Page 18 of Love Beyond Reach (Morna’s Legacy #11)

“ D o ye think ye’ll marry this one?”

I choked on my laughter as Mary yanked roughly at the laces on the back of my dress.

“Doona tie them so tightly, Mary. No, I know I willna marry this one. I’ve no desire for this lad to want me. Can ye pull my hair up so that it looks rather dreadful?”

Slipping her fingers beneath the laces, she pulled them loose.

“Ye are daft if ye think ye’ve any hope of dissuading him with the way ye pin yer hair. Did ye not see the way he looked at ye when he arrived?”

Shrugging, I faced her as she finished the laces.

“I suppose most would find him rather attractive, aye?”

Mary snorted and her cheeks flushed red.

“Do ye mean to say that ye doona find him handsome? Why, if not for Kip’s recent proposal, I would happily tup him. Though, I’d have to fill my ears with cotton before letting him near me. The sound of his voice makes me want to weep.”

Laughing until my sides hurt, I nodded in agreement.

Mary didn’t speak like any other lady I’d ever known.

I loved her for it. And she wasn’t wrong about Seumas McCabe’s voice.

He spoke through his nose, making every word sound breathy and thick.

It made him sound ill, even though he looked anything but.

Objectively, I could see that most would find him handsome. He wasn’t tall like the men in my family, but he was astonishingly muscular with long blond hair and eyes so blue they were almost white.

“I find him difficult to look at, Mary. I doona wish to sit near him at dinner. How then am I meant to get to know him?”

Astonished, Mary twisted her head to the side as she eyed me skeptically.

“Ye canna look at him? I can hardly keep from doing so.”

I shivered as I moved so Mary could fix my hair.

“’Tis his eyes, I think. They unsettle me. While I’ve thankfully never seen a fairy, I imagine they would look much like him, only a wee bit smaller.”

Chuckling, Mary combed through my mess of curls.

“I’ve never thought of it myself, but aye, his eyes are verra different. Does yer father like him?”

“Aye, Father’s known him for a decade. He’s at least fifteen years older than me, ye know. He’s already laird of his own territory.”

“He doesna look fifteen years older than ye. Alasdair willna like him.”

Alasdair didn’t like him. I already knew that with certainty. While this morning was the first time I’d met Seumas McCabe, he and Alasdair shared a history. After Grier and some time before Elspeth entered my brother’s life, both men had fallen for the same woman.

It surprised me that Mary didn’t know the story of what had happened between them, but I was curious as to why she assumed my brother wouldn’t like him.

“Why do ye say that?”

“Morna, if Seumas looks at ye in front of Alasdair the way he looked at ye when he arrived here, I’m afraid yer brother might try to strangle him in the middle of the meal.”

“’Twould at least provide wee Eoin some amusement during what is certain to be a miserably long evening.”

Satisfied that my hair didn’t look its best, I stood, thanked Mary, and made my way down to dinner.

Perhaps in candlelight, I wouldn’t find his eyes so startling.

A lasdair didn’t lunge across the table, but each time Seumas touched my arm or brushed my shoulder, he looked as if he wanted to. His face would redden, his teeth would clench, and I would watch as Elspeth quietly reached over to squeeze his hand to calm him.

It was a tense evening, but my father remained oblivious to all of it.

Always an expert at conversation, he visited and laughed and seemed quite pleased with himself over his choice of suitor.

When at last the meal came to an end, I stood to bid Seumas farewell, only to be stopped by Father’s voice at the end of the table.

“Mayhap, ye should show Seumas Elspeth’s garden?”

Before I even had a chance to glance in Aladair’s direction for help, my brother stood and nudged Elspeth to do the same.

“Aye, why doona we all take a turn outdoors? ’Tis a pleasant enough evening for it.”

Grateful that I wouldn’t be forced to walk with Seumas alone, I took his arm as he offered it to me and followed my brother and Elspeth out into the garden.

It was a rare and beautiful Scottish evening.

The air was unusually warm, and it caused all the wonderful smells from Elspeth’s flowers and plants to surround us.

While I did my best to stay close to Alasdair, Seumas’ strength demanded that we follow the pace he set, and I watched with dread as Elsepeth and Alasdair slowly disappeared around the corner in front of us.

Once alone, I would be forced to talk to him. I didn’t wish to hear his voice for anything, but as we walked down one of the garden’s pathways, the silence quickly became unbearable.

“’Tis a lovely night. Yer home is north, aye? Do ye ever have evenings as warm as this?”

I looked up to see him staring down at me. Mary was right. A hunger lay in his eyes that caused my stomach to clench uncomfortably.

“Aye, ’tis north and aye, at times we’ve as lovely weather as ye do. I can assure ye, ye’ll be quite comfortable there.”

His assumption made me feel suddenly defiant, and I pulled away to face him.

“Ye seem quite certain of yerself. Ye do know that Father has agreed to let me make this choice on my own, aye?”

He nodded and smiled, and I had to resist the urge to shiver. Such unearned confidence reminded me of my father. It made me like him even less.

“Aye, he told me. ’Tis not a concern. Do ye know how many lassies would sell their soul to be where ye are, lass—to have the opportunity to marry me? I doona doubt ye’ll come to see that ye willna have a better offer.”

Clearing my throat, I walked past him and back toward the castle. I would tell Father come morning that Seumas could leave.

“Goodnight, Laird McCabe. Thank ye for the walk.”

Before I could distance myself from him, his strong hand gripped my arm.

“I’ll walk ye back to the castle.”

I tried to pull away, but he held me too tightly.

“’Tis unnecessary, truly. I know my way around these grounds well.”

“I’ll sleep better, lass, knowing I saw ye safely inside.”

I didn’t believe Seumas was worried about my safety for a moment, but I allowed him to escort me toward the castle. A lifetime of living with my father made me practiced in appeasing boorish men. Often it was simply easier to allow them to believe they’d won.

Just outside the main doors, Seumas stopped, pushing me so that my back met with stone as he leaned in close.

“I’d like to kiss ye, lass. I’m certain ’twould do much to make ye want to marry me.”

I would’ve laughed at him had his face not been so perilously close to my own. I couldn’t risk the movement for fear it would cause my mouth to brush his.

As I lifted my palms to push him away, a shadow in the distance caught my eye. Standing far away, watching us, was Jerry. Suddenly all I could think about was just how much my kissing Seumas would displease him. It made me want to kiss the man all night long.

“Lass, did ye hear me? I’d like to kiss ye. Will ye allow it?”

Seumas’ lips grazed my ear as he spoke, and I shivered as I pulled my gaze away from Jerry.

I reached my hands to the sides of Seumas’ face and pulled his mouth to mine.