Chapter 12 #13
“No, I’m fine Ceann. She’s having a grand time, I’d say, Ella is.” She nodded towards the fire. “A lovely lass, and how well she fits at Tulloch, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Aye, she’s lovely.”
Maggie went on, “I think perhaps she cares for you Ceann. Do you think…”
“No, Maggie… I… No.”
“Och, Ceann lad, do you not want a love of your own? I know you’ve been hurt before, but don’t you remember the love between your mother and father? Do you not want the same for yourself?”
“I don’t want to talk about it Maggie!” he said, more harshly than he meant.
Suddenly it seemed that everyone and everything was trying to throw Ella into his arms. Hell, he was tired of fighting to keep his distance.
Tired of the insatiable lust that plagued him night and day, the wanting, the needing…
it was too much. He looked up again, in time to see her twirled about and spun into the waiting arms of a man she had been dancing with.
The man did not waste the opportunity, but bent to kiss her before she could spin away again.
Ella laughed and playfully pushed him back.
Ceann gritted his teeth hard, his hands fisted at his sides.
A low growl escaped his throat, barely heard over the music.
Maggie smiled. She loved Ceann like her own son, had practically raised him, and she could see as plain as day that the laird had finally found his lady.
It was quite late when Ella and Mairi, still laughing, headed back to their tent.
Mairi, as usual, was asleep almost instantly, and would not waken until the dawn.
Ella did not sleep right away, but as was her custom, closed her eyes and thought through the events of the day.
What a day it had been! What would have happened if Ceann had not won the fight for her?
Would she really have been forced to go with McInnes?
Would Ceann have let her go? She liked to think he wouldn’t have.
She didn’t want to think about what might have happened to her then.
Instead, she listened to the drumbeats and music, still playing so late into the night.
The drumbeats were like the rhythm of a heart, pounding and throbbing wildly in the darkness.
Then she thought of Ceann, the firelight dancing across his face as he watched her.
He had stood there, and watched. Just watched.
***
Ethan and Iona sat together at the edge of the now dwindling crowd around the fire, talking quietly.
“This is more than I bargained for when I agreed to help”, Ethan complained. “The man is as pig-headed as… well… he just is. The woman of his dreams is right there for the taking, practically offered up on a silver platter, and what does he do? He turns away from her, again! He’s an imbecile!”
Iona smiled ruefully. “Aye, that he is… sometimes.” Her face turned serious. “But tonight… tonight the time is finally right, I feel it. Just one last little shove, Ethan, and it will all be set in motion.”
Ethan looked at her wearily. “I have been shoving for weeks now. What do you suggest?”
Iona leaned in closer, her eyes glowing with mischief. “I have a plan… a wicked plan, but a plan nonetheless.”
Ethan heaved a sigh. “Tell me. I grow very tired of Ceann’s foul moods. I’m not sure I can keep this up much longer without doing murder.”
Chapter 12
Ella looked up to see Ethan peering through the tent flap, a troubled frown on his face.
She bolted upright. “Ethan? What is it?”
“It’s Fiona’s bairn”, he said in an urgent whisper. “She left him asleep on a blanket and he must have woken and wandered off, she can’t find him anywhere. I thought maybe he came here to you.”
Ella gasped, “God, little Ewan? I’ll help look, he can’t have gone far. Fiona must be beside herself with worry!” She scooted to the door of the little tent, glancing back at Mairi. The girl was still sound asleep, and Ella decided not to try to wake her unless the need arose.
“He most likely went that way, since no one seems to have seen him come past here”.
Ethan gestured toward the trees at the edge of the meadow, and Ella followed after him.
They walked some distance into the woods, calling the child’s name, the moon that had risen overhead giving them plenty of light to see by.
She soon lost sight of Ethan, who was moving quickly off to the right.
Just as she entered a small clearing, she saw him walking back towards her with a small child in his arms.
“I found the little rascal!” he called. Ella breathed a sigh of relief, just as Ethan broke into a jog, leaving her behind again.
“I’d best get him right back to his mother”, he called over his shoulder, “lest she perish with worry!” With that he ran off, leaving her standing alone in the clearing.
She looked around, taking in her surroundings for the first time now that the child was safe.
It was beautiful here in the soft moonlight.
She went a little further and was rewarded with a view of a valley stretched out before her, all softly rolling meadows flanked by mountains rising up in the distance.
It did not look real in the ethereal light.
The hills looked deceptively close, as if she could reach out and touch them.
Beyond the trees, she could still hear the drums still beat, and shouts and laughter rose up now and again, though softer and fewer than earlier in the night, as more and more exhausted revelers found their beds, or slept where they fell.
But here, all was peaceful, almost magical.
She closed her eyes and lifted her face to the breeze.
Ceann emerged from his tent just in time to see Ethan hurry by with a child in his arms and deposit it into Fiona’s waiting arms. The two exchanged a grin, and Ceann narrowed his eyes, wondering what mischief was afoot.
But then as they spoke, Ethan looked worried, and looked around as if searching for someone.
Nodding at Fiona, Ethan hurried back to where Ceann still stood, watching the scene unfold.