Love Beyond Time (Morna's Legacy Series) (18 page)

Just as Mary exited the kitchen to set out supper, Arran burst through the back doors, dragging another man roughly along behind him.

“I found him trying to climb over the castle gate. I started to throw him in the dungeon before I came to get ye, but he swears he has news that we will both want to hear.” He released his grip on the man, who stood upright and brushed his arm where Arran had gripped him with his hand.

The man threw a very unpleased look in Arran’s direction. “Aye, sir. I come to ye seeking refuge in return for news.”

Eoin stood from his place at the stable, briefly holding a palm up in my direction as if asking me to stay seated. Naturally, it did nothing but encourage me to stand and join him in front of Arran and the stranger.

“Refuge from what? Are ye a criminal? Ye will no find refuge here, if that be the case.”

“Nay, sir. I was held a criminal, but the only crime I was guilty of was loving the laird’s daughter. He caught us tupping in her bedchamber and locked me away.”

“As right he should.”

“Ach, Eoin! Doona be so noble. If tupping were a crime, there’s not a lad over the age of fifteen who wouldna be locked away!” Arran chuckled slightly before stopping when he glanced at Eoin’s face.

“Aye, sir. I wanted to wed her, but he wouldna consent. I was too lowly for the old bastard.” The stranger reached up to grab his heart as if in pain.

“Ach, well yer crime may no have been so bad, but I’ve yet to hear the news that ye think is worthy of a place here for ye.”

“Aye, sir. Laird MacLyrron is staging an attack on ye.”

Both Arran and Eoin’s faces shifted into a look of shock, and I was sure mine was no different.

“I’ve never even met Laird MacLyrron. His territory is far to the south of here. Why would he attack us?” Eoin stared at the man suspiciously.

“He’s a foolish bastard. He wants to expand his land, and yers is one of the most beautiful parts of the country.”

“How can we know if ye tell us the truth?”

The stranger shook his head as he looked down at the floor. “Ye doona know. I canna give ye more than me word. Allow me to stay here, and perhaps with time ye will see that what I’ve told ye is true.”

A long silence stretched out as the stranger, Arran, and myself watched and waited for Eoin to give his decision. I could see with every twitch of his hand or pull of his eyebrow that he was trying hard to make the best possible decision. He knew that, if correct, the information the man had just given him was vital. If wrong, the man was too dangerous to have in the village. Finally he cleared his throat before speaking.

“Ye will stay on castle grounds, and ye will work with Kip on the new horses until ye have earned our trust. Then ye may choose to move to the village if ye wish. If Kip is dissatisfied with ye or yer work, ye will be returned to MacLyrron at once. Do ye consent?”

“Aye. Thank ye. I canna begin to express my gratitude for yer kindness.”

Eoin shot the man a hard look, his eyes cold. “Doona make me regret my decision, lad. It will no end well for ye.” He paused and turned to look at Arran. “Introduce him to Kip, will ye? And get him situated in the hut near the stables.”

Arran nodded and grabbed hold of the man’s arm once more as they started to leave the dining hall.

“And Arran,” Eoin raised his voice so that he would hear him before he made his way out the door, “will ye meet me in my chambers after ye have seen him put away for the evening?”

“Aye. O’ course.” As Arran left with the still nameless man, Eoin motioned for us to return to our places at the table.

We passed dinner in silence, only glancing up at one another occasionally by accident.

I could see how distracted Eoin was, and it was evident in the way his facial expressions seemed to continually shift throughout the meal that he was still wrestling with his decision.

While I understood his decision, I wasn’t sure if I would’ve made the same one myself. Granted, it was the most promising piece of information we’d received, and it would be much easier to reach out for help in preparing a defense if we knew where the attack would be coming from.

But there was something about the stranger that made me uneasy. Something queer about the delivery of his story planted seeds of doubt deep in my stomach, seeds that were starting to take root.

* * *

Eoin turned his gaze away from the fire as he heard his brother enter into his chamber. “What did Kip say about the lad?”

“Well, he was no too pleased to be tasked as caretaker, but I expect twill be good for him to keep busy. He’s still taking the loss of the horses quite hard.”

