Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

Agnes felt a curious flutter of heat and hope in her breastbone, as well as an unholy amusement at Madame Senga's hushed tone. As with Kristie and Granny Ro, she felt a strong pull of friendship and wanted to hug the woman. She also felt a bit wicked, in the most wonderful of ways, as she absorbed those words.

So, Leo had not just been thinking of how to ensure Agnes looked the part of Lady MacLarsen, who managed the household, but also the part of the dutiful wife.

"Did he?" Agnes could not help asking in an arch tone as she glanced back at Leo, who was feigning interest in the street outside, his body turned away, an arm draped over the back of the chair. But she knew he was listening to every word. So, she dropped her voice and said, "Whatever you think will make a man go mad, I'll take it."

Madame Senga grinned and nodded. "I'll see it done, Me Lady."

"What will ye see done?" Leo asked in a loud voice, and Madame Senga merely waved a hand at him and then curtseyed to Agnes. "Ye mean to conspire against yer Laird?"

"Nay," Madame Senga said with a slow smile. " For the Laird. Hamish would tell ye to trust me."

"Yer husband would be the first to say that ye are more cunning than half me council and Mosage to boot, Madame Senga."

"Exactly," Madame Senga said and smiled at them. "I look forward to ye thanking me, Me Laird. Have a pleasant lunch."

With that, she shooed them out the door and back into the street. Immediately, the scent of cooking food made Agnes's stomach grumble, and she put a quelling hand on it. She had not realized how much time had passed, and she wished she'd eaten more at breakfast.

She also wished that she'd gotten to spend more time with Leo, rather than just being in the same room. Still, she should not be greedy and turned to her husband with a soft smile.

He'd led her to the corner of the shop, out of the way, and seemed to be waiting for someone—perhaps the carriage or one of his men to take her home.

"Thank you," she said, and he looked down.

"O'course," he said. "Cannae have ye rompin' around with nay clothes, wife." His eyes glinted with amusement, and Agnes flushed, thinking of her words on their wedding day.

"I am grateful for the clothes, Leo," Agnes said and stepped closer, laying a hand on his arm. "But I am more grateful that you were with me."

A happy, bubbling laugh escaped her lips as she gazed around the bustling street, the blue skies beyond, and how for a moment, it did not feel foreign or too much, but like home .

"I think I knew you would respect my conditions, but I did not realize how much it would mean to me when you did."

Agnes turned back to Leo, smiling, and then her heart jolted with excitement as she realized he'd stepped closer. One of his big, rough hands suddenly stroked her cheek, and she felt a dizzying flutter in her stomach at the look in his eyes. She'd never seen Leo look so… soft. Then, his eyes flashed, and his thumb swept under the curve of her lower lip.

"Ye cannae keep sayin' such things, Nes," Leo said. "Ye dinnae ken how it unravels me."

Agnes, possessed by a sudden instinct that seemed to bubble up from a place long since buried, tilted her head down and kissed his thumb. "Then I think I should say more."

She felt the tremor that went through this big, solid Highland warrior. It reminded her of when a horse wanted to break free and run. And she caught his hand, pressing a dainty kiss to his palm, before stepping forward.

"What are ye—" Leo rasped, then sucked in a breath as Agnes embraced him tightly around the middle, her cheek resting on his chest, as she'd seen Kristie do with Fergus last night.

The big man had seemed dazed with happiness as he hugged Kristie back, his arms wrapped tight around her shoulders, and then pressed a kiss to her temple.

However, Leo made no moves to hug her back, and Agnes went to pull away, a pang going through her, when Leo gently cradled her head in his hand and pressed the other to her back.

"I think I ken now," Leo muttered. Agnes was thrilled when she felt his cheek press against the crown of her head. "Ye dinnae ever play fair, even though ye were almost a nun."

"Oh, nuns never play fair," Agnes whispered, and Leo laughed.

Someone hailed Leo then, and he stepped back, almost brusquely, but she caught the quick smile on his face. Around them, she saw a few folks staring and then hastening to pretend they weren't staring, while James and Niall came loping up, Fafnir and the mare between them, both saddled with packs.

Agnes's heart leaped, but then she shook her head. No, she could not get her hopes up…

Not until Leo turned to her with a boyish, satisfied grin and held out a hand. "Care to join me for a ride to see our lands, Lady MacLarsen?"

After such a wretched morning, Agnes was nearly dazed by how gloriously the day had turned. It was as though a golden cup was held to her lips, causing her heart to soar higher and higher.

She'd never known such joy that made it impossible not to smile and laugh, had never known how much she'd longed to race the wind, to see the heights of mountains that took her breath away, and stare out across the glimmering waters of the loch.

She'd thought, too, that nothing would ever compare to that first sight of MacLarsen lands when she'd felt nearly compelled to ride Glimmer, the dappled mare. Yet, now, she thought she could live here for centuries and never see enough.

First, after the delights of town, shopping and seeing the small port, stopping for a snack from a cart, then a gentle ride to the north, and now circling back. The afternoon was beginning to wane, and Agnes kept waiting for Leo to take them back home, but he seemed to be in a bright mood, taking in the sights and occasionally pointing out landmarks.

As they turned back south, riding through fields, with Briorn Castle rising in the distance, and the town sitting on their left, Agnes wanted to throw her head back and shout with joy.

Instead, she glanced at Leo, who raised an eyebrow and gave a small shake of his head, patting Fafnir's neck.

"Nes—" he began, a warning in his tone, but Agnes had already squeezed Glimmer's sides, and the horse was off like a shot, galloping easily across the packed ground, with Agnes low in the saddle.

