28 WILL YE DO AS I ASK?
LIZA TOOK A bite of cake, sighing at the rich flavor of honey and butter that exploded on her tongue. She’d eaten little all day, yet her appetite had returned the moment the aroma of freshly baked cakes drifted through the misty air.
Murdo had done her proud. Not only had the cook provided baskets of honey-cakes, but he and his assistants had baked mutton pies, apple tarts, and an array of other treats that were being passed around amongst the excited revelers. Liza had also sent down a wagon with barrels of Leod’s finest wines, mead, and ale—which the locals were now lining up for.
Licking the honey off her fingers, Liza surveyed the crowd gathered before the Bealtunn bonfire. Murdo was amongst them too, his cheeks flushed with ale, his eyes sparkling with pride. He was currently making half-hearted protests as his wife pulled him toward the dancers.
Liza smiled. It warmed her to see the residents of Moy and Lochbuie enjoying themselves. Leod hadn’t bothered to attend fire festivals, let alone provide any refreshments. Despite the trials she’d had of late, she was still proud of what she’d achieved. The villagers were happier, and Moy Castle was looking worthy of its name once more. Surely, Rae couldn’t fail to be impressed by it all?
As her gaze slid over the crowd, she spied Alec Rankin. Her smile faded. He was standing apart from the revelers, far enough back that the drifting fog that blanketed Lochbuie this eve almost swallowed him.
He didn’t glance her way though, and a foolish part of her wished he would.
As she looked on, Rae Maclean approached him, and the two men began speaking.
Liza forced herself to tear her attention away then. It was best not to be caught staring at the Captain of the Guard, and she didn’t want Alec to notice either—especially after she’d made their relationship clear the night before.
The delicious honey-cake she’d just eaten churned in her belly now, her enjoyment at attending the Bealtunn fire fading. A moment later, her chest started to ache.
Despite her best efforts to tell herself otherwise, she wanted Alec. Curse her, she did. She’d never met anyone like him. He’d given up his life as a pirate to stand at her side, had shown her that some men were worthy of her trust.
Liza swallowed hard. Kylie was right—giving in to her desire for the man who now worked for her was ill-advised. No, she had to fight this.
“There’s nothing like a Bealtunn fire.”
She turned to find Makenna standing at her shoulder, a half-smile curving her lips. The ruddy light of the bonfire that burned a few yards away softened her sister’s face and deepened the green of her moss-colored eyes.
“Aye,” Liza replied, trying and failing to rouse a smile of her own. “It certainly illuminates this dreary eve.”
Makenna’s gaze roamed her face. “Is something amiss?”
Liza shook her head. “Nothing a large cup of hot caudle wouldn’t cure.”
Makenna snorted. “Is that a request?”
“Aye, if ye wouldn’t mind.”
“Well, lucky for ye, I’ve a hankering for a cup as well.”
She let out a slow, relieved breath as Makenna moved away, walking in determined strides toward where two older women were ladling out caudle into cups from a large iron pot. A queue had formed, so her sister would have to wait a while.
Liza grimaced then. The request had been a ruse to stop Makenna from questioning her. In truth, she found thick oaten caudle, mixed with butter and sweetened with honey, cloying. Nonetheless, she knew her younger sister loved it. She felt too brittle this evening to fend off an interrogation.
Kylie was thankfully occupied at present too, chatting with two women from the village. Her sister, clad in a smoke-grey cloak, her brown hair tightly braided in two coils above each ear, was nodding earnestly at something one of the women had just said.
A few yards away, Craeg was play fighting with one of the lads from the village, while the boy’s father and Liza’s handmaid kept an eye on them. Liza’s lips lifted into a wistful smile. With his face already sticky with honey, and his cheeks flushed from the bonfire’s heat, her son looked the happiest she’d seen him in a long while.
“Can I ask something of ye, Maclean?”
The chieftain inclined his head at Alec’s question before taking a sip of ale. “It depends,” he replied. “On what it is.”
“When ye go to Loch … ask him to send someone here to replace me as Captain of the Moy Guard.”
Rae’s eyes widened. “Ye are moving on?”
Alec nodded.
“Ye seemed to be settling into yer role well.”
He had—but after his encounter with Liza the night before, he couldn’t stay here now. “Aye, well … appearances are deceiving.”
An awkward silence followed these words before Rae asked, “Does Liza know?”
“Not yet.” He paused. “I will tell her … after Bealtunn.”
Rae gave a slow nod, although his gaze turned searching.
Alec tensed; he didn’t enjoy being scrutinized by the man.
“I thought ye had committed to yer new position?” Rae said finally.
“Aye, well, things change.”
Rae lifted an eyebrow.
