14
Gavin was thrown by the question. He had spent twenty minutes repelling a fierce attempt at assaulting the castle. Then all of a sudden they just stopped.
Those who were on the ladders retreated as if at a hidden signal. The dead were left where they fell. Gavin counted the number of wounded on his side. Only five, no deaths.
He was suspicious even as his men celebrated the victory. Were they testing the defenses? That was certainly a distinct possibility. The Frazers had yet to join in the attack. They merely stood observing in the distance.
His mind still on the battle, he headed for the keep to tell the clan they were safe to emerge again.
It was unlike the besieging army to attack in such a way. Far more common was to just sit out there and try and starve the defenders out. That was the definition of a siege. Perhaps an assault when you thought the defending army was weakened from hunger and disease. Nothing about this made sense.
It did not take as long to find Heather. He found her talking to Tanya in the solar off the great hall. The late fall sun was streaming in through the window, illuminating Heather perfectly.
Once again, he was reminded of an angel. She had been sent from God, he thought out of nowhere. He smiled at the very idea.
He was still thinking about that when she asked him why he’d kissed her. For a moment he was silent. What possible explanation could he give for once again kissing her?
“I was relieved you were alive and well,” he said at last after running through numerous possibilities.
“Is that all?”
She was looking at him closely, her eyes wide. What answer should he give?
He could lie of course, tell her that was all it was. Or he could tell her the truth. Where would that leave them? He thought of the dead and dying in the infirmary, the fact that they might not survive the day. Could he die knowing he hadn’t told her how he felt?
“No,” he said at last. “That is not all. I…I like you, Heather Frazer. If this were not a time of siege, I would consider asking for your hand in marriage.”
Heather took a step back as if a strong gust of wind had caught her from nowhere. “You want to marry me?”
“Is that idea so shocking?”
“No, it’s just…unexpected.”
“You don’t look happy to hear that. Do you not wish to wed a laird?”
“It’s not that. It’s just…” She stopped, her cheeks turning pale. She glanced at the floor and then up at him. “There’s something you need to know about me first. I’ve not been honest with you.”
“What about?”
“You know when you asked me where I was from and I said far away?”
“Aye.”
“I meant far far away.” She reached into the folds of her dress and brought out a small bag. Gavin watched her rummage inside it, bringing out the silver key he’d seen before. “It’s about this key.”
“I know about the silver keys.”
“What? What do you know about them?”
“I know it was a silver key that brought my mother to my father from another time and place. They described the key well. That is its brother or I am an Englishman.”
“So you know what the key does?”
“I think so but I do not know where truth ends and the stories begin.”
“What do the stories say about these keys?”
He took it from her, turning it over in his hand, feeling its power pulsating like a heartbeat. “It opens a door to another time. I have my doubts, of course, but that is what the stories say.”
