Page 26

THE DRUMS OF Beltaine echoed over the hills surrounding Dun Ugadale. They were loud, calling the folk who lived nearby—the Mackays, the MacAlisters, and the MacDonalds—to the great bonfire that burned on a hill just outside the village.

Stomach tight with an odd blend of excitement and nervousness, Rose walked, arm-in-arm, with Kerr, up the hill toward the fire. It was so bright it lit up the sky like a beacon and was visible for miles around.

Their passage didn’t go unnoticed.

Locals, women mostly, turned to watch Kerr and Rose walk by before bowing their heads together to whisper.

Rose’s mouth thinned. Foolish geese. Who cared what they were gossiping about?

Kerr bent his head close, his breath feathering across her ear as he spoke. “Ye look even bonnier than usual this eve, Rose … that dress suits ye well.”

Rose smiled, tilting her head up to meet his gaze. “Thank ye.”

This kirtle was her best, and one she only wore for special occasions.

It was made of an emerald-green cloth that she and her mother had picked out at a market in Ceann Locha around five years earlier.

She’d paired it with a snowy-white lèine underneath and then wound freshly picked daisies through her hair.

She paused, her cheeks warming. “And ye are handsome, indeed, Kerr.”

It wasn’t an exaggeration. Few women here walked with such a striking man on their arm. Clad in dark leather, his white-blond hair brushing his shoulders, Kerr was a sight to send a lass’s pulse aflutter.

Kerr smiled at her compliment. Their gazes held for an instant, and Rose’s belly tightened further. Things were moving swiftly now between them. She felt as if she were falling with nothing to cling to on the way down.

The sensation was both exhilarating and frightening.

Reaching the top of the hill, Kerr angled them toward where his kin had gathered, watching the revelers dance.

Nearby, Rose spied Eara. Her friend walked amongst the crowd, handing out honey cakes.

Catching sight of Rose, her pretty face creased into a wide smile, and she waved, hurrying up to them.

“Good eve, Rose … Captain Mackay,” Eara greeted them breathlessly, her gaze flicking between Kerr and Rose. Confusion clouded her grey eyes. Of course, she knew just how much Rose had disliked Kerr Mackay and would be wondering what she was doing on his arm.

Rose stepped forward and hugged Eara, a difficult task with the basket of honey cakes between them. “I’ve missed ye,” she admitted, her throat constricting.

“And I’ve missed ye,” Eara replied huskily. Her mouth curved then. “Does yer appearance here tonight mean ye are ending yer self-imposed exile?”

Rose sighed. Eara knew why she’d stayed away, yet she didn’t want to sour the evening by reminding her.

“Perhaps,” she murmured.

“Thank the Saints … I could do with yer help again.” Eara nodded to the fragrant basket between them. “Would ye like a honey cake?”

“Aye.” Rose took two and stepped back, handing one to Kerr.

Eara’s gaze shifted between them once more, and Rose could feel the questions bubbling up inside her.

“I shall find ye later,” Rose promised her friend with a coy smile. “We have much to catch up on.”

“Aye, we do,” Eara said with a conspirator’s grin. She then moved away, continuing to hand out cakes to revelers.

Meanwhile, Kerr and Rose climbed to the top of the hill.

All his family stared at the couple as they approached.

Bonnie’s gaze flicked between the pair as if she was making sure she wasn’t seeing things.

Likewise, Davina appeared equally baffled, surprise flickering in her eyes.

However, her husband, Lennox, wore a slight smirk, as did Brodie next to him, while Iver Mackay had a knowing glint in his eye.

It seemed that Kerr had already confided in his brothers that he’d be bringing someone to Beltaine.

“It’s lovely to see ye, Rose,” Bonnie greeted her with a genuine, warm smile. “I’ve missed yer face around the village of late.”

“As have I,” Davina added, with a wide smile of her own. “How are ye faring?”

“Well enough,” Rose murmured, embarrassed to be the center of attention, “thank ye.”

“Ye mustn’t be a stranger,” Bonnie replied. “Ye are always welcome to visit me, ye know?”

Rose stiffened, surprised by the offer. “I am?”

“Aye … with Davina ensconced in her new home, I miss the company of women my own age.” She cut Davina a mock-hurt look, but her sister-by-marriage merely smiled.

Bonnie left her husband’s side then and grabbed both Davina and Rose by the hands. “Come … let us get some caudle before it’s all gone.” She then winked at Kerr. “Sorry, I shall have to steal Rose for a wee while.”

A short while later, the three women stood by the fireside, cups of steaming caudle in their hands. The drink—made with eggs, butter, ground oats, and milk—was thick, sweet, and delicious.

“I can’t believe Iver didn’t tell me that Kerr is wooing ye,” Bonnie grumbled.

“Or that Lennox didn’t say anything to me either,” Davina added archly. “They were both looking entirely too smug earlier.”

“I don’t think they’ve known for long,” Rose replied, her cheeks warming. “This is still new … for us both.”

“I was under the impression that ye hated Kerr?” Davina said then. Lennox’s wife had a directness that was both disarming and refreshing, although Rose had been expecting someone to bring up the subject at some point.

“I did,” she replied, her fingers tightening around her cup of caudle. “Well, I thought I did … but I’ve realized I was mistaken.”

Davina smiled, her gaze softening. “It’s sometimes that way,” she murmured. “I couldn’t stand Lennox at first. It was only when we traveled together that I saw another side to him.”

