He purposefully kept himself away from women. He’d been lied to enough to last out his lifetime and he’d vowed long ago to let no other woman into his heart.
So he had kept all women at a distance. Both physically and mentally.
Ewan hadn’t been lured by any of their kind since Isobail. But something about Nora made him yearn again.
He wanted to kiss her.
To savor her.
Worst of all, he wanted to hold her in his arms and let her sate the loneliness that lived inside him.
What strange thoughts were these? He needed no comfort. He’d proven that. He deserved no comfort after what he’d done.
Still, he took an odd pleasure in being in Nora’s company.
And before he realized it, they reached Lenalor.
At least here he could seek a modicum of peace from the lady at his side and the disturbing thoughts in his mind that she evoked.
“What a quaint place,” Nora said as they entered the small village.
It was long after dark and most of the people were inside for the night. Firelight could be seen from the cracks around doors and through the open windows they passed.
“Not particularly large,” Nora continued, “but still wholesome and serviceable enough.”
Ewan held his silence as they approached the brewer’s house which was at the end of the line of cottages that made up the road that led through the village.
Old Aenos the Brewer and he had a love-hate relationship. Aenos loved to see the only man he’d ever known who could drink him under the table and he hated whenever Ewan had to leave.
Ewan stopped his horse and dismounted before Aenos’s door. He knocked on it.
“I be closed for the night,” the old man snarled from the other side. “So whoever you be, you better well...” His voice trailed off as he swung open the door to see Ewan. Aenos’s face and demeanor lightened immediately.
“Ewan!” He clapped him on the back. “Finished off me ale so soon, eh? Well, come in, my lord. I’ve plenty more to keep you happy.”
Ewan had started to step inside when he realized Nora was not beside him. He turned around to find her still on her horse, looking down at the ground skeptically.
Growling low in his throat, he excused himself from Aenos and walked over to her. “Jumping wouldn’t kill you.”
“Nay, but it might break my leg. Are you always so discourteous as to leave a lady to her own means?”
“I’m not used to a lady’s company without my brothers being present.” Ewan clenched his teeth as soon as the words were out of his mouth. He couldn’t believe he’d said that to her.
“What do you mean by that?” she asked.
“Nothing.” He helped her down from her horse.
He’d no sooner set her down before him than old Sorcha came over to greet them. Her long gray hair fell in braids down the sides of her face as she clutched a plaid shawl about her shoulders. Her gray eyes were happy and bright, just like the woman herself.
Ewan had known her all of his life and oft times thought of her as another mother. He loved the old woman dearly.
“My lord,” the older woman beamed. “Aenos didn’t tell me you brought company with you this time, and a lady no less. Have you finally gone and settled down?”
“Nay, Sorcha. I’m only taking her to my brother.”
He left Nora to Sorcha’s care and led the horses around the cottage to deliver them up to Aenos’s apprentice who also doubled as a stable hand.
Nora watched him leave and shook her head. “His manners are appalling,” she said under her breath. She turned back to the older woman. “I’m called Nora.”
