Page 21 of Bride Takes a Charmer
“Your horse, milady.” Walen handed her the reins and rounded her horse to mount his.
Shaw hurried forward and helped her mount her horse. “We shall ride a good distance this day and need to make as much ground as we can before nightfall. If ye need to stop to rest, tellme so.” He let his hand linger on her thigh and glanced up at her bonny face.
“I shall, but worry not, I will do my best to keep up.” Sorsha patted the mare’s neck and waited for one of them to lead their procession toward the gates.
Walen rode ahead of them and Shaw rode next to her. He was glad to be going home, but then he remembered that he needed to stop in Fassiefern and at Tor. When he’d awakened, he meant to tell Sorsha about their journey and the stops he needed to make. Once through the gates, he waited until they reached the lane on the outskirts of Edinburgh to broach the subject.
“Sorsha, along the way, I need to stop in Fassiefern. It should not take long, och there is something I need to do.” He slowed his mount to be next to hers and gazed at her as their horses trudged along. She focused on the lane but nodded in response.
“What is in Fassiefern?”
He didn’t want to explain but should because he didn’t want her to worry. “There is a lad there that needs a home.”
Walen slowed his mount to ride on the other side of Sorsha now. Shaw didn’t say more and she asked for no further explanation, that is until his comrade interjected.
“Aye, our laird takes in poor unfortunates that are without and brings them home to our clan.” Walen chuckled. “Our comrade, Tom, runs the tavern there and oft keeps an eye out for anyone needing shelter. ’Tis our laird’s way of increasing our clan’s numbers but also—”
Shaw cut his comrade off. “Our clan is small and we have plenty of room for the forgotten children in the village. If the lad is amiable then he will be welcomed into our clan.”
Sorsha’s eyes widened but she had somewhat of a smile on her face. “That is… commendable, Shaw, that you seek to aid those children. I am gladdened that we will stop and hopefully give the poor lad aid.”
“Aye, and afterward, we will ride for Tor. Geoff sent me a missive asking me to come. My sister and her husband are expected to stop there on their way to our keep. She means to return to our clan. I expect that we might be reunited there.”
His wife’s mouth drew tightly and her brows furrowed. “Must we? I…cannot go there…to Tor because…” Sorsha ceased and quieted. Her shoulders slumped and she kept her gaze ahead.
Shaw called “whoa” and tightened the reins. His comrade continued onward and didn’t notice he’d stopped, or perhaps he moved forward to give them privacy. Sorsha turned her mount and faced him.
The look of pain in her eyes concerned him. Earlier, he’d told Walen that something troubled his wife and he was certain that it had to do with the Chattans. Perhaps Rodick’s death plagued her but he wasn’t privy to how his cousin had died. Until he knew, he was in the dark. Whatever happened to Rodick had to be at the root of his wife’s troubles. He needed answers to his questions, but he wouldn’t force her to speak of her former husband if it was too painful for her. He waited to hear what she had to say.
“I apologize, Shaw, but if you need to go to Tor, I…I cannot.” She lowered her chin and wouldn’t look at him.
“My visit to Tor can wait if it distresses ye.”
“It does.”
“Why does it? Is it because of Rodick’s death? How did he die? Ye have not spoken of it with me and should. Mayhap the troubles ye deem that follow ye are not as worrisome.” He reached to take her hand and she clasped his fingers tightly.
“’Tis not Rodick’s death that troubles me… I just… There was much heartache there and I never want to step foot on that land again. Promise me that you will not force me to go there.”
Her voice strained with each word and she seemed to be flustered. Whatever the reason, Shaw understood that she’d hada difficult life with the Chattans. Hell, he was their cousin and couldn’t count the number of times they’d caused him grief. Still, it had been her home and her daughter was there. “What about Gillian, your daughter…? Should we at least not retrieve her so ye can be together? If ye are worried that she will not be accepted by my clan—?”
Sorsha shook her head with vigor and gazed at him between the ears of her horse. “Nay, ’tis not that. It’s just that I fear Geoff will not let Gillian go so easily. She is his brother’s child, after all, and I suspect that he had hoped to marry me, but with the king’s demand…”
“He hoped to marry ye?” Shaw didn’t like hearing that. Geoff was a belligerent man and a bully who forced others to accept his will.
If Alexander hadn’t compelled him—or even any of the other Highlanders—to marry her, her life would have been a living hell. “Did he intend to force ye to marry him?”
She continued to peer at the spot betwixt her horse’s ears when she answered, “I know not. He…asked me before I left for Edinburgh and I had not given him an answer. I suspect though that he might have because he made certain threats. It matters not now. Please…do not make me go there, Shaw. We can figure out a way to retrieve Gillian later.”
Shaw glanced at Walen and tipped his chin as a signal for his comrade to move on. “We will continue onward to home after we visit Fassiefern. I do not want ye to worry.”
Sorsha nodded then and nudged her horse forward to follow Walen’s. Shaw took up the rear of their procession and couldn’t help but wonder what happened at Tor. His wife had not only appeared reluctant to speak of Rodick’s death, but almost afraid to go into any depth at all. Had Geoff proposed marriage to Sorsha, or was there more to it? And why was she so lax about retrieving her daughter? Sorsha wasn’t the kind of woman toforgo her motherly duty, at least, he didn’t think she would. Her demeanor alluded to her being a capable mother, one who cared for her child. Whenever she spoke her daughter’s name, an affectionate shine came to her eyes, followed by a depth of sadness and even distress. She had to be missing Gillian.
Patience, he reminded himself. Sorsha needed his support, not endless questions that would only remind her of what he suspected was a torment of some kind. Soon enough she would tell him what bothered her, how her former husband had died, and they would find a way to recoup Gillian from the hands of his nefarious warlord cousin and away from Tor.
*
The village ofFassiefern lay ahead on the lane. Its location on the north side of Loch Eil afforded many travelers to stop on their way northward. It was a good resting place with a tavern, a kirk for the pious, and various shopkeepers and merchants. All sorts of foodstuffs were made ready for purchase: meats, meat pies, and a good assortment of breads.