Page 54 of When a Highlander Vows
In seconds, her face flushed at the way he smiled at her, and she could tell he wanted her to look at him the same way. She noticed that he had the tiniest bit of flour on one ear.
“I thought I would come right away to see ye. Perhaps ye already saw me comin’?” He held a brown package in his hand, and when he looked down at Fallows, he said to the dog, “I would pet ye, Lad, but I’ve got a precious gift in this bag, and none of it is for ye, unless yer mistress says it is so.”
Caitlin patted Fallows again. “Bram,” she said, straightening. “Ye’ve come to the Castle.”
“Aye, as promised.” He handed over the brown package, and it was still warm.
She flushed, hoping he would attribute it to the heat of the fresh bread in her hands. “Thank ye. Ye are very kind. Shall we go inside?”
Bram looked up, squinting into the sun. “Nay. Ye were just comin’ outside, were ye nae? Let us go for a walk. Perhaps someone else can deliver the bread for ye.”
She nodded with a weak smile and handed the bread to a waiting guard. “Could ye have a servant take this to the kitchens, Eamon?”
The young guard smiled at her and hurried off. When she turned to Bram again, he was chuckling, holding his arm out to be grasped.
“I am certain that all the young lads here are desperate to dae yer biddin’, Lass.”
“Hardly,” she said, embarrassed, taking his arm. “I have nay biddin’ to ask others to dae. It is nae the way I was raised.”
“So ye say. Well, I would be happy to dae whatever ye asked of me,” he said, still grinning.
Caitlin found she did not know what to say in the face of such smiles. Considering she also did not know what to say in the face of Lucas’ scowls, she wondered if she just did not know what to say in the presence of men.
But Seamus. I kenned what to say with Seamus, talkin’ sometimes too much.
“Daenae worry yerself, Lad. I willnae ask ye to dae anythin’.”
“Ye already have,” Bram said, pulling on her arm a little as they pulled away from the castle a bit more.
“What dae ye mean?” Caitlin asked, her heart thumping.
While Lucas had the scent of smoke and mist about him, Bram’s was a little earthlier. Bread and sweets were the prevailing smell instead, and it made him seem warm and comforting, even though Caitlin was so nervous.
“The honey bread.”
“I dinnae ask ye to bring that,” she said, horrified, worried that somehow her behavior yesterday had made it seem so to the young man.
“Daenae look so distressed,” he laughed. “I am only teasin’. I brought it of me own accord, since ye enjoyed it so.”
They were silent for a few seconds as they walked around the castle wall. Unable to feel the familiar stone as her guide, Caitlin had to hold tightly to Bram’s arm.
“Ye daenae seem used to teasin’, Lass,” Bram said, a little kindlier.
“Och, well, I had a brother, so I am, I suppose.”
Bram nodded. “All right, then. I am sorry for the loss of yer brother. We heard that was what the feast was for. ‘Tis a terrible thing to lose a brother, I am certain. Me maither worries about it every day, with me own brother so far. It almost feels like he’s lost to us, for I have nae seen him in a long while.
“Aye.” Feeling a little more comfortable, she tightened her grip on him. “But the Laird has been kind to me here, givin’ me a home and a place to live out me days.”
“My, that sounds a bit ominous, as if ye are ready to die already.” He laughed. “Ye are still young yet, Lass.”
“Aye, I just mean—” she paused.
Would she tell him about her handicap? About the way her life had been ordained because of her eyesight?
She paused. “Just that I daenae ken what me life holds from this moment on. It is only the beginnin’.” She smiled at him, hoping to dispel any suspicion that she had other things to say.
“Aye, so it is.” He smiled, and they walked on, enjoying the morning weather before it would turn to rain later in the afternoon.
