“Aye,” she said. “Neal told me so. And he’d have been a good husband, truly. But nay, I dinnae think that I loved him, nae the way we’re talking about.”
It felt almost like a betrayal to admit it, but it was true. Eithne had loved Neal with all her heart, and she would have done anything for him, anything at all. She would have married him when the time came, and they would have had children, and they would have been happy.
But it wouldn’t have been the kind of romantic love that she heard about in stories. Neal had never filled her with warmth from head to toe, never made her insides shudder in anticipation of his touch. She’d loved him like she loved Killian – like a brother. But Neal had never excited her, never filled her with longing.
Nae like Ivor does.
She was stunned by the thought. What was she thinking? Now was neither the time nor the place for this. Obviously, she was tired because of all of the emotions of the last few days. The journey had already been too long, her nights too restless. Their kisses…she shouldn’t build them into something they were not.
After that, neither of them said anything for a long time. They stopped a few times to give Aibreann some rest or let her take food and water, but they were both lost in a world of their own thoughts.
As darkness fell later that night, Eithne could feel herself fading. She was behind Ivor on the horse now, her forehead resting against his back as the tantalizing promise of sleep beckoned.
“Eithne,” Ivor said, his voice cutting through the fog of near dreams. “Look.”
She blinked wearily, following the point of his finger. An unassuming little inn sat there on the side of the road, looking warm and welcoming. The stable beside it was obviously well-tended, too. “Is it safe?” she asked, though she could hear the yearning in her own voice.
Ivor pulled gently on the horse’s reins, and they started in the direction of the inn. “We’re far from Fife and further from yer clan,” he told her. “And ye need a good sleep. The filly needs to rest as well. One night here willnae kill us.”
Eithne agreed gratefully. The siren’s call of a soft pillow and a hot meal was almost too much to bear, and she would have done anything for either.
* * *
Ivor dropped the horse off at the stable and led Eithne inside, covering her with his cape so that nobody saw she wore only a long shirt as a dress. They walked to the bar behind which the innkeeper was washing a mug.
“Greetings, travelers,” the plump, pleasant woman said. “How can I help ye this evening?”
Ivor hesitated. “Well…me wife and I need a room for the night,” he said, thinking quickly. He felt Eithne stiffen in surprise beside him and hoped that she did not get too angry at the lie. Posing as a simple man and his wife looking for a place to sleep would prevent any questions and throw off their trail.
“Newlyweds, is it?” the innkeeper said pleasantly. “Well, yer in luck. We’ve got one room left. Go on the pair of ye and have a seat; I’ll bring ye some beer and stew and get ye filled before ye go off and celebrate yer nuptials.”
He thanked her and followed where she pointed until they found an empty table, deliberately keeping his eyes away from Eithne the entire time. He didn’t know how she’d react. When they finally sat down, though, his heart caught in his throat.
Her lovely blue eyes shone with amusement, and her cheeks flushed. “Why ye’d think I’d remember the night we wed,” she teased.
It was Ivor’s turn for his skin to turn hot, and he was sure he was blushing. “I just…I mean…”
She reached over the table and took his hand. “Dinnae look so worried. It was the right thing to say,” she assured him with a smile. “Ye’re a sweet lad, ye ken, Ivor. I’m glad that ye found me. I dinnae ken what I’d have done without ye.”
Their eyes met, and Ivor found a strange pulling at his chest, so pleasant it was almost an ache. He could have lost himself in that crystalline gaze forever and died a happy man, and the feel of her hand was like a warm hearth on his skin.
“I’m glad I found ye, too,” he said softly in a voice so gentle that he barely recognized it.
Just then, one of the inn’s servers approached. Ivor would have thought her pretty under normal circumstances and probably have tried to bed her. Still, now he couldn’t look away from Eithne.
“Stew and beer, with me Mammy’s compliments for the newlyweds,” the girl chirped, placing the steaming hot bowls in front of them along with a chunk of fresh bread and some tankards. “It’s truly a fine thing to see a couple so in love.”
Ivor expected Eithne to protest, but to his surprise, she simply smiled at the girl. “I’ve been fortunate with Ivor,” she told the server. “Luckier than many women me age ever are in their lifetime.”
Ivor’s heart started to race. He knew she was not declaring love, but those kind words about him threatened to fell him then and there. It had only been a few days, yet he felt like Eithne had been his whole life for as long as he could remember.
The server smiled and left, telling them to let her know when they were ready to be shown to their room. Ivor watched her go, his mind in a whirl.
“Ivor?” Eithne’s voice asked gently. “Are ye all right?”
He looked back at her, clearing his throat. “More than I ever expected to be,” he confessed. From the pretty blush that appeared on her cheeks, he realized that she understood his meaning almost more than he did.
* * *
