his face as she asked him, “I just found out from my father that ye are the laird’s youngest son. Why did ye never tell me?”
Cailean looked stricken by her question since he understood her underlying hurt. “Elayne, ye were a bairn when we met. If I told ye then, ye could have been afraid and intimidated. Later, I didn’t think about it since it is common knowledge and I assumed ye knew. It wasn’t a secret, and I was not hiding my identity from ye. What difference does it make?”
“What difference does it make? Ye must ken. I bared my heart to ye as my friend. If I had kent before, I wouldn’t have shared so much with ye. Yer time is valuable and ye shouldn’t have had to listen to all my concerns.”
Cailean placed his arms around her and pulled her closer. “It doesn’t change who I am. We both shared our hearts with each other as friends. Nae need for ye to be embarrassed, as ye didn’t know. I would nae change anything about the past or what manner of things we shared. I wish we had more time together. Tomorrow, I leave, and I will miss ye more than ye ken. Will ye see us off early in the morning?”
“Aye. I will be up working and want to meet ye before ye leave. I am at the well early to draw water for quenching in the forge before my father works. Papa has finally agreed to take on an apprentice. This afternoon he planned to interview lads for the apprenticeship and speak to their fathers to ensure they agree.”
“He surprised ye when he relented?”
“Aye, I have recommended it to him for over a year. I asked Mrs. Logan to talk to him about it, and she did. I think both of us talking to him helped him change his mind. I ken I will teachmy father’s apprentice many things. It will keep me busy while ye are gone on yer journey.”
Cailean’s eyes searched her face, as if trying to memorize her features, but he knew them by heart and dreamed of her each night. He didn’t want this day to end, for that would mean he would have to leave on his journey. He pulled her to his chest and embraced her. Then he cupped her head in his hands. Cailean gave her a fierce kiss, then he leaned his head against hers. “Ye dinna ken what ye do to me, Elayne. Ye inflame me so. I wish to be buried in ye.”
“What do ye mean? Ye act like I am causing ye pain.”
Recognizing her innocence in her question, he replied, “I want to couple with ye as a man and a woman who care about each other do. Yer kisses inflame me and make me want ye more. It is hard to resist yer charms, Elayne. Most of all, ye are precious to me. I treasure yer friendship and ye.”
“Ye enjoy my kisses?” she asked in wonder, reinforcing her lack of experience. He had given her the first kiss, he reminded himself.
