Page 33 of Bride of the Wicked Laird
As soon as the women were out of sight Maxwell turned to Everard.
“What did ye find from yer talk wi’ the tinker?”
Everard was happy to turn his attention from the MacKinnons to the more pressing matter of the tinker.
“As luck would have it, today was the last day of the lad’s stay on our islands. Tomorrow he’s bound fer Mull.”
“Good. So, exactly where we need him tae go. Were ye able tae persuade him tae make the short journey from Mull across tae Iona and thence tae the Priory.”
“Aye. He was happy tae dae so, as he’d taken a liking tae Mistress Davina and when I explained that his enquiries would be tae her advantage he readily agreed.”
“And, naturally, ye lined his purse just tae be certain?”
Everard chuckled. “Of course. He’s a tinker, after all. He needs tae spend his time where he can be rewarded with coin.
“I was very firm that he was tae reveal naught of where the enquiry came from. He understood. Seems he’s visited thePriory many times and is known tae the Prioress and the servants. He will tell her that he came across the lass on the Isle of Mull. They will likely believe that story, as Mull is where she was heading when she dived into the sea.”
He shook his head as the memory of Davina’s sodden, almost drowned, figure rushed into his mind and he recalled the fear that had coursed through him at the thought she had gotten lost in the village.
“He will return taeto Kiessimul and report tae me, whether he has learned more of the lass or nay.”
“And, in the meantime we’ll both enquire about this lad, Dùghall MacKinnon.”
Hearing Davina’s and Aileen’s chattering and laughing, Everard looked up to see them emerging from near the hedgerow at the side of the house. He and Maxwell rose as the two lasses approached, smiling.
“Yer house is truly beautiful, me lord,” Davina said, addressing Maxwell.
He shook his head. “Its beauty is all down tae me good wife. I’ve nay time fer it.”
Everard laughed. “He’s a brute wi’ nay poetry in his soul.”
Aileen and Maxwell exchanged glances, grinning.
Everard offered his arm to Davina, who took it, but not without hesitation. “’Tis time fer us tae walk back tae the village and sail over the bay.” He looked at her with concern. “Have ye found yer strength again?”
Her cheeks flushed with pink but she smiled and nodded. “I am much refreshed, me laird, and ready fer our return journey.”
“Ye must come again,” Aileen said, as they made their farewells.
As they wound their way back to the village, Davina paused here and there to pick the wildflowers growing in abundance alongside the road. By the time they arrived at the place where Everard had tied up his boat, her basket was brimming.
As he lifted her into the boat, she laughed. “See, I’m nae so afeared now. Mayhap I shall have tae learn tae sail and row a wee boat such as this, so I can make me way across tae the village.” She took a breath. “In time. Nae quite yet.”
Everard looked at her shining eyes that lit up her face with an inner joy, and grinned. His heart lifted at the sight of the pleasure she’d had in her time away from the castle. The only drawback to a perfect day had been the unwanted presence of the that damned MacKinnon, who had enticed her into the tavern.
He’d been surprised by the intensity of his body’s instant reaction when he’d not been able to find Davina. His heart had pounded, the blood rushing to his head as he looked around frantically, fearing some terrible fate had befallen her. And hehad certainly not been prepared for the rush of jubilation and the relief he experienced when she had reappeared, smiling and unscathed.
And there was that urge he had had, to put her over his knee and spank her pretty little derrière for giving him such a fright. Now, that was a vision he had to work hard at suppressing, otherwise, it would bedevil his thoughts and cause a definite shifting of sensation in his pesky groin.
He held her hand as she wobbled her way onto the bench and clambered onto the seat, but he could see that her terror had faded somewhat.
“Still nae quite so afraid now, lass?”
She gave a shaky nod, holding tightly to the side, her eyes fixed on the castle in the bay, her mouth set in a determined line.
“Dinnae fash about me, me laird. I am doing well enough.”
He smiled to himself.Was she gritting her teeth?He didn’t doubt she would overcome this unreasoning fear she held for water and, even, one day, begin to enjoy the short sail over the bay between the castle and the village.
