Chapter 14 #3
Roark shook his head in his hands, thankful
he’d apparently not told them any more details of his time with
Alina. “I have a vague memory of being hauled up the stairs by you
two. Did we fall?”
Both men laughed good-naturedly. “Aye, lad,”
Owen said. “Twice, according to my lady wife, with a great deal of
thumping around and colorful cursing that woke half the
household.”
“Alina?” Roark asked.
“Siusan said Alina found it quite
amusing.”
“She would.” Roark chuckled, relieved he
wouldn’t have much explaining to do as to why he hadn’t visited her
rooms last night. Not that Alina was the type to get mad at him for
it, but she’d been so disappointed about her moon-flow, the last
thing he wanted to do was disappoint her more. “Speaking of which,”
he said, standing and taking a moment for his legs to work and his
head to stop spinning. “I should give her a visit.”
“Do yourself and her a favor, lad,” Owen
said, giving the air around Roark a sniff and a grimace. “Visit the
bathhouse first.”
***
Roark knocked on Alina’s door, preparing to
apologize for last night and to ask her if she’d like supper
brought up to her room. She’d been asleep when he’d gone to visit
her after his bath, so he’d gone back to his room and slept the
afternoon away. He’d woken feeling much revived, and seeing Alina’s
face as she answered her door dressed and ready for supper made him
genuinely pleased.
“I’m heartily sick of four walls and a bed,”
she said, closing the door behind her and looping her arm through
his. She peered intently at him. “How are you feeling?”
“Better now,” he said. Now that he’d gotten
some sleep and had her on his arm. “That whisky has quite a
kick.”
She giggled. “No broken bones or permanent
injuries from tumbling down the stairs, I take it?”
“Only a few sore spots,” he said, grinning,
and rubbed the back of his head, the only part of his head that
still ached. “One advantage to falling when you’re verra drunk
apparently.”
“Or dumb luck,” she said with a teasing
grin.
“Or that.” He stopped at the top of the
stairs and cupped her chin. “I’m sorry I missed spending time with
you last night.”
She shrugged. “I wouldn’t have been good
company anyway.”
He peered into her eyes and saw the telltale
redness of shed tears. “Alina…”
“I’ll be fine.”
He wasn’t sure he believed her. He wasn’t
sure she believed herself. But the tone of her voice told him she
didn’t want to talk about it. He kissed her lightly on the lips and
then deepened the kiss.
“Ahem.” They both turned around to see the
laird and lady standing arm in arm outside their chamber’s door.
“Shall we?” Owen said, stepping past them with his lady and heading
down the stairs.
Alina laced her arm through Roark’s and they
followed, the smell of roasted meat making his belly growl and
rumble as they took their seats. They had no sooner tucked into
their meal when Niels and Grant strode into the hall with a nod to
the laird and then to Roark as they too sat, but at a low table,
still covered in the dust and grime from their trip.
“They made good time,” Owen said, “which
bodes well for you two. We’ll meet with them after supper.”
Roark met Alina’s too-bright gaze and
squeezed her hand under the table. For all he knew they could be
leaving here tomorrow. Alina for her ship and Roark back to North
Shore Keep. He made himself eat, though he barely tasted the food,
and saw that Alina did the same. At last, the laird and lady
stood.
“Roark, Alina, Gavin, Agnes,” Owen said. “If
you would come with us to my council chambers.”
Niels and Grant joined them, Grant closing
the door behind them as the three couples chose their sofas and the
men their chairs.
“What news?” Owen asked Niels.
“We found a ship docked at the southern port,
the Trade Wind, that sails under a Captain Wallis, who’s
willing to take the Lady Alina to Sea Ridge for the price of her
pearl. They sail in four days’ time on the morning tide.”
“Do you trust this Wallis?” Roark asked.
“We asked around,” Niels said. “Got nothing
but good reports on him, and he owns the ship he sails, so he’s not
beholden to any laird who’s likely to side with this Roger. Wallis
says he’s traded at Sea Ridge before, and he’s always found the
trading there fair.”
“So then,” Owen said. “We have two days to
prepare, one day to travel, and one day to get Lady Alina aboard
the Trade Wind and on her way home.”
Four days. Roark twined his fingers through
Alina’s, glad she’d be safely away, but desolate to be saying
good-bye to her. Maybe forever.
“Any word on Roger’s men?” Owen asked.
“Aye,” Niels said. “We heard they’ve been up
and down the firth’s ports, spreading their accusations of murder
and the bounty price on these two, along with Roger’s threat of
retribution to anyone who dares help them. Which Wallis says
doesn’t bother him any.” He looked to Grant and both men
grinned.
“What else?” Owen said.
Niels chuckled and pulled on his beard. “We
were in a tavern our last night there,” he said, “where we happened
to overhear three men bragging about how they’d captured Roark, who
they said was traveling alone, and how they had him all nice and
hog-tied, and were on their way to port to turn him in to the
laird’s men and collect their reward when they were set upon by a
gang of thieves in the middle of the night atop the northern pass.
How many men did they say?” he asked Grant. “Eight, nine?”
“The number kept changing with each telling
and cup of ale,” Grant said. He grinned at Alina. “I believe it was
ten by their last telling.”
“Anyway,” Niels continued, “they said they
fought off this gang of men and claimed they killed two,” he
glanced at Roark, “before the thieves took their prisoner and ran.”
He winked at Alina. “Guess it sounded a mite better than being
outsmarted by one woman.”
Alina shrugged and her eyes grew wide. “This
is good,” she told Roark. “This will keep people from blaming you
for killing those two men, even though it was self-defense.”
“And it keeps you out of it altogether,”
Roark said. “People will think we’ve split up and gone our separate
ways.”
Which they would be doing in four days.
After some time spent in the common room
conversing with the family and sipping only half a cup of whisky,
which Roark had taken a liking to despite everything, he walked
Alina up to her room.
“I’ll be back shortly,” he told her. “I’m
going to get my things from my room, for our room.”
She rewarded him with a happy smile. “It was
nice of Owen and Siusan to permit us to share a room.”
“Yes, it is,” he agreed. All he’d had to do
was promise not to make any babies with her. “It appears we haven’t
fooled a single adult here about our relationship.”
“Good. I’m tired of trying to hide it. This
way we can be Roark and Alina for the time left us here.”
He went to his room and piled all his
personal belongings onto his otter cloak, wrapped them up, and
carried them to Alina’s room, where she was already changed into a
night shift, sitting on the bed, her knees tucked under her chin.
She watched him with a shaky smile on her beautiful face as he
arranged his belongings, her green eyes wide with appreciation as
he stripped and joined her on the bed. Their bed, for three more
nights anyway.
He leaned against the headboard, her head
nestled on his shoulder. “Niels and Grant agreed to ride back with
me,” he said. He kissed her on the crown of her head, breathing in
the scent of spring grass, cherry blossoms, and her. “Thank
you.”
“They might come in handy,” she said, “since
you won’t have your gang of ten with you this time.”
He chuckled low. “No gang of ten could’ve
handled those brigands as well as you did, my brave, intelligent
owl.”
“I’m glad you’ll have their company. Do they
intend to ride all the way to North Shore Keep with you?”
“No. Only as far as Thorn Bush Keep. I don’t
wish to drag the MacLeods any deeper into this mess than they
already are.”
“I’m glad we came here,” she said. “I like
them. I like knowing they’re kin. Knowing where my
great-grandmother, Oona, came from. It makes me feel connected to
her. To all the women of my line.”
“From Swan to Tigress to Lynx to Owl,” Roark
said. “You’ve come full circle.” He hugged her tight. “The women of
your line would be proud.”