Tormod Kinnaird left the clan gathering more determined than ever to find a way to take over as laird. In his mind, it was his by right anyway. He was the eldest son of Ramsay Kinnaird’s younger brother, but a bastard son, and therefore unrecognized by all but his mother and sister as a true Kinnaird.
The same meeting had been held every night since the death of his uncle, and everyone grew restless as little progress had been made in determining the best way to declare a new laird. Many members of the clan wished to return home and wait to declare a new leader until a way was agreed upon, but the majority of people knew this would leave them without a clear leader for protection and would make them look weak in the eyes of neighboring clans—a sure way to invite further conflict and violence.
The only decision that they’d all agreed upon was that Edana would not be placed out of her home, which left him to assume that whomever became laird would marry Edana. Only a few men remained unmarried within the clan and, although he didn’t know for sure if Edana would be given any choice in who she married, he intended to make sure her first choice would be him.
Though improper for him to be in the castle’s main bedchamber hallway at this time of evening, with Eoin Conall away and his drunk of a brother left to manage things, Tormod was almost certain he would be able to sneak into Edana’s room unnoticed.
He had seen Edana enter the room at the end of the hallway enough times during their stay here to know that was where she roomed. He stood in front of the door unsure whether to knock or to try the handle. Footsteps down the hallway caught his attention. Humming accompanied each step, and he knew it was the castle’s head maid, Mary, he believed her name was. If she saw him, it was unlikely that she would say anything and, even if she did, who was likely to take the word of such a lowly servant?
Deciding he didn’t want to alarm her, it was best that the maid not see his true character right away. He knocked softly, hoping that Edana hadn’t already retired for the evening.
She answered quickly, and he found himself unsure of how best to explain his unexpected arrival at her door. “Edana, how are ye this evening? I was passing by yer door and thought I would check in on ye.”
He watched as her beady green eyes and pale blonde hair peered back at him, questioning without saying a word as to why he was there. She was shy, or at least she did a fine job of feigning shyness. He’d been around her enough, studied her enough to see how she behaved when she believed no one was watching, to know that the girl had far more fire and bite than she let on.
While many people who possessed the same fiery spirit were fueled by their immense passion for life, he recognized that Edana’s fire came from a different source. Her fire raged out of an underlying malice for everything and everyone around her, something that she’d inherited from her father, no doubt. He knew she did her best to hide it, but he held the same feelings of malice for all those around him, and he could see it in her eyes even now as she looked back at him.
He smiled and glanced quickly to either side before speaking again. “May I come in? I doona wish to be seen outside your chamber this late in the evening.”
Edana looked down at her feet and silently stepped away from the door, allowing Tormod entry into the room.
“What are ye doing here, Tormod? Ye shouldna be in this part of the castle.” She spoke with her back toward him as she walked away leaving him to stand just inside the doorway as she took a seat near the hearth.
Slowly, he moved to the seat across from her. When she didn’t protest, he sat down by her side. “I wanted to see ye. I always want to see ye, but I’ve only just gathered the courage to do so.”
“What? Why, I’ve never seen ye so much as look at me before.” Her voice came out high and squeaky.
Tormod recognized that this was not part of her fa?ade. She was genuinely surprised to hear his explanation. His confidence growing, he scooted in closer, reaching over to grasp her hand. “Aye. I’ve looked at ye many times before, lass, and I see ye now as well.” He rubbed his thumb gently back and forth across the top of her hand until she moved away from his reach, standing as she pushed her hair from her face and opened the door so that he would leave.
“Ye canna mean it. I doona wish to be toyed with. ’Tis no enough that I just lost me father, and now I’ve been forced to live in the home of the very people who took him from me? Do ye wish to tease me as well? I willna allow it. Now, leave.” She pointed toward the opening in the door and, as Tormod stood, he realized he’d just learned all he needed to know about the lass.