CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
Lorna put the flowers back down on the table. Her heart was racing just being close to him and alone with him in the library again. And he’d been so kind and sweet to get her flowers. The bluebells smelled heavenly, and she was touched by the thought. Her heart was melting again, and it quickly forgot that she’d been angry at him earlier for wanting to hurry her back to the keep and away from the village.
Now, he was asking about the kiss and searching her eyes for answers. Why had she run away? Why had she truly done it?
She swallowed, looking for the right words. “I donnae ken,” she said, speaking honestly. “It was all so much. So fast.”
Bryce stepped closer, and the heat she was feeling in her cheeks spread to her chest and then her stomach and even lower. He nudged a finger under her chin. “I am sorry about that, lass. I didnae mean tae push ye.”
“Nae, nae, it wasnae like that. I wanted tae kiss ye.” She sighed and closed her eyes, embarrassed that she was not explaining her feelings like she’d hoped. Everything inside her mind was just a tangled mess of words, and she couldn’t set them right. She pressed her lips tightly together and tried to concentrate. But Bryce’s hand slid to her cheek, and she opened her eyes again to meet his. Thinking was not going well at the moment.
“I just was afraid, I guess. I had never been kissed. Nae like that.” There, it was said. At least part of it. Did she want to tell him that she was also afraid of the wild feelings he’d aroused in her? Of how she felt a little guilty that all thoughts of Watt had disappeared as soon as his mouth touched hers?
“Aye, I understand. I willnae frighten ye again,” he teased. “I promise. I only want tae make ye happy. Tae make ye feel good.”
Lorna blushed at the hidden meaning, reaching her hand up to touch Bryce’s hand. “Ye do make me feel good. Thank ye for the flowers,” she said. “Now,” she said, stepping back, smirking a little at Bryce’s obvious expression of disappointment. “I think that ye should tell me what ye discovered in the village. Did ye question the family?”
“Aye,” he replied. “Why do we nae sit and talk about it?” He motioned to the chairs, and, surprised but delighted, she walked over to sit down.
“Tell me everything,” she said, leaning forward with excitement. Then she sat tall with her hands in her lap, hoping to be seen as an equal. She was grateful that Bryce didn’t tease her right then. He was frowning.
“Naething. They saw naething. They didnae notice anyone strange nearby. But I can understand that. It would be tough, since a midwife’s croft has many people going in and out of it all the time. It would be hard tae pick out just one unusual person.”
Lorna leaned back in her chair and tapped a finger to her lips. She noticed that Bryce was watching the movement, and she smirked, feeling powerful that she had Bryce MacDowell looking at her with hunger in his eyes. “I suppose yer right. But I had a thought about why someone might wish tae ransack her croft.”
“Och? Do tell.” He leaned forward this time, and his hand brushed against her knee. She pushed aside the thrill it caused and tried to focus.
“I thought that perhaps the only reason why someone would be angry at a midwife was if she had failed tae assist in a birth properly. Like a husband, for example, might be angry with her that his wife or child died during the labor.”
Bryce nodded. “Aye, I could see that, but it is nae always the midwife’s fault. Sometimes death is just the choice of God.”
“I ken. But I could imagine that grief could overtake someone so fully, that they might nae be able tae think straight.” She knew just how much her parents and Athol still grieved for her older sister. The grief was always with them, even when they smiled and laughed.
“Aye.” Bryce’s expression turned grim, and he stared into the hearth. Lorna took the chance to study his profile. He was only a few years older than her, and yet sometimes, when he got that saddened, distant look in his eye, he looked a lot older. She watched the scars on the side of his face and looked at the lines by his eyes. He had seen so much and done so much in his lifetime. More than she could ever hope to do or see.
She felt like an immature child in his presence. And yet, he wanted her? It didn’t make sense, even though it thrilled her to her very core.
“It is something tae think about, Lorna,” he said, finally turning to look at her, and he caught her staring. Lorna let out a soft gasp and looked away, and she could see him smiling out of the corner of her eye. “But that might also be the same for Conan too. I donnae ken, but they seem connected somehow. It would be strange if it wasnae connected.”
“Agreed. Was there anything ye heard from Conan’s family?”
Bryce shook his head. “Tobias said they werenae keen on speaking tae a soldier, and I hadnae luck taeday either. Couldnae find anyone tae speak with. But perhaps taemorrow. They will come tae the funeral on the green.”
“Aye, I hope so. The messages have been sent. We will ready the priest and the bodies, and then the wagons will carry the bodies tae the church cemetery. If nae one comes, then they have only themselves tae blame. Since they were high village figures, it is on us tae hold the ceremony.”
“It is a good thing, lass. Watt would do the same. But what of yer father? He willnae be back by taemorrow?”
“Well, I hope he is. He kens when the funerals are, but if he cannae make it, he has an excuse. There will be many who will need a healer now that the old one is dead. He will surely pay the outside healer tae stay a little while.” She smiled. “But I must admit that I feel a lot freer with him gone. Even if that means mother is ill.” Her smile faltered.
“I can understand that.” Bryce smiled, trying to lift her spirits. “I must admit it excited me as well. I should have waited tae kiss ye until after he left.”
Lorna’s heart fluttered at Bryce’s heated gaze. She looked down at her hands, feeling on the cusp of something big. She stood, afraid of what she might do if she stayed any longer. He stood as well, moving close to her.
Bryce swallowed. “May I kiss ye again, lass? I donnae want tae scare ye, but I want ye tae ken how I feel…”
Lorna’s breath stopped as she stared up at him. Would he think her a flighty woman if he knew that she was beginning to feel deeply for him too? That his brother was no longer in her mind?
She waited for him to finish her sentence and to press his warm mouth to hers, but she froze when Athol entered the library.
