Quest of the Highlander (Crowns & Kilts #5) - Cynthia Wright Page 0,50

in search of better light. He sighed and shook his head. “I was but a boy. Noblemen and Highland chiefs gathered here often. We were a stopping place on every sea route, it seemed. After a time, they all look the same.”

Tears pricked Nora’s eyes as she felt Lennox’s deep frustration. Where could he turn next if this long journey became yet another blind alley?

“There must be someone here who remembers,” he said. “An older clansman? An aging servant?”

“Ye must stay the night.” Hector rubbed his bearded jaw. “I will sleep on it. Perhaps something will come to me. In any case, ye cannot return to Oban in this storm.”

“We wouldn’t want to impose on your hospitality,” said Nora.

He laughed and shook his head at her. “Lass, ye are now in the Highlands. My Mary liked to say we have raised the practice of hospitality to an art form!”

Lennox caught her hand, squeezing it. “We are grateful for your generosity,” he said.

“It is fortunate that ye two are wed, for there is but one chamber. The only other one fit for guests is already prepared for Robin and Cicely.” There was a twinkle in his eye, as if he somehow guessed the truth of their arrangement.

“Aye,” Lennox said firmly. “We are indeed wed.”

Chapter 14

When the time came for them to retire for the night, Hector Mór led the way up an exceptionally precarious circular staircase. His candle flame wavered eerily in the gloom, and once Nora lost her footing on a broken stone step. She cried out in surprise, but Lennox caught her and held her close until she regained her balance.

When they reached the top step and emerged into a stone corridor, Hector stopped in front of a heavy door. Pushing it open, he bent his head to enter, gesturing for them to follow. Candles were newly lit, and a peat fire burned low in the brazier, sending its welcome glow into the drafty bedchamber.

“If ye should need anything at all, just call for me.” Pointing across the corridor, Hector added, “My own chamber is there, just steps away.”

“You have been very kind,” Nora told him.

“Aye,” Lennox interjected. Stepping behind her, he patted her hip. “And now we must bid ye goodnight.”

He felt a strong urge to demonstrate to the older man that the beautiful Nora belonged to him, but the reasons for this were a mystery to Lennox. He’d always had his pick of lasses, and though he was a kind and thoughtful lover, he’d been careful not to become entangled, usually departing on a journey when a moment of truth was at hand. Certainly none of them had kept his heart knotted up like Nora Brodie.

No sooner had the door closed behind their host than Nora turned to face Lennox. “What ails you?”

Although he wished he knew the answer to that question himself, he feigned surprise. “What do ye mean?”

“You are behaving like an overbearing…” Her voice trailed off, and she glanced away.

“Husband?” he supplied coolly. “I thought that the arrangement was one ye begged me to undertake.”

“But we both know it isn’t real.”

“Is it not? We were bound in a ceremony that seemed to satisfy even your own da.” They were standing so close together Lennox could smell meadow grass and the sea breeze in Nora’s hair. Her breasts were rising and falling as if she’d run up the steps, and he realized it was because of his effect on her.

“But it’s not like that!” Color rose in her cheeks, heightened by the firelight.

“Most would say that what we did under the stars a few nights ago seals this as a true marriage,” Lennox countered.

Nora did not take the bait. She stepped back, allowing the chilly air to waft between them. “Do not pretend to misunderstand me, sir. You act the devoted husband in front of our host, yet you know full well that we are not bound to one another in that way.”

For reasons he didn’t understand, her words pricked him. “Do not tell me ye didn’t see the gleam in Hector’s eyes! He would want ye for himself if I did not assert my claim.” Even as he spoke, Lennox realized how absurd he sounded.

“Your claim?” Nora echoed hotly, turning away to open the satchel Lennox had placed on a bench near the fire. “I see it all quite differently. It’s obvious that he is lonely, poor man, missing his dead wife. He doubtless longs for someone else to share his life in this