“What?” she said, bringing him out of his reflection.
“I’m sorry, Louie. Forgive me? I should have told you I had feelings for him.”
“How long has this been going on?”
“I don’t know exactly. It sort of snuck up on me.” He shrugged. “I guess I really realized that I cared for him after we were attacked.”
“All right, then, I forgive you. I haven’t seen you but in passing since yesterday. I’ve been with Fiona and….” She trailed off, and a blush climbed up her neck in a mottled mess. She always did look blotchy when she blushed. Good thing she didn’t do so often.
“And…?”
“So… how was it?” She beamed at him and obtained perfect posture in seconds flat, lifting her chin out of his reach.
“Oh, no! No, no, no! You got mad at me for not telling, so give over.”
That chin rose even more into a look so smug, she should have been appointed queen of the universe.
“Louie….”
Her lips twitched, but she shook her head.
Laughter bubbled up inside Bannon, and he launched himself at her.
She squealed and dodged to the right, but she was no match for him. He caught her by the waist and threw her in the middle of the bed, coming down on top of her. Before she could scramble away, he straddled her waist and started tickling her under the arms.
Cackling, she twisted side to side, but he didn’t let her go until they were both laughing so hard they couldn’t breathe. Then Louie looked up at him with a huge smile. “Fine, I give up!” She raised her hands, but quickly put them down when he acted like he was going to tickle her again. That was all it took. She started laughing again, then planted her hands in the middle of his chest and shoved.
With a chuckle, Bannon held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, I’ll stop. Now tell me who you were spending time with that has you blushing?”
The mirth faded from her face, and she looked at him seriously. She opened her mouth to speak, then glanced down. “Dust! Bannon, you’re naked!”
Oops! He looked too and rolled off of Louie. “Well, it’s not like you haven’t seen me naked.” In fact, Louie had probably seen him without clothes more than any other person, even his nanny, who’d changed his diapers as a babe.
Her lips quirked. “True.”
Bannon climbed off the bed and searched the floor for his smallclothes. He found them under the edge of the bed along with his trousers and his shirt. He got dressed, then peeked back at Louie. She was sitting up on the edge of the bed, reaching for him.
He stepped closer and she started tucking his shirt in.
Batting her hands away, he stepped back. “Stop that!”
“Habit.” She sighed and then looked at him.
“Talk to me.” He sat down on the bed, next to her.
“Angus. I was with Angus. I have been”—she shrugged—“spending time with him.”
Bannon’s mouth dropped open. Angus? She’d been spending time with…. “How old is he?”
Louie scoffed and shoved at his shoulder. “He’s only thirty-two.” Which was a good ten years older than they were.
“Angus? Really?” Somehow he just couldn’t see it. “I mean, he’s nice, and strong, but…. Why not Ram? Ram is really handsome.”
Sticking her tongue out, Louie made a disgusted face. “Ram is a rake.”
True, but he’s a handsome rake.
Bannon ignored Timothy and made a mental note to have a word with Angus and find out what his intentions were. “Is it serious?”
“Well, I haven’t….” She rolled her eyes, and the blush came back. “You know. But yes.”
“What are we going to do?”
Louie frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Ciaran asked me to stay.” He held his breath, wondering what her reaction would be.
She didn’t say anything for several moments, and then she smiled. “Are you going to?”
“I don’t know. I….” Bannon took a deep breath and made himself voice out loud what he’d been thinking since Ciaran asked. “I want to. He treats me like an equal, Louie. He respects my opinions, and he doesn’t think I’m a candidate for Bedlam because of Timothy.”
“But do you love him?” she asked with such calm nonjudgment, really getting to the heart of things.
Bannon nodded. “I think so.” His heart pounded in his chest as he waited for her reaction.
“Well, then, I guess we’re staying.”
Laughing out loud, Bannon launched himself at her, wrapping her in a bear hug.
Louie chuckled too and hugged him back. They shared a smile, and everything seemed to fall into place. They had each other like they always did, but now, they were going to have more. “When are you going to tell him?” Louie asked.
He hadn’t thought that far ahead. “I don’t know. I’m still trying to process it myself. And the thought of you with Angus.”
She swatted him on the arm, and they both started giggling like children.
Suddenly being stranded on a primitive planet no longer seemed so bad. Except…. “We’re going to have to get some things from Regelence.”
“Like?”
“Like a manual on indoor plumbing and a huge stash of tea.”
Louie giggled. “Amen!”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“Morality and law seem to go hand in hand. Unfortunately the morals seem rather loose.”
—Timothy on Skye’s criminal justice system.
As plans went, this wasn’t the worst one Ciaran had ever heard. Then again, he was still so relaxed from last night he might have agreed to anything Red suggested. With a grin, Ciaran stepped back from hammering a fence post into the ground and looked over the progress. They were building a corral outside Lochwood’s gates. They’d started at sunrise this morning, and already at noon, they had half the corral built. About fifty clansmen worked together constructing the pen, some pounding fence posts into the ground and others hammering up railings between the posts.
“Where did ye help go?” Angus sidled up next to him with a sledge over his shoulder, staring at the men working.
