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Then Bram asked Ruadh, “What of you? Do you have plans to marry?”
“Aye, I have been thinking about it of late.”
“When the time is right, you will find the woman of your dreams just like I did… and kidnap her.”
Ruadh paused, then chuckled while Bram grinned at him.
“I’ll be sure the woman I fall for has no brothers who want to beat me to death.”
Bram shrugged. “I’m just saying it worked for me. I have a beauty in my bed with a bairn on the way. And god’s teeth, I love her. Twas the best decision I ever made.”
“I am happy for you, Bram. But a part of me still wishes you married Yesenda and took her mishaps off my hands.”
“Och, come on now. How much trouble can your little sister be?”
***
Chapter 7
Henderson Keep
When the MacDonalds arrived, there was an air of excitement, especially as the three clans would all be together. They gathered everyone in the hall, as there was a special feast prepared for the new arrivals.
Iain sat at a trestle table along the side of the hall. He felt a nervous energy flow through him as he waited for their arrival.
Ruadh MacDonald approached the dais first, and a young woman accompanied him. She appeared reluctant to sit at the main table and moved to sit at a trestle table below. But in front of everyone, Ruadh grabbed her hand and pulled her to sit beside him. She flashed an annoyed glare, then shuffled down the bench away from him. Ruadh reached out, placed his arm around the woman’s waist, and dragged her back until she was plastered to his side. Then Ruadh completely ignored her.
Iain wondered what was happening between them when he felt the air in the room shift. He knew, deep down inside without seeing her, hefeltthe moment Yesenda entered the hall.
Iain slowly turned his head and there she was, walking down the center of the hall in a long purple kirtle with a surcoat. The outfit clung to her lithe figure. Her sandy blonde locks hung loose down her back. To Iain she walked like an ethereal creature as she moved with grace. He had to take a moment to catch his breath. He felt like someone had punched him in the gut, such was the impact of her mere presence.
It was the same feeling he felt months ago, except back then Yesenda was off limits. She was betrothed to Bram, but this time, she belonged to no man. He held his gaze steady upon her and nothing else mattered in that moment. Yesenda had him enthralled.
Mine!said that voice in his head.
Iain willed Yesenda to look at him as if his very life depended on it. Then it happened. Yesenda walked past and slowly turned her head and stared directly at Iain. She blinked languidly, and her face filled with warmth as her lips curved upwards. Yesenda gave him a brief nod, then she winked at him before looking ahead and stepping up onto the dais.
Iain’s face split into a wide grin. He wanted to roar and beat his chest.
“Iain? Have you heard anything I’ve said?” He heard someone speak beside him and his entire mood shattered. It surprised him to see Liosa moving to his side.She never came to clan gatherings.
“Iain, my love? What are you grinning about?”
Iain’s face shuttered, and his smile turned into a frown. “Liosa? What are you doing here?”
“I thought about what you said. And you’re right. I need to make more effort with your family. If that’s what it will take to prove my love, then I will do it.”
“Liosa, I dinnae need you to prove anything—”
“Iain, please. Things are not well for me right now and I dinnae want us to fight.” She wove her arm through his and sat closer to him. “Let’s just share a peaceful meal together, please?”
“Aye,” he said. Although he pulled his arm out of hers and served separate trenchers for them. He was hit by another first. Iain wished Liosa would leave him alone.
***
Yesenda sat on the main table on the dais, maintain a nonchalant expression. She quietly listened to the conversation around her and smiled, but rarely joined in. Yesenda learned that one could glean far more information by being a ready listener as opposed to a talker. Yesenda found the Henderson and MacGregor women rather amusing. There was a friendly rapport between them with no pretense, and she enjoyed their lively company. Sorcha’s sisters-in-law, Amelia, Zala and Clarissa were hilarious when they were together because they kept plotting and scheming.
Yesenda sipped her wine whilst her eyes scanned the hall for any signs of danger. It was a safety measure she developed over the years. But repeatedly, her eyes would settle back on Iain Henderson. She had to admit he truly was a handsome man. There was a rugged masculinity to Iain that she liked. But it was his eyes that enchanted. They were dark and intense, but there was a kindness in them. He had faint laugh lines around the sides, and she longed to hear him laugh. She snuck surreptitious glances his way several times during the meal and she wondered who the woman was beside him. There was an intimacy between them, and logic dictated that she must be Iain’s lover.
