The sun bathed over Faye’s face as her thoughts flitted once more to Ewan. In the distance, Kinsey fired arrows into the tree as Clara offered advice on her aim. Mayhap Faye ought to be listening to the instruction as well, but it was too difficult to do when the choice he’d given her weighed on her mind so heavily.
It should have been an easy decision to make. After all, she’d had no choice in coming to the Highlands. But every time she recalled her small bed at the manor in Castleton, tucked in the corner of a room she shared with her sisters, her chest rang with hollowness.
Mayhap she’d gotten too used to Ewan’s arms around her, his warmth drawing her into the cradle of sleep, his scent all around her, familiar and comfortable. She’d begun to enjoy how he always asked what she liked and what she wanted and waited with genuine interest in the answer. She knew all the things he enjoyed too and delighted in doing them, relishing in his pleasure.
He was a man of honor and character, who handled his people with genuine care, a man whose smile made her heart stagger. Fie! It was too many things to list at once.
An arrow flashed across the meadow and sank into the grass next to Faye.
She jerked away from it and glared at Kinsey, who stood fifty paces away with her hand on her hip and a smirk on her lips. “I said it was yer turn.”
“Ye could have hit me.” Faye pushed up to her feet.
Kinsey rolled her eyes. “I assure ye, I wouldn’t have.”
Faye regarded her sister with suspicion. While Kinsey was good with the bow, her confidence was oftentimes overinflated, resulting in the occasionally missed target. Not often, but it still happened. Faye would prefer she not become the first victim of a wayward arrow.
The clearing was surrounded by forest with enough trees nearby to practice their skills to their heart's content. They were just outside the castle, but it was nice to be away for a bit, a chance to breathe without the weight of her decision squeezing at Faye.
So long as her youngest sister didn’t kill her first.
“Kinsey, that wasn’t kind of ye.” Clara strode toward them, the daggers in the bag at her side clinking. “Although ye are quite skilled.”
“Aye, I am.” Kinsey pulled her bow off her back and plucked an arrow from where several thrust up from the ground in front of her. She pulled it back with her bow, lining up her site, and released the arrow. It flew towards the tree and sailed passed it. A miss. Several inches from her target.
“That could have been me,” Faye exclaimed.
Kinsey turned to her with a grimace. “But it wasn’t. And that’s really what matters.”
“Oh, Kinsey.” Clara touched her fingertips to her forehead and closed her eyes.
Kinsey extended the bow toward Faye. “Ye do better.”
“Ye know I’m not as good as ye.” Faye sighed and accepted the weapon.
“Mayhap I need to feel better about myself now.” Kinsey grinned at her.
Months ago, this would have made Faye irate, but now, she couldn’t help but laugh at Kinsey’s bravado. How much Faye had missed her youngest sister! Even her overconfident impulsiveness and assertive demeanor. Kinsey burned brighter with life than any of them, and it warmed Faye to her very soul.
Faye pulled one of the arrows from the ground and readied her weapon. The bow had never been her weapon of choice. She had always preferred a hidden dagger and her own wits. But Kinsey knew that. They all were familiar with one another’s strengths.
And weaknesses.
As anticipated, Faye’s arrow went wide, flying past the tree and into a distant stream. Kinsey crowed in delight.
Faye propped her hand on her hip. “My lack of skill doesn’t mean that ye still wouldn’t have shot me.”
Kinsey pointed at her with a wide smile. “But, I didn’t.” She shifted her focus to Clara. “I think we’re both ready to be put to shame.”
Clara flushed. “That truly isn’t necessary. I’ve already done some practicing today.”
“Ye know Drake tells us we have to practice often to ensure our skills stay strong,” Kinsey argued.
“Doesn’t he?” Kinsey pressed when Clara did not acquiesce.
She was always trying to encourage their sister to become a mercenary. The idea was laughable. Especially when Clara was such a gentle soul.
Faye felt compelled to come to Clara’s aid. “She’s already done enough. I think even Drake would be satisfied with the amount of time she’s spent throwing her daggers.”
Clara shot Faye a grateful smile.
“Have ye made yer decision about coming home with us?” Kinsey lifted her brows.
Faye’s mouth fell open. “Don’t turn this to me.”
“I’ll do it,” Clara said quickly as she untied the bag of daggers from her belt. “Though I confess, ’tis hard to practice something I don’t think I could ever do to another person.”
Ever the obedient one, she still drew back the daggers one at a time and released them into the tree. They stuck neatly in a cluster in the dead center of the trunk.
Kinsey whooped with pride and threw her arm around Clara. “Ye’re a wonder, do ye know that?”
