Page 30 of Only a Highlander Will Do

Fiona had just drained her teacup when Tormod entered the drawing room. Attesting to the bath he must have recently taken, his wet hair was combed back from his face and held with a leather strap at his nape. He was dressed once more in a simple linen shirt and tan breeches that moulded to his sculpted muscles and caused her breath to still. The man before her was full of contrasts. He could be graceful and elegant one moment, lethally dangerous the next. The thread separating the savage from the beauty was fine indeed. She moistened her lips as he stepped closer and offered his hand.

A soft half-smile curved his mouth. “Graeme and I have finished our security checks. Before supper would you walk in the gardens with me?”

With a nod, she accepted his hand and he helped her to her feet. The MacLeods, and especially the man at her side, made it easy to forget about all evils in the world. She could feel the heat of his body against her side.

“Then let us be away.” He guided her from the chamber, down the stair, and into the front courtyard. There a contingent of twenty men waited. Tormod signalled for them to follow as the two of them passed, heading for the opening drawbridge.

“Do we need your warriors to come with us?” she asked, looking back over her shoulder to see that the men followed, but at a distance. He took her hand in his and a jolt of sensation shivered along her spine.

“The gardens are outside the castle walls. So aye. We need the guards. I won’t take such a reckless attitude when it comes to being alone with you. The men will hang back to give us some privacy. But their presence will also send a signal to anyone watching that attacking us will not come easily.”

He led her to the right once they passed over the drawbridge. It wasn’t long before they came to a small footbridge with a stream of water flowing steadily below. “This is the Fairy Bridge where one version of the Fairy Flag legend claims that the then-chieftain, Ian Cair, bid farewell to his fairy wife before she returned to Fairyland, and that it was here where she gave him the Fairy Flag.”

“Your family and Dunvegan are certainly steeped in fairy lore.”

He shrugged. “We’ve lived on this isle a long time.”

“Is it because of your history with so many of the isle clans that your brother, Alastair, is trying to unite them? My father and I might have lived in relative isolation, but even at Ulster Castle we heard the rumblings of a clan war.”

He glanced at her, pausing a moment before he answered. “Alastair believes we should all join together and turn our attentions towards the English.”

“Does he truly believe it is possible for the MacDonalds and the MacLeods to stop fighting? I may not know much about warfare, but it didn’t appear that Alex wanted to reconcile with you anytime soon.”

Tormod raked his free hand across his hair and looked at her. “I’m not certain I want to restore harmony either. Not after what the MacDonalds did to the innocents whose lives they took in the Dunvegan village. Not all of them were MacLeods, but that hardly seems to matter to Alex or his father anymore.”

Fiona frowned at the thought of all the lives the MacDonalds had taken. “Alastair has a difficult road ahead.”

“That he does.”

“Have you ever wished you’d been firstborn?” Fiona asked quietly.

“Never,” Tormod answered quickly. “As a lad I was far too restless. I wanted to be free of the castle walls, to visit glorious places, experience other cultures.”

She paused for a heartbeat before continuing. “Alastair must have wanted that, too, if he also left the castle for five years.”

“Alastair left to go to university,” Tormod said. “When he did go abroad it was in diplomatic service. Everything my brother has ever done has been for the good of the clan.” He narrowed his gaze on her. “You know a lot about my brothers and myself. Or was that a very good guess?”

Heat suffused her cheeks. “Gwendolyn and Rowena told me.”

He grinned. “What other secrets did my sister and Gwendolyn tell you?”

“Only that you are all very good at what you do.”

He squeezed her hand. “Come, there is much more to see.” They walked farther into the trees. Suddenly he stopped. “If you look a little off to your left, you can see the opening of a cave that is supposedly a portal to the fairy world.”

She frowned. “I only see trees.”

Her heart skipped a beat when he came to stand behind her, placing his hands on her upper arms, turning her slightly to the left. She could feel the heat of his body against her back, smell the soft scent of thistle. The impact of his presence—so close, so intimate—sent a jolt of sensation along her spine.

“Do you see it now?”

A slash of black appeared amongst the trees. “Aye. I can see the opening of the cave.” It was well hidden, but once identified, it would be hard to miss again. “Have any fairies ever entered our world this way?”

He shrugged. “Another version of the Fairy Flag legend claims that the fairy princess came from the cave and that she returned to Fairyland the same way. Other than that, I have never seen any interaction between our two worlds.”

Fiona continued to stare at the cave opening. Such a magical place. Such wonderful stories. The MacLeods were truly blessed to link their clan to the fairy world. “Interaction would be wonderful, though, wouldn’t it?”

“You and I have very different ideas about what fairies are like. Come, the gardens await,” he said, pulling back, breaking the moment. He took her hand and led her down a path that revealed a wide-open space. “Alastair and Gwendolyn have plans to create several formal gardens here that will serve as a hidden oasis for those who live at or visit the castle.”