This seemed to please Laurie. She brightened, nodding, and applied herself to her broth once more, smothering a yawn. Her bedtime was approaching, and Creighton knew she must be exceptionally tired after her illness. They couldn’t risk her relapsing.
“We owe ye a great debt, Lady Nora,” Dallas spoke up, catching Nora’s eye with a smile. “Ye saved our favorite princess.”
“I am theonlyprincess!” Laurie yelped, mouth full. Marcus tutted affectionately at her.
“Daenae talk with yer mouth full, lassie,” he admonished. When he wasn’t looking, Laurie stuck her tongue out at him.
Nora coughed to hide a laugh, glancing over at Creighton as if to see if he’d noticed Laurie’s cheekiness. In response, he lifted an eyebrow and gave a quick, sideways smile.
“In all seriousness, though,” Marcus added, pausing to take a gulp of his wine. “We do owe ye, Lady Nora. We’ll have to make it up to ye, but I cannae imagine a thing of equal value to wee Laurie here.”
“It’s me job,” Nora murmured, dropping her eyes. “I daenae need thanks, and ye daenae need to make it up to me. I’m happy to have helped Laurie. I’ll help her again, if she needs it, or anyone else who needs it.”
“I meant to talk to ye about some of yer proposed changes to the way healin’ is done in this clan,” Marcus continued, leaning forward and narrowing his eyes. “I have some concerns that?—”
“Enough of that, Marcus,” Creighton interrupted tightly. Perhaps he’d been too sharp with the councilman. Marcus flushed, clearly embarrassed, and returned his attention to his goblet. Well, no matter. Creighton would smooth the man’s ruffled feelings later. For now, he had something to say, and Nora’s proximity was not helping.
He could feel the heat from her body seeping toward him, crawling across his skin and into his bones, teasing him. That and her sweet-savory scent of herbs made him want to turn to her, grab her in his arms, and pull her toward him with a ravenous hunger. He wanted to kiss her again. He wanted to feel the silky material of that dress against his fingertips, to feel howwarm her skin was beneath it all. He wantedher. Oh, he wanted her so badly it ached.
“Before we dig into our food, there is somethin’ we can all do to show our gratitude to Nora,” he said aloud, slowly and carefully.
All eyes turned toward him, including Nora’s, which was wide with surprise and a hint of wariness.
She still doesnae trust me,he thought.I am nae sure I can blame her.
“Oh?” Dallas inquired. “Well, whatever we can do, we’ll do.”
“We havenae discussed this,” Nora managed, glancing uneasily around the table. “I have nay favors to ask of anyone.”
Creighton did not answer right away. He reached forward, grabbed his goblet of wine, and drank it in one swift swallow.
“Nora has a sister, younger than her,” he said at last, making sure his voice was clear and his words crisp. “She has gone missin’. There is a chance she might have been taken by our men in a MacColl raid.”
A murmur ran around the table, hastily silenced.
Dallas leaned forward, eyes narrowed. “And what, she is here for revenge? I daenae understand, me Laird.”
“Nay, nae revenge!” Nora said at once, a little uneasily. “I daenae ken if she’s dead or alive. I… I only want to find her. That’s all I want.”
Dallas and Marcus exchanged glances. There was no reading their expression. Theo looked troubled. Andrew, however, cleared his throat ostentatiously. When Nora glanced at him, he gave her a tentative smile.
“I’m sorry about yer sister,” he murmured. “That’s terrible, to lose a person ye love. What is her name?”
“Her name is Margaret. She is…” Nora paused, as if uncertain, and threw a glance at Creighton. He lifted his eyebrows and nodded encouragingly.
“Tell them about her,” he instructed. “In me experience, word of mouth and many pairs of eyes is the way to get a thing done.”
Nora nodded in agreement, some of the tension leaving her face. Letting out a slow breath, she turned back to Andrew.
“She’s twenty years old,” she explained firmly. “Shorter than me, and younger. She has hair like mine, but her eyes are large and brown. Not a dark brown, but more like a… an amber, perhaps?”
She continued, describing her sister in minute detail. Creighton stayed quiet, letting her speak. Now and then, he glanced thoughtfully around the table, taking in the expressions of theothers. Dallas was impassive as always, but gave the impression of listening closely.
Marcus was clearly not happy. He kept huffing and shifting his weight, eating more and more food, a sure sign that he was uncomfortable. Theo and Andrew both listened carefully, with Andrew occasionally asking questions.
After a moment, as Creighton had known he would, Marcus leaned forward and whispered loudly across the table, “Are we her personal stewards now?”
“We certainly are nae,” Creighton responded smoothly. “Butyearemine, andIam tellin’ ye to oblige her, Marcus.”
