To Dream of a Highlander(24)
He coughed. “Forgive me, sister, I—”
She waved her hand. “All is well now. I shall not worry until Gillean arrives and in the meantime I shall occupy myself with caring for our new guest. No doubt she has endured much.”
“Lorna, ye are so very fond of taking in strays.”
“Ach, ye are soft-hearted too, Finn. Ye just keep it hidden beneath yer quick grin and rakish ways.”
“First, Logan, now Katelyn.”
“Logan was no stray.” Her brows dipped and she drew her chin up.
He fought the urge to chuckle. Something about Logan riled Lorna. “Nay, he was but a peasant boy, was he not?”
“Finn, dinnae talk of him that way. Ye fight beside him and know well enough he is more than that. Ach, ye could learn some lessons from him. At least he knows how to behave as a gentleman.”
He snatched the goblet and poured himself more ale, using the earthenware to disguise his grin. So righteous. Lorna loved to jump to the defence of anyone whom she felt needed her. Logan had been nothing but a poor man when he’d come to Kilcree looking for work. And while there might be no noble blood in him, Finn had to admit, he knew few men who fought as well as Logan.
“So,” he traced the wood grain of the table with his free hand, “when are we expecting Katelyn’s marriage to take place?”
“Gillean travels from the south on business. I think it likely we shall not see him for at least two sennights.”
“Would ye object to yer brother staying for a while?”
“Ye know I wouldnae, but does Morgann not need ye?”
“Ach, Alana has him in hand. My duties have lessened vastly of late.” Indeed, his responsibilities at Glencolum had decreased since the fighting with Alana’s clan had ended and the lass took to running the castle with ease. It left him with too much time. Time to think on the past, on his future….
Lorna smiled and leaned over, pressing a hand to his forearm. “Finn, ye are the best kind of a brother.”
He shifted. “If I were the best kind of brother, I would have been here more often.”
“Ye had much to deal with at Glencolum. The fighting took up much of yer time. I am only grateful ye were never harmed. Of course, losing Ali....”
He stood abruptly, his heart wringing at the mention of his wife. “’Tis settled then. I shall extend my stay.”
She blinked at the sudden interruption but gathered herself, squeezing her hands together. “I am sure I can tolerate ye just a wee bit longer, but I fear ye shall find yerself tired of the slow pace of life here. There are no battles for ye to fight.”
“Nay, and for that ye should be grateful.”
Aye, the more he thought on it, the more convinced he became he should stay a while longer. He’d already spent too much time away from his sister and he perceived trouble in her eyes—something to do with Logan mayhap. An undercurrent of something fizzled through the air. He contemplated the jug of ale in front of him. Of course, his decision to stay had little to do with Katelyn. Her fate was of no consequence to him.
Chapter Four
Catriona blew the soapy bubbles from her hands and leaned back in the wooden tub with a sigh. Warm water caressed her skin and removed much of the fatigue and aches from her body. But while her muscles eased, her stomach churned with worry. What had she done? Lorna appeared as kindly as Finn had suggested.
She released a breath. Deceiving either of them rankled. Finn had been so kind and courageous. She shut her eyes. Fair hair and deep blue eyes lingered in her vision behind her closed lids. Catriona clenched her hands together until nails dug into her palms. Why did Finn make her tense again? Being attracted to him only further complicated things. And besides, he would be gone soon.
At least that put one problem behind her. Even if it made her heart ache a wee bit. She had to remember why she was continuing this deception. It was not for her father, nay, but for the people of Bute. The Norsemen would be expelled from the isle and it would be vulnerable to Laird Gillean’s advances. It had to appear that her father at least wanted to continue with the contract. Both she and her sister had large dowries but even to offer herself as a replacement would be seen as breaking the contract and might tear apart their tentative peace. Not that she wished to be sold to the laird. Likely her father never intended to go through with the agreement anyway. He had much higher ambitions for his daughters.
Alas, his perfect daughter was dead and now he was left with her. Still she might not want power and money as Katelyn had but she would prove her worth in this matter at least. She would prevent war and save her people from further distress. That, at least, she could do right.