CHAPTER FOUR
Fia looked blissfully happy as she and Gillian rode along the cliff top toward the village. The sun was bright, the sea sparkled and seabirds wheeled overhead. It seemed to Gillian that her sister had everything she’d ever dreamed of—a fine home, a handsome husband who loved her to distraction, and children who adored their mother as much as she loved them. There was a menagerie of pets and injured wild creatures that Fia tended with her healing skills, and her clan was devoted to their lady. Fia was full of quiet confidence and joy.
As they rode, she pointed out birds and healing plants, and greeted the folk they met with a kind word and a smile.
They stopped to visit Annie Sinclair, the wife of Angus Mor, Dair’s first mate, and Fia’s dearest friend. Annie welcomed Gillian and served fresh baked bread to her visitors. She carried a toddler on her hip, an apple-cheeked little lad with his father’s sky-blue eyes.
“How long will ye be visiting Carraig Brigh?” Annie asked Gillian.
“She and Papa will stay until after my masked ball,” Fia answered before Gillian could fully open her mouth. She closed it again and smiled silently.
“Are ye enjoying your visit?” Annie asked.
“We’ve been out riding today, and tomorrow Dair has promised to take us out on the sea,” Fia replied. Gillian smiled again and felt a blush fill her cheeks when Annie looked at her curiously.
“Would ye like another slice of bread, Mistress MacLeod?”
“You’ll spoil your lunch, Gilly,” Fia said.
But Gillian nodded anyway. “It’s delicious,” she said quietly, but Fia looked at her as if she’d shouted. Gillian smiled at Annie’s wee son. “May I hold him?”
“Aye, of course.” Annie settled the child in Gillian’s arms. The lad looked up at her with wonder for a moment, then smiled. “He likes ye,” Annie said. “And he doesn’t like many folk.”
“Neither does Gilly,” Fia blurted. “She’s very shy.”
Gillian kept her eyes downcast and didn’t reply. Was there a point in doing so?
“My gran used to say that just because someone is shy, it doesn’t mean they don’t have a lot going on inside their heads and in their hearts,” Annie said. “My Angus was a very shy lad. I had no idea he even liked me, since he’d turn aside whenever we met by chance. Then one day, Niall Sinclair said he intended to court me. Angus punched him in the jaw and told Niall that no one was going to marry me but him.” She smiled softly. “Gran was very canny about folk. She said ye can tell a lot about a person by their deeds, even if they don’t say very much.”
“Didn’t your gran read the lines in people’s palms to see their future?” Fia asked.
Annie smiled. “She did. Would ye like me to look at yours?” she asked Gillian.
“Aye, do,” Fia said eagerly. “Give me the bairn, Gilly.”
Fia lifted the child, but he squirmed out of her arms and scrambled back into Gillian’s lap instead.
Gillian curled one hand around the bairn and held out her other palm. Annie took it and leaned over it, running her fingertip over the lines and creases.
“What do you see?” Fia asked, leaning in.
“An adventure,” Annie murmured. “And a long life and bairns of your own. Three, I think. You’ll wed within the year . . .”
“An adventure? Three bairns? Gilly,married?” Fia parroted in amazement. Gillian frowned. “Why not?” she asked her sister.
Fia colored. “I didn’t think . . . that is . . . Is that what you wish for?”
Gillian met her sister’s eyes. “More than anything,” she said softly. Fia looked surprised at that, and Annie looked pleased.
Annie gave Gillian’s hand a gentle squeeze. “Then I hope ye find your heart’s desire.”
* * *
On the practice field with the other lads, John handed Will Fraser a wooden sword. The boy glared at it mutinously. “You’ll start with that,” John said. He beckoned to one of the boys, but the lad hesitated, frowning at Will suspiciously. Will glared back, stood with the wooden sword in his hand, his good foot braced, his twisted one curled inward. “He’s afraid of me,” he said. “They all are.”
John looked at the lads. “You can’t choose whom you’ll fight against in battle,” he said, pacing along the row of lads who stood staring at Will. “You can choose who fights beside you, though.” He put his hand on Will’s shoulder and almost winced at how thin it was. “Will is going to stand beside you one day. He’ll learn your weaknesses and compensate for them, and you’ll learn his strengths and how to use them against your enemies. An enemy might look at Will and think he’ll be easy to beat because of his foot, but you’ll know better.”
The boys still hung back. “My ma says his foot is the devil’s mark,” one called out. The others nodded agreement.
