“‘Tis just that...”
“What?”
She pulled away and gave him her best half smile. “Nothing, I thought I was completely alone.”
When she began to walk toward the mare with the older colt, he walked with her. “We are friends now, am I right?”
“Aye.”
“Then I will make you a promise if you will make me one.”
“What sort of promise?”
“I promise never to lie to you if you promise the same.”
She stopped to glance into his eyes and then looked away. “Completely honest...about everything?”
“Completely.”
“No one is ever completely honest. There are times when a lie comes in quite handy and you know it as well as I do.”
“Well, then perhaps we could promise to tell each other the truth on all important matters.”
This time her smile was genuine. “Yet then we would have to agree on what is important and what is not. It could ruin a good friendship.”
Ben sighed. Getting around Alison on any subject was not going to be easy. She was way too smart for most men and probably for him as well. “As you wish. Yet please tell me why you were so frightened back there. I have never heard of someone being so scared they lost their breath.”
“Well, since you said please.” She knew what his reaction would be, or thought she knew. Maybe she should tell him just to see how he would react. “Lately I have felt like someone is watching me.”
He remained perfectly calm. “I see, do you feel it now?”
“Nay, not now. You do not laugh at me?”
“Not at all. Knowing when someone is watching you is a gift, and many a lad has tried to develop that talent. It saves lives.”
She was pleased with his response. Was there nothing about Ben she could hate? Being displeased with Dominic was easy enough, but Ben seemed to have all the right answers. How was she to avoid becoming attached to a man when he said all the right things, and it felt so good to be in his arms?
“Did you feel like someone was watching you before I approached you?”
She giggled, “Aye, but now we know it was you.”
“True. Will you tell me the next time you feel it?”
“I will try.”
“Good.” Ben was actually frantic. If the clan was not missing a plaid, he might not have been so concerned, but the MacGreagors lived without a wall or a fence, which made kidnapping one of their women far more possible. He was beginning to side with the men who wanted a wall.
“What did you come to ask me?” she asked.
“What? Oh, I wanted to know if you thought of a name for the new stallion yet. We best name him soon so he can get used to hearing it.”
“You are right, of course.” They were almost to the new colt and she stopped to look him over. He was dark brown with one white spot on his right hip. It was almost the size and the shape of a goblet. “We should call him Chalice.”
Ben grinned. “Chalice is a good name.”
CHAPTER VII
ALISON BEGAN TO WALK toward her mare and was glad when Ben walked with her. “Neil has a headache again. Does he have them often?”
“Only when a baby wakes him in the night.”
Alison grinned. “Ceanna has nothing at all wrong with her lungs, that is for sure. She wakes us up occasionally too. Yet I wonder.”
“What?”
“If Neil was sick and something happened to him, what would become of the clan?”
“Neil is not sick. He looks a bit older than he should, but the lad has already been through two wars, a plague, countless other hardships and he is not yet thirty. As for the clan, I suppose Walrick would become our laird, although he does not desire the position. If he turns it down, then the people would probably want Gelson.”
“Would there be a fight?”
“‘Tis possible but more likely the two clans would go their separate ways. Why are you concerned about it?”
“I am not that concerned, I just like understanding how things are done. We sisters have a lot of learning to do.”
“Do the sisters tell each other what they’ve learned?”
She gave him a knowing glance, “We love gossip as much as anyone, although we have much more of it among ourselves. Everything is new to us, you see.”
“I can see how it might be.” When she stopped walking, so did he. “Has anyone told you how Neil and Glenna came to be man and wife?”
Alison’s eyes widened. “Nay, do tell me.”
He looked around, made sure the area was clean enough, and helped her sit down in the grass. Then he crossed his ankles, sat down beside her, picked a purple flower and handed it to her. “Well, Walrick had a twin sister who was...”
Alison clung to his every word and let him finish three stories before she made him stop. “Please, if you go on I will not be able to remember it all.”
He returned her smile and wondered if she realized how many flowers he had given her. He didn’t think so, although she did smell them twice while he was talking. Sitting next to her and just talking was like being home, and now he understood what other men meant when they said they could not live without their wives. He wondered if he could ever live without Alison now that he found her. He sure hoped she would not force him to live without her.
She loved listening to him, but why did he also have to be a good storyteller? Resisting him was becoming harder by the minute. When she started to get up, he held her hand, helped her and did not let go of her hand until she pulled away. It bothered her a little, but less than she expected it to. “I have to go, ‘tis my turn to make our meal.”
He started to walk her back, but she put up her hand. “In the evenings we go to Edana’s where I will be telling them your stories and of your kindness. Thank you.” She turned and walked away.
Ben watched her go and decided to make sure she got back safely, if only by just watching her. She put an obvious wedge between them just now by not letting him walk her back, and he had no idea how to get her to soften. Maybe he could ask Neil. Then again, he didn’t even know what to ask. How do you make a woman love you? Spoken aloud, the question sounded way too stupid for a grown man to ask.