The ride was even easier than the first time, which Agnes had done bareback, and she did not have the thrill of immediately knowing her husband was chasing her down.

In the span of a breath, Fafnir pulled even, and Leo tossed her a smile, a real smile that almost made her slip from her saddle. His eyes widened with alarm, and he reached for her, slowing down. But Agnes used his distraction to push harder and fly ahead, causing Leo to shout.

Agnes laughed as she raced her husband, the two of them pounding through grassy fields, then wide glens of trees, before coming to a halt by a lazy, wide river. She turned to Leo, ready to crow about her triumph and listen to him grumble, but instead, he gave her a fierce grin.

"Aye, ye were meant to be a MacLarsen, of that I've nay doubt." He shook back his dark hair as he swung down from Fafnir with ease, rubbing a hand along the horse's neck, and Agnes noted with some amazement that the horse was barely winded.

Her poor mare was desperate for a drink, and she went to jump down when Leo caught her around the waist and lifted her down with ease.

"Where did ye learn to ride like that?" he asked.

"We had a fine horse at Craeghil when I was a girl," Agnes said softly, trying not to pay too much attention to how his hands lingered on her waist and brought back those heated, delirious memories from their wedding night. "For various things, but also for me—I was allowed some gentle riding to enjoy the fresh air without exerting myself too much…"

She paused as Leo gave her a searching look. "Were ye so ill when ye were a bairn?"

Agnes bit her lip and stepped back, missing Leo's hands but needing the space. She hugged herself and nodded. "Yes. My parents told me that was why the Earl left me at Craeghil, because they thought I would not survive a day, never mind longer…" She swallowed as Leo's face creased into harsh lines. "Sister Theresa and the old nurse healed me. Maybe the sea air, too. I spent a lot of time outside."

Leo nodded. "And rather than just sit on a horse, ye learned to ride." Agnes ducked her head in a nod. "Aye, I ken ye. Canny thing. Still, there are good riders, and then there's being born to it. Ye are a horsewoman in every sense." He rubbed at his chest and looked away, his voice softening as he said, "Wish that me ma or da could've met ye. Especially Ma."

"I wish I could've met them too," Agnes said and stepped forward, dropping her arms. "What happened?"

Leo's face shuttered, the mask suddenly a forbidding shadow across his face. "They passed seven years ago in a raid."

He turned away and went to Fafnir, pulling at the saddle, and Agnes's heart sank. She should've minded her tongue. She should not have pressed that obvious wound on his heart.

"The Earl—yer faither was a right fool to leave ye," Leo suddenly said, and he turned back, with a bag slung over his shoulder, along with a heavy blanket and another, smaller satchel in his hands. "Nay parent should ever do such a thing. Me parents would've been horrified and taken ye in."

Agnes's eyes stung with tears, and she tried to thank him, but her throat was too tight.

"It's hard to speak of," he said in a soft voice. "And harder yet because I…" He swallowed. "I wish they could've met ye."

The wind rose around them, the sharp scent of pine and something sweet in the air, and Leo's eyes fluttered shut as it tugged at his dark hair. Agnes clasped her hands together above her heart, hoping she never forgot the striking sight of him standing there, in a snowy white shirt and fine trews, and the horses just beyond in a field of purple and green. The light seemed golden as it fell around them, like a sanctified promise, and Agnes thought if she spoke, something holy might answer.

Then he opened his eyes, and the light shifted, and Agnes stirred as though waking up from a dream.

"Now, all that racing and talk has made me hungry. Come along."

He began to walk along the water's edge, clucking at Fafnir, who shook his head and obeyed. Glimmer seemed more resistant, so Agnes grabbed her reins and followed along.

Leo led them down the water's edge. Agnes wanted to ask what he was up to but bit her tongue. It seemed he meant for them to sup together, but perhaps he was just finding a better spot for them to have a snack. She was also puzzled by the blanket until he made a satisfied sound.

At the base of a great tree, there was a bowl-like area of soft green grass, with large roots rising all around, creating a natural wall. It opened to the river on one side, with the mountains rising beyond, their shadows deepening, and behind them was nothing but dense forest.

Agnes's breath caught as she was suddenly reminded of the ancient forest of Galloway, that same sense of something untamed and faraway calling to her. Leo busied himself with the blanket and supplies, slinging them down and then clucking at the horses, but Agnes was only half paying attention.

Instead, she stepped forward and laid a hand on the tree, a shiver of awareness running up her arm. Then she looked to the woods, the dancing sunlight, the little leaves, and breathed in.

I know you, the land seemed to say, and Agnes wanted to leap in there, to say that she knew it, too?—

"What did I tell ye about runnin' off, wife?" intoned a deep voice in her ear, and Agnes jumped as Leo wrapped his arms around her from behind. "I ken that look." His voice became more playful. "The Seelie might think to call one of theirs home, but ye are mine. By name, by bond, and our handfast." His voice rose, as though to warn off an invisible enemy, and Agnes's heart leaped with joy. "It's too late, ye are Lady MacLarsen now."

"Seelie?" Agnes asked, leaning back against him and looking up.

"Aye, the faeries," Leo said sagely as he watched the woods.

He did not see Agnes flush as she suddenly recalled the old nurse insisting to Sister Theresa, who didn't believe in such nonsense, that Agnes was part fae.

He now looked down. "I saw that look, wild-heart. Ye meant to race into the woods and slip back into fur and claw."

"You think I could?" Agnes asked with a slow smile and looked back into the woods.

"Aye, and maybe ye will one day," Leo said. He caught her chin to turn her face back to his. "But for now, would ye please stay?"

Agnes laughed. "I suppose. Being married to a handsome laird seems as much of, if not more, an adventure."