“What say ye, lass? Try to find the others or head home?”
Eli took a bit of an oatcake and looked around as she chewed. “The mist is gone, so we should try to find our way back to the path. The place we’d said we would meet.” Then she gave him a saucy look. “Or we could do what we did last night. One more time?”
He stared at her wide-eyed. “Are ye no’ sore?”
She shrugged. “Mayhap a wee bit. But I’m sure it will go away quickly.”
Alaric glanced over his shoulder.
“What?”
“Naught.” He kissed her on the lips too quickly for her to react. “I think we should move on. Try to find the group.”
“One more time? I like that there is no one to worry about. No one here to watch us.”
He whipped his head around to look behind him.
“What? Why do ye keep looking over yer shoulder? No one is there.”
“Ye cannae see him? Because I surely can.” His face went pale with fright. She’d never seen him look so.
“Who?” She moved him off to the side and stared where he was looking. “There is no one there.”
“Aye, there is.” He pointed at nothing Eli could see but trees and undergrowth.
“Where?”
“Right there. My grandsire Alex.”
Eli stared at him. “Alaric, yer grandfather passed away last Yule.”
“I know. But that cannae stop him from watching us. Probably makes it easier. He saw us last night. We arenae married, so now he’s hounding me.”
The fear in his face was surely real. And she didn’t know how to tell him that the act of handfasting meant naught to her. But if it would help him ignore the ghost of his grandsire, she would do it.
She knew exactly how ornery grandparents could be.
“Alaric, he cannae be here. He’s dead!”
“His spirit is no’ dead, ’tis quite alive and glaring at me. And if my grandmama shows up, we’ll be finding a kirk. But until then, we have to handfast. Your choice, lass—marry in the first kirk we come to or handfast now.”
“We did handfast.”
“No’ officially.” The sweat broke out across his forehead again. “Please? He’ll no’ leave me be until we do. I swear that every time I look over my shoulder, he will be there. Please, Eli.”
“Fine. He doesn’t spook me, but if he’s bothering ye, then we can handfast. But I thought we already did.”
“Nay, we only spoke of it.” He held his hand out and said, “Give me yer hand.”
She gave him a skeptical look.
“I’m doing it, Grandpapa!” He looked behind him again. “Eli, would ye like to have yer grandsire looking over yer shoulder all the time? Alexander Grant would be ten times worse. I have to get rid of him. Hellfire. He heard that.” He turned all the way around and held out his hands placatingly. “I do love ye, Grandpapa, just no’ so much when yer ghost hovers and glares like that. I’ll fix it!”
Eli put her hand over her mouth to hide her grin. He truly believed his grandfather was watching them and, apparently, sending a very clear message.
Alaric turned back to her. “Ye think ’tis amusing, but ye’ll see someday when yer grandsire passes on and watches everything ye do.”
Eli scowled, that thought too frightening. She shuddered at the thought. “Well, that would be disconcerting, I suppose.”