Clara’s blush deepened.
“But have ye made a decision yet?” Kinsey asked.
This time both of them looked at Faye in expectation.
“Ye should come home,” Kinsey said definitively.
Faye chewed her lower lip. The decision was not simply made. In the time she took to mull over her options, she’d tried to pull back from Ewan in the hopes that if she did choose Castleton, she wouldn’t miss him. At least not as much.
“Kinsey, will ye collect the arrows for another round?” Clara asked. “I think I may try my hand at archery again.”
The grin returned to Kinsey’s face, and she darted off to eagerly gather the fallen arrows.
“Ye hate archery,” Faye said.
Clara offered a helpless laugh. “I do, but I knew this would give us a few moments of privacy.” The wind picked up and blew at her dark hair, lifting the loose tendrils. “We’ll always love ye no matter where ye live. And we’ll always find ways to visit.”
Faye’s breath quickened. “What do ye mean?”
“I mean, if ye want to stay here with yer husband, then we would support yer decision.” Clara lowered her head and looked tentatively at Faye, the way she did when she had something blunt to say.
Trepidation crawled up Faye’s spine. “What is it?”
“Ye need to make a decision. Ye canna keep pushing the answer off.” Clara’s brows pursed with sadness. “’Tis cruel.”
“Cruel?” Faye echoed.
“I have them all,” Kinsey cried out victoriously in the distance. “Ready yer bow.”
“Yer husband greatly cares for ye.” Clara glanced to where Kinsey was racing back to them with shafts of arrows jutting out from both hands. “Don’t let yer stubbornness and fear of love ruin something good.”
Her words were a barb in Faye’s chest. And given the apologetic look on Clara’s face, she knew it. Which was all the more reason why what she said had such an impact.
Faye nodded in understanding and realized she’d known the answer the whole time.
Kinsey stopped abruptly before she reached them and put a hand up to shield the sun from her eyes, and she looked to the east. “There’s a rider approaching.”
Faye and Clara both searched and in the direction of Kinsey’s stare. Indeed, a lone rider raced toward them on a black horse.
There was only one person she knew who rode a horse with a back that straight, who looked that regal despite a poor upbringing. Before she could stop herself, she was running toward him.
After several days’ delay, Drake had finally arrived.
Ewan was in the Great Hall when shrieks of excitement echoed outside the large doors. Monroe, who had been in the middle of relaying the current farming status of one of the nearby villages, stopped speaking and glanced toward the sound.
“’Tis only the sisters,” Ewan explained.
In the last few days, he’d gotten used to the giggles and squeals between the ladies. It warmed his heart as much as it cut him deep. For Faye still had not given him an answer.
What was worse, she was pulling away from him. The quiet moments between them were once more filled with wild passion, where pleasure was sought rather than companionship. She still slept in his chamber with him, but she was gone every morning before he woke.
He was no fool. He knew well why she was taking so long to give him her reply. She was planning to leave.
It eased the pain in his chest to know that in doing so, she would once more find happiness.
After all, she would leave, aye, but she would be back in the summer. And in the days between, he would devote himself to his people as he always had.
The clatter of footsteps echoed off the high stone walls. Three ladies raced into the large room with a tall man between them. He had the same dark hair as the middle sister, Clara, with the same straight nose and generous mouth as the others.
Drake.
Tension wound up the muscles along Ewan’s back. He ought to be relieved as he knew he could now present Drake with the Berwick. Except that he suspected Faye was waiting for her brother’s arrival to give Ewan her reply.
Unbidden, Ewan’s gaze found his wife. Her blue kirtle was the same one she’d worn to his uncle’s wedding, and it fit her body so perfectly, it made him want to span his hands over her narrow waist and draw her to him. Sun had kissed her cheeks and lips, leaving them with a lovely glow, and her eyes danced with laughter. She was vibrant and bonny, so much that it made his heart ache.
He approached them and looked at the man. “I assume this is yer brother?”
“Aye.” Faye grinned. “This is Drake. The eldest.”
Where his sisters were all laughter and bright sunshine, Drake’s face was set with seriousness. “Drake Fletcher.” He nodded to Ewan politely.
“Ewan Sutherland, Chieftain of the Sutherland clan.”
“Well met, sir,” Drake replied with a soldier’s obedience.
Out of the corner of his eye, Ewan caught Moiré entering the Great Hall. She glanced shyly toward the sisters and hovered near the sidewall, appearing ill at ease among the lot of women.
