Chapter Nine #2
She wiped her eyes and showed him her tear-streaked palms. “This is the reason I risk so much for the cause. What else am I to do with all this pain?”
He nodded his accord. “’Tis the same for all of Scotland’s agents. We risk our freedom, our lives to save others from the same pain.”
They sat in silence for several moments. Then at length she said, “I admired Robin with all my heart. He was a compassionate leader.”
“That I do not doubt,” Rory said. Then he remembered the abbot’s letter. “Lord Robin passed away three years ago. Should yer father not have found ye another husband?”
“Aye,” she said. “But he was ill, so terribly ill. We feared that if anyone knew just how infirm he truly was, that greed would turn our neighbors against us. So, we hid the extent of his suffering.” She swiped again at her eyes, whisking away the last evidence of her grief.
“But my clan is without a chieftain, something I intend to remedy very soon.” Abruptly coming to her feet, she looked down at him. “Walk with me.”
He stood and followed her out of the room and up a winding stairwell that led to the battlements. Once outside, they both breathed the fresh night air.
Suddenly she turned and narrowed her eyes on him. “How long have ye known Adam?”
He shrugged. “Just since our journey north to yer home.” Then he grinned. “As a commoner and rebel, I do not encounter nobility unless I’m in the process of robbing them blind to give to the cause.”
Her face brightened. “Aye, ye’re one of the Saints. I’ve admired yer work. In fact, I’ve always longed to ride with ye. Mayhap, one day yer brothers will take on a sixth rider.”
Rory shook his head. “I fear the Saints are no more. My brother Jack is on the run from King Edward’s knights. Last I knew, he and my youngest brother, Ian, and my sister, Rose, were heading to the Isle of Colonsay.”
“What of yer other brothers?”
“Last I knew, Quinn was on a mission to save an English lady. And Alec...well...I really can’t say. I haven’t seen or heard from him in months. He is an agent like us. I can only assume he, too, is on a mission.” His eyes narrowed on her. “How did ye know about the Saints in the first place?”
“Abbot Matthew has told me about ye and yer brothers.”
Rory laughed and shook his head. “For a man sworn to keep secrets, the abbot’s tongue has the capacity to wag.”
“Nay, I believe he is the picture of discretion. I just think he could not help but brag about his Saints. He loves ye, ye know. And the rest of yer brothers.”
Rory thought about the less than flattering words Abbot Matthew had written in his letter and for a flash of an instant he doubted the abbot’s affection.
But then he broadened his thinking and considered Alex.
It was clear Abbot Matthew also held her dear to his heart.
He could not blame the abbot for not considering Rory as a suitor.
Not only was he without title, wealth, or connection, he had behaved as a man with a fickle heart.
She turned from him and stared out over the battlements. “On the road north, what sort of man did Adam strike ye as?” she asked, a forced casualness to her tone.
Rory resisted the urge to scowl. She was fishing for more information about her suitors.
Well, he understood why he was not in the running to be her husband nor did he care to be.
Not that he wouldn’t have wished to court Alex; he just wasn’t meant to be a laird.
He paused then and looked at her lovely profile, the strength in her stance.
He had offered her his hand earlier when they first stepped out onto the battlements.
Her palms had been nearly as calloused as his—God’s blood, she was magnificent.
He raked his hand through his hair. Fine.
He admired her and wanted her so badly it hurt.
This he couldn’t deny. And although he could never be laird of the MacKenzie, he was not going to recommend another man to the job.
“He’s the kind of man who snores,” he bit out.
She raised a brow. “He snores? This is what ye have to say about Adam?”
“Aye, and loudly.” Then he decided to change the subject as far away from Adam as possible. “When do we gather the weapons?”
“Aye, back to the plan,” she said approvingly. “I don’t know how we got so far off the subject.”
He wanted to accuse her of being distracted by the pretty faces of her new suitors, but remembered that was unfair—Alex had to marry.
She had no choice. Her clan depended on her acting wisely and quickly.
The sooner they completed their mission and he returned south, the better for her.
“Why wait?” he said. “Let’s go tomorrow. ”
“All right. Tomorrow it is,” she agreed. “Leave the keep early in the morning and meet me in the village at Corc’s cottage. I will join ye there after Mass.”
“The old man I sat with at dinner?”
She nodded. “The same.”
He took her calloused hand in his and pressed a kiss to her roughened skin. “Until tomorrow.” Then he turned on his heel and hurried away from her before he pledged to wed her himself and protect her people with his life if need be.