Page 11 of Nyall

“Come by anytime,” Lark said, smiling. “I’ll tell you all about my adventures since I landed on Caladh. When my husband gets back from his trip I’ll introduce you to him, too. Fletcher is the clan’s seneschal.”

“Yeah, sure.” She wondered why the seamstress made such an effort to be friendly. Come in, grab some clothes, meet the hubs—like we’re besties already.

As Caroline left with the laird’s wife she again sensed someone watching her close by, but didn’t see anything in the passage but burning torches and lots of flickering shadows. At the same time the hair on the back of her neck prickled, the same way it did when something large and predatory came close underwater.

“You two stayed and got married to MacMar men why, exactly?” she asked Valerie.

“I can’t speak for Lark, but I fell in love with Connal.” Her bright blue eyes twinkled with happiness now. “It took a while, but eventually I realized that going back was pointless. He couldn’t come with me, either. That’s why I made a life here with him.”

For a moment Caroline envied her. No man had ever been that important to her, although for some reason both Nyall and Jamaran popped into her head.

Shame I can’t have those two.

“Right, ah, let everyone know in advance that I’m not interested in that,” she told Valerie. “My life is going to be all about putting the guy who tried to kill me in prison, and destroying his sick dream. Hopefully both at once. Wait a sec.” She stopped and stared at the other woman. “If I go back, do I end up where I was when I left? Because I was drowning thirty miles off the coast of Florida.”

Valerie’s expression filled with sympathy. “I’m not sure. All I can do is see to it that we find a safe way to return you to the future, and assure you end up where you want to be.”

The guest room turned out to be another stone-walled chamber with a boxy bed, heavy wood furnishings, a fireplace, and slits in the outer wall instead of windows. For the first time Caroline noticed the crispness of the air, and imagined a fire would be welcome at night. Two maids came in behind them with armfuls of linens, which they took over to the box-bed and put over the bumpy mattress. A third girl brought in another tray with a jug, goblet, and a fresh plate of food.

Valerie picked up an apple from the tray and took a bite out of it before she offered it to her. “Just so you know it’s not poisoned.”

Caroline shook her head. “I’m good, thanks. I suppose you think I’m being an ass.”

“After what you just went through, you’re entitled to do whatever you want,” the other woman said, her compassion plain. “Within reason, of course.”

She really wanted to confide in the laird’s wife, an impulse that made her even more uneasy. Since when did she want to cuddle up to a sorority sister? “How do I pay for the room and the maid service?”

“You don’t,” Valerie assured her. “You’re our guest at Dun Ard. Also, my household staff are paid quite well by the clan. If you need anything, just step out into the hall and ask one of the guards.”

Now she was being guarded, was she? Caroline had noted the lack of utensils on the tray, and reached into the basket for the two knives she’d tucked in there with her wet suit. Touching the hilts made her relax a little.

“Is there anything else I can have brought to you?” Valerie asked.

“I’d like a large tub filled with warm, clean water, and a sponge or soft rag I can use to clean my gear.” Caroline then produced both knives, holding them so the maids could see them as well. “Also, you should let the staff, the guards and anyone else interested know that I’m armed, a very light sleeper, and no one comes in here again without knocking first.”

“Fair enough.” The other woman’s expression turned serious. “You should know that if you attack anyone under this roof without provocation, our men will respond in kind. They won’t care that you’re female, either.”

Caroline had assumed the blonde was just a nice woman, but now she caught a glimpse of steely warning in her pretty eyes. In a way it reassured her as nothing else had. “Got it.”

Chapter Four

Jamaran swam out to meet the ghost boats returning from the latest hunt of the waters beyond the mist barrier surrounding Caladh and the Selseus settlement in the bay. He saw the tall, golden-haired figure of their king, Merrick, standing at the bow of the lead vessel, and sent out a greeting through his thoughts. As he did, his mind merged with his maker’s, which allowed the king to effortlessly read his memories, and sense the turmoil of his usually cool emotions.

Merrick could now see for himself how finding Caroline in the bay had been for his garrison commander like waking from a long dream.

Her image seemed permanently etched in Jamaran’s thoughts, probably because everything about her stirred him. Her turquoise eyes resembled jewels, and she had the most beautiful mouth he’d ever seen on a woman, full-lipped and slightly pouting, as if she forever awaited a kiss. Gold streaked her dark hair as if she radiated light. As for her body, seeing her water garment molded to all those luscious curves had sent so much hot blood through his veins he’d nearly spilled in his own suit. She possessed every single attribute he admired in females, including the fierce, unflinching daring to brandish a blade when outnumbered by men.

Say naught aloud of your female, Merrick warned him.

Jamaran caught the hand of a rower, who swung him up over the whale-hide clad hull onto the deck. Built to sail swiftly and silently, the long, narrow ghost boat barely rocked as he made his way to his master. Overhead the sails fluttered as they captured the wind to propel them over the sea. He doubted Merrick would concern himself with Caroline when there were more pressing matters at hand.

“You and the captain found no trace before, then?” the king murmured.

He shook his head. He and Nyall had been swimming daily patrols in and around the Selseus settlement in hopes of finding any trace of Duxor, Merrick’s traitorous cousin, or Freja, the widow of the king’s oldest friend among their kind. Both had been missing for several moons, and everyone assumed they had gone into self-exile or had ended themselves.

Reports of a deformed white-mouth shark had also spread through the settlement. The bizarre beast had also been blamed for attacking and killing a mortal as well as some stray lambs. For weeks now Merrick had been leading the searches beyond the mist barrier to find the beast as well as the missing Selseus, to no avail.

“Come with me,” the king said before he dove into the water.