“Tae get nails.” Ciaran glanced around toward the front gate but did not spot Red. He’d been gone awhile. Ciaran had sent him on the errand over twenty minutes ago to keep Red from killing himself trying to put in fence posts. The sledge was just too heavy for him, but it hadn’t stopped Red from trying. When he’d hit himself in the thigh and sent up a string of curses to rival the most hardened warrior, Ciaran had sent him to get nails in order to start on the railing. A much more fitting job for someone of Red’s stature.
“Ye are smiling.”
“Am I?” Ciaran tried to erase the grin from his lips, but wasn’t entirely successful. Red made him happy.
In front of them, Frasier walked around, surveying the progress. His arms were crossed and his brow furrowed. What was the old curmudgeon doing out here?
Angus nodded. “Aye, and I can guess why. Dinna let Louisa find out. She will box ye ears fer compromising her charge.”
Ciaran smiled at that. “Red wouldnae like being called her charge.”
Smirking, Angus nodded. “Nae, he wouldnae. They seem tae disagree on who is supposed tae protect whom. ’Tis a strange society they live in, aye?”
“Aye.”
Angus chuckled and slapped him on the back. “I came here tae tell ye that Greer and Keith came back from surveillance a few minutes ago.”
“Any sign of our missing men?”
With a sigh, Angus shook his head. “Nae. Nae sign of them.”
The news wasn’t surprising, Ciaran and Patrick had searched around the site, but it was still disheartening. Ciaran had hoped….
“The men are getting restless. When are we going tae lay siege tae that base?”
“I dinna ken. Patrick and Marcus are going tae do more surveillance tonight. Then Patrick and I will come up with a plan.” Ciaran was hoping to have news on the whereabouts o
f their men before they went rushing in, but it was beginning to look like that wasn’t going to happen. Hell, he wanted to be the one doing the surveillance, but he had other duties to attend to. “Tonight we raid cattle. Then we will plan our assault.”
Nodding, Angus started to leave, but stopped. “How many men do ye want with us tonight?”
“Just meself, ye, Ram, and Red.”
Angus smiled again.
“What?”
“We’re taking Red?”
Ciaran frowned. “Aye.”
Angus’s smile got bigger. Shaking his head, he started walking off. “Should be interestin’.”
“What does that mean?” Ciaran watched his retreating back and swore his shoulders were shaking. That did not bode well. He should probably go in search of his missing helper.
Ciaran walked into the great hall from the kitchen some fifteen moments later and was engulfed in smoke, but there was no one in the kitchen. Was there something stuck in one of the fireplace chimneys? He hurried toward the great hall, looking for the source, and found it.
Red, Fiona, and Ian each stood in the middle of the three trestle tables, with some sort of burning plant in their hands. On second look, the plant wasn’t actually burning, it was smoking.
Louisa stood beside the kitchen door, leaning on the wall, with a smirk on her face, watching the proceedings like it was nothing out of the ordinary. When she looked at him, he raised his brows in wonder. What on Skye were they doing? He was so baffled, he couldn’t seem to form the words to ask.
Red walked down the length of the middle table, waving the smoking wand back and forth. Halfway toward the end of the table, he started coughing and thrust the smoking plant out at arm’s length beside him. “Go in peace, spirit. Leave this hall and go to the next stop on your journey. Be at peace.”
“Be gone with ye, ye foul bogle!” Fiona echoed.
Not to be outdone by Fiona, Ian waved his plant a little more ferociously. It was a wonder his bundle was still smoking, with all that waving. “Aye! Get the hell oot, ye demon spawn!”
Red stopped his progress toward the end of the table and put his hands on his hips, glancing at both Fiona and Ian. “There is no need to be so nasty.”
Ian put his free hand on his hip and swished the plant back and forth, still rather quickly in front of his face, and then he too coughed. After a few moments, he waved the smoke to the side. “We want it gone, dinna we? If ye are nice tae people, they want tae stay.”
“Aye! We want the foul beasty gone.” Fiona stomped to the end of the table on the right, farthest away from Ciaran.
Foul was right, but it wasn’t a beast that was bowfing. Ciaran waved his hand in front of his face, trying to get rid of the smoke smell.
“They are all candidates for Bedlam, if you ask me,” Louisa whispered beside him.
With his eyes watering, Ciaran glanced at her, wondering how the smoke wasn’t bothering her. “I’m nae sure what that means?”
“It means they are crazy.” Her lips twitched along with her nose.
Ah, so the smoke was bothering her. “Aye, I think they might all be aff their heids.”
Louisa chuckled, and the three wee bampots stood on the tables, debating whether gentle kindness or force was better.
“What are they doin’?”
“Bannon read that burning sage helps purify. It was either that or reading bible scripture, and he broke out into a cold sweat when I suggested it.”
“Aye, I canna see the mischievous Timothy liking the church.” Ciaran grinned.
“Oh he loves God and all, just not church. The last time he went to church, he ran out of the confessional and nearly knocked down the Earl of Humfries.” Louisa turned toward him, her eyes twinkling… or were they watering? “Timothy is claustrophobic. Besides, Bannon has never been one for studying, so he couldn’t remember any bible verses.”
