“Very. At least now I dinna have to worry about Snip putting herfoot in a hole because her rider’s mind is elsewhere.”
Rose gathered up the reins and patted Snip on the shoulder. “I wouldn’t let you hurt yourself, would I, girl? No, I wouldn’t. Good horse.”
Snip tossed her mane, clearly pleased by the attention.
Cailean rolled his eyes. Between Catriona and Rose, he would be lucky to have any decent working animals left.
They were heading inland and the sea was now only a faint strip of blue along the horizon behind them. The interior of the island was made up of deep glens and rocky hills, with thick stands of forest dotted between. It was sparsely populated, being farthest from the sea that gave the people of Barra their livelihood, and the few roads were little more than shepherds’ tracks.
Still, Cailean knew this place like the back of his hand although he’d not been out this way since the sickness had started and he realized that he’d missed the wide-open spaces and the endless skies. Although, he reflected, the sky did not look very welcoming today. The sunny promise of the morning had given way to clouds that filled the sky from end to end, like a blanket thrown over the world, heavy with rain.
The wind was blowing away from them though, and if they were very lucky, they might escape the downpour that threatened.
Luck, he thought sourly.Hardly. Clan MacNeil seems to be fresh out of such a thing.
“Do you know ‘I spy’?” Rose asked suddenly.
Cailean glanced at her. “What?”
“‘I spy’. It’s a word game. You play it to pass the time. My sisters and I used to play it all the time when we were little and our mother had taken us on a long road trip. Stopped us getting bored and acting up. Come on, it’s easy. You look around for something you can see, then say the letter it begins with. The other player has to guess what you’ve chosen. I’ll go first.”
A little bemused, Cailean watched as she looked around, eyes scanning the muddy path they were riding along and the damp vegetation to either side. They were passing through a wide valley, with bracken covered slopes. The bracken was already starting to turn brown with the turn of the seasons. Winter, he realized, would soon be upon them.
“Got it!” Rose said. “I spy with my little eye, something beginning withf.”
“Ferns,” he said immediately.
Rose frowned at him. “How did you get that so quickly?”
He quirked an eyebrow at her. “Lass, look around. There’s naught else for miles.”
She gave an annoyed little harrumph. “All right. You suggest a game.”
“This is hardly my area of expertise,” Cailean replied. “Although I do play a mean game of drafts.”
“You do? Excellent! Then I challenge you to a duel when we get back to Dun Mallach.”
She was smiling and, looking at her, Cailean felt that odd sensation inside him again, that seemed to come upon him whenever he was in her company. She was a MacFinnan spellweaver, a woman with incredible powers and carried the expectation of a whole clan on her shoulders. Yet here she was, getting excited at the prospect of a game of drafts. She was unlike anyone he’d ever met.
Despite himself, he smiled. “All right, ye are on.”
“Excellent! It’s a date!”
Cailean didn’t know what adatewas, but Rose’s expression changed suddenly, as though she’d said something she hadn’t meant to. Her cheeks colored and she cleared her throat.
“Well, I don’t mean a ‘date’ obviously. I just mean… well… erm…”
“Aye, lass,” Cailean cut her off. “It’s a date.”
Rose’s eyes were a little wide. “Well, okay then.” She blinked and looked away. “I don’t like the look of those clouds,” she blurted. “It looks like we are going to get a drenching.”
Cailean licked his thumb then held it up, judging the wind direction. “We willnae. The wind is coming from behind us. If it holds course until we reach Hemkirk we’ll be fine. If it doesnae…” He shrugged. “Then wewillget a drenching.”
“I hope you’re right. I forgot my umbrella.” He looked her askance and she waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it. A modern invention to keep you dry.”
He nodded. “We have something similar. It’s called a hood.”
Rose couldn’t help laughing at that.