He thought about their afternoon together. She did not seem upset when he held her and even stayed in his arms for a time. Yet she did not want to hold his hand later and she still seemed reluctant to look him in the eye. He should have asked her about that, but he forgot. He seemed to forget a lot of things when she was near. He scratched his head thoughtfully and watched her disappear behind the cottages. Alison was a very complicated woman and Ben was not at all sure he could figure her out.
IT WAS EARLY IN THE morning when Comine came back. He wanted to check the animals to see which looked as if she might give birth soon. He brought food, his livestock at home was well tended and he was prepared to stay all day. Maybe once he learned more of the woman’s habits, he might find a better way to capture her.
When she was out and about, she wasn’t hard to see with her beautiful dark hair, which she usually wore hanging lose down her back. Some women wore braids and he did not favor them. He liked touching his mother’s hair and it was much nicer when she brushed it and let it hang loose. His bride-to-be seemed to keep her hair brushed too and it pleased him very much.
She didn’t come. Comine waited all day, all night and then fell asleep in the woods. When he woke up, it was past time to milk his cow so he hurried home. Another night lost and he was beginning to think this was some sort of game he could not win. He never liked games, but this one was getting exciting. He was starting to see it as the biggest challenge of his life. There had to be a way to get her and he fully intended to find it.
BEN TOSSED HAY OVER the fence into the corral for the stallions and watched for Alison. Then he walked to the mares, put a halter on her horse, began to groom her and watched for Alison. He had been watching for Alison for two days and she did not come back, at least
not while he was there.
It was possible she managed to find a way to avoid him completely, but he didn’t think that was possible if she came to see the animals. Once he mentioned her fear of being watched to Neil, all the men were keeping a closer eye on her. He should not have been so worried, but he was. He would feel a lot better if she would just let him see her...if only from a distance.
He was considering marching up to her door to reassure himself she was safe, when he spotted her on the path between two cottages heading his way. He was pleased at first, but soon it was obvious she was not walking toward him, she was marching and the look on her face as she drew near was not one of friendship—she was livid. Before long, she was standing right in front of him.
“Did you tell Neil I felt someone watching me?” she asked through gritted teeth.
“I did.”
She had one hand on her hip and her other fist clenched. “Do you tell him everything I say?”
“Of course not. When one of us might be in danger, we are duty bound to tell the others. ‘Tis the way of a clan.”
“Well ‘tis not the way of our clan. There are some things shared and others that are not.”
Growing a little annoyed himself, he put his hands on his hips too. “You did not tell me not to share it.”
She glared into his eyes a little while longer before she realized what she was doing and looked away. He was right, but it did not occur to her she had to tell him. “You have a lot to learn about us.”
“I can see that.” Ben went back to brushing her horse and noticed that the mare was nudging Alison to get her attention. “Honey misses you. I could take you riding if you like.”
She rolled her eyes and turned her attention to rubbing the horse’s nose. “I do not care to ride with you.”
“Why not?”
“You have not yet said you are sorry.”
“That is because I am not sorry. I care about you.”
Alison turned her glare on him again, “I do not want you to care about me.”
“Too late.”
“For what?”
“Too late to stop me. I already love you.” Ben took her by the shoulders, moved her out of the away, swung up on her horse and remembered to say, “Whoa,” before he rode off.
She just stood there staring after him. “That is my horse,” she muttered so softly even she could not hear it. She wanted to stay mad at him, but he loved her, he said so. Why did that make her heart leap and why was it making her feel so wonderful now? Didn’t he hear her when she said she would not ever marry?
Ben felt almost sorry he said it so bluntly—almost. His feelings were out in the open now and that was probably a good thing. However, he was sorry he left her there without looking to see her expression. Drawing her horse to a halt, he turned around to look. Instead of watching him, Alison was already walking back to the village.
COMINE HAD NEVER HEARD the sisters sing, and on the occasion of Bethia’s marriage to Hannish, he almost stepped out of the forest so he could get closer. He could not quite see them either with the whole clan standing around them, and that made him very annoyed. For just a second, he thought he saw his bride among the women singing, but he dismissed that notion. No man was fortunate enough to have a beauty that could also sing like a bird. On the other hand, why not him? He deserved her as much as any man.
CHAPTER VIII
SHE DIDN’T MEAN TO, but while she sang, Alison looked for Ben. Everyone was smiling and she was too, but not as genuinely as she usually did. The bride and groom were gloriously happy as well they should be. Millin told Alison the whole story of Iona’s lie and their lost love finally found after two long years.
Still, where was Ben? She didn’t really care, she told herself, but she should have spotted him by now even among all the tall men. Just as their last song ended, the thought occurred to her that he might be unwell or perhaps an animal was in trouble.
She spent the required time letting the clan once more gush over her talent and then wandered off. He too lived in one of the older cottages and she hardly ever took a walk up that path. To her surprise, he was sitting on a stool outside his door trying to fix a horse’s halter strap. As soon as she saw him, she stopped and began to turn around.
“Alison.”
She puffed her cheeks and turned back to face him. “Aye.”
