Nora said nothing. She’d caught glimpses of Creighton, of course. It was impossible not to see him here and there—striding through the halls, eating in the feasting hall with his counselors, or even standing silently on the keep walls, visible to someone walking across the courtyard.
Calm,Nora reminded herself.I’m calm. I am nae thinkin’ of him every day. I daenae ache when I see him. I daenae dream of him.
If she kept telling herself that, perhaps it would be true.
Perhaps.
Margaret leaned forward across the table, narrowing her eyes at her sister.
“Ye have been avoidin’ him,” she stated bluntly. “Ye and Creighton are nae speakin’ to each other.”
“What a silly thing to say. We are simply busy, both of us,” Nora mumbled, avoiding her sister’s eye.
There was no fooling Margaret, of course. She narrowed her eyes again, letting the moment linger. Suddenly, she stood up and moved to sit beside her sister. Nora stared down at the remnants of her tea, trying to ignore the pounding of blood in her ears.
Margaret knew, of course. There was never any fooling her.
“Ye care for him,” Margaret stated quietly. “Ye like him. I can tell, Nora. Daenae try to lie to me about it.”
“I am nae lyin’ to ye.”
“Ye are lyin’ to yerself.”
Nora flinched at that. “What, should I take this from ye? Ye who cannae settle in one place for more than a few months? Ye who are always roamin’, searchin’ for somethin’?”
Margaret flushed, glancing sharply away. At once, Nora felt a pang of guilt.
“I’m sorry,” she said at once. “That was cruel. I should nae have said that.”
“Nay, it’s all right. I’m nae hurt,” Margaret answered quickly. “I suppose there is some truth in that, but we are nae talkin’ about me now. We are talkin’ aboutye. Nora, lass, I am worried about ye. Ye act strange, distant.”
“I have had a shock. We all have. Dallas was moments away from killin’ Laurie in front of our eyes, and probably me too. I doubt that he could have killed Creighton, but if Creighton was mad from grief…” she trailed off, shaking her head, not wanting to think about Creighton watching his sister plummet to her death.
How would he feel, watchin’ me die? Would the pain be the same, or would it simply be a sharp stab of regret, somethin’ that passed quickly away?
She gave her head a slight shake and forced her mind away from that question. It would not do her any good to dwell on it. Creighton did not care for her, not truly. It hurt to think about it, but there was no avoiding the pain, was there? She would just have to endure it.
And havin’ Margaret interrogate me every step of the way will nae help me to get around it,she thought grimly, biting back a sigh.The sooner I get away from this place, the better.
Briskly, she got to her feet, striding across the room.
“I will meet ye in Laurie’s schoolroom,” she told her sister, not looking back. “I have some chores to do. I want to inspect the healin’ chambers and see if Donal has rearranged the medicines as I asked. I will see ye soon.”
She did not give her sister a chance to respond. Hurrying out of the feasting room, Nora strode across the wide, echoing hall, heading toward the healing chambers. If she stayed busy for the duration of her stay here, then perhaps everything would be all right. If she kept her mind moving, if she kept focused onotherthings, then…
Abruptly, she walked into another person.
For one awful moment, Nora was certain that she would look up and find Creighton staring down at her, his expression impassive. For an instant, his image impressed itself behind her eyelids, that mocking smile and those dark eyebrows etching out in the darkness inside her head.
Then she blinked, and it was only Andrew.
“I’m sorry,” he grimaced, holding out a hand to steady her. “I did nae hurt ye, did I?”
“Nay, nay,” she stammered, gaze sliding past him. There, at the entrance to the council room,wasCreighton. He was looking at her, his gaze a sharp arrow shot across the length of the room. However, distance was her friend, and Nora cleared her throat, looking away.
“Laurie ran into the Laird and wanted to tell him about the lessons she was doin’ for today,” Andrew explained. “The Laird said he’d take her to the schoolroom when they were done talkin’, and so I thought I’d come back and find Margaret. There’s a beautiful shore on the loch behind the keep, and I thought she’d like to see it.”
Nora bit back a smile. “That’s kind of ye, Andrew. Ye and Margaret seem to be getting’ along well.”
