“So then,” Owen said.“We have two days toprepare, one day to travel, and one day to get Lady Alina aboardtheTrade Windand on her way home.”
Four days.Roark twined his fingers throughAlina’s, glad she’d be safely away, but desolate to be sayinggood-bye to her.Maybe forever.
“Any word on Roger’s men?”Owen asked.
“Aye,” Niels said.“We heard they’ve been upand down the firth’s ports, spreading their accusations of murderand the bounty price on these two, along with Roger’s threat ofretribution to anyone who dares help them.Which Wallis saysdoesn’t bother him any.”He looked to Grant and both mengrinned.
“What else?”Owen said.
Niels chuckled and pulled on his beard.“Wewere in a tavern our last night there,” he said, “where we happenedto overhear three men bragging about how they’d captured Roark, whothey said was traveling alone, and how they had him all nice andhog-tied, and were on their way to port to turn him in to thelaird’s men and collect their reward when they were set upon by agang of thieves in the middle of the night atop the northern pass.How many men did they say?”he asked Grant.“Eight, nine?”
“The number kept changing with each tellingand cup of ale,” Grant said.He grinned at Alina.“I believe it wasten by their last telling.”
“Anyway,” Niels continued, “they said theyfought off this gang of men and claimed they killed two,” heglanced at Roark, “before the thieves took their prisoner and ran.”He winked at Alina.“Guess it sounded a mite better than beingoutsmarted by one woman.”
Alina shrugged and her eyes grew wide.“Thisis good,” she told Roark.“This will keep people from blaming youfor killing those two men, even though it was self-defense.”
“And it keeps you out of it altogether,”Roark said.“People will think we’ve split up and gone our separateways.”
Which they would be doing in four days.
After some time spent in the common roomconversing with the family and sipping only half a cup of whisky,which Roark had taken a liking to despite everything, he walkedAlina up to her room.
“I’ll be back shortly,” he told her.“I’mgoing to get my things from my room, for our room.”
She rewarded him with a happy smile.“It wasnice of Owen and Siusan to permit us to share a room.”
“Yes, it is,” he agreed.All he’d had to dowas promise not to make any babies with her.“It appears we haven’tfooled a single adult here about our relationship.”
“Good.I’m tired of trying to hide it.Thisway we can be Roark and Alina for the time left us here.”
He went to his room and piled all hispersonal belongings onto his otter cloak, wrapped them up, andcarried them to Alina’s room, where she was already changed into anight shift, sitting on the bed, her knees tucked under her chin.She watched him with a shaky smile on her beautiful face as hearranged his belongings, her green eyes wide with appreciation ashe stripped and joined her on the bed.Their bed, for three morenights anyway.
He leaned against the headboard, her headnestled on his shoulder.“Niels and Grant agreed to ride back withme,” he said.He kissed her on the crown of her head, breathing inthe scent of spring grass, cherry blossoms, and her.“Thankyou.”
“They might come in handy,” she said, “sinceyou won’t have your gang of ten with you this time.”
He chuckled low.“No gang of ten could’vehandled those brigands as well as you did, my brave, intelligentowl.”
“I’m glad you’ll have their company.Do theyintend to ride all the way to North Shore Keep with you?”
“No.Only as far as Thorn Bush Keep.I don’twish to drag the MacLeods any deeper into this mess than theyalready are.”
“I’m glad we came here,” she said.“I likethem.I like knowing they’re kin.Knowing where mygreat-grandmother, Oona, came from.It makes me feel connected toher.To all the women of my line.”
“From Swan to Tigress to Lynx to Owl,” Roarksaid.“You’ve come full circle.”He hugged her tight.“The women ofyour line would be proud.”
CHAPTER 15
North Sea Firth
They left the keep at dawn and rode northeastalong the southern shore of Silver Water Loch, Laird Owen and Nielsin the lead, Alina on Etain and Roark on Beasty behind them, andone of the laird’s men named Liam driving a wagon laden withbarrels of whisky, batts of wool, and crates of cherries behindthem.Grant and a fourth man named Duncan were riding rear guard.Alina, traveling as Al, wore the linen tunic and breeches Briannahad given her, along with the otter cloak.Her hair was braided andtucked tight under a woolen cap.
Roark too wore a woolen cap over his auburnwaves and a scarf around his neck, which could be pulled up overhis nose to hide his freckled face.But there was no hiding hiseyes, which Alina sought and held every chance she got.
The past three days and nights had beenbittersweet.They’d enjoyed a close contentedness, petting andkissing, walking and talking, eating and sleeping together, doingeverythingbut.They’d even taken baths together, givingAlina a new appreciation for why her parents enjoyed bathingtogether so much.
Saying her good-byes to Lady Siusan, Agnes,Cullen, and Rose, who’d given up chasing Roark after the nightAlina sang “Somebody,” had been gut-wrenching.They’d all been sowelcoming and gracious, and had accepted her.She would never beable to repay their kindness, though she intended to do her best.Which was why the wagon carried two barrels of whisky bound for SeaRidge.She’d meant what she’d told Owen about her father beinginterested in trading for the spirits, and looked forward toopening a trade line between them.
