Chapter 5
5
“ F aither, where are ye goin’?”
It was the third time that Jeanie had asked that question in the last hour alone. Neil was trying to spend more time with her, but it was still proving difficult to find enough common ground between the two of them.
Without an activity as a buffer between them, things tended to get awkward fast. Her nurse was due to return at any moment to take her to her lessons as he was getting ready to leave.
“Do ye remember the lass from yesterday?” Neil asked, glancing over his shoulder at his daughter, who was sitting on his dresser, very careful not to touch anything around her as she swung her feet back and forth.
“Aye, she was verra beautiful,” Jeanie answered with a smile.
For a moment, both of them were quiet as they recalled Ceana’s face. His daughter was right. Ceana was very beautiful.
“Well, she’s goin’ to be me wife.” Neil paused, turning to Jeanie as he finished tucking his shirt beneath his kilt. “Unless ye think she shouldnae be?”
He hadn’t even thought to ask her. He felt foolish standing there, having not considered it.
“Does that mean that I will have a new maither?” Jeanie asked softly, her bright eyes wary.
“Nay!” Neil responded quickly as he walked over to her.
He started to hug her, but then he stopped himself because it didn’t feel like the right thing to do at a time like this. So instead, his hands hovered over her awkwardly and then dropped to his sides.
Jeanie’s eyes widened, and she stopped kicking her feet. In the end, he patted her head. “She’ll be… yer friend, I suppose.”
That seemed to be the right thing to say.
Jeanie perked up, kicking her feet again as she squirmed in excitement. “I need a lady friend!”
Neil nodded and went back to his shirt. “Aye, we both do,” he muttered under his breath.
It wasn’t like he felt particularly lonely. He certainly had more than enough responsibilities to constantly keep himself busy. That was why having a wife who didn’t make any demands on his time was crucial.
He had no intentions of changing the way he lived or operated simply because he had a wife. He was a laird, and with that came heaps of responsibilities.
However, Ceana was not too hard to look at, and that fire in her eyes…
Focus, Neil.
A knock sounded at the door—the nurse had come to fetch Jeanie.
It had been the nurse’s idea that they spend more time together. Though, Neil wasn’t sure how well it was working. The conversation wouldn’t flow properly. He wasn’t great with children, let alone his own child. The conversations they had always shifted to Jeanie’s mother. Neil wanted to have a better relationship with his daughter. He loved her. But…
“Good day, Faither!” Jeanie said as she hopped down and skipped over to her nurse, who was waiting for her with an outstretched hand.
Neil waved somewhat awkwardly to the pair as they left. After he finished getting dressed, he headed down to the stables, where his horse was already ready and waiting for him. He mounted the beast and rode down to the village.
He had hoped that the ride would clear his head, but it didn’t. It seemed that since he had met Ceana, all of his thoughts kept drifting back to her.
Once everything was sorted for the wedding, he was sure his thoughts would settle. He did not like loose ends. He ought to have sent word ahead, but he hadn’t had time for that either.
He found their distillery rather quickly, knowing that there were only two in the village. Her family home was modest but inviting.
Neil tethered his horse to a tree outside and knocked on the front door.
A young lad opened the door. A scraggly black cat was perched on his shoulder, eyeing Neil warily. Neil could have sworn that the cat was sizing him up.
He straightened up. It felt strange to take his eyes off the cat to address the boy.
“M’Laird!” the boy greeted, bowing his head slightly.
The cat didn’t seem phased by the movement at all. It never tore its yellow eyes away from Neil.
“I’m here to meet with yer maither. Is she home?” Neil asked, getting right to business.
The boy smiled brightly as he stepped back and invited him inside.
Neil ducked under the doorframe—he was just too tall—and stepped into the modest living area.
The fire in the grate to the left burned low, but it kept the room nice and warm. A single wooden table with bench-like seats on either side occupied the far corner of the room. There was a small, circular straw mat on one of the benches—no doubt for the wee creature that was perched on the boy’s shoulder. Fragrant steam curled up from a cast iron pot hanging over the logs.
On the right side of the living area, in the corner, there was a single narrow staircase that led upstairs, where the bedchambers likely were. That was where the lady of the house appeared. She hiked up her skirts as she hurried down the stairs to greet him.
“M’Laird! We werenae expectin’ guests! Please excuse the mess.”
Neil glanced around despite himself—there wasn’t a single thing out of place. Though, now he was painfully aware of the fact that he might have dirt on his boots.
“I hope that me visit doesnae trouble ye. I just wanted to get some formalities out of the way. I assume that Ceana told ye that we are to be wed?”
“Yes! Of course, she did! We are very happy about yer union, M’Laird!”
Neil lifted his hand. “If we’re goin’ to be a family, ye might as well address me by me name. Just Neil will suffice.”
“Ye can call me Ida as well, if it pleases ye, M’Laird. Can I get ye anything? Tea?” she asked kindly as the boy went to get the kettle.
