Gifts of Desire (19 page)

             
So lost in his thoughts was he that he barely noticed when Rossmoor came into sight.  He hail
ed the guard and rode into the b
ailey as the gate opened.  Leaving his horse to the groom, he
reluctantly
entered the keep.  Ross was at the dais, having his afternoon meal.  When he saw
Ceann
, he looked surprised enough, and hurriedly stood
to greet him.  “Ceann?  What brings you here lad?  We didn’t expect you!  Come, sit down and join me for a meal
.
  You look well.”
 
Ceann
sat down with his uncle, but declined to eat anything.  In truth, he wasn’t hungry.
  He eyed the food suspiciously. 
Though he hadn’t really ever thought about it, he realized
now
that he had never liked Ross.  He tolerated him because he was family, but he and his father’s younger brother had never been close.  There was something…
unsavory about the man, though he wasn’t sure exactly what.

             
“Where is Hugh?” he asked, realizing his cousin wasn’t in the hall.

             
Ross smiled, his pride in his son showing on his face.  “No doubt he’s still on the lists,
or if not, he’s probably tumbling some lass or another, as young men are wont to do.”  His uncle laughed
heartily
and slapped
Ceann
on the back.  “And how about
you
?  Have
you
a favorite lass at the moment?  We’ve all been wondering if
you
’ll ever get around to wedding
and bedding. 
You
seem to be enjoying bachelorhood a bit too much, eh?”

             
Ceann
shook his head.  “No
Uncle, one lass is as good as the next, as far as I’m concerned.  I have no wish to be tied down yet.  There’s time enough for that.”

             
“Aye,
you’re
right, some of the worst years of my life, when
your a
unt
Janet
was alive.  Who needs all that nettling and
weeping
?  Women are only good for one thing, if
you
ask me, and you don’t need to wed them for that.
”  His gaze turned speculative.  “But what brings
you
here unannounced, nephew?  It seems to me it’s been nigh on
four months since I saw
you
last.”

             
“Aye, well I only came back from fighting for the
Duke
a few weeks ago, as
you
know
.
  And of course it takes some work to get thi
ngs back in order again at home..
.
I was out riding the borders and thought I’d put in an appearance, since I was nearby. 
And
…
I wanted to ask
you
about something
.”

             
Ross raised his eyebrows and leaned back in his chair a bit.  “Aye?”

             
“I want to
know
if
you
’ve seen a certain lass
,
one
who claims to have been here
at Rossmoor
recently.
”

             
Ross broke into a
lewd
grin.  “Well, then the answer is aye, I’ve seen several lasses.  I saw one
or two
in my bed just last night in fact.”

             
Ceann
was quickly growing tired of his uncle’s
poor
attempts at
bawdy humor.
  It seemed to him to be out of place,
almost
as if he were trying t
o
draw his attention from
something else…   No
,
he was reading too much into things
.
 

             
“No
,
Uncle
, a particular lass
, with
blond hair and blue eyes.  Quite pretty.  Have
you
seen
anyone like that
?”
  He watched Ross carefully, but could read nothing from his face.

             
The man
rubbed his chin as if he tried to remember.  “I would certainly like to see a lass
such as that, but no
, I haven’t
.  Pretty, you say?”

             
“Ay
e.  Someone saw her
near
here
, just yesterday
in fact
.”
 
Ceann
was
still
watching his uncle’s eyes, and he thought he saw a flash of something,
anger?
b
efore he carefully hid it.  He couldn’t be sure of what he had seen, but it was enough to plant a tiny seed of doubt. 

             
“No
, there was no such lass
here, at least not that I
know
about.  And I make it my business to
know
all what lovely lasses pass through my gates.”  He tilted his head and eyed
Ceann
.  “Is she something to
you
lad? 
Your
woman, perhaps?”

             
Ceann
shook his head.  “No
,
I have no
particular
woman, as I’ve said.  She’s
just someone
who was
under my care for a few days until
she can be returned to her kin, and she went missing…
”

             
“Cousin!  Ah, it’s good to see
you
!” 

             
Both men looked up to see Hugh just coming into the great hall.  “
Ceann
, it’s been too long since we last saw
you
.  Will
you
be staying for a visit, then?”
 
His f
ace didn’t match his words; Hugh did not look
at all
happy to see him here.
 
