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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.
