“Only if you agree that once we reach Wynshire Castle, she will remain there while we rescue my father. And,” Lathir said, too aware of the multitude of things that could go wrong, “God forbid if anything should happen to you, I swear I will see to raising her myself.”
Appreciation darkened his gaze. “I thank you for your generous offer, my lady, but I will be back.” He shot her a roguish wink. “I have been known to be a bit stubborn about dying.”
Her chest tightened at the mere thought of his child without a father. “’Tis naught tomake light of.”
“My lady,” he said, his voice somber, “our days are too short towalk in fear.”
“Indeed,” Rónán said. “Whencan we depart?”
“At first light. ’Tis dark by now and too dangerous to travel.” Tighearnán took a sip from his goblet. “Once we reach town and have gathered a crew, ’twill take naught but hours before we set sail.”
Relief swept through her. “Can I ask you a question?”
He cradled his cup in his hands. “Indeed.”
“I can hear the fondness in your voice when you talk about the sea. Why did you give it up?”
He cast a glance toward the loft. “For Órlaith,” he whispered. “The lass is all I have left of my wife, Máire.”
Lathir’s heart went out to him.
“A part of me wants to believe that somehow, miraculously, she is alive.” For a long moment he studied the flames in the hearth, then he shook his head. “Foolish I know, but Máire was everything to me.” Face ruddy with emotion, he shoved to his feet. “’Tis growing late. Try to get some rest. I have a few errands to take care of before we depart.”
The faint hoot of an owl sounded from outside as Rónán stood. “Iwill help you.”
“Nay, ’tis something I need to take care of alone.” The door closed with a firm snap as Tighearnánexited the hut.
Tears Lathir had fought to hold back spilled down her cheeks. She understood his anguish-laden request. Tighearnán wanted to be alone with his grief, with the heartache that haunted him still.
“Nay man has the right to abduct another’s family,” she hissed, fury pouring into every word. “Once we have rescued my father, I will send a contingent to see if they can discover where his wife was taken.”
Gaze somber, Rónán lay his hand over hers. “However much you wish to help, as I, many years have passed.”
“There must be some trace of whereshe was taken.”
“Given Tighearnán’s extensive and unconventional resources,” he said quietly, “dinna you think if any evidence of her being alive existed, he would have found it by now?”
The anger inside eroded to sadness. “Aye, but ’tis hard to accept.”
“I know. Regardless of what Tighearnán says, with the depth that he lovesMáire, I doubt he has ever stopped looking.”
A belief she shared. God help her, if she discovered something had happened to her father, she wouldna rest until every single person responsible lay dead.
At the slow pounding building in her head, she rubbed her brow.
With a grimace, Rónán stood. “Come, we are both tired. ’Twill be a long dayon the morrow.”
Exhausted yet still on edge, Lathir yearned to lay beside him this night, to feel his strength, to have him hold her. Nor, given the situation, a wise action. “With Tighearnán aware we arena married, we canna sleep together again. A fact I am thankful hedidna mention.”
Broken yellow light from the flicker of flames in the hearth wavered over Rónán’s face as he looked back at her, and she remembered their kiss, one he’d ended too soon. For a moment she caught the awareness in his grayish-green eyes, a need that surged through her as well.
“Once Tighearnán learned the truth of our situation, he understood your action. Nor—” Favoring his leg, he walked toward the bed. “did I expect to sleep beside you. I will make a pallet on the floor, between youand the door.”
Irritated, she shoved to her feet. “I think I have well demonstrated that if a need arises, I can fend for myself.”
“Indeed, but until we have reached your home, I will ensure your safety to the bestof my ability.”
“Always the protector?”
