Jinny paused inside the doorway to the East Tower and put a hand on Innes’s arm.
“To be honest, I was a wee bit nervous when he walked right up to me, with his wild look and . . . Lord, the size of him!” She giggled like a lass of fifteen.
“He is imposing, I’ll grant you that. But why—”
“But such a man, he is! Quite handsome when you look at him close. Those eyes, they just draw you in. And those scars. He’s seen life like few do. Why, I couldn’t breathe. I stood there, mute as a stone, just staring at him. He had to ask me twice before I found my voice. What was I to say but, ‘Aye, m’lord. This way, m’lord.’ I tripped on my own feet twice leading him up here.”
Innes went up the stairs with the older woman at her heels. Jinny had been waiting for them in the Outer Ward and grabbed Innes as soon as she returned from the village with Ailein.
“But why did the earl want to get into my room?” she asked.
“I cannot say. Sworn to secrecy, I am. Besides, I’d not spoil it.”
Innes’s mind raced, trying to imagine why Conall would want to come up here.
“Did I tell you how polite he was? Talked to me like I was a lady of quality.” Jinny put a hand to her heart when they arrived at Innes’s door. “By the Virgin, I’d never tire of waking up to the sight of that man’s eyes and shoulders and—”
“You sound like a woman in love, Jinny.”
“How could anyone not be?” the older woman answered coyly. “Aren’t you?”
She was. But she wasn’t going to admit it to Jinny. Innes pushed open the door, realized what he’d done, and immediately sighed with pleasure. A small table was set up by the window, with two chairs beside it.
“A chess set. He is so . . .” She stopped, not wanting to say too much in front of Jinny, who was watching her as if it were her own gift to Innes.
She crossed the room. This was an even finer set than the one he kept in his own chambers. She removed her gloves and picked up one of the pieces.
“Did you see the chairs?” Jinny prodded. “Finer than any you’d find in the North Tower, I’ll be bound.”
Innes held the chess piece in her palm. It was carved from walrus ivory. Half of the pieces were stained red; all the major pieces depicted human figures. The knights rode horses and held spears and shields. The rooks were ferocious-looking berserkers furiously chewing on their shields in their eagerness to do battle. The pawns were smaller, with rounded tops and runelike designs carved on them. She ran her fingers over the board of inlaid wood, a treasure on its own.
No one had ever given her gifts like Conall Sinclair. He couldn’t read her mind, but he knew how to make her heart glow.
She put the piece back on the board and went to her writing table.
“Jinny, I need you to go to the West Tower and ask for a man named Duff.”
“I know Duff.”
“You do?” She glanced up. Jinny looked away, but it appeared she was blushing.
Finishing her note, Innes folded it. “Please have him deliver this to the earl. It is for his eyes only.”
Innes handed the letter to Jinny and watched the serving woman hold it to her chest as if it were the jewels of the royal family. She started for the door and then stopped.
“So these are no rumors,” Jinny said with a broad smile. “He’s really taken with you.”
“Out with you.”
“Is it safe to say there may be another wedding?”
“Go, Jinny.”
Innes closed the door behind the woman and leaned her back against it. Her eyes immediately teared.
She was in love with Conall Sinclair, but she couldn’t say what was in her heart. Not yet. Only when she made him aware of her gift could he really know her . . . and accept her for who she truly was. But would he?
She stared at the precious chess set. She had no doubt about the gift’s intent. Her sister’s advice came back to her. Tell him sooner and not later . . . before you fall in love with him.
But her heart had already crossed into later.
Conall opened the letter and smiled. A chess move. That’s all. She led with the queen’s knight. A challenging position to put herself into for the start of the game. She wasn’t making it easy for herself. He turned to Duff.
“Did she say anything more?”
“Nay, m’lord. Jin . . . uh, the Munro woman said that her mistress sent this, and I was to bring it to you right away.”
He couldn’t believe it. He was actually nervous. When had he ever asked a woman to marry him? Never.
He wanted Innes. He wanted her in his bed. He wanted to open his eyes each day and see her face next to his. To plan, to live, to look forward to this day, and the next day, and the next, with Innes at his side. But what did he have to give her in return?
He had to go before he lost his courage. He headed to the door with Thunder trotting after him.
“You stay here, beast.”
The wolf sat back on his haunches, wearing a dejected look.
He got to the door, but the wolf’s whimper stopped him. “By the devil. Very well, come on. My chances might be better with you alongside me.”
Thunder pranced over and ran down the stairs ahead of him.
Taking the tunnel under the castle to the East Tower, he wondered if Innes would see him alone or if someone else needed to be present. His plan for this visit was honorable. The rumors circulating about them would very shortly disappear, though. He intended to make their news public as soon as she agreed to marry him.
Of course, there needed to be a visit to Folais Castle. He needed to work out the details with her father and secure his assent. The Munros had provided support for the Sinclairs in all the battles he and his father fought. He knew that if Innes accepted him, Hector would as well.
