Love Beyond Belief (Book 7 of Morna’s Legacy Series) (20 page)

“I shouldna mention it. Not on this day. But I’ve not had a chance to catch ye all alone in some time. Have ye…have ye received word from Laird Allen since he left? Have they had any luck tracking Macaslan down?”

Callum had wondered the same thing as of late. He knew it would take some time for Laird Allen and his men to travel such a great distance. Even if they found nothing, he expected to receive word any day now.

“No. Not yet, but I’m sure I will soon. Laird Allen seemed as eager to rid the world of Macaslan as the rest of us, and his men looked a fearsome lot.”

As if summoned by their words, the sound of hooves approaching caused both men to turn and look for the rider headed their way.
 

“Did ye see him on yer way here, Tom? Is that why ye mentioned this?”

Tom shook his head. “No, I dinna see a thing. Do ye think ’tis news from Laird Allen?”

“If not from Raudrich then from one of the others we have stationed about at every port and territory.”
 

Callum took a step forward and called out to the rider.
 

“Greetings. Who has sent ye here?”

The rider looked young. Callum guessed the boy to be no more than twenty. He looked tired, as if he rode through the night to reach them. Callum figured he most likely had.
 

The boy pulled hard on his reins to stop the horse, dismounting before continuing his approach. He carried a linen sack that hung heavy in his left hand. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be stained with blood. Callum swallowed down bile at the sight and repeated his question with more force.
 

“Lad, I’ll ask ye again. Who has sent ye here?”

The boy stopped and moved to balance the sack in his right hand, opening up the top of the bag with his left.
 

“Laird Allen, sir. He sent ye a gift to celebrate the finishing of yer castle.”

The messenger smiled a sickly sweet grin that caused Callum’s stomach to churn.
 

Pulling back his arm, the boy kept a grip on the cloth bag, swung his arm forward, and sent Laird Macaslan’s severed head rolling toward Callum and Tom.
 

Present Day

I approached Jerry’s room with trepidation. Cooper came down with a cold that kept him from coming with me today. When I reached his doorway, I was shocked to see him already dressed and sitting by the fire.
 

“Well, look at you. How long have you been out of the bed?”

He turned and smiled, then pointed to the empty seat across from him. I headed straight toward it.
 

“All day, lass. I finally decided there is no sense in feigning that I feel worse than I truly do. Ye and Morna have seen me well.”

I knew he was feeling better, but I truthfully thought he was giving me a hard time about his exercises out of stubborn laziness. It hadn’t occurred to me for a second that he’d been trying to pretend he felt bad. I crossed my arms and frowned at him as I sunk down into the comfy chair.
 

“Why would you ever feign such a thing?”

“Because I wanted to see Callum’s Cagair finished, and I knew that Morna would see me home as quickly as she could if I let her know how well I was feeling. Besides, the plan that Grier and I made would have been too difficult to manage during the castle’s repairs. The completion allows us the perfect excuse.”

Jerry’s mention of said plan before his attack had nagged at me for well over a month, and I’d asked him about it countless times to no avail.
 

“Oh, so are you finally ready to tell me about it?”

“Aye, Sydney, I think that I am. Will ye keep the secret?”

“Absolutely.”

“I plan to tell Morna that I wish to go down the stairwell—that I wish to see the repaired Cagair myself.”

Everyone in the castle knew of Jerry’s aversion to all things magic. How he ever managed to get himself entwined with not one, but two very powerful witches, I hadn’t a clue. For someone whose life was so inundated with it, he was oddly resistant to it all. I knew full well that his insistence that I not give him Grier’s potion the night of his attack had just as much to do with his fear of magic as it had with him fearing Morna’s reaction to Grier’s part in it.
 

“She will never believe that. I’ve heard you say that you’d never go back.”

“Well, I’m not keen on it to be sure, but I’ll overcome me own fears if it means putting to bed all of this between the two of them. And it doesna matter if she believes me, lass. All that matters is that she responds as I know she shall.”
 

“How do you think she will respond?”

He laughed and bobbed his head toward the doorway, twisting toward the entryway as Morna approached. He whispered under his breath to me as his wife stepped inside.
 

“I’ll show ye. Watch.”

Morna walked in with the widest smile I’d ever seen on the witch. She didn’t seem to see me as she walked over to press a kiss on her husband’s lips.
 

“Jerry, I’m so pleased to see ye up and out of that bed. Why, surely that means we can return home soon.”

He winked at me over Morna’s shoulder and looked up in answer to her.
 

“Aye, but first, do ye not wish to go through the stairwell yerself and see the repairs on Cagair before we leave? I willna mind waiting if ye wish for Callum to escort ye through.”

“Ha! Ye are a funny man to suggest such a thing, Jerry. Ye know I’ve no desire to do so.”

