“I confess that I did take note of it when I first met ye, but ’twas only after Mary told me yer story about where and when ye came from that I understood. So doona worry, lass, I willna judge the way ye speak. I’m no so good at speaking with others meself.”
Surprised by his words, I smiled before speaking. Mary hadn’t lied. Her brother was a kind man. “How is it that you seem to have believed what Mary told you so easily? It is hard for even those of us who have experienced Morna’s magic to accept it.”
“Ach, ye have found yer voice. I am glad for it.” He smiled slightly.
If I’d been standing, I expect my knees would have grown weak at the beauty of it.
“I knew Morna when I was a child, and I grew up hearing stories of her powers. I know me sister well enough to know that she wouldna lie to me about such a matter. Besides, life is such that many things happen that we canna explain how or why they do. It must have been quite a change for ye to come here, aye?”
Our food was now gone, and I knew I would be expected to take my leave soon. “Yes, it was, but one I welcomed. With my daughter being here, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be, and I love it here very much.” I stood, pushing my chair in before walking to the door. “Why don’t I help you carry these things in then I’ll leave you be for the evening.”
The same unreadable look that had crossed his face earlier resurfaced, and I was afraid I’d somehow upset him. He cast his palm out in the direction of the empty room. “Are ye no going to stay and help me? It seems ye have brought enough to decorate an entire village, and I havena celebrated the holiday since I was a small child. I’m afraid I shallna know what to do with all of it on me own.”
I beamed and stepped out into the darkness so he wouldn’t see my reddened face. “Yes, I would love to.”
For someone that didn’t like the company of others, he seemed to be in no hurry to rid himself of mine.
*
The lass must still carry Morna’s magic with her for her to have such an effect on him. He’d been surprised by her slim presence at the door but was pleased to see her, blonde hair blowing wildly in the breeze, as she quickly sent Arran away. She wanted to be alone with him. While he wasn’t sure why, the thought made something deep within him warm for the first time in ages.
At first, Adelle had seemed more nervous even than he felt, and it somehow helped to calm his nerves in the beauty’s presence. In fact, he felt very much himself with her and talked as freely as he did with anyone.
The lass’ shyness had not lasted long. After he’d asked her to stay and help him with the decorations, she’d talked with him at length, telling him grand stories of all that had happened at Conall Castle within the last months. Hew found himself for the first time wishing he had not stayed away from his homeland for so long.
When all that Adelle had brought him was set just as the lass would have it, he walked her back to the castle, his heart more sad than he would allow himself to admit that their evening together had come to an end.
“Thank you for allowing me to interrupt your evening. I hope I wasn’t too much of a bother.”
The lass was mad if she was unable to see how much he had enjoyed her company, but he suspected his feelings that he always kept locked deep away within him did not show clearly on his face as he sometimes wished they would.
He stared directly into her green eyes, so vibrant and alive that he couldn’t help but realize how little he’d allowed himself to truly live for far too many years. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, her pale face pink from standing out the cold. He wanted to do nothing more than warm them with the touch of his lips.
“Nay, lass, ye were no a bother at all. I had a wonderful time.”
Mustering all the courage he had left in him for the evening, he quickly leaned in to kiss her on her cheek. Turning before she could see his reaction, he marched back into the darkness, his heart beating faster than it had in decades.
Chapter 11
I left my bedchamber early the next morning to join everyone in the dining hall for breakfast, still high on the endorphins that had surged through me at the touch of Hew’s lips on my cheek the night before. I reminded myself repeatedly that it had only been the cheek, but it did nothing to push the giddy flurries away. What would I have done if he’d given me a proper kiss?
Visions of me pouncing him in the middle of the snow, begging him to take me right up against the castle wall flashed through my mind, and I shook my head in disgust. I was going to be a grandmother for goodness sakes.
But honestly, who was I kidding? If I expected that to turn me into a respectable, ‘normal’ woman in her fifties, I was sure to be disappointed. I’d always been a bit young on the inside, immature some would say, and I didn’t have hope that that would change any time soon. I’d given up on it ages before.