Page 10 of Kilted Seduction
“Aye. Me maither swore by it.” Thora nodded and offered him the knife again.
With a grimace, Aedan took it and nicked the back of his hand, so it wouldn’t interfere with his ability to use his weapons. Carefully, he smeared the blood across the fir branch, then placed it on the stone. “Who speaks first?”
“It can be either o’ us.”
Aedan nodded. “In that case, ye can speak first.” He had no intention of swearing an oath, only to have her change the terms when it was her turn to speak.
From the amused tilt of her lips as she began to recite her oaths, Thora knew quite well what he was thinking. Still, he needn’t have worried. Every word she spoke was exactly as promised. She would do him no deliberate harm in word or deed, and when the task was over, she would leave him alone forever if he so desired.
Aedan took a deep breath when it was his turn. Now that he was the one to speak, it was more tempting than he’d expected to refuse to take the oath, or to change his promise to something else, or even to demand more stringent conditions for Thora.
He resisted temptation. “I swear tae go with Thora MacTavish tae the Yule celebration o’ Lachlan Ross, and tae dae whatever she asks o’ me in regard tae securing the prosperity o’ our clans and others their future, within the reasonable bounds o’ honor. At nae time will I intentionally dae her any harm, in word or deed, from now until the task is done.”
Thora nodded, evidently not surprised that he’d added the final term stating that he was no longer bound to avoid harming her at the end of their shared task. Instead, she offered him a smile and, without lifting her hand from the stone, took up the cup between them and drank a deep draft of the wine. Then she offered him the cup.
Aedan took it and sniffed. It was a red wine, not one of his preference, but palatable enough. There was no scent of herbs or potions, and he could see no ill effects on her from drinking it. With a sigh of resignation, Aedan offered Thora an ironic smile and drank.
The wine tasted of nothing but wine. As she had promised, there were no drugs. Aedan drank it almost to the dregs, then stopped, mindful of what she’d said about tossing the remnants of the wine in the fire.
Thora’s hand wrapped around the cup just below his, her slender fingers just brushing his own. Despite his anger, Aedan couldn’t deny the tiny spark of desire that danced through his veins at her touch. In spite of her actions, she was still a beautiful woman, and he wasn’t made of ice.
Together, they cast the branches into the fire, and inhaled the scent of fir and fennel, mingled with the heather and pine of the fire. The wine was poured on the coals, sizzling as it hit. As the last of the steam from it disappeared into the smoke, Thora straightened. “There. The oath is spoken and witnessed. Once the stone is buried, ‘twill be as binding as chains.”
“The sooner, the better. Mac’s likely tae be raising the alarm by now, unless I slept fer less than I thought.” Aedan shifted his limbs, feeling the stiffness of them. He’d probably been asleep for several candlemarks.
“Ye didnae. ‘Tis just past midmorning.” Thora smiled sheepishly. “Ye were more susceptible tae the sleeping potion than I kent.”
So she hadn’t known. She’d simply given him a potion and hoped for luck. Aedan swallowed back a flare of resentment and a desire to do something that might violate his newly sworn oath.
“There’s a horse outside waiting tae tak’ us back tae yer castle.” Thora indicated the door. To his surprise, she offered him a radiant smile. “I’m glad ye were willing tae agree tae aid me. I truly didnae wish tae hurt ye.”
She was gone, stepping out into the overcast morning, before Aedan could form a suitable response. With a soft growl of frustration, he grabbed the stone to bury and followed Thora out into the cold morning air.
It was going to be a long Midwinter and Yule festival season.
CHAPTER SIX
Thora could feel Aedan’s simmering resentment as they mounted the roan to return to his castle after digging a small hole to bury the oath stone. Had the situation been any less dire, she would have apologized. As it was, she was wondering what she should do next.
She’d convinced Aedan to attend the Yule festival with her, but she hadn’t told him the whole truth just yet. There was one more piece of the plan that they would need to put into place, if they were to succeed. And she was already sure Aedan would despise her for waiting so long to reveal it.
But if she hadn’t waited, he likely would have refused outright. Now he was bound by his oath. It wasn’t kind, and she disliked herself for it, but it was what needed to be done.
She had no desire to incur his fury, but nonetheless, she couldn’t keep silent. “I am sorry. I didnae wish tae act this way.”
“And yet ye did. Ye kidnapped me, threatened me, and forced me tae dae as ye wished. All fer the sake o’ yer visions.” Aedan spoke the last word with undisguised contempt.
“I did. And I’ll apologize for the damage tae yer honor and yer image, but nae for doing whatever it takes tae secure the future o’ the clans. I can only hope that in time, ye’ll forgive me for it.”
And fer me deceptions.
Aedan’s response was cold as the winter air around them. “Forgive ye? Nae unless these visions o’ yers turn true, fer otherwise ye’ve compromised me reputation as a warrior and a laird fer naething.”
He was right. Thora knew the truth of her visions, but Aedan had no reason to trust them. Not yet. Only time would prove the honesty of her words, and only time would permit the laird of Clan Cameron to understand that she really had taken the only path she saw available to her.
Together they rode back toward the castle, to be met by Mac at the gate. The Cameron second-in-command had a fierce scowl on his face, and it looked like it was taking everything he had not to drag Aedan away and have her thrown in the dungeons. His glare was directed at both of them.
Mac followed them to the stables, and waited until Aedan had dismounted before breaking his silence. “And where were ye? Ye disappeared in the middle o’ a storm, ye were gone fer who kenshow many candlemarks, and now ye come riding back with that woman! What the devil possessed ye tae behave so rashly?”
