Fiona had no doubt that Erik knew the tale as well, and would never let that happen to him. To them. Once she reached Ross, if she decided she wanted to leave, she would not be able to. Returning to Rose would be out of the question, and since Erik had seen her first in Inverness, he would know she might head there. He would not stop until he found her.
Rather than making her feel trapped, she felt cared for, needed, and wanted. And she would do her best to see that they never walked the path Thomas and Ella had trod.
Erik arrived then and greeted them, his expression expectant, his smile eager. “Are ye ready? ’Tis time to go.”
Fiona stood and, after a glance at Mary, nodded. “I am.” She turned to her friend. “I dinna ken when I’ll see ye again, but I will.”
“Aye, ye will,” Mary agreed, shifting her gaze to Erik to give him a chance to concur.
“Aye, of course. We will visit, and ye are welcome at Ross at any time. I am grateful to ye for yer care of my wife, and for the Rose agreeing to this alliance and our marriage. If ye will excuse me for a moment, I’ll go give him our farewell.”
“I will have to tell him for ye. He hasna come down from his chamber yet. Perhaps he will in time to see ye as ye sail away.”
Erik nodded, “Aye, perhaps he will.” He took Fiona’s hand. “Let us be on our way home.”
Home.The word echoed in Fiona’s head. Rose was home. Inverness was home. And soon, Ross would be as well.
After Fiona made her farewells to Lia and a few other friends, Erik escorted her to the Rossbirlinnand saw her safely on board. Then he left her to watch him launch the boat and get them underway. She studied him as they prepared to leave,enjoying his mastery of the vessel and the men working with him. This, she thought, must be the Laird Erik at his best, his men working with him, not for him, toward a common goal. And he, part of the effort to make happen what they strove for. She could see why the alliance and their marriage meant so much to him. In this case, he’d done everything he could to reassure her, as well as succeeding in the larger goal of peace between four clans. And now he was on the way home with his wife. His Lady Ross. Fiona wondered what his next goal would be.
Erik watchedFiona as she settled onto a seat on board thebirlinnand wondered what she was thinking. She appeared calm, but surely she was fearful of the change in her life. She was strong and brave, but it would be up to him to help her make her place in Ross. Once they pushed off, he moved to her. “How are ye feeling about this?”
“Nervous, of course. When do ye think we’ll arrive?”
“Before sunset if the firth remains this calm. There will be enough wind for the sails soon, so we’ll no’ have to row the entire way.” He knew she wasn’t nervous about crossing the firth as much as about arriving at Ross.
“Tell me about yer keep. Yer village.”
Erik fought not to wince. They didn’t have a keep, barely a village. But he was intent on changing that. “Ye ken we have a village on a bluff above a series of coves. Small thatched dwellings. Naught so grand as the Rose keep. But warm enough and dwellings enough for everyone.”
“But…?”
So she’d heard the hesitation in his tone. “’Tis indefensible. I’ve set the men to building a curtain wall, and when that is done,a hall, and a proper dwelling for the laird. Not just me—or us—but any who come after.”
“Ye have great plans.”
“I do. Donas wasted time and manpower on fighting and little else. Nay clan can thrive like that.”
“How do ye live then?”
A pang of guilt unsettled his belly. He should have told her all of this before making her his wife, when she still could have bowed out of their marriage. Instead, he selfishly made her his and ensured that she would feel obligated to help him. “Off the bounty of the firth and the surrounding forest. Some small plots where the lasses grow what those dinna provide.”
“Do ye have a healer? Or a smithy? How do ye come by weapons to defend the clan?”
Erik frowned, embarrassed to admit his clan’s past. “Even if the victory wasna ours, Donas collected weapons from every battle we fought until every man was armed by the warriors they defeated. He collected more arms abandoned on the battlefield when we won. Lasses, too.” He held up a hand. “I ken what it sounds like. And what it was. Ye ken about the latest stolen brides. But Donas is dead and I am changing the way we live. With yer help, we will make more progress.”
“We shall be busy,” she remarked, but her tone seemed thoughtful, not fearful. Again he thought how fortunate he was in finding this woman.
“We shall, but it will be good work, no’ fighting for nay reason.”
“Unless Domhnall calls for yer men?”
“Ye ken the Laird of the Isles?”
“I ken who he is. ’Tis all. I was still in Inverness when the bridge burned. ’Twas said his men did it.”
“We dinna ken why.” Erik shrugged. “Ye lived there when I saw ye.”
“I cared for a cousin of the Rose laird’s grandda who lived there. She passed away just before we were forced to return to Rose.”
