Page 27 of It Began With A Kiss
She pulled back to look into his eyes. There did not appear to be any falsehood hiding within his features. Iona smiled and pulled on his jerkin, so he took another step closer. “I, too, have come tae care for ye, Aiden. Aye, I will marry ye. Now, kiss me and let us continue where we left off but moments before.”
His kiss was short, and he chuckled when he saw her visage, which undoubtedly showed her disappointment. “Since you doubted my intentions, my dear, I think we shall wait to consummate our relationship until we are wed.”
“But we do not have tae wait,” she protested, thinking how much she wanted to share every part of her body with the knight in front of her.
“Aye, we do. Never let it be said I took unfair advantage over a lady… especially one whom I plan to make my bride. Now, come… let us return to the castle. We can find your son and tell him our good news.”
She had no choice but to return to her horse and once Aiden saw that she was settled in the saddle, they began to make their way back up the strand. The day that had started out in uncertainty of where their relationship was going had turned into a proposal of marriage. Aiden had not as yet declared his love, although neither had Iona, but she was sure that, too, would come in time.
CHAPTER20
Aiden closed the latch on the stable door, gave his horse a pat on his muzzle, and saw that Gregor was attempting to do the same in the next stall. The pony Aiden had picked out for the lad had a mind of its own, however, and apparently knew Gregor had an apple hidden in his clothes. The boy’s laughter rang out and he pulled from his tunic the fruit the horse had been begging for. One would have thought the young steed was a dog.
Aiden chuckled and came to the boy, pushed the pony back into the stall and put the bolt into place. “You did well in your lessons today, Gregor,” he said, putting his arm around the lad’s shoulders. “You will be a fine knight one day.”
The boy looked up at him with hopeful eyes. “Do ye think so, my laird?” Gregor asked.
“Aye. The finest knight and mayhap a champion for our king,” Aiden replied with a smile of encouragement.
“Which one?”
Aiden’s world tilted with such a question. That was the conundrum surrounding Aiden’s life now. He was completely torn in his duty to King Henry and his Scottish roots from his father’s side of the family. How would his parents feel about the situation he had placed himself in if they yet lived? Certainly, one of them would be disappointed, given one had been English and the other a Scot. As each day passed into the next, Aiden was beginning to think that serving an English king would grant him nothing and mayhap he would be better off if he switched sides to serve King William.
“My laird?”
Lost in thought, he continued to mull over his predicament. Either side would consider Aiden a traitor. If he chose to side with Scotland, he would be hard pressed to ever set foot on English soil again. His thoughts wandered to his ancestral home of Berwyck Castle where his sister and husband resided. Resting on the border of both countries, the castle had been fought over by both sides over the centuries.
Berwyck was now claimed by England after the siege of 1174. Amiria was lucky to have fallen in love with King Henry’s champion knight and still made it her home. Aye, Aiden had been bitter at first after losing his birthright. ’Twas the reason he had spent many a year in his attempts to make a name for himself and find a place to call home. He had come to a common accord with Dristan, Amiria’s husband. After all, his sister was happily married and now had children of her own to raise. But if Aiden were to start a life with Iona and build his family with her in service to the King of Scotland, how could he ever endanger them or his sister by visiting Berwyck again? The thought of never seeing his sister, or Berwyck for that matter, caused his head to ache.
“My laird… which king?” Gregor asked, tugging on the sleeve of Aiden’s tunic.
Turning his thoughts away from a problem that became more complicated by the minute, he looked down upon the young boy. Gregor was of an impressionable age and Aiden did not wish to thrust his own problems on the boy.
He ruffled Gregor’s hair. “’Twould be your choice, Gregor, of which king you would serve.”
“Ye would let me choose, my laird?”
Aiden nodded. “’Twould be your decision,” he repeated. They left the stable and Aiden shielded his eyes from the brightness of the sun. Gregor skipped ahead but then turned back to stare upon him.
“Ye were wise tae choose my mother for yer wife, my laird. Ye best be good tae her or ye shall answer to me,” he warned, and his serious expression had Aiden holding back his amusement.
“I would expect no less from the man of the family,” Aiden replied with his own sober look. He had no intention of ever hurting Iona or the young lad who smiled at Aiden’s words. “Perchance with time you will call me by my given name.”
Gregor’s widened his eyes and he moved to stand before Aiden whilst continuing his assessment. “Huh. I thought for certain ye would make me call yefatherorpapa,” he said, quietly. Clearly the boy was stunned but also there was a hint of loss shimmering in his eyes.
Aiden knelt down to be on the boy’s own level. He took hold of one of Gregor’s hands. “I can never, nor would I ever, attempt to replace your sire, Gregor. But mayhap, in time, you will begin to think of me as another father who shall raise you after your mother and I wed.”
Gregor began walking backwards, a smug smile lighting his features as if only he was privy to some private joke. “We shall see… Aiden.”
The boy’s laughter rang out in the courtyard whilst Aiden stood watching the boy leave. He supposed he should take Gregor’s words as a step in the right direction, since the lad departed calling Aiden by his given name.
Glaring at the sun, Aiden guessed he had time to peruse the documents that Seumas had left in his solar before heading to the training field. He stretched his arms over his head, knowing he needed to strengthen his sword arm and see that his men were fully trained. The keep loomed ahead, and he momentarily pondered where Iona was and what she was doing. He smiled as he took the stairs in the turret two at a time until he reached the floor housing the Ferguson family. He frowned, seeing Thora coming out from Iona’s bedchamber with a pitcher in her hand.
Iona’s suspicions filled his mind. “What are you doing here, Thora?” he shouted, coming to stand before the startled girl.
Her hands shook and the pitcher began to tumble toward the floor. Aiden caught it and frowned as red wine sloshed from the rim onto his clothes.
“One of the girls fell ill, my laird, and I offered tae fill in for her tae help with the cleaning,” she replied, backing up from him.
