Prologue #3
It wasn’t his place, he knew that. And yet the urge to defend her, even against her own sisters, shifted deep in his chest.
“Hugh.” Her breathless voice behind him had him swinging about. She stood clutching her shawl, her hair dancing around her face in the fresh breeze and he had never seen a more mesmerizing sight. “I’m sorry my sister interrupted us.”
“I trust I didn’t cause any problems between ye and Lady Isolde.”
Lady Roisin looked surprised. “Of course not. Ye mustn’t mind Isolde, she is still,” she hesitated as though she were trying to find the right words. “Well, she is still trying to fathom that Njord is truly William. But I am certain all will be well once she’s had time to mull it over.”
Roisin shivered and he silently cursed at keeping her out here in the cold when she wasn’t dressed for it. He indicated they should return to the castle, and it was a struggle not to wrap his arm around her shoulders to share his body heat.
Aye, his body heat. It had nothing to do with wanting to feel her melt against him, did it?
“Ye are close to yer sisters?”
“I am.” Warmth filled her voice, but then she sighed. “I confess I’m not looking forward to Isolde leaving the isle.”
Damn, he hadn’t meant to upset her. “I’m sorry,” he said inadequately.
She shook her head as she led him across the hall, Grear following them and Ecne at Lady Roisin’s heels. “Do ye have any siblings, Hugh?”
“I’ve two younger sisters.” Affection flickered through him as he thought of them. His sense of tranquility fled as his brother Douglas invaded his mind. “And an older brother, but I rarely see him.”
Lady Roisin nodded before she opened a door and led him into the solar. Grear handed her a writing case she had brought with her, and he watched as Roisin went to the desk and opened the writing case before sorting through sheafs of paper.
“My favorite myth is The Wooing of Etain.” She glanced up at him and he went to her side. Her elusive scent of rose petals swirled in the air and he swallowed, fixing his gaze on the manuscripts in the hope it might quell the fire in his blood.
And then he saw what she was showing him and admiration blazed through him.
He had imagined something akin to religious texts, where the first character of the page was highly embellished.
But instead, the image of a young woman with flowing fire-gold hair standing in a forest took up a quarter of the page and the details in the beautifully illuminated scene left him reeling.
“’Tis beautiful.” His voice was hushed and when he glanced at Roisin, a rosy blush heated her cheeks, and she favored him with a smile that took his breath away. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” he added, truthfully. “What is her legend?”
“The warrior, Midir, of the Tuatha De Danann, fell in love with Etain, a mortal woman, and took her with him to live with the sidhe. But his first wife was jealous and cast many spells on Etain.” Roisin showed him another page, where a vibrant butterfly lit up the corner.
“Etain was transformed into a butterfly, and after many adventures, she was swallowed by the queen of Ulster who promptly became pregnant and gave birth to Etain, one thousand years after she had first been born.”
“A fantastical tale, indeed.”
“Aye. But there is more to it than that. For when she grew to womanhood, Midir found her once again and after many trials he won her heart for a second time.”
As she wove the myths around him he listened, spellbound by the way her eyes sparkled and how her soft voice was filled with wonder as she shared the ancient stories.
He had never contemplated his future before.
For sure, he would one day wed, as all men did, but he’d not met a lass who had ever made him think of such things.
But he thought of it now. A future with Lady Roisin.
*
It had been five days since Hugh had landed on the Isle of Eigg and first set eyes on Lady Roisin, and yet in an inexplicable way, it sometimes seemed he had known her for much longer.
It wasn’t even as though they spent much time together. She was invariably surrounded by her sisters, or with Lady Helga, but whenever their gazes meshed across the great hall or in the courtyard, the fierce certainty consumed him that she belonged with him.
God only knew how he’d win her. She was a noblewoman, and he was merely the second son of a laird, but he was determined to make his mark and prove himself worthy of seeking her hand.
On the rare occasions she escaped her relatives, and they spent some cherished moments together amidst the bustling hall or in the courtyard, his conviction strengthened. He would return to Eigg and make her his, if it was the last thing he did.
The wedding went without a hitch and as William and his bride made their farewells to her kin, he and Lady Roisin retreated to a shadowed corner of the great hall.
“I’m sorry we are leaving so soon.” He doubted she would ever understand how sincerely he meant those words.
“As am I,” she whispered, and she gazed at him so tenderly, it took every shred of willpower he possessed not to cradle her face and kiss her until the madness within him was quenched.
Except he knew full well a kiss would never be enough and would merely stoke the flames that tortured him night and day whenever he thought of her.
Belatedly, he realized she was offering him something and he glanced at her hand where she held an exquisitely embroidered handkerchief.
“For me?” A note of awe threaded through his voice. No one had ever offered him such a precious gift before.
“Aye.” Her shy response touched something deep inside, and primal protectiveness surged through him. “To remember me by.”
As he took her handkerchief their fingertips touched, a fleeting, feather-light touch that seared his veins and thickened his cock. Somehow, he kept his frustrated groan locked in his throat.
“I shall treasure it always.” He pressed his lips against the lace.
Lady Roisin’s delicate fragrance of crushed rose petals spiced the air and sank into his blood more potent than any aphrodisiac.
“And I shall never forget ye. We will see each other again, my lady.” It was an unspoken pledge that he would one day return.
And claim her for his bride.