“It’s fine,” Rose said, crouching to scratch the little dog behind the ears.
“It isnotfine,” Catriona countered, scowling at Patch. “If he canna learn his manners, Papa will make me put him in the kennels. Do ye hear me, ye little scoundrel?”
Patch proceeded to roll onto his back, presenting his belly for a rub. Indulging the little dog, Rose said, “Oh, I think your papa’s bark is worse than his bite. I don’t think Patch will be going in the kennels any time soon.”
“Aye, especially when he sees what I’ve taught him!” Catriona said, her voice bubbling with enthusiasm. “I’ll show ye. Patch! Come here!”
The little dog jumped up obediently and Rose couldn’t help but smile as Catriona took Patch through his paces, making him sit, lie down, and even give his paw. Roll-over proved a little too complicated and Patch, suddenly bored with this game, decided it would be more fun to play tug-of-war with the bottom of Rose’s dress.
“Patch!” Catriona cried in mortification. She grabbed him while Rose pulled the material in the other direction.
But when the little dog finally let go, their momentum was enough to send them both staggering backwards where they landed on their backsides on the grass.
Rose couldn’t help it. She felt a giggle bubbling up inside her and suddenly she was lying flat on her back on the grass, shaking helplessly with laughter. Catriona, with Patch sitting on her chest and licking her face, followed suit.
The tension lifted from Rose like fog burning off under the morning sun and she lost herself in the moment, laughing and laughing until her belly hurt.
*
Cailean wiped theback of his hand across his sweaty brow as he pushed open the gate and stepped into the courtyard. His chest washeaving and his sweat-soaked shirt clung to his chest and back. It had been a good training session but now he was badly in need of a wash and a change of clothes.
Hoisting his scabbarded sword over one shoulder, he began walking but froze as he heard the sound of laughter coming from over on the far side of the courtyard. He turned his head and spotted Catriona flat on her back, laughing her head off while Patch stood on her chest, tail wagging madly.
And she wasn’t alone.
Rose was also sprawled on the grass, laughing as hard as his daughter.
He paused and watched them. He didn’t know what the two of them had been up to, but clearly they’d been having a good time. His heart swelled at the sound of their laughter. It was a rare thing these days and it washed through him like the wind blowing away the clouds on a gloomy day.
Rose clambered to her feet and held out a hand to help Catriona up. His daughter proceeded to instruct Patch on something—trying to get him to roll over by the looks of it. But the little dog was having none of it and just grabbed the bottom of Rose’s dress and starting yanking it, which set Catriona off into another fit of giggles.
Cailean found an answering smile spreading across his face.
His daughter always seemed to find the joy in life, no matter how difficult things seemed to get. And since Rose had arrived, she seemed to smile and laugh even more than usual. Rose, he noticed, seemed to have that effect on people. Everyone around the castle seemed to walk a bit lighter, a bit straighter, as though a weight had been lifted from around their necks.
He would, he realized, have to include himself in that assessment.
Why? Was it simply because she was a MacFinnan spellweaver and he was falling victim to the same blind optimism he’d always been so suspicious of?
He didn’t think so. It was more than that. It wasn’t Rose’s powers that made him feel this way. It was Rose herself.
Despite himself, his stomach did an odd little flip whenever he laid eyes on her. He hadn’t felt this alive since… since…
Mary.
Thoughts of his wife flashed into his head and it was like being doused in cold water. A wave of guilt crashed over him. How could he be thinking such things about Rose?
Across the courtyard, Catriona suddenly looked up and spotted him. “Papa!” she cried, waving enthusiastically. “Come and see what Patch can do!”
Oh, how he wanted to. He ached to lose himself in the simple enjoyment of Rose and Catriona’s company. But he couldn’t. Guilt pinned his feet to the ground.
Without a word, he spun and went back through the gate, letting it slam behind him. Lifting his sword from his shoulder, he bellowed for his men to attend him, to get ready for another training session.
The wash and change of clothes would have to wait.
Chapter Eight
Rose rubbed hereyes. The little dots she’d marked on the map blurred and swam. She’d met with Beatrice and Maggie again earlier in the evening and now there were more markers on the map. Still she could see no pattern.
