faded into evening before Duncan woke. “Ye are here,” he observed, his voice thick with sleep.
“Yes. I have been to the stables and checked over the new horses with Ross. They all appear fine, and he has them well in hand. I thought to organize the lessons I am scheduled to teach on the morrow. Thank you for the generous gifts.” Anna nuzzled his neck, placing a soft, lush kiss on his lips.
“Who knew the way to a lady’s heart was through her mind?” Duncan replied with a chuckle.
Anna thumped his chest playfully with her fingertips. “This lady’s heart at least.” Her mood changed from playful to mournful in an instant.
“What is it?” His voice was like a silken caress.
She forced back the melancholy and gave Duncan a sad smile. “I was thinking of my father’s library. It resided in an expansive, circular room atop a tower in our home. It was one of my favorite places—a truly magical place with large maps and charts adorning the walls that showed all the places in the world men have traveled. When I was a little girl, I would read about such places, then find them on the map. Many nights, I would dream of traveling to them, and having all sorts of adventures along the way. It is so painful to think it all lost.”
Duncan took her hand. “Grief has an odd way of raising its head when we least expect it. We will devote a room to a new library. In the meantime, we can make a lark of collecting books and maps when we travel. Ye can tell me about these places and show them to me. Tonight, ye can read to me one of these adventurous tales.”
She kissed him again, soft as goose down, but lingered, lightly running her tongue along his bottom lip. When she rose, her smile returned and she handed him a package, a twinkle in her eye.
“What is this?” Duncan asked, shaking the package next to his ear, listening for clues.
“’Tis a gift from one of your sweethearts, I believe,” she replied mischievously.
Duncan frowned. “I only have one sweetheart.”
He unwrapped the rough material and binding. When he saw the tooled belt and sporran, his eyes widened with surprise. He fingered the MacGregor crest etched in the decorative silver and lifted his gaze to hers.
“Anna, how did ye get this made?”
“Do you like it?” Giddiness lightened her heart to have found a gift he obviously liked.
“How can I not like it? How did ye get this carved so quickly? We werenae there long enough to have this done.” His eyes rounded with wonder.
“I paid extra and left my sgian dubh to carve the crest from. Iain fetched it for me the morning we left.”
Anna gave him a brief hug, then settled in the chair next to the bed to discuss her plans for training the men. He had very little input and seemed indifferent about the whole topic. She accounted for his lack of interest to the fact he was in pain and still tired. Seeing the way his eyes hardened and narrowed, she gave him a quick kiss and set about tidying the room, leaving him to drift back to sleep. But she could not dismiss the feeling something bright had gone out of her day.
Chapter 21
Morning came all too quickly. Anna battled her unsteady confidence during the long walk to the training grounds. She carried Trean, his legs too short to keep up with her determined stride. Tavish met her on the way and introduced himself.
“How many are against my being here?”
“It seems to be divided between men who are eager to test what ye know and those who look forward to seeing ye scurry back to the keep.” His hard expression gave away nothing.
“And which group do you find yourself in?”
“I have seen ye fight before, but will withhold judgment until I see how ye do with men I know to be good fighters.”
Nodding her understanding, Anna allowed him to lead to where the others gathered, placing Trean on the ground at her feet. Iain and Malcolm approached and offered polite greetings. Trean eyed them cautiously, but ventured a small wag of his tail in recognition before wandering off to the shade of a nearby tree. Tavish gestured for the men’s attention.
“The laird has assigned a new instructor for the morning sessions until further notice. Ye will give yer full attention and respect.”
A severe glare from Tavish halted the snickers and hard