“Are ye sure, Morna? Ye might enjoy it. Ye wouldna have to stay for more than an hour.”

She laughed, and I could see she thought he spoke only in jest. I rather pitied her ignorance in this situation. Jerry was taking great advantage of it.
 

“I’m completely sure. Ye know what? I’ll make ye a deal, Jerry. If ye wish to walk down those steps, I’ll be the first to follow ye.”

Jerry laughed and waved his hand in dismissal.
 

“Ach, Morna. Ye know me too well. I’d rather walk over hot coals than do such a thing.”

“I know, and I’m glad for it.” Morna bent to kiss him once more then turned to leave the room. “I just wanted to stop in and check on ye. I best get back and work on yer dinner.”

Jerry leaned back in his chair as she left, a look of smugness on his face that astonished me completely.
 

“What was that? You didn’t tell her that you planned to go through.”

“That was exactly what I knew she would do. And no, I dinna tell her. Not seriously. I’ll only do so when I really mean to walk down those steps. She will follow thinking I’m teasing her once again. Then when I go through, she’ll be so shocked that she’ll run right after me. When we both get through to the other side, Grier will be waiting.”

 
I leaned forward and pressed my fingertips hard against my forehead. The very thought of the chaos such a plan would cause made my head ache uncomfortably.
 

“That sounds like a really terrible idea, Jerry. Morna seems to have dropped the Grier thing for whatever reason. Don’t you think you’re better off leaving well enough alone and going on home to forget about it?”

His eyes grew wide as if I’d said something awful.
 

“Lass, if ye think Grier will allow me to go back on my word to her, then I gave ye a kinder impression of her than I intended. She’s not the wretch Morna thinks she is, but she’s no saint either. I haven’t a choice. Besides, I love that it’s a terrible idea. ’Tis been far too long since I’ve done anything foolish.”

CHAPTER 28

I stood in the kitchen with my back to the entryway, scrubbing dishes with a little more force than necessary to rid myself of the stress Jerry’s words caused me, when I felt Callum’s arms wrap around me. He rested his chin gently on the top of my head and ran his hands up and down my arms as he spoke.
 

“The castle is finished, and all of the workers from the village are gone.”

I smiled but continued to scrub and rinse the dishes in front of me. “I know. You told me last night this should be the last day of everything.”
 

“Aye, and it finally is. Will ye stay with me there tonight? I think it would be good luck to have ye there with me my first night back within its walls.”

My hands stilled in the warm water as my pulse sped up significantly. Over the past weeks, we’d grown remarkably close. Our conversations were intimate and our chemistry palpable, but even with as much as he’d kissed, touched, and caressed me, he’d never made any more mention of sleeping with me.
 

I’d not broached the subject either, enjoying the leisurely pace with which we both seemed to be content. Not that I wasn’t eager for him to take me to bed. I certainly was. And if he was asking outright, I certainly wasn’t going to turn him down. But his question surprised me for another reason as well.
 

Reaching for the towel spread across the drain tray, I dried my hands but continued to keep my back toward him.
 

“I thought you didn’t want me going back down the stairwell until Macaslan is caught.” Realization rose within me and I faced him, resting the middle part of my back against the counter. He leaned back just enough so I could see his face. It concerned me to see him so pale. “Are you all right? You look ill. Callum, what’s wrong?”

“Naught is wrong, lass. Macaslan is dead, and I am glad for it. ’Tis only that I canna say I was too fond of the way Laird Allen chose to inform me of his death. I am a traveler, not a warrior. I doona have a thirst for such bloodiness.”

I swallowed and pulled up my nose in curious disgust. “How…how did he inform you?”

“He had a messenger come and roll his head at my feet. Poor Tom wretched at the sight of it while I just paled as if I were a ghost.”

“Here.” I reached up and pulled his head closer to me. “Let me kiss some color back into your face.”

We kissed until we were each breathless and shaky, and embraced as Callum finally spoke again.
 

“Can I take that as an aye, lass? Ye will stay with me this night? With Macaslan dead, I’ve no reason to fear fer yer safety. ’Twould bring me great happiness to spend the night with ye by me side.”

I smiled against his chest, my entire body already humming with the anticipation of it.
 

“Yes, I’ll stay. I can’t wait.”

1650

Callum couldn’t remember ever being so nervous. There was much to celebrate. He had no doubt it would be a glorious night, but he wanted everything perfect before Sydney’s arrival.
 

“Hurry, Jane. It willna take Sydney and Morna long to clean up after the evening meal. She’ll be expecting me to go and get her soon.”

Jane chunked a pillow at his head and laughed loudly as it hit him square in the nose.
 

“You just need to calm down and take a breath. She’s not going to want to get anywhere near you if you keep sweating like that.”
 

She walked toward him, gripped both of his arms tightly, and gave him a good shake.
 

“Seriously, what is the matter with you? Why are you so worked up?”