of the keep. They walked among his clansmen as though they belonged, many calling out greetings to them. It did not seem to matter which twin was which. In two weeks time they both had earned the respect of his people, and they both answered to either name.
Would it really matter which twin he wed? His answer had been confirmed in a short time. He had found he enjoyed the sharp-tongued twin and the way she sparred with him. When the soft-natured twin surfaced, he lost interest. So he had a dilemma on his hands. He wanted to be sure he wed Fiona.
He grinned when a puppy came running to attack one twin’s skirt. She scooped him up, hugged him to her cheek, and kissed his brown furry face before placing him on the ground and giving his fat little rump a pat and a shove toward a group of children.
They continued walking side by side chatting the whole time, though taking time to acknowledge those who called out to them. The twins were close and that very closeness was the reason he had insisted they be parted. He wanted no competition for his wife’s attention to her duties.
He, her husband and their children, would be her priority. He needed no interference, and having watched Fiona and Aliss it was obvious they were inseparable. How he would finally separate them he was not sure, though he could see about wedding Aliss to someone, preferably a distance away.
He would mention nothing of it until all was settled, since he knew Fiona would not be the only one to protest. His clansmen had begun to seek Aliss’s healing skills, and pleased they were with the results. He would worry about it later. First he needed to determine which one was Fiona.
Kirk joined him. “They look as one.”
“I know. I can find no difference between them; they play their roles well.”
“They should; they are twins.” Kirk laughed.
“I need no reminding; they tempt my sanity.”
“Everyone seems fine with them,” Kirk said.
“Because they do not care which twin is which!”
“They simply accept them.”
“What are you implying, Kirk?” Tarr asked.
“I know not who helped my Erin, but it matters not to me for she was tended for several days with a generous and loving heart, and my wife has improved much.”
“What you say is that it matters not which twin I wed.”
“Your stubbornness has you resisting. You picked Fiona so you want Fiona. Pick one and wed her and be done with it.”
“They are different,” Tarr insisted.
“How?” Kirk asked, and looked to the twins. “Their walk is identical, their laughter is identical, and their speech is identical.”
“They are different,” Tarr repeated. “I know it and I will prove it.”
“To whom; it matters to no one.”
“It matters to me.” Tarr marched off, leaving Kirk shaking his head.
Tarr approached the twins and before he could say a word one spoke.
“I’ll go see to Raynor; you tend to Tarr.” One twin hurried off and disappeared into the keep.
“You remain apart more then together when around me. Do you fear me discovering the difference between you?” he asked, and watched for the familiar sparkle that shined in her green eyes when he confronted her.
There it was, like the sun reflecting off a shimmering emerald; he smiled.
“Do I entertain you?”
He held his tongue and took control of his smile.
She leaned into him, her shoulder nudging his. “I know what you think, but I wonder if you can satisfy my lusty thirst.”
His eyes rounded.
“Do not look at me with an accusatory glare. I have known no man intimately, but I am not ignorant of sex. I do not fear it and—” she lowered her voice—“I pray the man I love has much stamina, for sex is something I intend to master.”
Damn, if she did not set his loins to fire.
“Be careful or you will have lessons before you are wed.”
She grinned. “The lessons will be my choice.”
He stared at her swaying backside as she sauntered off.
“I am healed,” Raynor said after Aliss examined his head wound.
“That does not sound like a question.”
“I know I have healed. I walk the room without growing dizzy.”
Aliss watched him puff his chest in pride, an impressive chest fraught with muscles. He was a fine-looking man. Women probably would find his mixed Scottish and Viking features handsome, and his strange accent lyrical. She, however, thought of him only as an ill man needing tending.