Quest of the Highlander (Crowns & Kilts #5) - Cynthia Wright Page 0,61

greet the MacLean clansmen.

Out in the cobbled courtyard, the guards had already opened the outer gates, and Nora held her skirts aloft as she rushed down the hillside. A little voice in the back of her head fretted that she should not show Lennox how much she cared, yet it was impossible to stop.

The men were already disembarking by the time she reached the brow of the cliff, where a well-worn path led down to the landing beach. “Lennox!” she exclaimed, immediately spotting his golden head and broad shoulders above the others.

He shaded his eyes against the sun and grinned up at her, calling, “Patience, lass. I’ll be there soon.”

The husky promise in his voice made her stomach flutter.

Some of the servants and other wives were emerging from the castle and surrounding croft houses, chattering among themselves. Nora didn’t want to socialize with them. She didn’t want anything to get in the way of her reunion with Lennox, so to pass the time, she picked wildflowers and began to weave them into a wreath.

She chose red campion, purple thrift, and a few delicate bluebells, interspersing the vivid yellow of ladies’ bedstraw among the blossoms. By the time the MacLeod clansmen started up the path, Nora had set the bright wildflower wreath atop her head and stood waiting, off to one side.

The men who marched past were grimy and sunburned, but when Lennox appeared, Nora thought he had never looked more splendid.

“Hello!” she called.

“Have ye come to greet me? I am honored,” He cupped her cheek with his strong hand, and the simple motion caused pleasure to blossom in her very core.

“We have all been worried,” she said. “What has kept all of you away for so long?”

Lennox caught her hand and led her behind a grove of larch trees. “It’s been terrible. The ship, a Dutch brigantine, was crushed, first broken against the rocks during the storm, then further destroyed when it surged into a deep notch between the cliffs.” A shadow crossed his face. “It took days to recover all the bodies, and even then I do not think we were completely successful. Finally, the MacLean himself fell ill. We were forced to take shelter at Torloisk, another MacLean castle nearby, until Hector recovered his health.” He shook his head, and the sun struck sparks on his gilded hair. “’Twas not a place I would ask even Chaucer to sleep.”

Nora wanted to tell him how worried she’d been, how filled with joy and relief she was to see him safely returned, but she suddenly felt shy. Would she seem like all the other besotted lasses he must have known? “It is so good to see all of you returned home,” Nora said instead.

“Look at ye, wearing a crown,” he teased lightly.

She put her hand up to the flowers, helpless to stop her face from growing warm. “I prefer these to jewels.”

“Ah, Nora, ye have never been more beautiful.” He traced the line of her cheekbone with his thumb. “Are ye blushing because ye care?”

He was gazing so tenderly into her eyes that she blurted out the truth. “I do.”

“So do I, lass.” Lennox lifted her up in his arms and covered her mouth with his. It was a kiss that ignited a flame of desire between them, yet it had an even deeper effect on Nora, as if he were speaking to her with his body. When at length Lennox raised his head, he murmured, “Let’s go inside, shall we? I want to see what ye have done with the tapestry, and I am in sore need of a bath, if such a thing exists in that drafty old castle.”

It almost felt as if they were truly a happily married couple as they walked arm-in-arm up the sloping green hillside to Duart Castle. Inside, they found Lord Fairhaven drinking a tankard of ale while talking with Cicely, and Hector Mór was already seated near the fire, propping his feet up on a stool.

“It seems I’m not a lad any longer,” the clan chief complained good naturedly, while Fergus limped over to join him. “Where is my whisky, Tilly?”

“You must be hungry,” Nora said to Lennox.

“For food?” His smile held a wicked gleam, and her face grew warmer. “It is the least of my needs today.”

The boards were being laid, and platters of cold meat, cheeses, and oatcakes were carried into the hall. Lennox snatched an oatcake and a wedge of cheese before guiding Nora into the corridor that led