Cassian (The Immortal Highland Centurions #2) - Jayne Castel Page 0,24

should ‘The Battle Hammer’ come their way.

Cassian frowned. Despite his precautions, he really didn’t want to be away from Dunnottar.

Pushing aside his misgivings, he urged his courser into a brisk canter. Beside him, the banner-men did the same, and suddenly the ground trembled as the party of twenty warriors and their charges joined them.

As always, being on horseback made Cassian feel better; it calmed the urgency within him. The feel of the powerful horse under him—the beast’s strength as it lengthened its stride, its black mane rippling in the wind—made him feel connected to the world and everything in it. No matter how many years passed, his love of horses and the joy of galloping across wind-swept hills had never dimmed.

Of late, as much as he enjoyed living at Dunnottar, those great stone walls had started to feel like a cage. It was good to have Maximus and Draco, his blood brothers, nearby once again—but the tense wait while the Broom-star traveled across the sky, the English marched north, and De Keith’s war-mongering neighbor readied his ‘Battle Hammer’ put Cassian on edge.

It felt good to take action of some kind.

The events of last night’s Beltaine banquet had also made him uneasy.

The look on Aila De Keith’s face when he’d come to her aid with her palfrey this morning had only added to his tension. She was usually so shy, barely able to catch his eye, but she’d actually batted her eyelashes at him.

Poor lass.

Nonetheless, he had to admit she’d looked comely standing there in the midst of his warriors, wrestling with that ill-tempered dun beast of hers. Aila had exchanged the becoming surcoat for a more practical blue kirtle and woolen cloak. She’d braided her long brown hair into a thick plait that hung over one shoulder. The morning light highlighted the strands of gold in it, as well as the milky softness of her skin. Like Heather, she had a round face, although her features were more delicate, and she had her father’s smoke-grey eyes.

Her lips had parted as she gazed up at him, and for a moment, Cassian had found himself wondering what she’d be like to kiss.

He’d then caught himself.

He knew Maximus had visited a brothel in the past whenever the urge to bed a woman overwhelmed him. But brothels held little appeal to Cassian these days. There was something about such places that depressed him.

Maybe I should visit a brothel in Stirling anyway, he thought idly.

Cassian’s lips flattened, and he let his courser have its head as it thundered onward, kicking up sods of dirt and grass behind it. He needed a woman, but Draco’s suggestion that he should satiate himself with Aila was crude and callous.

She was no longer a lass, and had to be in her early twenties at least. But her family had sheltered her, and thus there was a girlishness and innocence to her that made him inwardly cringe.

The wrong man could ruin a woman like that.

“Yer mount is in high spirits today,” Lady Gavina commented, casting Aila a concerned look over her shoulder. “Can ye manage her?”

Aila cast her mistress a tight smile. It was an effort to keep Dusty in line behind the ladies and Jean. The other women rode quiet mounts, and Aila envied them. They could just enjoy the journey without fighting their horses all the way. Dusty kept tossing her head, champing at the bit, and even tried to dislodge Aila with a buck or two.

“Aye … she’ll calm down eventually,” Aila replied. “I don’t know what’s wrong with Dusty this morning. Someone must have given her too many oats last night.”

“Maybe she just needs to stretch her legs,” Elizabeth suggested. “Some horses like to be out front.”

Aila nodded, fighting with Dusty once more when the mare tossed her head and side-stepped. She knew her mount liked to lead. The women rode in the midst of the column, while the laird had urged his courser farther up the line. It was a deliberate snub of his wife, although Lady Gavina didn’t seem to mind.

In fact, her mistress looked in much lighter spirits than usual this morning. Her pale cheeks had a blush to them for once, and her eyes were bright. Like Aila, she was keen to leave the confines of Dunnottar for a few days.

Catching Aila’s eye, Lady Gavina flashed her a smile. “Elizabeth is right. Why don’t ye ride up to the head of the column? I’m sure Captain Gaius won’t mind. Let Dusty run