Chapter Five #2
“Ye’re right, Laird Elliot. For that, I apologize.
If I want ye to trust that I’m a mon who can protect and provide for yer daughter, then I should’ve had the courage to ask yer permission years ago.
Elsie and I wished to get to ken each other without prying eyes or wagging tongues.
If we didna suit, then we didna want to draw attention to naught.
Once we kenned we did, we feared ye wouldnae approve.
We planned to approach ye and ma father before ma family and I left. ”
“And instead, you handfasted.”
“After what just happened, neither of us could stand the idea of nae being wed any longer. I want ma wife by ma side, and I dinna want any mon thinking she’s available to marry someone else.”
“Callen, I understand why ye didna approach Laird Elliot, but why didna ye tell me aught?” Lachlan remained quiet through both conversations because he wanted Angus to treat Callen like the man Lachlan knew him to be.
He didn’t want to intervene in any way that would encourage Angus to claim Callen couldn’t defend himself and imply he couldn’t defend Elspeth.
“Da, it may nae be a good one, but the only explanation I can give is it didna feel right to tell one father while keeping it a secret from the other.”
“Truth be told, I suspected something between them the last time you visited the Johnstones,” Angus admitted.
“I did too, and I was sure of it yesterday.”
“Oh?”
“Aye. I noticed them trying nae to grin at the evening meal. They shared some secret.”
Callen thought his ears were on fire. They’d been at the loch with the others, and they’d both stolen glances at the other while they dressed after swimming with the group.
Callen and the other young men had disrobed on one side of a rocky outcropping with trees growing around them.
Elspeth and the Johnstone sisters along with Lily were on the other side.
They’d both left their clothes in spots where the trees did little to hide them, but no one else from the opposite gender could see them.
They’d both spied the other as they were born, and it disappointed neither of them.
“I saw that too.” Angus shifted his gaze to the couple, and Lachlan followed suit. Neither Callen nor Elspeth would divulge what happened. They stared at their fathers innocently. “I’m losing this battle and the war, aren’t I?”
“Aye, Da.”
Elspeth answered, and Callen didn’t fight the urge to kiss the top of her head.
Relief coursed through him, so he did nothing to hide his affection.
He felt her sigh as her head rested heavier against his chest. He glanced down to see her eyes closed.
He scooped her into his arms and turned toward the nearby loch.
“I’m taking Elsie to refresh herself. Then I want to find somewhere she can sleep that’s safe but away from all of this.”
Once more, Lachlan and Angus looked at each other before nodding. Both were dissatisfied with their children’s choices, but they would respect them. Callen walked to his saddle and squatted easily.
“Hang on, lass. I shall find ma soap and take ma extra plaid.” He gathered what he needed and made his way to the shore.
He was certain Angus wanted them to stay within view.
Even if he didn’t want to be alone with Elspeth, which he did so he could sneak more than a few kisses, he’d ensure her privacy.
He eased her onto a rock and perched beside her as he slipped off his boots and peeled down his stockings.
She did the same, brazenly pulling her skirts to her mid-thigh. “Ye could tempt an angel, wee one.”
“Now you know how I feel when I see you in your plaid.” She spoke as Callen ducked behind the rock to slip out of his breeks and wrap his plaid around his waist. He didn’t bother pleating it but folded it so none would float in the water when he followed her in.
Callen chuckled, and she nudged her shoulder against his. “I wish we had longer, but we must make this brief.”
“I know. The water will be brisk anyway.”
“When isnae it?” Callen chuckled again, but his breath caught as Elspeth lifted her skirts to just beneath her backside and mound.
She pulled them tight around her bottom and tucked them into her neckline as best she could.
She thrust out her hand, and it took him a moment to realize she wanted the soap.
She made her way over the pebbles to the waterline.
She bent forward to wash her hands then her face and neck.
She dared walk farther until she was mid-thigh, the water nearly reaching her hem.
“You’ll freeze if you get your plaid wet,” Elspeth observed as she looked over her shoulder at the sound of Callen wading in.
He’d left his sword on the bank, but she knew where he kept all his dirks.
While his two sgian dubh were on the shore with his boots, he had knives strapped to each thigh and at least three attached to his belt.
He’d also spun his sporran around to the back, making it easier to hold his plaid above the water.
“Then we’d both be wet.” Callen waggled his eyebrows, and Elspeth gasped.
It wasn’t the first time they’d traded innuendos, but it was the first time she feared someone might hear them.
Callen shifted to stand behind her, his arms around her waist when she teetered in the current.
She leaned back against his solid frame, finally feeling safe for the first time in nearly a sennight.
Callen nuzzled her neck. “I canna believe I can finally hold ye without fear of what anyone will say. I canna believe I finally have ye safely beside me. It felt like an eternity.”
“Same. Callen, I was terrified you wouldn’t get to me in time. I knew to the depth of my soul that you were searching for me. I just feared you wouldn’t be able to track us.”
“I will always find ye. Whether it’s searching for ye in this bluidy country or chasing ye through the keep, I will always be right behind ye.”