“Are ye certain, brother? Ye havena known her verra long. ’Tis no small decision to decide to leave the home that ye have known for so long.”
Hew moved about the cottage nervously. He knew it was a rash decision, but nothing had felt so right to him in a good many years. He loved the lass greatly, and he would tell her so tonight. “Aye, Mary, I am certain. There is naught left for me at home, and there hasna been since the day Mae left me. ’Twas foolish of me to stay there so many years after her death. It pains me to think on all the joy I have missed because I was too frightened no to be alone. I wasted much time.”
His sister reached out and lay a comforting hand on his arm. “Nay, brother, ye dinna waste time. Things happen as they are meant to. If ye truly feel the way ye seem to about Adelle, then I doona believe ye were meant to leave yer home until now. If ye had, it wouldna have been her that ye found.”
Mary’s words comforted him. It was a kind way of thinking of all the mistakes he had made. Regardless, he was thankful that he had met the lass now. “Aye, Mary. I canna imagine no knowing the lass now. If I agree to work here at the castle, do ye think that Eoin and Arran shall agree to let me make this cottage me home?”
He smiled as Mary laughed. He should’ve expected such an answer from his fiery sister. “There is no need for ye to ask either of them. Ye are welcome to stay here because I say so and that’s all the permission ye need. Both of the laddies know it and have since they were wee bairns. ’Tis I that am truly laird over Conall Castle.”
“I believe ye are right, Mary. They all seem to bow at yer feet, regardless of the hard time ye seem to love to give them. Now, allow me to walk ye back to the castle, Lady Laird. I have much to think on. It will take me some time to think of just the right way to say what I must.”
Chapter 18
“What in the bloody hell is the matter with ye, Adelle? Take that covering off the top of yer head.”
I knew I looked ridiculous, like a cheap Halloween costume with the gauzy fabric over my head, but there was no way I was taking it off. I was a vain woman, and I wasn’t afraid to admit it. Whatever he had to say to me, he could say it to me as I was or not at all. “No, I will do no such thing.”
I stepped into the cottage past him, setting the growing Bratach on the floor as he went and joined Tearlach in their usual game of ‘whose the toughest brother?’
He shut the door to the cottage and walked around to face me, frustration clear on his face. “Ye look ridiculous, lass. I wish to tell ye something important, and I doona wish to address ye covered like a wee ghost.”
I glanced up at him, only barely making him out through the small holes in the fabric, but it allowed me to see his perfectly perfect face. I spoke a little more loudly than necessary. “How is your face not red as a beet? You were out in the same snow and under the same sun that I was in yesterday, and there is no sign of it anywhere on you!”
He laughed, understanding. “Ach, I see. Did the sun blister yer skin a bit, lass? I should have insisted that ye cover it, but I dinna think of it. I spend much of me days outdoors. I suppose it has grown accustomed to such sunlight.”
“Well how wonderful for you. Let’s eat.” It wasn’t only the way my face looked that put me in a sour mood, but the pain from it felt something awful. I’d never been burned so badly in my entire life.
“It shall be mighty hard for ye to eat properly with that covering ye. Just take it off, Adelle. Do ye really think that I’m so concerned with the way yer face looks?”
I nodded emphatically. “Of course you are. All men are.”
He rolled his eyes, sat down at the table, and started eating immediately, not waiting for me to join him. He responded in between mouthfuls. “Suit yerself. Eat if ye wish. If ye truly believe that, Adelle, ye havena been around the right kind of men. I like yer face verra well, but ’tis no me favorite part of ye.”
“Oh, fine. So you’re a boob guy, I suppose? Maybe you prefer the ‘arse?’” I mimicked his brogue, not sure why I felt the need to provoke him so.
“Yer ‘boobs,’” the word sounded strange on his tongue, “and yer ‘arse’ are no so impressive, lass. ’Tis yer mouth that I enjoy verra much.”
My brows met in the middle of my eyes underneath the veil. “My mouth? My lips are quite thin. You have strange tastes.”
He stood and I thought perhaps I had pushed him too far.
“Aye? And ye are a bloody fool, Adelle. I dinna mean yer lips. I mean the shocking words that ye always seem to form with them. I have never known a lass so forward.”
I looked down, embarrassed. “Yes. I know. That’s always been a problem. It’s a bit of a turn off, isn’t it?”