Page 59 of The Cruel Highlander's Bride
“Thank ye,” she whispered reverently.
It was more than she could have hoped for when she had first arrived here. Magnus was, without a doubt, her partner in this, standing against his own council, his own people, to protect her. She wanted to show him just how much she appreciated his words, but that required a change of location. A hallway was not sufficient to fully express her gratitude.
He nodded his head in acknowledgement. “Thank me once I ken what has happened.”
“Ye will. I ken ye will,” she reassured him.
Elspeth cleared her throat, and both Ciara and Magnus started, having forgotten entirely that the other two women were standing there.
“What are ye goin’ to do?” Elspeth asked.
The newlyweds stayed silent, looking at each other.
It wasn’t the right time, but Ciara couldn’t help but remember the way Magnus’s eyes had watched her when she’d been spread out on the chaise for him. She gulped again, and he smirked at her, as if he knew exactly where her mind had gone.
“We could travel to the village,” she suggested. “Spend some time there, show everyone that the peace we promised is real and that we truly care about what happens to them.”
Elspeth was nodding, but Magnus looked unsure.
“It’s a good idea,” Elspeth agreed. “Talkin’ to the villagers made a world of difference, and if ye could do that on a larger scale…”
Magnus sighed heavily, tilting his head back and looking up at the ceiling.
Ewan walked out of the council room then and eyed the assembled group.
Magnus turned to him. “Ciara and I will be travelin’ to the village soon. I need ye to join us and help keep her safe,” he grumbled.
“Aye, of course,” Ewan agreed.
“I guess we are headin’ to the village, then. Let’s hope they are ready for their Laird and Lady,” Magnus announced.
23
Just enjoy the mornin’.
Ciara had stayed in bed late and tried to convince her body to just give it a rest and enjoy the slowness. They were leaving for the village tomorrow, and she knew that would be an early start, but even knowing that made no difference to the night she had.
Fears about the trip to the village and the threat looming over them disturbed her sleep.
The mid-morning sunlight streamed through the large windows in her bedchambers, and she could see the small dust motes in the air. The room, bathed in the sunlight like this, would have normally made her smile, but she just watched as the dust danced in the air.
It was not nearly enough to distract her. She thought that maybe if she just followed the movement with her eyes, she could keep her thoughts from spiraling. But there was just too many stray, errant thoughts that kept popping up.
Her relationship with Magnus, the note, her future here… everything raced and roiled in her mind, even as she tried to shut it out. It was like the harder she triednotto think about it, the more her mind pushed it to the front in excruciating detail.
Scenarios that were unlikely to happen kept replaying in her mind. Her thoughts circled helplessly like the particles of dust she still watched, around and around.
This restful day was turning out to be anything but. Much to her dismay, she couldn’t keep lying in bed and letting her mind run. Sometimes when her mind got like this, there was no escaping it, but hopefully, if she got up and didsomething,anything, her mind would give her a break.
Pushing the plush blankets back, Ciara dragged herself out of bed. It was a shame because the thing was sinfully comfortable. She cursed her thoughts for taking even this comfort away from her today.
“I’ll be back soon,” she said wistfully to the bed as she began the process of getting ready for the day.
A little while later, Ciara dragged herself out of her room, nearly running into the Laird, whose hand was poised to knock.
“There ye are. I was wonderin’ when we’d see ye today,” Magnus teased.
That little smirk would usually spark something inside her, but she just replied glumly, “Here I am.”