Thunder was already scratching at her door when he reached the landing.
“Sit.”
The wolf obeyed.
“Let me be doing the talking,” Conall ordered.
Thunder jumped at the door again, scratching away.
“You are a bloody beast.”
The door opened and before Conall could catch him, the wolf had his paws on Innes’s shoulders and was kissing her face. The sound of her laughter was a caress.
“Down, Thunder,” Conall commanded.
For once, the animal listened. A quick glance around the room told him it was only the two of them. He fought the urge to do what Thunder had done. She stood within his reach, wiping her face dry with a kerchief, a smile lingering on her lips. Her face was flushed. Her eyes shone. Had she been crying? He couldn’t tell.
A moment of doubt edged in. Nay, he thought. Don’t be a fool.
Thunder jumped on the bed across the room.
Conall glared at him. He needed no reminder of where he wanted to be with Innes. If he were to kiss Innes, or touch her right now, that wolf would need to move over. He’d been thinking of making love to her, dreaming of it. He couldn’t wait until she was his.
“Down, wanton,” he ordered.
The wolf only made himself more comfortable on the bedclothes.
“I’m sorry that I brought him with me.” He took a step toward the bed and Thunder, sensing imminent threat, jumped back down. “He forgets he’s a wild animal when he’s with you.”
“That’s because he’s not a wild animal.” She petted Thunder’s head as he came and sat like a perfect pet beside her. “In fact, I prefer his company to many humans’.”
“If you’re saying that I have to compete with him, too, for time with you, then I’ll be wearing this beast as a cloak next winter.”
She laughed and shook her head, a blush rising into her cheek. “No competition. I’ll be available to you any time you wish.”
Innes walked away just as her words settled in his mind. Did she just give her consent?
“This chess set is magnificent,” she said. “Who made it?”
She sat down on one side of the board, motioning to him to take the opposite seat. She’d already made her move, the same one she’d sent him in her letter. Thunder sided with her, lying down at her feet.
As he sat, Conall noticed the items she’d stacked up on the table beside the board. Her portfolio of drawings. A pouch that she always wore at her belt. Her gloves.
“The set was carved by one of the Norse craftsmen who built Castle Girnigoe nearly eighty years ago. It’s been in our family ever since.”
She winced and sat back. “What is it doing here? Shouldn’t it be kept safe somewhere?”
“Bryce hates chess. He only plays it because I force him to. This set has been sitting in storage.”
“Still, you should never have brought it here.”
“It’s a gift, from me to you.”
She shook her head. “This is too valuable.”
“It is a gift, Innes, from the earl of Caithness to the woman he’s proposing marriage to.”
Conall braced himself. He didn’t know what he expected, but it wasn’t tears. Confusion tore at him as she stabbed away at beads rolling down her cheeks. She refused to look into his face.
The two of them sat in silence for what felt like eternity. He finally found some words. “I take it my offer is not . . . acceptable.”
She took an uneven breath and looked up. “Nothing has ever made me happier than the offer you’ve just made.”
That only compounded the confusion battering away at him. Her assertion of happiness did not match the sadness she clearly felt.
He couldn’t bear it if she refused him, not after daring to hope. He wanted her to be his wife. He needed her in his life. He reached across the board and took her hand. “What is it? Talk to me. Don’t make me sit here feeling helpless.”
“You know nothing about me.”
In so many ways, she was an innocent. Beneath the armor, she was vulnerable. For whatever reason, she’d suffered since her mother’s death. He wished he could take away that pain. “I know enough.”
Innes shook her head again. Freeing her hand, she sat back and motioned to the board. “We’ll play this game. With each piece you take, you can ask a question.”
“About what?”
“About my past. About the unknown in my life. You can ask anything you want to know about the woman you want to marry.”
“I ask a question and you answer?”
“Aye. And I promise to tell you the absolute truth.”
“What about me? The pieces that you take. Are you also going to ask about my past?”
“Nay.” She smiled gently. “I won’t. This is my gift to you. The gift of truth.”
He stared at the board for a moment before looking up into her face. She appeared to have her emotions under control. He wanted to reach over and kiss those crystal pearls off her cheek. He wanted to tell her that there could be nothing in her past as dark as what lay buried in his. She had nothing to hide, but his demons haunted him.
“Does it matter who wins?” he asked.
“The game we are about to play is not about winning. It’s simply about learning, as life is.”
“Will you agree to marry me after this game?”
“Will you agree to finish the game?”
He studied her beautiful, tearful face. There were words that he’d still not spoken. He wanted her not because of suitable arrangements for their clans, or her dowry, or causing elation in his brother and her sister. He wanted Innes because he loved her. “Aye. I give you my word.”
“Then I will marry you.” She brushed the last of the tears from her face. “But only if you find it in your heart to repeat your proposal.”