Mirth bubbled up inside Ciaran until it spilled over with laughter. He couldn’t seem to help himself. Och, but Red made him happy. Everything about him—his bravery, his tenacity, his strange sense of honor that kept him from hunting, and most definitely Timothy.
Louisa studied him for a moment, then joined in the laughter.
The three on the tables had walked themselves back to their end of the great hall. They all stood there with hands on hips, looking like lopsided chimneys, with scowls on their faces.
“Ye are disrupting our ritual,” Fiona accused.
Still chuckling, Ciaran glanced at the others.
A blush covered Ian’s face, and he grumbled something under his breath. After jumping off the table, he walked over, and handed his plant to Red. “’Tis stupid. The bogle isna going tae leave. It’s been here since I was a lad.” He was still a lad, but Ciaran decided not to point that out. The lad was embarrassed enough.
Red took the smoking sage, holding one in each hand. He looked at them and promptly started coughing again.
Ciaran took pity on him and strode forward to relieve him of the sage. He took one and ground it on the table, then held out his hand for the other.
Fiona sighed loudly from her table. “Ye are ruining our exorcism, Ciaran.”
Ignoring her, Ciaran ground the other sage and extended his hand to Red. He could not quite help the smirk, but Red didn’t seem to mind. He smirked back and took Ciaran’s hand. Maybe it was because last night was still so fresh in Ciaran’s mind, but his hand seemed to warm and a feeling of contentment filled him. “I thought ye were getting nails.”
The grin fell right off Red’s face. He smacked his forehead with his free hand and groaned. “I got sidetracked.”
Ciaran chuckled, suspecting that was a common occurrence. Red’s brain was just too active for it to be otherwise. On the bright side, it was probably a good thing, because it must mean he was becoming comfortable being here on Skye.
Without giving him a chance to climb down from the table, Ciaran grabbed him by the waist and set him on the bench. His lips were at eye level, and Ciaran’s gaze was captured by those lips and the memory of their sweetness. He barely noticed Ian storming past Louisa to the kitchen.
Past Red’s shoulder, Fiona stomped down the table again, chanting, “Out with ye, ye blasted bogle.”
Red’s lips twitched, and he rested his hands on Ciaran’s shoulders. “She really is terrified of the ghost, you know.”
She obviously wasn’t the only one. “There is nae ghost, Red.”
Red’s eyebrows rose; he looked skeptical. “If you say so.”
“I do.” He leaned closer and whispered, “And if there is, it’s seen about all of ye it can see.”
Red turned as red as his hair. “Perhaps we should show it more tonight?” he whispered back.
Louisa cleared her throat.
Red glanced over at her and frowned, or perhaps that was a glare? Ciaran wasn’t sure which.
He grinned, remembering Angus’s assessment of the relationship. “Have ye given any more thought tae staying?” Damn, but Ciaran hadn’t meant to blurt that out. He’d intended to give Red more time, but standing here with him like this…. He didn’t want to give this up. This chaos that surrounded Red. Och, but he was as daft as Red, Fiona, and Ian. With the three of them in his life, he’d never have a moment’s peace again.
“I have.”
“And?”
Red grinned, then started nodding. “Yes. I’ll stay.”
“Ye will?”
Again he nodded. “I decided this mor—”
Clap!
Fiona screamed.
Red jumped.
Before Ciaran could even make sense of what had happened, Red had hopped down from the bench and was already on his way out the door. Much as he had last night.
Fiona followed, still screeching and trailing smoke behind her.
They both clambered through the kitchen door at the same time, disappearing in a cloud of smoke.
Ciaran spotted the bench on the other side of the table where Fiona
had stood, tipped on its side. She must have made it fall with all her, er… purifying so heavily down the table. Turning, Ciaran met Louisa’s gaze. They stood there for a heartbeat, then burst out laughing. Seconds later, Red ran back through the door and right to Ciaran. He grabbed Ciaran’s hand and nearly jerked him off his feet. “Come on, before the blasted thing gets you!”
Still laughing and shaking his head, Ciaran followed.
As Red grabbed Louisa on their way out the door, Ciaran realized two things. One, even scared, Red had thought of him. And two… Red was staying! Och, but Ciaran was well on his way to falling in love with the wee bampot.
§ § § §
“Okay, let me get this straight. We’re going to steal some other clan’s cattle?” Bannon just couldn’t wrap his head around it. The moral compass in this land was… off. Murder, theft… what was next?
Timothy all but snorted in his head. You probably shouldn’t ask.
“’Tis our cattle. The MacLeans—” Ram and Angus spat at the mention of the MacLeans. “—stole them from us,” Ram said, riding up beside him. He’d seemed especially energized since they rode out of Lochwood Castle gates three hours ago. At least Bannon thought it was that long. Hard to tell with the moon behind the clouds. If he were on Regelence, he’d have used the moon to judge the time like his sire had taught him, but Skye seemed to have a perpetual cloud cover. Still… the weather was rather nice tonight.
My Highland Laird: Sci-Regency Book 5 Page 23