Carenza thought at least one of them should have fun this eve.“Och aye.Go on.”
Merraid nodded to the hearth.“Ye’ll want to douse your fire soon, so they can light the bonfire.”
“Ye can douse it now if ye like.”
“Ye won’t grow too cold?”
She shook her head.In a few hours, someone would return with a brand from the Beltane bonfire to ignite her hearth, in the hopes of ensuring a fortuitous new beginning to the season.Until then, she should probably get used to the chill.After all, it was no colder than her icy heart.
Hunched over in a ragged cloak and without his famous axe, Hew found it ridiculously easy to blend in with the clanfolk at Darragh.He supposed that was the difference between living in the neighborly Highlands and on the border at Rivenloch, where one kept the gates locked against strangers.
Everyone was so preoccupied throughout the day with picking flowers and stacking firewood, decorating doorways and gulping down ale, he was able to slip through the crowd without drawing attention.
Neither his cousin Feiyan, her husband Dougal, nor his cousin Gellir spotted him as he wandered the bustling courtyard at twilight.The Darragh clanfolk he hadn’t seen in years, though he recognized one red-haired beauty, Merraid.Four years ago at the battle of Darragh, she’d been the brave wee lass who’d followed Gellir about like an orphaned pup.
Watching Merraid’s comings and goings, he discovered she’d been assigned to Lady Carenza as her personal maidservant.But it appeared Carenza rarely left her bedchamber.
And now, at this late hour, when the bonfires were ready to be lit, the keep was nearly deserted, and Merraid disappeared upstairs, he figured Carenza must have decided to forego the festivities altogether.
He sighed from the shadows of the darkened hall.It seemed he’d come all this way for nothing.He was never going to get a better opportunity to speak with Carenza.And after tonight, she’d never be alone.
He had just pushed off the wall when he saw the glow of candlelight coming from the stairwell.Fading back, he watched the flicker dance into view.
Merraid emerged from the stairwell.She was by herself.She passed by without seeing him.And she seemed intent on exiting the great hall as soon as possible to join the others.
As the door closed behind her, Hew shifted his focus to the stairwell.
He took the spiral steps two by two.
He knew as soon as he tried the door that he had the right chamber.The soft floral scent that wafted out of the lightless room was all hers.
“Who’s there?”she called out.
He wasn’t sure what to say.If he told her who he was, would she sob with joy?Or scream for help?
“A friend,” he mumbled.
She gasped.He heard rustling from the bed.“Hew?”
He frowned.How had she recognized his voice?Even his cousins had no idea he was among them.
“Is it ye?”she breathed.
He closed the door behind him.“Aye.”
“Och, Hew.”They were only two words.But into them was poured a deluge of emotion.Grief.Hope.Sorrow.Relief.Misery.Gratitude.Heartbreak.
Despite his intentions to remain aloof, to work things out logically, to have a calm conversation, his heart immediately went out to her.
He rushed to the bed, groping his way along the coverlet in the dark until she threw herself into his arms.
For a long while they said nothing.
She wept against his shoulder.
He cradled her head, growing more and more determined with every pitiful tear to play the hero and steal her away—his cousin, his clan, his king be damned.
Curse his cousin!How could Grim Gellir have made his sweet and precious Carenza so miserable?God’s eyes!He hadn’t even wed her yet.