“I think the cow might be having twins.”
Her eyes instantly lit up and she walked to him. “Twins, do you really think so?”
“She is very large and she has been showing the signs of giving birth all day.”
“I see.”
He hoped Alison would ask him to send for her when it happened, but she didn’t and he was wise enough not to suggest it. “One of the cats had kittens too. I saw them this morning but when I went back this afternoon, she had moved them.”
“Cats are strange animals. Do you know how they make that sound when you pet them?”
He stood up so he could compare the length of the reins in case one was too short. “I have no idea. ‘Tis sort of like snoring and it seems to mean they are happy.”
“I had three cats at home.” She swatted a dragonfly away and folded her arms. “If you let them, cats will take up a whole bed at night and snore right in your ear.” It made him smile and Alison liked his smile, but she quickly looked away. “I should go. You did not come to hear us sing and I thought...”
“I am pleased you missed me. Alison, you do not look at me and I am beginning to think you find me very unpleasant to look at.”
She was shocked, “You are not unpleasant at all. I did not mean to offend you, ‘tis just that...”
“What?”
“If you must know, ‘tis your eyes. They make me feel odd.”
He set the halter down on his chair, spread his legs and clasped his hands behind his back. “Odd how?”
“Odd how?”
“Aye.”
“Well,” she shifted her weight and tried to find the right words. “‘Tis as though you can see my soul.”
He wasn’t expecting that answer and didn’t know what to make of it. “What do you think I can do about that?”
“Good heavens, how should I know? Perhaps if you stopped looking at me it would help.”
“I cannot.”
“Why not?”
He almost said the obvious and then realized he would sound like every other man in the clan, who tried to flatter her and failed miserably. “Because we are friends and friends look at each other.” He watched her expression carefully and thought he saw a hint of disappointment. Perhaps she liked a little flattery after all. “I cannot truly see into your soul, you know.”
“That is good news. I will try to look at you more often, but I also have a request. Do not say you love me anymore.”
“If it pleases you.”
“Thank you. I would much rather just be your friend.”
“Done then.” He didn’t give her a second’s notice before he took her into his arms and kissed her passionately. Then he quickly let go. “That is what loving you is like ... but I am over it. Now we can be just friends.” He turned and walked down the path toward the pasture.
She was stunned and he was a considerable distance away when she hurried after him, “Ben, Dominic is on guard tonight.” When he turned to look back at her, she stopped and lowered her gaze. “May I go with you instead?”
“Nay, you must bring a guard.” He quickly turned back around so she wouldn’t see his smile. He expected her to yell at him or maybe try to hit him when he kissed her, but she didn’t. In fact, she seemed to like it a little. Maybe talking her into marriage wasn’t out of the question after all.
Alison rolled her eyes. “Yet I do not care for Dominic’s company.” She didn’t say it loud enough for him to hear and at length, turned around to go find the guard. “Lads have far too many rules.”
Without thinking, she touched her lips with the tips of her fingers. It was not her
first kiss—far from it. One of the brothers Kennedy seemed to be constantly trying to kiss her. Yet his kiss was nothing like Ben’s. Alison had strange sensations when Ben kissed her, and it was not the kind of thing she could ask any of her sisters about or even Millin. She couldn’t even think how to put it into words. Still, she was fascinated by it and...in an odd sort of way she hoped Ben would kiss her again so she could sort those feelings out.
She reached the middle of the courtyard, began to look for Dominic and puffed her cheeks. Good grief, she actually wanted Ben to kiss her again. How stupid would that be? Kissing led to love, which led to marriage, which led to being with child and she did not even want to think about what that led to.
When she spotted Dominic, all she had to do was nod and he came to her. Because the moon was not shedding enough light, he brought a torch to light their way. His smile was unwelcome but she tried to be pleasant. His conversation was boring and she politely answered his questions, but she was constantly comparing him to Ben, that is, when she wasn’t thinking about Ben’s kiss.
Ben was happy to see her but he hid it. Dominic was not happy to see Ben at all and he did not hide it.
COMINE WAS ENRAGED. How was he ever going to get her alone? This night he brought a flask of wine to help dull the boredom of waiting. He had one more at the cottage, but he was keeping that for their wedding night. Then he would take his bride to market, buy more wine and let her have anything she wanted. He could pay for it too, with the sheared wool he had been saving.
Comine also expected the cow they seemed interested in, to give birth. He could tell because the cow kept drifting away from the herd and then going back. He sat down, leaned against a tree and took a soothing gulp of wine. Taking a bride had become a lot more time consuming than he expected. Oh well, he didn’t have much else to do once his animals were cared for.
When the cow wandered farther away and the people followed, Comine changed his position too. Then for some reason, the man who brought the woman moved away, stopped talking to the other two, and seemed to resume his duties as a guard. It presented a new problem for Comine now that his movements might be more easily detected. In response, he waited until the guard looked away and then slipped farther into the woods.
Marti Talbott's Highlander Series, Volume 4 Page 9