Bren watched her from behind. For never having been on a horse, Faith had a natural seat; she would do fine. He was certain she would be an accomplished rider in very little time. He began moving his horse forward through the rest of the group, until he was riding beside her. His brother Eian was a few lengths ahead, and several guardsmen followed in front and behind. Drust, as second eldest, had to stay behind to mind the business of the castle while the laird was away. But there was a bit of time now to work on Faith, and see what he could find out about her, and why Dirc had brought her to Creagmor. He should have no trouble talking to her today. Not when they were both on horseback and it would be nearly impossible to kiss her. There were so many questions to be asked. He glanced over at her. She was staring straight ahead, but the tension of her body told him she knew very well that he was there. He signaled tothe others, and they obediently spread out to the front and back, giving Bren space to talk to Faith privately.
“Tell me of your family, lass”, he began gently, in a conversational tone. “What of your parents?”
Faith looked at him. Now he kept his gaze straight ahead, back straight and tall, his harshly beautiful face a mask of somewhat bored indifference. She knew he was far from indifferent, but still, she found herself answering him almost as if she were being compelled. As if she wanted him to know her, and in knowing her, come to care about her in some way, beyond just his obvious desire for her body.
“My mother died several years ago. I never really knew my father.”
“He died when ye were young?”
Faith hesitated. “No… I don’t know. Or maybe he did. He could have, I suppose. I guess… I always thought of him as alive, just somewhere else.”
“Yer mother never spoke of him then?”
“Not really. I think it caused her pain to remember, so I never really asked. I didn’t want to hurt her any more than she had been. It was only the two of us. She was all I had. I think I was all she had, too.”
He raised his eyebrows in surprise. Two women on their own? Was there no man to care for them? “Ye had nay siblings? Nay other family?”
“No. Not that I ever knew of.” She paused, a little bit of pain still flooding her heart, even though she had long since finished grieving. “Even after my mother passed away, they never found any other next of kin. It was just me.” Her mother had done her best to raise her daughter on her own, but she knew it had never been easy. Especially since Faith was such an independent child, always testing her limits, always reachingfor… something else. Well, she had landed herself right in the middle of that something else now, all right.
“And where did ye live then, when ye were a child?” he asked carefully.
Faith looked away, concentrating on the narrow road ahead. Dirc had told her to keep it a secret for now, how she had come to be here. Though she didn’t understand his motives, she did worry about her own safety. Weren’t people hanged for witches in Britain around this time, just for being a little different? She decided it would be prudent to remain a bit of a mystery, for now, rather than risk being strung up from the nearest tree branch. Besides she actually liked being a bit of a mystery; liked how Bren was watching her as if trying to learn her secrets, almost as if… he was as intrigued by her as she was by him. Despite his somewhat overbearing character, she found she genuinely enjoyed his attention. She wanted him to know her, and she found herself wanting to know him, too.
“It was a small town called Elkin. Not too many people. There were mountains, I remember. But it was far from here. Quite far.”
“I’m sure that it was.” Truly, he had never heard anyone speak quite the way she did, that strange accent, foreign words, exotic, enchanting. Just like the fine curve of her jaw… Just like everything about her. As he looked at her, he felt like there was something he was missing, something he was just failing to see. Something that should be so obvious to him, but it would just not come to mind. He wanted simply to shake her and demand to know what it was that made him want to see her, touch her, be near her. What had him so damnobsessed. He drew in a steadying breath, let it go slowly. They were almost there; just over the next rise was the hunting lodge. The lodge was only a few hours ride from the castle proper, and was more of a convenience than a real necessity.
Faith stretched to see over the thick gorse bushes to the lodge ahead. In spite of everything, she was very excited. A hunt. Beltane… Against all odds, she would experience both.
