He had to concede that there might be more truth to her accusation than he wanted to admit. He had always seen her through the window of that little girl he’d first mistaken for a princess. The embodiment of everything he wanted but thought he couldn’t have.
She wasn’t perfect—he knew that. She could be stubborn, opinionated, and defensive—especially when it came to her family. She sometimes spoke without thinking and could be blind to what was right in front of her—he better than anyone knew that. She sometimes focused so much on the goal that she lost sight of everything else. And God knew she could watch where she stepped more often.
But she was also sweet and kind, generous (visiting not just almshouses but also lazar houses), always saw the good in those around her (sometimes naively), strong willed, confident, and despite what she said about sometimes being in a bad mood, almost always happy and cheerful. She had always been able to make him smile—even when he’d slipped into one of his “dark moods,” as she called them. She truly cared about the people around her, including him. Especially him.
So she might be right, but she was also wrong. Hehadtruly loved her.
“I thought now that you wielded a sword you didn’t make them anymore,” she teased.
He paused, putting down the file he’d been using to answer her. “Aye, well, it seems I’ve somehow managed to find myself doing both.”
“I’m not surprised.”
He frowned, not knowing what to make of her comment. “You’re not?”
She shook her head. “You are too talented. Someone was bound to notice at some point.” The matter-of-factness of her tone was oddly flattering. “Johnny said you only got better after I left and had developed a following not just in Douglas but in the rest of South Lanarkshire as well.”
He quirked a brow. “Asking after me, El?”
A pretty dusting of pink appeared on her snowy cheeks, and she quickly changed topics. “Is something wrong with the handle?”
He wasn’t surprised that she’d guessed. God knew she’d watched him do something similar dozens of times. “It shifts a little with a hard blow.”
She looked down at what he was doing. “Are the guards too flat or are they uneven?”
He smiled and shook his head. He wondered how many highborn ladies knew so much about swords. He’d venture a very few. “A little of both. I don’t like the shape of the tang either.”
“But you can’t fix that without a forge.”
“Exactly.”
“Whose sword is it?”
“MacRuairi’s.”
She lifted a brow. “I’m impressed. He keeps limited company—to say the least. I knew him for two years before I swallowed my fear enough to talk to him. Meeting his wife helped.” She shook her head. “Who would have ever thought Scotland’s most famous heroine would wed one of Scotland’s most infamous pirates?”
He, too, had been surprised to learn that Bella MacDuff had married Lachlan MacRuairi, the notorious bastard-born West Highland chieftain. Thom shrugged. “He heard I might be able to fix it, and asked me to look at it. We aren’t exactly blood brothers.”
She gave him an odd look, as if something was just occurring to her. “You spent a lot of time with them today.”
“Who?”
“MacLeod and the others. I wonder...”
She shook off whatever it was she’d been about to say, but he could guess. He’d been wondering the same thing. Were the Phantoms singling him out for a reason? MacLeod had asked him a few questions about his training and battle experience, but had not been forthcoming about why he’d asked Carrick to send Thom to Edinburgh. He’d been watching him though—closely.
“No matter,” she said. “I’m afraid I have an errand I must attend to for Joanna.” Seeing his expression, she laughed. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing to do with you. Have you seen Jamie?”
“Awhile ago. I think he went hunting with some of his men.”
“Ah, well, then Joanna’s favorite blue gown will have to wait.” At his look of incomprehension, she explained. “She needs one of her trunks.”
“So that she can impress the monks?”
She giggled. “Hardly. I think it rather has to do with the other travelers who arrived. Lady Mary of Strathearn—the earl’s daughter. Joanna never liked her. She thought she had designs on James before she married Sir John Moray of Drumsagard.”
Thom shook his head. Women. “If I see him, I’ll let him know.”