“Aye, I doona blame him. Arran, do ye think the lad was telling us the truth?” He watched Arran’s face, trying to read his expressions as his brother sat down in the seat across from him.

“I doona know, brother, but I’d have made the same decision. What do ye think we should do now?”

“We canna confront MacLyrron. For if they’ve planned no attack, that’s a fine way to start a war, no? I think we must reach out to our most trusted allies, ask them to bring their forces here to help us mount a defense a few days before the expected attack. That way, regardless of who is planning it, twill be more than us alone to defend ourselves.”

“I think ye are right. What clans will ye call on?”

“Blaire’s father, o’course. And although he’s a wretched old arse, Ramsay Kinnaird. Our father considered him a friend and ally, and I know that both of them would be willing to come to our aide.” Eoin waited cautiously for his brother’s reaction, still unsure of his place as laird.

“Aye, tis the finest chance we have. Do ye want me to make a trip to both Donal and Ramsay?”

Eoin shook his head. “Nay, I need ye to stay here and train the men in the village, strengthen our defenses, and work with Mary to help prepare the castle for so many guests. Bri and I will travel to both territories. Donal will be anxious to see his daughter, and Ramsay may not yet know that I am married.”

“But ye doona have Donal’s daughter. He will be able to tell the difference!”

“I doona think that he will. Bri was able to fool the whole castle for weeks, surely she can fool Blaire’s father for only a few days. The two lasses are identical.”

“They’re no so identical as ye seem to think, brother, but ye do whatever ye must. I’m happy to stay and work here. I’ll keep an eye on the runaway as well.”

“Aye, please do. I’m no so sure if I made the right choice, but I’m glad ye think so. Bri and I will leave in the morning.”

Eoin watched as Arran stood to leave. “Aye, brother, I do. But ye should tell Bri tonight. Lassies like to know things ahead of time.”

Eoin chuckled and stood to stretch as his brother walked out the door. “Ye are right o’ course. I’ll go and tell her now.”

Chapter 26

My skill with horses had not improved since our last little journey away from the castle, and so with no other alternative we rode together on Griffin for our journey to MacChristy Keep and Kinnaird Castle.

The proximity of our bodies was doing nothing to help my “friend zone.” In fact, he was increasingly getting more fresh with his hands. Every hour further into our journey, the reins seemed to move closer to the point in between my legs.

The nerves caused by my ever-tingling insides, the soreness of my ass from riding a horse all day long, and the fear of not being able to pull off ‘Blaire’ in front of Donal MacChristy had me on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

I nearly spooked the horse with my erratic jerk at the sound of Eoin’s voice in my ear. “What’s the matter with ye, lass?”

“Nothing is the matter. Why would you think something was the matter?” I exhaled rather loudly.

“Because, I’ve been listening to ye breathe like that for some time now. Ye sound like Griffin.”

“Right. Sorry.”

“Ye doona need to be sorry. Ye need to tell me what’s bothering ye so. I’d like to help if I can.”

“You can’t help. My ass is sore from riding, and I’m about to have a freaking panic attack at the thought of fooling a man who has known Blaire her entire life into thinking I’m her.”

He did nothing to help my mood as he laughed at me. “Lass, ye say ‘arse’ rather strangely. No that ye doona say a lot of things rather strangely. But ye doona need to worry about Donal. He canna hear well, and ye look just like Blaire. He willna be able to tell the difference.”

“I hope you’re right.” I exhaled loudly once more just for good measure.

“I am, lass, so ye doona need to worry about that. And as for yer sore ‘ass,’ I’d be more than pleased to help ye with that.” He moved the reins so that he held them in one hand and deftly slid his other up under my thigh to squeeze the inside of my leg and buttocks.

I yelped and jerked my bottom upward, this time successfully spooking Griffin. As the horse reared on his back legs, Eoin was forced to relinquish his grip on my thigh so as to get the horse under control again.

“No, thank you,” I screeched. “My bottom is just fine, all on its own.”

He laughed heartily in my ear. “Whatever ye wish, lass. But I’ve no doubt ye’d feel much better after a good rub.”

“I’ll rub it myself when we get to the castle.”

For some reason, this made him laugh harder, and I crossed my arms in a sign of annoyance as we continued our journey to MacChristy Castle.