“I didnae want to trouble ye. I just wanted to discuss with ye some of the finer details,” Neil answered as he headed to the table and lowered himself onto a bench.
“Of course! What did ye want to discuss?” Ida answered while gathering things for tea.
“Well, I’ll need to decide who’ll become me man-at-arms now that me braither has gone missing, but I was thinkin’ that Ceana and I could be married by the week’s end.”
“So soon?” Ida turned sharply, nearly dropping the flowers and herbs that she had in her palms. “That willnae leave much time for plannin’, ye ken?”
“Well, I dinnae think it will be too difficult. I’m happy to help arrange things in whatever way is simplest. The castle is already in a happy uproar that the Laird is gettin’ married again,” Neil explained.
The back door of the cottage suddenly flew open, and an imposing figure walked in. Her face was familiar, but he couldn’t put a name to it right away.
However, it was the smaller woman behind her that he was interested in. Neil found himself sitting straighter when Ceana closed the door behind her. She brushed something off her hands as if she had not even noticed him sitting there.
Why did he want her to acknowledge him so badly? He wasn’t a small fellow, so there was no way that she didn’t see him.
“Ersie! Happy to see ye! Ye’re just in time for tea! Sit, sit. The Laird was just tellin’ me that he needs a new man-at-arms. Isnae that what ye do?”
Ersie. Right. He’d heard his guards speak about her many times. Rumor had it that she was a fine warrior, and damn good with a sword.
“Is that so? I would be happy to lend a hand until ye can find a more permanent solution. I’m stayin’ here anyway until Laird MacGordon summons me back home,” Ersie answered, sitting beside him and grabbing an apple from the small bowl on the table.
Neil’s eyes flicked to Ceana once more, taking in the hair plastered to her sweaty forehead and the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. When they met hers, she froze.
Silence fell over the room as he waited for her to speak, to voice her opinion or objection to the whole thing. When she did finally speak, it didn’t manage to quite break the tension in the room.
“I suppose it would be nice to have a familiar face around the castle…”
She phrased it in a way that wasn’t quite an answer but wasn’t quite a rejection either.
“Laird MacGordon willnae mind,” Ersie added, moving the conversation forward.
“I would be happy to have ye, Ersie,” Neil offered, not fully knowing what he was agreeing to. Ersie was known to be very gifted with swords and more than handy in a fight. “I’ll send word to Laird MacGordon nonetheless, just to observe the formalities.”
Ida placed a tea tray on the table, but since his business was technically concluded now that his main issue was resolved, he didn’t have any other reason to stay.
Ida poured a cup of tea and pushed it in his direction, but he lifted a hand and shook his head. So, she gave the cup to Ersie instead.
“Something wrong with me maither’s tea?” Ceana asked, sounding every bit like she wanted to start another argument. Or rather, like she wanted his attention and couldn’t think of any other way to get it.
Under normal circumstances, he would have been more than happy to indulge her. But certainly not at the risk of offending her mother.
“Did yer dress arrive?” he asked instead, knowing that refusing to answer her question would only irritate her further.
Something about getting under her skin was so appealing to him.
Ceana arched an eyebrow, refusing to answer his question. Such a stubborn, little creature, she was.
“Come and see for yerself,” she then said and walked out the door she had just come through.
He had no choice but to follow her.
She was waiting for him by a fence post a few paces down the path.
“Ye didnae have to buy me a dress,” she began. “I have a perfectly good wedding dress as it is.”
Neil scoffed. “Nay.”
“I wouldnae ask for anything—I said as much. I only want me family to be taken care of.” She pushed off the fence post and started down the path toward the distillery, giving him no choice but to follow her. “I dinnae need gifts or anything like that.”
She pushed open the barn-style doors to the distillery, and the scent of whiskey assaulted him. It was impressive how she was able to keep things running so smoothly. He could see the comfort this place provided in the set of her shoulders and the way she trailed her fingers over the barrels.
Here was a lass who took a great deal of pride in her work. He couldn’t fathom why she would bring him here, but perhaps she was just looking for a place where they could be alone together.
When she started to move again, he reached out and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her back to him. Ceana gasped, her eyes widening as she braced her hands against his chest to keep from colliding with him. The moment she realized that she was touching him, she dropped her hands. She tried to pull out of his hold, but he didn’t let her go.
“It isnae about gifts, lass. I willnae make ye me bride in a dress that was meant for another man.”
She was close enough that he could kiss her if he had a mind to do it. The scent of almonds tickled his senses once again.
She didn’t have the slightest idea how tempting she was, did she? His grip on her arm loosened, his thumb brushing over the fabric of her sleeve, his gaze dropping to drink in every detail of her pretty face, the curve of her neck, and the swell of her heaving breasts.
Catching himself, he moved back a pace and dropped her arm. What had come over him? If he lingered any longer, he wasn’t sure he would be able to stop himself from ravishing her.
Neil turned on his heel and hurried out of the distillery.