Ian grinned, glad that she was straight to the point. “I had some issues tae deal with when I got back home that took mah attention for longer than I cared tae.”
Ida sniffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “And yer back now for wot?”
“Ye know wot,” Ian chided her softly. “I told ye mah time with yer laird isna done.”
“Tis good tae hear then,” Ida replied.
The silence grew between them before Ian cleared his throat. “I wish tae speak tae ye aboot something Ida.”
“Oh?” she asked, arching a brow. “Wot do I look like tae ye Ian? Do I look like yer advisor?”
He was hoping that she would be more by the end of the day. “Nay not that. Something else.” He knew she was angry at him for being gone for so long but he couldn’t help his absence. “Will ye ride with mah when the rains stop?” That would give himenough time to gather his thoughts for right now he felt as if they were scattered around her.
She cocked her head to the side, a grin playing on her lips. “Do ye think that ye will melt in the rain, Ian Wallace?”
She wanted to ride now? Of course, he could ride in the rain. He had done it for much of his journey here already. “The question is,” he told her. “Are ye comfortable with the rain lass?”
Her smile was full now and it took Ian’s breath away. “Let mah get mah horse readied.”
It wasn’t long before they were both on the backs of their horses, racing across the moors in the light rain. Ian allowed Ida to lead, for she knew the land better than he did, and found himself enjoying the hard ride. He wasn’t going to go wrong by picking her as his wife. Any lass that rode like the hell hounds were chasing her was one that he could enjoy his life with.
So he rode alongside her, racing her at times and seeing Ida’s smile widen when she edged him with her horse. By the time they made it to a thick grove of trees that would shield the rain, Ian was smiling and Ida was laughing. “Well done Ian,” she said cheekily, sliding off her horse and tethering it to a low-hanging branch. “Ye ride well.”
“I should, given I’ve spent most of mah life on the back of one,” he replied, doing the same with his horse before patting its wet neck. “Mah da made certain that we could hold our own on a horse.”
“Then I would say that he taught ye well,” she admitted, leaning against the tree. She was soaked to the bone, but Ian didn’t see a trace of worry about it on her face. It was almost as if she enjoyed her hair plastered to her forehead or the heaviness of her dress now that it was rain-soaked.
Ian closed the gap between them, hearing her sharp intake of breath the closer he got. “Wot is it lass?” he asked softly, resting his hand on the trunk above her head. “Do I make ye nervous?”
“Ye should,” she breathed. “Ye are mah enemy.”
“I’m no more an enemy than yer horse is lass.”
“I know,” she said, warming his insides. “I donna care that ye are a Wallace. Ye donna act like one.”
He chuckled, reaching down to touch her cheek with his fingers. “I missed ye, Ida MacGregor.”
“Ye missed mah?”
Ian nodded, hoping that she couldn’t see how much written on his face. She was the only one that understood his plight, the only one that had given him more than one piece of sound advice. He longed to tell her everything he had been up against in his absence, knowing she would listen with both ears open.
“Well I had nary a second tae miss ye,” she sniffed.
“I donna know if I believe ye lass,” Ian murmured, lowering his head. He had to kiss her. He had thought about kissing her, wishing he had before he left to get him through the months they had been apart.
He wasn’t going to make the same mistake this time.
“Wait,” Ida said, pressing her hand to his wet tunic and stopping Ian from any further thought. “Ye needed tae speak with mah aboot something?”
Oh. The entire reason he was here with her to begin with. Ian didn’t step back, wanting to make certain she heard his words over the pounding of the rain. “Aye, I do.” His throat was suddenly tight, his heart pounding away in his ears and Ian was nervous, far more nervous than he had been ever in his life. “I want tae wed ye lass.”
Her lips parted. “Wot?”
“Tis something I have been thinking aboot since we parted ways,” he rushed out, wanting her to understand where he was coming from. “Ye are a MacGregor, the niece of the laird. Tis makes perfect sense for ye tae wed mah and help mah build this alliance.” With her by his side, Ian didn’t stand the chance oflosing again. He didn’t know what sort of relationship she had with her uncle, but she was blood and that was enough.
Something crossed Ida’s eyes before she blinked rapidly. “Ye wish tae wed mah for the alliance?”
“I know it sounds odd,” he continued. “But we both want the same thing for our clans. We will be stronger together than apart.” She could convince her clan to see that he wasn’t out to destroy them any longer and they could start to work on peace.
