Page 40 of The Winter Laird

Aidan nodded. “She told you how to succeed over Burke. She gave you the words you needed to convince the elders you were different—no boy can come up with those thoughts himself.” Aidan joined him at the fire and placed a hand on Nioclas’s arm. “You always believed she sent you the woman in those dreams, and you now have that woman in your castle. She’s here for a reason.”

“You always did believe her tales.”

“And yet you’re the one she sent the dreams to. I find humor in that.”

“You always have.”

“I know.” Aidan slapped his brother on the back. “Donovan and I will keep an eye on your lady-wife while you figure out your plan of attack.”

“I don’t even know where to start,” Nioclas grumbled.

A slow grin crept over Aidan’s face. “The MacWilliam.TheMacWilliam, who can have any woman with a crook of his finger, can’t get his wife to look his way.”

Nioclas fisted his hand, and Aidan held up both of his.

“Easy, brother. I merely meant to say that, if you want the woman, then woo her. You have everything you need to do so. Make her forget about the other man. Your reputation precedes you—’tis easily done.”

“Your reputation is much the same,” Nioclas shot back.

“’Tis true.” Aidan fell silent as Nioclas stared into the fire. After a moment, he clapped his hand on Nioclas’s shoulder. “Don’t take too long. She’s a beauty, and an O’Rourke, rumored to be the key piece to the O’Rourke legacy. There are many in the clan who would try to woo her from you if it’s believed you’re not interested.”

“I’m aware. She’s not the key to a legacy,” Nioclas warned.

“Perhaps not,” Aidan agreed. “But she’s the key to something.”

* * *

After hoursof searching for Nioclas, Brianagh finally gave up. He didn’t want to be found. So, executive decision time. She approached Donovan as sweetly as she could and asked for an escort into the village.

“Why would you want to go into the village?” he asked incredulously. “It’s outside the castle walls. I beg you to think about this, Lady Brianagh.”

“I wonder if your teeth ache?”

He blinked. “Sorry?”

“Your teeth. Do they ache after you’ve eaten your bread here?”

Donovan tried not to smile but failed. “They did, until my own cook was brought over. He arrived yesterday.”

“That’s exactly why I need to go into the village,” Brianagh replied triumphantly. “Your cook and the MacWilliam cook do not get along. But there is a woman in the village who, according to clanswomen in the castle, can make any food palatable. And her bread is free from rocks.” Leaning in, she whispered, “I need that woman—her name is Keela—in here before you leave with your cook. Yours needs to show Keela the best way to prepare food for a castle.”

Donovan reluctantly smiled. “Nick doesn’t know, does he?”

Brianagh wrinkled her nose. “Well, he would, if he were ever around. Because he isn’t, I’ve made the decision for him. Will you take me to the village? The guardsman will let me pass with you as an escort.”

“Aye, I’ll take you.” Donovan nodded. “But we’ll take a guard with us. Can’t be too careful with the lady of the clan.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Bri said nervously, visions of Burke’s pit dancing across her mind.

“I don’t think you’d like the outcome, were I to let you outside castle gates without one,” Donovan replied over his shoulder as he trotted down the hall. “Gather your cloak and meet me at the stables.”

A half hour later, she mounted her horse, and with Donovan leading and a bunch of large men surrounding them, the guardsman at the portcullis finally let her through.

They crossed the drawbridge, and a moment later, Donovan reigned in next to her. “’Tis dangerous outside castle walls. The forest to our north—” he jerked his head to the left, where, about a mile out, a thick crop of trees stood, “—holds beasties and enemies. The village is to the south, this way. It’s protected by the sea to one side, and the castle on its other…but Nick will have your head on his gates if you venture forth without a guard.”

“Beasties?”

Donovan slid her a look. “Aye. Animals with sharp antlers, or those with unworldly roots.”

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