Page 41 of The Story of his Highland Bride
“Never mind.” She kissed him again, savoring the slow meeting of their lips.
He smiled into the kiss as he tipped backward onto the bed, bringing her with him. Still enveloped in each other’s arms, they lay there, entangled in one another. It was the best nightof Eloise’s life, and she never wanted it to end. How could she, when she’d had to travel back in time to find a love like this—the kind of love she’d never thought possible?
Sliding off him, she settled into his side, resting her head on his broad chest. He held her close, stroking her hair and pressing little kisses to her forehead, while he stared up at the ceiling, clearly lost in his own thoughts. Eloise gazed out toward the window, doing much the same thing.
That’s when she heard it: a soft thud, coming from beyond the windowpane.
At first, she ignored it, thinking it was just a moth, drawn to the light that spilled out of the glass. But as the thuds grew more insistent, a shape appeared against the pane: a shape she couldn’t ignore.
“A starling,” she whispered, her heart sinking.
Jackson glanced down at her. “Hmm?”
With a shaky hand, she pointed toward the window. “The starlings, my love.” Her breath hitched. “They’ve come for me.”
23
The peace of the morning’s earliest hours was shattered by the beat of those small wings against the window. Jackson would remember that haunting sound for the rest of his life; he was quite certain. The wings were like softly played war drums, eerier because of their gentle call, and they were summoning Eloise to march toward the Cairns before she lost her chance. There would be other chances, perhaps, but waiting was not a risk that could be taken.
“Why now?” she rasped, tightening her hold on Jackson.
“The Old Gods work in cruel and mysterious ways,” he replied stiffly, hating that unyielding sound. “Me grandmaither has always said that.”
Eloise looked up at him, her eyes wide. “Your grandma! Kaitlyn! I won’t have time to say goodbye to any of them.” Her chest heaved with a sob, as the distant church bells chimed oneo’clock. “I have an hour to get to the Cairns before the doorway closes. How long does it take to ride there?”
“Half an hour in fine weather, but there’s still snow on the ground and it’s dark,” he admitted. “We’ll be cuttin’ close to reachin’ that place by two o’clock, once ye’ve gathered the things and Claymore has been saddled.”
Her face fell. “Then, there’s no time?”
“I daenae think so.” He swallowed tightly, wishing for himself and for the others that Eloise cherished that the Old Gods were not quite so unkind with their tricks. Maybe, if the two of them had not lain together, they would have been given more time, but it rather felt like the fates had been waiting for their moment to inflict the most distress.
Why send her, just to snatch her away again?he seethed in silence, though he already knew the answer. The Old Gods were not entirely to blame. If his world was kinder toward women, especially those who were not quite ordinary, they could have waited until Eloise was ready to return. Instead, Father Hepburn and his witch-hunt was forcing their hand. And, despite his insistence, Father Hepburn had nothing to do with any God.
“But… but I… but—” Eloise trailed off, hiding her face against Jackson’s chest for a moment they did not have to spare.
“I ken, Love,” he murmured, as the starlings continued to bump the windowpane, desperate for Eloise’s attention.
Whether the couple liked it or not, in an hour’s time they would be parted, and there was no telling if they would ever be able to see one another again.
Eloise did not say much as Claymore plodded through the melting snow, weaving his sturdy body through the shadowed trees of the woodland that would eventually reveal the Cairns. Jackson did not say much, either, for he had already expressed everything he wished to, and it had changed nothing.
“You’ll tell them all that I was grateful to get to know them?” she finally said, while Claymore passed across the open glade where they had previously encountered wolves. But the horse showed no sign of fear as it pressed on. Wherever those wolves were now, it was nowhere close.
Jackson bent his head to kiss her neck. “I’ll tell them everythin’ ye’ve asked, Love. They’ll all ken what they meant to ye, and I’ll offer yer apologies for leavin’ without a farewell. And, when I’m ready to explain it, I’ll tell them the truth about ye, so they might better understand why ye had to leave this way.”
“Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you for so much more than I could ever tell you. Another day, maybe I will.”
He nodded. “Aye, another day.”
He pulled her flush against him. He had already decided that he would not loosen his grip until the very last minute, when the doorway to her world was closing. Even then, he wondered if there was some part of him that might try to follow her through.
I couldn’ae, though, could I?he considered grimly. He was a Laird; he had an entire clan of people who relied upon him, especially the women who had caught the eye of the priest. Though he longed to be selfish, just once, he knew he could not put the future of so many in jeopardy just to pursue the woman who had captured his heart.
“M'Laird?” a voice called through the trees, snatching Jackson out of his sad reverie.
Three riders loped toward him, with Lennox leading the small group.
“Lennox, what are ye doin’?” Jackson had not demanded an escort. Indeed, he and Eloise had slipped away from the castle discreetly, on purpose, so as not to delay the departure.
