Louder, a hint of that tone and pitch only children arguing could hit. He’d walked away from the keep, around a corner, and they were still there. He wouldn’t find Frederick at this rate. Stopping abruptly, he turned.
Only to be almost ploughed into by two girls with longer limbs than bodies.
The one on his right immediately straightened and brushed her skirts, the other pointed her finger at him and announced, ‘You’re him!’
Eyes with more brown than green. Hair with more orange than darkening sunsets. But there was no mistaking them for anyone other than Ailsa’s identical sisters.
‘I’m him.’
The one who pointed hit her sister in the chest.
The one who straightened her gown merelyjutted her chin and raised her brow. ‘Ailsa’s not out here.’
Rory blinked. These girls were mirrors of each other and they equally shared their older sister’s blunt speech, but their mannerisms were very different.
He’d been trained as a warrior, a man to follow his father into battle, a man to lead. His first reaction to such directness was to immediately answer. A habit he would break. He was married to a McCrieff and McCrieffs didn’t seem to obey the same niceties.
‘And you are?’ he enquired instead.
The stiff-backed one sighed as if put out, the one who pointed her finger sniggered. ‘It won’t matter because you won’t know.’
‘So you are impolite?’ he said.
One blushed, the other did not. ‘It’s not as if you told us who you are.’
‘True, but being clever you already guessed. So my guess is that you are my wife’s sisters who were ordered to stay away from me.’
Now both blushed.
At least when it came to these McCrieffs he could retain some control. ‘So, if you want to keep in my good graces, or if you wish me to keep secrets, the least I can acquire are names.’
Silence from them both. If they stood outhere much longer, they’d be discovered and any secrets they wanted to hide would be lost. Of course, maybe they wanted to be discovered in his presence. Though he didn’t know why their identity was being kept from him. Was it simply him being a Lochmore or something else?
A slight shuffling of feet, an elbow in the ribs, and the fussy one sighed. ‘We’re Gormlaith and Grizel.’
Ah, so that’s how it was to be played. With a nod towards the more violent one, he said, ‘Well, good hunting day to you, Grizel.’ When she gasped, Rory nodded his head to her sister, who straightened her spine. ‘And a pleasant day for you, Gormlaith.’
‘Who told you?’ Grizel said in equal parts awe and cross.
Rory shrugged. ‘Just as you’ve been kept away from me, I’ve been kept away from you.’
‘Then you guessed?’ Gormlaith said with an imperial brow raised.
‘That’s for you to find out, isn’t it?’ he said, turning away. He was intrigued by the two sisters. Very much so, and in the brief time since he met them, he envied their sibling rivalry. He’d found that kind of comraderie with Paiden, which was why he wasn’t about to lose him.
‘What if it isn’t for us to find out?’
Rory turned back to face the two girls who hadn’t moved. How old could they be? They were so much younger than their sister and it begged questions. He had so many already.
‘You were meant to stay away from me—what will happen if we’re caught?’
Grizel gave a grin. ‘Nothing. Father told us to.’
Gormlaith scoffed. ‘Grizel! He shouldn’t know!’
Yet he did know. Ailsa almost confirmed it.
‘Why not?’ Grizel said. ‘It’s not as if it hasn’t been amusing.’