Their arrival had put Moiré off somewhat, but then his cousin had always been somewhat reticent. Especially when it came to other women. Faye had been considerate to Ewan’s cousin, though, and often made time to spend with Moiré.
“I hear ye’re Captain of the Guard at Werrick Castle on the English side of the border,” Ewan said.
Drake’s chest filled with apparent pride. “Aye, I’ve been fortunate to be in such a secure position.”
“I also hear ye’re a fine warrior.”
“I try, sir,” Drake said earnestly.
It was a curious thing to compare this man with his jubilant sisters. But then, from what Ewan had gathered in his conversations with Faye’s family, Drake had been their primary provider. Responsibility tempered a man’s senses and put his mind to task.
Such men also did not have the liberty to spend large amounts of time away from their duties.
“I presume ye must return to Werrick Castle posthaste,” Ewan surmised.
“Aye.”
Exactly as Ewan had anticipated. He would need to address the land with Drake immediately.
“I should like to speak with ye once ye’ve settled,” Ewan said. “Faye can show ye to yer room. I’ll be in my solar.”
Faye’s eyes met Ewan’s, and she nodded. But her gaze lingered. A jolt of energy raced through him. Was she considering him with interest? Or out of concern?
He roughly shoved aside the thoughts. He’d spent days analyzing every look, every smile, every damn word. It made his brain ache with how much he tried to determine what her decision might be.
Faye waved over Moiré and introduced Drake. It was the perfect opportunity for Ewan to depart. He could not be near Faye without imagining her soon gone. No sweet smiles in his direction, a cold side of the bed where she once lay tucked in his arms, the absence of her floral scent in the air of his chamber.
He would miss everything, and each little reminder tore at his chest.
It was maddening, this inability to stay away even as it hurt too much to be near her.
He was not in his solar long before a knock came from the door, so efficient and crisp that he knew it would be Drake before the man appeared.
Faye’s brother stepped into the room; his footsteps clipped. He didn’t gaze around Ewan’s solar as most did. But then, the few bits of furniture and simple tapestries were hardly impressive to a man who came from an English castle, which was rumored to be far more ostentatious.
“Ye’ve cared well for my sister,” Drake said. “I dinna know what I’d find when I arrived and was grateful to see her safe. Thank ye.”
“I’m afraid it wasna enough,” Ewan said candidly. While he would not tell Cait about why Faye had decided to wed him, he knew Drake would need to be informed.
“What do ye mean?” Drake’s brows immediately pinched with concern, and his shoulders squared.
Ewan indicated the chair, and the other man lowered himself to the seat.
“Ross said if Faye dinna wed me, he would force one of her sisters,” Ewan replied. He’d prepared for this moment, an opportunity to keep Faye’s sisters safe. While he tried to reassure her Ross wouldn’t find out, he couldn’t be entirely certain what the other chieftain might do, and if Faye left, Ewan would be too far away to provide protection. “While I wouldna wed them in a similar condition, there are other clan chieftains who would readily agree.”
Drake’s lips thinned. “That’s how he convinced her to marry ye.”
“Aye.” Ewan pulled the parchment from the desk drawer. “I dinna want her to do it, but I had no choice.”
“Faye has her own mind,” Drake replied.
Ewan chuckled. “Aye, she does that. But I wouldna put it past Ross to still try to get to yer sisters, especially Clara.”
Drake drew in a deep inhale. “She’s a good soul. Mayhap too good. I’ll ensure no harm comes to anyone in my family.”
Some of the weight eased from Ewan’s shoulders at Drake’s ardent reply. Faye and her family would be safe.
“There’s more.” Ewan untied the parchment and unrolled it. The remainder of the information had been completed, with Drake’s name where Ross had expected his to be.
Drake’s gaze lowered to the desk.
Ewan explained how the agreement to wed Faye had included giving Berwick to the Ross clan. “I dinna trust yer grandda,” he said in conclusion. “But from everything I know of yer family, I trust ye and have deeded the land no’ to yer grandda, but to ye.”
Drake’s focus snapped up to Ewan. “Me?”
“It will be safe in yer hands,” Ewan replied.
Drake stared at the document, not speaking. Finally, he cleared his throat and nodded. “Thank ye.”
“I know ye must prepare for yer return trip to Werrick,” Ewan said, offering the man an excuse to depart should he want it.
“Aye. Now that I know Faye is safe.” Drake stood and locked forearms with Ewan before leaving the room.
An emptiness filled Ewan upon Drake’s departure. Berwick had been a pressing concern; one Ewan had wanted resolved prior to Faye’s departure. Now he need only receive her answer, however much that filled him with dread.