“I know but really, can you imagine it? Me an old man with a bad chest and a hunched back? There’s a reason the Northmen believed only those who died in battle got into heaven. Who wants to get old and gray?”
“Old and gray like me?”
“You’re different. What? Why are you smiling at me like that?”
“I’ll tell you another time. Now are you coming back in? It’s freezing up here.”
“I’ll be in shortly.”
He watched her walk away before turning back to the darkness, leaning on the stone and staring out at the hidden countryside. He didn’t notice it happening but soon his gaze shifted up to the east tower.
Stop thinking about her, he told himself when he realized. He headed back down to the courtyard, wondering what would happen in the morning when they were both standing before his parents. If he wasn’t careful they’d end up getting him to put the ring on her finger there and then and that would be it.
He’d be wed to a MacKay and that would be the end of patrols and battles and freedom. His father would want him to secure the union with one of their mortal enemy.
Glancing up, he saw the flicker of a candle light up there. She was still awake. Why did that thought bring him joy? He shook his head, striding over to the keep and to his own chamber.
He normally fell asleep in moments but that night he lay with his eyes open for a very long time, lost in thoughts of her.
