Ceci Giltenan(35)

Her eyes shown with excitement and he couldn’t refuse her. He handed their horses off to Muir and walked with her towards the marsh. To his surprise, Katherine removed her shoes and airisaid before pulling the hem of her léine between her legs and tucking it into her belt in the front. This pulled the bottom of the garment up to just below her knees. “What are ye doing?” he asked.

“I have to wade in a bit to see everything and I don’t want my clothes to get wet.”

“Can’t ye just look from the edge?”

Katherine’s musical laughter enveloped him. “Can ye hunt without going into the forest? All I can see from the edge is the tall purple loosestrife and that is easy to find close to Duncurra. Come with me, I’ll show you what the marsh hides,” she beckoned, holding her hand out to him. How could he resist? Taking her hand, he waded in with her.

She pointed out a variety of common plants. She was pleased when she found bog bean, but became positively delighted when she discovered something she called marsh mallow.

“I wasn’t sure I would find it this far north. It grew in the marshes near Cotharach, but it isn’t very common in colder areas. It’s an amazing plant, the flowers, the leaves, even the roots, are useful. Late summer is the perfect time of year to harvest it, too.” She gathered some, saying, “You’ll thank me the next time you get a sore throat.”

“I’ll thank ye to leave the muck of this marsh behind,” he said. At her look of dismay, he softened his tone and caressed her cheek, saying “I’m teasing, pet, but ye needn’t gather it all now. I will send men to harvest a larger quantity on another day.”

“All right, if ye promise,” she said with a shy smile.

They waded back out of the marsh, but she continued to talk about the plants they passed and their uses. This completely enthralled Niall. In the last few weeks he had seen several sides of his bride. There was the quiet, submissive maid he first met at Cotharach, who kept a firm check on her emotions but who, when pushed too hard, could unleash her anger with a vengeance. There was also the strong and compassionate lady of the castle, whom so many of his clansmen and women already respected and loved, as well as the gentle mother who cared very deeply for Tomas. Of course, one of his favorite sides was the uninhibited lover whose passion never failed to delight him. However, the woman he walked with now brimmed with knowledge, and had a confidence and self-assurance he had never seen in any woman. She impressed him and he felt oddly proud of her.

After their brief stop at the marsh, they rode east and entered the forest, where they soon arrived at a beautiful glade. His guard positioned themselves in the forest around the glade, again at a discreet distance, leaving Niall and Katherine quite alone. He spread a plaid on the ground before producing a packet of food and a wineskin from the bag on his saddle. They chatted as they ate.

“I am having a wonderful time,” she said.

“So am I,” he answered with a smile.

“I was just wondering...”

“Mmm?”

“Well, with so much to do, why did you decide to waste the day with me?”

He chuckled, “That is one of the reasons right there.”

“What?” she asked, confused.

“A day spent with ye is not wasted, sweetling.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean—I—”

He put his finger to her lips. “I know what ye meant even if ye don’t,” he said gently. “Katherine, I realized last night ye don’t recognize your own value. On the day we married, ye said your uncle cared less for ye than he did his saddle.”

She blushed and looked away. “I’m sorry, I was—upset.”

“I know, and ye had every right to be. But even after hearing ye say that and knowing how cruel your uncle was, I still thought of ye as a noblewoman. As the head of your clan, I assumed ye would have been treated that way. Last night I learned, at least where ye are concerned, my assumptions are frequently wrong.

“Katherine, ye are dear to me, and I realized that since our marriage I have done very little to show ye that. I was immensely irritated with myself when it finally occurred to me this issue hadn’t arisen before yesterday because ye haven’t been outside the walls of Duncurra since ye arrived.”

She blushed and shook her head. “It’s not important—there were things—I—,” she stammered.

“Wheest, lass, I’m not humbled often, let me suffer a moment.”

She laughed, her embarrassment subsiding, “Will you at least try not to assume the worst in the future?”

“Aye, lass, I will try,” he said with a grin, “but I fear I am a very flawed man, and set in my ways. It may take a few tries before I get the knack of it.”