Ceann
had never been close to his cousin
, any more than he had to his uncle;
a
nd he never would be.  He tolerated them only because Ross was hi
s father’s younger brother.  Ar
tair
had given Rossmoor to him, for his loyalty or some such nonsense; the man had no loyalty but to himself.
Sometimes
Ceann
wondered if his father had just wanted him out of Tulloch.
 
Hugh was no better than
Ross
. 
It was one of
Ceann
’s biggest regrets that
since he had no other living kin,
should he fall in battle, Hugh would inherit all that was his.  Should he live
long enough
, Hugh’s son would be the next laird.  Not that he had a son yet
, at least not a legitimate one, b
ut Hugh was betrothed to a MacIntyre, to be wed in the spring.  The poor lass was very young and likely would not fare well at Rossm
oor.  Hugh could be quite cruel, he had seen it when they were boys, and he doubted
things had changed much.
 
He pitied the life
the lass
would probably have to endure as his wife. 

             
Suddenly
Ceann
wanted to return to Tulloch with an urgency he had never felt before.  He
told himself
it was all of the work left undone, weig
hing on his shoulders. 
Or maybe just the distaste he felt for his only relations. 
“Actually, cousin
, I can’t stay. 
I only stopped in on my way through. 
I have many matters to take care of, having been away from home these last months.”
 
Ceann
bid the men farewell, mumbling about getting back to see to repairs in the village a
nd such.  Though Ross protested his leaving so
hastily
and encouraged
Ceann
to stay the night, his sincerity did not ring true.  His Uncle didn’t want him here
, either
.
  Some family he had!
 

             
He swung
his powerful body
onto Fallon’s strong back and with a cursory wave, rode
fast
for home.  A
nother
wasted trip.  He didn’t know what he had expected to learn.  He still had doubts that Ross had been involved with taking
Ella
from Tulloch.  But even if he
had tried to take her
, had he
thought
the man would simply admit to it? 

             
Oh, Aye,
Ceann
.  I took her.  Broke right in and dragged her through the
old tunnel
.
 
The tunnel…
Ross would have known about it
…
He shook off the growing suspicion.
  It didn’t make any sense.

             
He already suspected that the sighting of men on the border was a ploy to get him out of the way.  And it had worked.  Then why was
Ella
sent back so s
oon?  Was she telling the truth
…
had she really escaped?  He threw his head back in frustration. 
Nothing
made sense.
 
But one thing was becoming clearer to him. 
Perhaps he needed to rethink making Hugh heir to Tulloch.  He had done so years ago, during one of the darkest times of his life.  Now, with a little time and distance, he was beginning to see that the people of Tulloch
would
not fare well under his cousin’s iron fist
, and his first responsibility was to them
. 
Hugh would have Rossmoor, but Tulloch…
no
, there had to be another way.
  He would call a meeting with his council soon to see what could be done.

***

             
Ceann
strapped on his sword and headed
again
to
the lists for morning practice.  He needed to work out some of his
mounting
anger
and confusion
,
and fighting was the only way he knew.
  Two hours later, having sparred with at least ten of his best men and covered in the sweat
and dust
of his effort
s
, he felt no less uneasy. 

             
As he walked back toward the keep,
swearing under his breath with a steady stream of vile curses, he looked up to see
Ella
just coming out of the
door
, swinging
a basket
in one hand
. 
He stopped cursing and watched her. 
She was
no doubt
headed to the garden
s on some errand or another
. 
He was astonished at how quickly
and fully
she had
embraced
life at Tulloch.  What had he thought?  That she would sit in her room and weep because he kept her here against her will?  Instead she did everything she could to help, from watching children to cleaning floors. 
When he had returned last night from Rossmoor and gone to look in on James, Elizabeth had told him how well Ella had tended him.  The girl babbled on about how
she knew just what herbs to use and how to stitch the wound just so, and how much improved James was already.  Ceann had to admit, the lad no longer looked to be at death’s door.
 
             
Everything about
Ella
was the opposite of what he expected.  Maybe that was the reason he found her
so
intriguing.  Yes, that must be it
, he thought with relief.  She was an enigma that had captivated his attention only until the mystery was solved. 
Once he knew who she was, he would be able to put her from his mind. 
She looked up and saw him
then
, her eyes sparkling, her mouth turned up ever so slightly at the corners.  She was
so very
beautiful, yet she did not even seem to know it.  Most women he had known with even half her beauty had been arrogant with it, even mean,
but
Ella
was none of that. 
Instead she brought smiles to everyone she met, and even he had noticed how the very castle seemed lighter with her in it. 
He
stepped forward
and
stopped her near the garden gate.