Alec sighed. He didn’t want to go into this. “So, will ye do as I ask?”
Rae didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he glanced over at where Liza stood alone while Makenna fetched her something to drink. Alec’s gaze followed his. The lady laird of Moy looked like a goddess in her wine-red fur-trimmed cloak, her dark wavy hair pulled back from her face and tumbling down her back. The firelight kissed her golden skin and made her eyes luminous.
Alec’s breathing grew shallow. She was a reminder of what he could never have.
“It’s a pity,” the chieftain said after a pause. “For ye are doing a good job here.”
Alec inclined his head, acknowledging his compliment, yet didn’t reply.
After a moment, Rae shrugged. “Very well, I shall let Loch know.”
Liza watched Makenna take hot cups of caudle from the ladies standing at the cauldron and weave her way through a group of lads and lasses who danced in a ring around the crackling fire.
“Have ye got yerself two?” Liza asked, noting that her sister carried three wooden cups.
“This extra one isn’t for me,” Makenna replied airily. “But for Captain Rankin.”
Liza stiffened, taking the cup her sister offered her. “Aye?”
Makenna flashed Liza a wry smile. “He looks like he needs one.”
They both glanced over at where the man in question still stood apart from others. Rae had moved on and was now conversing with Kylie. Indeed, Alec wore an uncharacteristically stern expression as he stared at the fire.
Not waiting for her sister’s response, Makenna walked off, circuiting the edge of the bonfire as she made her way toward the Captain of the Moy Guard.
Liza watched her go, her lips pursing. Ever since Makenna had sparred with Alec, she’d developed a fascination of sorts for him.
She took a sip of her caudle and pulled a face. Aye, it was as rich and sweet as ever. Her gaze flicked back to where Makenna had almost reached Alec, and an unwelcome shaft of jealousy pierced her breast.
Goose , she chided herself, ripping her attention away. The man doesn’t belong to ye … he can talk to any woman he wishes .
“Caudle, Rankin?”
Makenna thrust the cup at him, making it clear the drink she’d brought wasn’t to be refused.
Alec wasn’t overly fond of caudle and would have preferred a cool ale instead. Nonetheless, he took the cup and favored Makenna with a nod of thanks. “Thoughtful of ye, Lady MacGregor.”
She made an irritated sound in the back of her throat. “My mother is ‘Lady MacGregor’ … just call me Makenna.”
His mouth quirked—and Makenna grinned back. “Finally … I was wondering if ye’d forgotten how to smile.”
He grimaced. “I’ve a few things on my mind.”
Makenna’s gaze narrowed as she surveyed him. “I imagine it’s difficult to adjust to a life on land after so many years at sea.”
“It has its challenges,” he replied cautiously.
“Ye have a restless soul,” she noted before sighing. “Something I understand.”
Her expression was earnest, so he bit back a cynical comment. “Ye do?”
“Aye … back at Meggernie, I’m always busy. Here, I find myself getting up before dawn every morning and pacing the walls, just to give myself something to do.”
“Aye,” he replied. “I’ve seen ye.”
“Don’t get me wrong,” she went on with a shrug. “I needed to make this trip … to reassure myself that Liza was well … but I’m at my happiest helping defend my father’s castle.”
“I still can’t believe he lets ye fight with his men.”
He hadn’t bothered to hide his incredulity, and a groove formed between Makenna’s eyebrows. “Really? I’d have thought ye more open-minded about such things … since ye take orders from a woman.” There was no mistaking the challenge in her tone.
Alec swallowed a sigh. He wasn’t in the mood to lock horns with anyone this evening. He’d only intended to attend the festivities for a short while. He’d wanted to show his face, but he wasn’t comfortable staying away—he should really get back to the castle and check on his men.
Unfortunately, though, Makenna had more to say. “I enjoyed fighting with ye the other day.”
Alec snorted. “Aye?”
She nodded.
“So, ye appreciated my dirty trick in the end?”
“I’ve been thinking about that actually.”
“Ye have?”
“Aye … Kylie and I will be off soon, but before we go, I’d like to spar with ye again. I want ye to teach me how to fight dirty … like a pirate.”
Her request took him aback for a moment, and he was wondering how to answer when a woman’s scream pierced the night, cleaving like an ax blade through the revelry. Alec turned around, his gaze sweeping the mist that swirled around the confines of the grassy field just outside Lochbuie village. He could just make out the dark shapes of the squat bothies on the fringes of the hamlet. A glow became visible through the fog then, steadily growing brighter as Alec looked on.
His brow furrowed. What the devil is that?
Another scream followed, and the laughter and dancing around the fireside stopped—as did the piper who’d been playing a merry jig.
“The village!” A man bellowed. “It’s under attack!”