Page 71 of Highland Guard

“Did ye say ye love me?” she asked, her heart beating so fast she was surprised he did not feel it.

“Aye. Wondered if ye had heard me.” He kissed the top of her head and lightly stroked her back. “I can wait until ye feel the same. I think ’tis near. Ye just need a wee bit more time. I understand that. Matters have moved fast and there was a lot that needed doing.”

Annys propped herself up on one elbow and stared at him. “I think Joan is right. Men can be idiots.” She bit back a smile when he looked both confused and a little insulted. “Do ye truly believe I would yet again marry a mon I didnae love?” The glint of hope in his eyes made her brave. “I think I loved ye five years ago. ’Tis why it hurt so badly when ye rode away without a word, without a backward glance.”

He pulled her into his arms. “That was the hardest thing I have e’er done but ye were married.”

“I ken it and I finally let that heal the wound. Ye had no choice. I had no choice.”

“So, ye love me.”

“Aye, fool.”

He laughed. “Aye, I think I might be. Then again, men dinnae often think marriage or passion need love.”

“I ken it. ’Tis why I didnae dare hope that it was what inspired you.”

“I think there is a lesson here.”

“Aye? What would that be?” She began to stroke his belly, smiling to herself when she felt him harden against her leg.

“The lesson here is that we must nay just think we ken what the other feels or thinks. We must say it. Just say it.”

“A verra good plan, Sir Harcourt.” She lifted her head from his chest and kissed him. “I love you.”

“And I love you, m’lady.”

“I am actually thinking something now if ye care to hear it.”

“What would that be?”

She slid her hand down his belly and clasped him in her hand. “I am thinking ’tis my wedding night and ye are nay paying the proper homage to your new wife.”

He laughed and rolled until she was beneath him. “I will pay ye homage until ye scream my name, m’lady.”

“We shall see, my boastful knight.”

She did. Annys just prayed everyone at Glencullaich was asleep or she would never hear the end of it.

Harcourt looked at the woman asleep in his arms and sighed. He should tell her about his concerns after all that fine talk about just speaking up. Yet, it had just been a small worry. It had begun to grow as they spoke of love though. Gormfeurach was no Glencullaich. It was a warrior’s home with good defenses but little else. He could not help but wonder what she was going to think about her new home. He did not fear one look at the place would kill her love, but he did dread the fact that she could be sorely disappointed in the home he was offering her.

Chapter Twenty-One

Annys stared at the keep as their cart rolled through the gates of Gormfeurach. It was big, but much the same as the one at Glencullaich and she found some comfort in that. There was none of the softness of Glencullaich, however. The place was certainly defensible but it did not appear all that livable. She and Joan would have their work cut out for them.

As Harcourt helped her and Joan out of the cart, Benet and Joan’s two sons scrambled down and cautiously looked around. Benet tugged Roberta down and Roban quickly leapt onto the lamb’s back. Annys tried to ignore the interested and amused looks the pair drew. Her attention was fixed on the couple that had just stepped out of the keep and waited for them on the steps.

The man bore a strong resemblance to Harcourt with his black hair and strong features but, as Harcourt led her closer to the couple, she could see that the man’s eyes were a deep, rich green. The woman was pretty but her one truly memorable feature was her eyes as they were an odd mixture of gray and blue. Annys tried not to be nervous as Harcourt introduced her to his brother Sir Brett Murray and his wife, Lady Triona. To her surprise, Harcourt introduced Joan to them as well, immediately placing Joan in a position of importance in this new household.

“Oh! My dear friend is also called Joan,” said Lady Triona. “’Tis a good thing ye are at different keeps or we should have to add some silly second name like Tall Joan or Old Joan, or Round Joan, which my friend now is for she is carrying another child.”

“Just as long as I dinnae end up being Old Joan,” said Joan and laughed along with Triona and Annys. “Sir Harcourt said I would be the one to run the household for her ladyship,” she added, standing straighter, her pride clear to hear in her voice.

“Oh, and ye are sorely needed. Come, let us leave the men to their talk and I will show ye around your new domain.”

Harcourt sighed with relief when Triona, Joan, and Annys disappeared into the keep. He had not feared that Triona would not sweetly welcome any wife he brought back but knew Annys worried. She had, in many ways, lived a cloistered life, and meeting new people, especially ones whose good opinion she craved, made her very nervous. He then looked at Brett and sighed again for his brother was staring hard at Benet.

“There is a cat sitting on that lamb,” Brett said.