Chapter 3
“And this is my chamber.In case ye ever need to ken where I sleep.”
Leanna stood in the doorway, grinning suggestively at Kenneth, whose expression was carefully blank. His hands were clasped behind his back, his plaid still bearing drops of blood from when he’d all but carried his wounded friend into Nicola’s sickroom. But instead of requesting a chamber of his own posthaste, he’d accepted her offer of a tour of Oliphant Castle.
Knowing what was most important, Leanna led him right to the family’s private quarters.
He didn’t seem to understand her hint, and instead of waggling his brows or winking, or even grasping her desperately and pulling her into his arms and claiming her lips with his own, he just leaned forward to poke his head around the frame. And he hummed.
“ ‘Tis smaller than yer sisters’.”
“Aye, but I dinnae have to share.” She hazarded a wink, which caused him to flush. “Nicola and Coira share a chamber since they’re auldest. Then comes Wynda and Robena—”
“They’re in the chamber with all the instruments, aye?”
Leanna beamed at him, pleased he remembered which sister was which.
“Aye, Robena can make music from anything—even an auld log. And Wynda is writing a book.” She leaned toward him and lowered her voice. “I suspect it’s on a topic of a forbidden nature.”
He flushed again, and her smile grew.
St. Melissa protect me!
He was handsome enough to make her teeth ache!
When she’d turned to find him watching her at her waterfall, she’d been struck mute for a moment. He’d been so perfect—tall and well-built, and more handsome than she could’ve imagined—she’d thought mayhap he was one of the fae, come to tempt her away from her home and family.
And for a moment, she’d considered going with him. That’s how handsome he was.
But nay, the instant attraction, the way she was drawn to him, wasn’t just because he was so good-looking. For certes, the way his short-cropped dark hair was shot through with silver was heart-melting, and seeing his stern face crack into a smile made her heart beat faster. And his eyes—Och! His eyes!—such a beautiful dark blue she wanted to just stare at them forever!
Nay, nay. The point was he was handsome, aye, but ‘twas more than that which drew her. ‘Twas the gleam of appreciation in those beautiful eyes, and the way the curve of his jaw and the strength of his forearm made her tingly bits go even more tingly.
Tinglier?
Aye, that was the case. ‘Twas the spark of indefinable something which passed between them each time they touched, which wasn’t nearly enough as far as Leanna was concerned.
Deciding to remedy that, she reached for his hand and was pleased he took hers willingly. And was it her imagination, or did he stiffen momentarily at their touch, before relaxing once more? Was it possible he felt the same spark she did?
Hm. Mayhap ‘twas a good idea to ensure he kens where my chamber is.
She didn’t even know his clan, and here she was, ready to throw herself at the poor man. Oh well, perhaps it was Da’s declaration that she had to be married, but Leanna had been looking carefully at each man she met, and none of them—not a single one—affected her like this mysterious visitor was.
As she tugged him down the corridor, Kenneth cleared his throat. “Do ye no’ have five sisters?”
Hm, had she told him the exact number during her whirlwind tour? She couldn’t remember, but if she hadn’t, he’d likely heard of her family. ‘Twas no secret her father, Laird Oliphant, had only daughters, and six of them at that.
“Aye!” She sent him another smile over her shoulder to show him she was pleased he was interested in her family. “Coira is the eldest, then Nicola. She’s down in the sickroom with yer man right now. Then Wynda—she’s our scholar—and Robena, the musician. Fen—Fenella—is next, and she used to share a chamber with me, but since she’s taken over the cooking here at Oliphant Castle, she sleeps in one of the chambers near the kitchens. Our housekeeper has another one, and the sickroom is the third.”
Before she could tell him about the chambers on the floor above, a faint pounding sound drifted through the corridor. It was likely something Fen was doing down in the kitchens—beating her meat, or choking her chicken, or whatever cooks did—but after the conversation Leanna had had with her sisters so recently, she winced.
Kenneth pulled her to a stop with a slight frown, his head cocked to one side. “Do ye hear that?”
“ ‘Tis no’ a ghost!” she blurted.
His head swiveled around. “What?”
“What, what?”