Page 27 of In Love With the Wrong Highland Sister
“Like giving birth, you mean?” Gavin suggested, pretending to be clueless. “Are men completely incapable of it?” He held up his hands for inspection. “Ten fingers and two thumbs. Exactly the same as yours.”
“No,” Eloisa replied, giggling. “It is just not very…manly.”
Gavin sighed and stood up, then leaned down to take Eloisa’s hand and rub it against his face.
“Very bristly,” she remarked.
Then he flexed his arm and invited her to grip it. She did so, and her eyes widened. “Very muscular. I am impressed,” she confessed.
“Is that enough evidence, or do you need more?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows comically.
Eloisa stared at him, then blushed a bright pink as she realized his meaning. “Er, n-no, I think that is enough!” she stammered.
Gavin grinned. He had absolutely no interest in learning to knit either, but it gave him a chance to be close to Eloisa, touch her, study her, and make her feel good. Hopefully he would soon be able to show her his own talents, too, like his woodcarving and sketching. Maybe then he could impress her the way he wanted to.
Laria felt sad as she gazed at them. They were quite simply loving each other’s company. Gavin had quite deliberately entangled himself in the wool, and as Eloisa was attempting to untangle him, he was tickling her ribs. Eloisa was not very successful in trying to hold back her laughter and concentrate on the task.
They are like a pair of children,Laria thought enviously. She sighed and reached for the glass of ale she had left on the table, but as she turned, she caught James’s eyes. He was staring at her quite openly, and his blue gaze was so intense that it made her shiver. She stood and quickly left the room. Tomorrow they would have reached their destination, and everything would be resolved; at least, she hoped so.
14
Malcolm Elliott was not quite as tall as his sons, but although shorter in height, he made up for it in his ebullient personality. As soon as he saw his sons, he gave a glad cry and rushed forward to embrace them both at the same time. It was hardly a formal greeting because he was ignoring his fellow laird and his lady, but as a father himself, Laird MacLean understood and smiled widely. He had recovered from his hangover and was once more in fine fettle.
Lady Margaret went over to curtsy to her opposite number, Lady Flora Elliott, who looked so young that she could have been the boys’ older sister. She had their dark hair and bright blue eyes and was almost as tall as her husband.
“Lady Margaret,” Lady Flora said, smiling happily. “I have heard so much about your beautiful daughters, and now I see that the reports have not been exaggerated. They truly are lovely young women.”
“Thank you,” Margaret replied. “And your sons, such handsome young men!”
“Forgive me, milady,” said Laird Elliott. “I should not have neglected you. Malcolm Elliot at your service.” He bowed and looked up at Lady Margaret with dark brown eyes that twinkled merrily. She was immediately enchanted. “I trust you had a pleasant journey?”
“Indeed we did,” she replied. “Although, as you know, long carriage rides are not for the faint of heart!”
Laird Elliott grimaced. “You never spoke a truer word, milady!”
When Laird Elliott came to speak to Laria and Eloisa, he beamed at them. “Ah! I cannot decide which one of you is prettier,” he said expansively. “Now, which one of you is the lucky—or unlucky—lady who is marrying my James?”
Just then, Laird MacLean stepped in and said anxiously: “There are a few matters we must discuss before we go on. I suggest that James and Gavin show Laria and Eloisa the castle while we talk about them.”
Laird Elliott frowned. “Have you changed your mind?” he asked worriedly.
“Absolutely not!” Laird MacLean laughed. “I have every intention of uniting both our families!”
Laird Elliott looked puzzled but led them away, wondering what was going on. Behind them, a set of brothers and a set of sisters stood watching them, wondering what was going to happen next.
“Would you ladies like to bathe first or see the castle?” James asked.
Eloisa and Laria looked around, then grinned and said in unison: “Castle first, please.”
* * *
The size of Kirkmuir Castle was such that it dwarfed Grainaig Castle, and its defenses were so impressive that Laria gasped when she saw the topmost turret with its fifty or so guards, spears, and arrows at the ready, able to spring into action at a moment’s notice. There were cannons every few feet, which fired heavy iron balls into space as soon as a fuse was lit. Laria shuddered as she thought of the damage it could do. She had often regretted not being born a boy when she saw their wild games, but when she saw weapons like this, she was glad that no one had ever commanded her to go into battle.
As if she had read her thoughts, Eloisa said: “I am so glad I do not have to go to war, Laria. Think of it. All those poor men and horses dying…” She shuddered.
“I would rather not think about it,” Laria said heavily, shaking her head as she passed all the lethal weapons. She had to get out of this place. To distract herself, she looked out over the valley beneath the castle. It stood on the peak of a small mountain and was built into the side of it so that it looked as though the castle was growing out of the hill.
The summer flowers had passed, but their bright colors had been replaced by the glowing hues of the autumn trees so that the hillside below them was a riot of gold, rust, and red, interspersed with the odd patch of bright green grass on which the wooly dots of dozens of sheep grazed. In the distance, the shining brown water of a small loch glistened in the sunshine. Although it was cold, the sky above them was clear and sparkling blue, and Laria could have stood there and looked at the view all day were it not for the cannons, which made her shiver with revulsion.
