Page 118 of Moon Craving

"Perhaps it is."

"How long have you lived in the laird's tower?" she asked as Guaire guided her up

the stairs.

The stone steps curved in a gentle spiral along the wall up to the first story, which

was a good fifteen feet above the great hall. She understood Talorc's insistence on her

having an escort a little better. The stairs were not wide enough for two people to walk

abreast and they had nothing between them and a sheer drop to the main floor.

Guaire led her one step ahead, while her hand was held firmly in the crook of his

arm. "Since the laird's sister left to live with the Balmoral clan. I had been seneschal for

two years already then, but not afforded the privilege of living within my laird's home."

"Well, I'm glad you do now. The stairs are very narrow," she observed.

Guaire led her across the small landing at the top of the stairs and through a

doorway there. "It is a tactical advantage."

"Talorc seems very concerned with the safety of his fortress."

"Not the safety of the fortress." Guaire stopped and gave her a look that conveyed

his desire for her to understand. "Our laird cares greatly for the security of the people that

live within it."

"Because of what happened to his father?"

"More like because of what his father's actions allowed to happen to the rest of the

clan. Our former laird was only one of many that died when his bitch of a wife betrayed the

clan to her English friends."

"I can't imagine an English force coming this far north to wage war on a Scottish

clan. What could they possibly hope to gain?"

Guaire shrugged and she was sure it did not mean that he did not have an answer,

but that it was one he didn't wished to share. "Does it matter? They came and they killed."

"Yes." At the behest of a woman who should have been loyal to the old laird and

his people. And Abigail's husband still called her his mate. It was a miracle to her way of

thinking. "I must be grateful Talorc accepted me so readily."

"He did not have a choice. You are his mate, a true one if he willingly

acknowledged so to the Chrechte warriors."