* * *

It was just after dusk when Eoin spotted MacChristy Castle off in the distance. With luck they’d arrive just in time to dine with his father’s old friend.

He couldn’t wait to dismount Griffin and stretch his tired, aching muscles. He’d no doubt the lass did have a sore arse; his was sore as well, and he was much more accustomed to riding. He’d most likely have to help the poor lass out of bed in the morning, a torturous task to be charged, he was sure. He smiled at the thought as he quickly squeezed his arms around the lass to get her attention.

“Ye see that just on the other side of the hill? We are almost there. Would ye like to stop for a moment so we can relieve ourselves and make ready?”

Her response was immediate. He’d expected no less. “Yes, please. I’m about to pee myself.”

He smiled widely into her hair. The lass said the most peculiar and wonderful things. He led Griffin over to the base of a large tree and dismounted before helping Bri get off as well. He scooted closer to Griffin than was really necessary, so that the front of Bri’s body slid down his chest as he lifted her off the horse.

She rewarded him with a knowing glare, and he let out a small laugh before walking away to find his own tree behind which he could relieve himself.

He was back at Griffin’s side before Bri, and after a few moments of waiting for her to appear from behind a tree he hollered after her. “Bri! Where are ye lass? Are ye alright?”

A loud “Shit! Gosh damnit! Ow!” came from behind the tree.

“Lass, what the hell’s happened? Are ye covered? I’m coming yer way!”

“No! Don’t! I just . . . I wiped myself with the first leaf I could find, but it was prickly, and now there’s a sticker poking out of my rear!”

The sound of his own laughter rippled through the trees surrounding them. “Come on out, lass. Do ye need my help?”

He did his best to keep his composure as Bri made her way from behind the tree. Carrying the back of her dress with both hands, she hobbled slowly until she stood in front of him.

“I can’t get ahold of it. I think it’s in pretty deep. I need you to grab it.”

He couldn’t keep the corners of his mouth from twitching upward.

“But I swear to God, Eoin. If you look at anything but that sticker, I’m going to give you a swift kick in the balls. Do you understand me?”

“Aye, lass. I give ye me word! Now turn around and bend over.”

As soon as she turned away from him, he let go of the tight rein he’d been trying to keep on the corners of his mouth and gladly let them slide upward as he grinned at her white rear end, beaming in the moonlight.

The sticker was easily visible and, with one swift pull, he dislodged it, flinging it onto the ground.

“Alright, lass, ye can let yer dress down now, even though I’ll be sorry to see ye do it. Now, let’s get back on Griffin and make our way to see yer da!”

* * *

I’d never been more humiliated in my entire life. Not only did I get a giant sticker stuck in my ass crack while peeing in the middle of a forest, I had to have the most beautiful man I’d ever seen pluck it out.

At least, it would be easier to keep him in the friend zone now.

We’d just arrived at the castle, and Eoin was handing Griffin off to the stable master, when what I could only assume was my ‘dad’ burst through the large main doors of the castle.

“Blaire! Ach, I’m so pleased to see ye, lass! I doona like not having ye here by my side.” Mary was right about his screaming, and as he picked me up around the middle and swung me in a circle, I was sure my eardrums would burst.

When he sat me down and stepped toward Eoin, I nearly choked on my own spit when I got a good look at his face. No wonder Blaire and I resembled one another so strongly. He looked exactly like my own father. Same dark hair, same blue eyes, same small, circular patch of gray which stood out among his otherwise ebony-colored hair.

I had to blink quickly, swallowing hard to fight back the tears that threatened to break loose at the sense of overwhelming nostalgia. While my parents had divorced when I was young, I’d stayed incredibly close to my Dad up until his death only three years ago.

It turned out that I’d no real reason to worry about fooling Donal. He gave me little time to speak or respond to him in any way, immediately jumping into a conversation with Eoin and ushering us inside for supper.

As we sat down at the grand dining room table, I sat sipping on the glass of ale I’d been given and listened to the two men converse.

* * *

As he’d expected, Donal had immediately consented to bring all of his men to Conall Castle to help with their defense on December twenty-sixth, two days before the expected attack. In fact the agreement had been made before the first course was laid out, and the rest of the evening passed easily as the two men reminisced about his father and years past.