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He did not answer. Instead, Niall continued to stare at her, but Avelina did not look away. She did attempt to slow the beating of her heart at his continued gaze but otherwise said nothing. Moved not at all.

“It should not,” he said finally, as if admitting something he did not wish to.

“Indeed.” Avelina would have told him he was right, and it should not matter. They should not be speaking now and should probably not speak again at length for the remainder of the trip. And yet, she said none of that. Instead, she watched as he took a step toward her.

She stared mutely as he reached up and clasped a strand of errant hair between his fingers. Tucking it behind her ear, his hand remained there for a bit longer than necessary, as if ’twas unnecessary to fix her hair at all.

Avelina did not move. She wasn’t even sure she continued to breathe.

Of course, you are breathing, you silly girl.

“This,” she said, her voice hardly sounding like her own, “is highly inappropriate. Speaking to each other alone. That, even more so,” she said as his hand finally, and sadly, returned to his side.

“I will leave you then,” he said, but Niall did not make a move to do so.

“Wait.”

He did. The reason she called him back had not needed to be voiced. ’Twas wrong. And aye, highly inappropriate. Yet, ’twas unmistakable too. That Avelina did not want him to leave was as infuriating as the fact that she’d wished for that very thing not long ago.

“Will you speak with me on the morrow? Or do we begin the day as enemies once again?” He asked her to decide. Was Niall simply a Duncraig, one of the most important members of that clan, and the bitterest of MacKinlay enemies? Or was he simply a man whose name held more ill will than she wished?

Fact was, the answer was both.

Would she speak with him on the morrow? Avelina was unsure if she could avoid doing so. Unsure if she wished to avoid it.

Instead of saying any of that, however, she simply said, “I will speak with you.”

For him, that seemed to be enough. “Come. I will show you to your chamber.”

She followed, asking what she’d been curious about earlier. “You’ve stayed here before to know this keep so well.”

“Aye,” he said. “Many times. Caerlaverock is an ally to Clan Duncraig.”

“And to Clan MacKinlay as well.”

Niall stopped and turned. “It seems, then, we’ve at least one thing in common.”

As they looked into each other’s eyes, Avelina observed, “I think it is not the only thing.”

“Aye,” Niall agreed. “I fear you might be right.”

Avelina shared that fear. And with it, the knowledge that it may be too late to turn back from whatever they’d started.

Chapter Nine

Niall had avoided her all morn. Not because he’d wanted to, but because her brother had and his man had been glaring at him since they broke their fast, and Niall had no wish to altercate with either of them. Convincing the pair they must investigate the errant cattle to avoid a war with his father would be difficult enough without this added complication.

There was no doubt, Avelina was a complication.

He should not have gone to her last eve. But her change in demeanor had bothered him enough that he had not been able to resist despite his brother’s admonitions. Both last eve and now.

“You court trouble, Niall,” Kieran said as they slowed their mounts. Having ridden since sunrise, it was time for a brief respite for the horses. And for Avelina. Surely she was not accustomed to riding for so many hours?

“Indeed,” he agreed.

“Why do it?” Kieran asked, correctly surmising that Niall was about to seek her out now that Lina was separated from her men. She sat on a rock by the riverbank, peering into its depths. He understood the draw as Niall, too, loved the water. Castle MacKinlay had the advantage of being directly positioned on the sea, so Lina must crave it more than most.

“I cannae answer that completely,” Niall said as he approached her, leaving Kieran to his sounds of exasperation.