Rose inclined her head, curiosity wreathing up. Whenever she spied Lennox and Davina together, they appeared madly in love. It was hard to believe things had ever been otherwise.

“My loyalty to family blinded me, I’m afraid,” Rose answered after a pause. “It was easier to blame Kerr than to accept the truth about my father.” Her throat tightened then. It was still hard to talk about him, to think about the way he and her brothers had thrown their lives away.

Both Davina and Bonnie’s gazes clouded at this.

An awkward pause followed, and Rose glanced away.

She caught a flash of black robes through the crowd then and stiffened.

Father Gregor hung back from the dancers, neither eating nor drinking anything, his lean face set in censorious lines.

It surprised Rose that he’d attended Beltaine since the festival had pagan roots.

He was no doubt frowning at all the revelry that was taking place around him.

Later, many couples would go ‘green gowning’, finding a quiet spot in the darkness to tumble. No doubt, he’d condemn that too.

The man’s hypocrisy made the cake Rose had just eaten churn uneasily in her stomach.

Feeling the weight of her stare, Father Gregor looked her way. And when he spied Rose, his face tightened.

Glancing away from him, Rose took another sip of caudle. Hopefully, the priest would leave the Beltaine Fire soon enough and allow the villagers to enjoy the evening without his judgment.

Laughter reached her then, and she turned to watch the dancers. They moved in time to the slow, steady beat of the drums.

The bailiff, Kyle MacAlister, was among them. To Rose’s surprise, he was dancing with Eara. Her friend’s long tawny hair flew behind her as he swung her around, and she was smiling.

The sight took Rose aback. After her oppressive marriage, Eara was wary of men. However, this evening, she appeared almost carefree.

Rose’s attention shifted to Kyle. The fire caught the golden strands in his brown hair. He wore his beard cropped short, outlining his strong jaw. The man was attractive. Unfortunately, Rose’s dealings with him of late hadn’t been pleasant, although that wasn’t entirely his fault.

Shifting her attention back to Bonnie and Davina, Rose was surprised to find the two women watching her eagerly. She’d thought they too were observing the revelry, yet it was as if they were expecting her to elaborate.

Shyness stole over her, and she cleared her throat. As kind as they were, she didn’t know either of them well.

“It’s lovely weather we’ve been having,” she murmured, searching desperately for something to say. She then kicked herself. Couldn’t she have found a more interesting topic than the weather?

Nonetheless, neither woman seemed to mind.

“Finally,” Davina replied with a sigh. “The garden I’ve been trying to establish around our broch can have a chance to dry out. At present, it looks like a bog.”

“Where have ye moved to?” Rose asked. She’d heard Bonnie mention Lennox and Davina’s new home earlier but didn’t know any more about it.

“The laird gifted Lennox a parcel of land to the west, along the shores of Loch Lussa,” Davina replied. “We have but a small broch, but it’s lovely. It’s a wrench to leave it.”

“Aye, well, I’m glad ye did,” Bonnie replied. “Dun Ugadale doesn’t feel quite right with ye and Lennox now gone.”

“Ye’ll get used to it in time.” Davina flashed her sister-by-marriage a smile then. “And ye’ll have a special visitor here soon enough too.”

Rose inclined her head. “A special visitor?”

“Aye,” Davina answered, her smile widening. “Bonnie made a new friend last summer and can’t stop talking about her. I was starting to feel a mite jealous.”

Bonnie snorted. “When ye meet Greer Forbes, ye shall understand why I go on about her so.” She paused then, excitement dancing in her blue eyes.

“I received a letter from her a few days ago confirming she will be arriving at Dun Ugadale during the first week of June. She’ll be staying for a while.

” She glanced back at Rose. “We met at Castle Varrich, and we were inseparable after the first day. Greer is the daughter of the Forbes’ clan-chief, yet she has no airs about her.

She has such a sunny manner, it’s impossible not to like her.

” Bonnie paused then, her expression sobering a little.

“It’ll be good for Greer to get away for the summer … she feels stifled at home at times.”

“Well, I do look forward to meeting her,” Davina replied.

Rose wished she could meet her too, although it seemed presumptuous to say so, for she wouldn’t have much in common with a clan-chief’s daughter.

Her silence must have indicated as such, for Bonnie turned her attention to Rose once more. “Ye shall be introduced to her too, Rose.”

Rose favored her with an embarrassed smile. She knew that Bonnie wasn’t like other ladies, for, before wedding Iver Mackay, she’d been a chambermaid at Stirling Castle. As such, she cared little for social boundaries.

But Bonnie’s gaze didn’t waver. “I’m giving out alms to the poor the day after tomorrow, would ye join me?”

The offer took Rose aback, and she stared at Lady Mackay in surprise for a moment. Warmth filtered over her then. Eara was right—maybe it was time she started spending more time in the village again. The MacDonalds couldn’t go on hating her forever. Smiling, she replied, “Aye.”

“Sorry to interrupt ye all.” A familiar voice intruded then, and Rose turned to find Kerr standing behind them. He’d folded his arms across his chest, yet his sea-blue eyes twinkled with amusement. “But I fear if I don’t, I won’t see Rose again this evening.”

Both Bonnie and Davina laughed at this, while Kerr met Rose’s eye. “May I steal ye away for a dance?”

She smiled back, warmth curling in her belly, and handed Davina her half-finished cup of caudle. “Of course.”