Dusk was falling by the time the horses were cared for and a quick meal of bread and cheese eaten. Faith looked up to see the western sky through the tree branches streaked with gold and just a blush of pink. She felt strangely exhilarated, and bread and cheese had never tasted so good. She washed it down with the watered ale that she had with her in a travelling flask, packed for her by Berta, along with a medical kit of sorts, in case any of the men should get hurt. The men, ten all together, milled around, talking and joking with one another. There was a palpable air of excitement about the next day’s hunt, and even more about the upcoming Beltane celebration. Bren, though, was sitting quietly on a log, sharpening his hunting knife, a slight frown on his face, as if he were deep in thought. She went over near to him, against her better judgment, but she was feeling rather bold this evening. It could be the excitement in the air, or maybe she had drunk too much of the watered ale, she didn’t know. She sat on another log nearby. He looked up briefly, then returned to his work, but one corner of his mouth turned up just a little in obvious satisfaction that she had been the one to approachhim.
She watched for a moment as he drew the blade cleanly across the stone. “Why am I the only woman along on this trip? You know very well I don’t know how to hunt, or butcher an animal either. I won’t be any use to you at all here.”
He didn’t look up, but kept sharpening the knife, pulling it in long strokes over the stone. His lips curled all the way up at the corners now.Oh, I can think of a use… one that has nothing to do with hunting and everything to do with pure carnal pleasure...“We dinna usually bring women hunting. We dinna need them.”
“Then why?”
He let a slow evocative smile touch his lips before he looked up and met her gaze. “Perhaps I just want to keep ye close to me. Did I no’ promise Dirc I’d look after ye?”
Her heart began to pound. It was the way he was looking at her, the heat in his eyes. He was probably an excellent lover, she thought as her thoughts began to stray again. What would it be like, to make uninhibited, passionate love with a man like Bren? It would be intense, like he was. Heated. Desperate. Maybe a little erotic. Maybe a lot erotic. She had no real basis for comparison, anyway. She’d been so busy with school and jobs, she’d never had time for a serious boyfriend, never even thought too much about a physical relationship with a man, always figuring it would happen when it happened. Until now. Now it seemed she could think of little else. Now her virginity felt like a terrible weight she only wanted to be rid of. She really wished she had done so already, so she would have more of a clue, so she would know more about what she was, or wasn’t missing. Especially when Bren looked at her like that…
He stood, thrusting the knife into the sheath at his hip and offering her his hand. “Let’s get some sleep. We’ll be up before dawn for the hunt.” He paused, as if remembering something important. “But first I must have yer oath, as it was agreed. It’s the third day, today, of yer being under the protection of Creagmor, and nay kin have come to claim ye. Eian shall bear witness.”
Faith vaguely remembered something about an oath of loyalty being discussed, but she wasn’t sure of the implications, of the oath itself, or of breaking it. How could she be expected to keep such an oath when she wasn’t even sure where she might end up tomorrow? And she was pretty sure that the penalty for breaking an oath to Bren Mac Coinnach would not be to her liking.
“I… I’m not sure I want to. I mean… need to. I don’t know how long I’m staying at Creagmor. It might not be long at all. Maybe just another day or two. Dirc didn’t say, exactly.” God, she sounded like an idiot, even to herself.
Bren regarded her with blatantly false patience. She didn’t want to make an oath to him, and her reticence made him feel angry and… desperate. He wanted her oath of loyalty, and he didn’t even want to think that she could be gone in a few short days. No. She would not be leaving him that soon. He would keep her at Creagmor even if he had to force her to stay. And Dirc would have no choice but to go along with his decision, because he had petitioned for protection for the lass. She would give her oath tonight; he would have it no other way.
He gave her a tight-lipped smile. “I’m afraid that I must insist. Eian!” He called to his brother, who came loping over from where the horses were being tended. “Faith is due to give her oath. Ye must be witness.”
“But I never said I was giving any oath…”
“Aye, ye are, lass, unless ye’d care to be ridden off of Mac Coinnach lands and left to fend for yerself.”
Faith stared at Bren’s cold, hard expression, trying to gauge whether he would really carry out such a threat. Honestly, she couldn’t be sure, but she was betting that for honor alone, he would have to follow through. Now she had a choice. She could take the oath, whether she actually meant it or not, or be abandoned in the woods where she would more than likely be killed or die of natural causes after wandering around lost for days on end. Not really much of a choice, after all.
If she was being honest with herself, making an oath to him was not a big deal, especially since she had no other ties here, and so no other loyalties but to herself. No, what was making her angry was that he was forcing his will on her, and shefelt that he had no right. But, there was the other side of things too. Hewasgiving her food and shelter. Damn!
