reassuring smile. “I’ll bring
the medicine to you.”
As Tess went for the cauldron, she could hear the
muttered curses erupt from the Highlander, followed by a loud
complaint from Makyn. When she turned around, she almost laughed
aloud at the sight of man and sheep tangled together on the ground
by the wall.
“I don’t know which of us is winning this battle,”
Colin muttered when she settled beside them. “But please make sure
you put that foul faerie brew on the sheep’s foot.”
“Hmm…but ‘tis so easy to mistake one for the other.”
She started rubbing the salve on Makyn’s front hooves first.
Teasing, she reached for one of his boots.
“If,” he said sharply, “you want any of those
precious shells of yours left intact, you won’t even think about putting any of that on me.”
“Do you mean the shells that you have already
crushed by the hundreds?”
“There are a few left, I believe.” He sat the ewe
back on her hindquarters so Tess could tend the back feet.
“Actually, there is something soothing about the soft crunching
noise these shells make when I…”
His blue eyes widened as Tess held the salve up
before his face.
“I am done with Makyn. You must be next.”
CHAPTER 5
Though the storm’s force had lessened somewhat, the
wind continued to lash at the island. It wouldn’t be long though,
Colin thought darkly, before his brother’s ship reappeared.
He worked alongside of Tess as she went about her
chores, tending the animals, drawing water from the well inside the
priory walls. She was capable and beautiful. Yet she was quick to
discourage any advances he might make. Though he was not entirely
surprised, given the lack of society here on the island, it was
still somewhat disconcerting for him. To have a woman shy away from
his touch was not something Colin was accustomed to.
Oddly, though, Tess’s gentle rebuffs only managed to
entice him more, for he knew it was not a coy game she was playing.
She was as genuine as the sea was deep.
“Thank you for bringing this wood up from the
strand.”
Colin straightened after stacking the last of it
inside the door. She had just come down the stairs. “‘Tis enough,
do you think?”
“So long as you don’t start another fire in the yard
as great as the first night. What a waste of wood!”
He smiled. “’Twas a grand trick to draw you out,
wouldn’t you say?”
“I shouldn’t be bragging about that too
much…considering you’re still trapped on the May with me and no way
off.” She brushed past him and went outside.
‘Trapped’ wasn’t the word he’d have used. If she
only knew. Actually, he was beginning to think this arrangement was
not bad, at all. Still smiling, Colin followed her into the
yard.
“What’s next?”
“Usually Garth would be turning over the garden
about this time of year.”
“How long ago did he die?”
“December. Little more than a fortnight after
Charlotte.” A deep blush immediately crept up her cheeks, and Colin
saw Tess’s gaze turn warily to him.
She had blundered again and told him more than she
had meant to. If Garth and Charlotte were the old keepers, then
Tess was totally alone. He turned away, looking absently at the
ruined buildings that stood within the priory walls.
Concern for her slipped unexpectedly into his chest
like the blade of a dagger. What was going to happen to her when
the Macpherson ship came back for him? He frowned at the skies with
the broken clouds scudding across occasional patches of blue.
Determined not to press her for answers that she was obviously not
ready to give, he turned back to her with a smile. Reaching out, he
tucked a wind-whipped, silken lock of hair behind her delicate
ear.
“Would you show me around the priory before the rain
starts again?”
Tess gave a small nod and turned toward the ruined
buildings surrounding them.
“Sailing past the island, you never get a feeling
that this place is even
the medicine to you.”
As Tess went for the cauldron, she could hear the
muttered curses erupt from the Highlander, followed by a loud
complaint from Makyn. When she turned around, she almost laughed
aloud at the sight of man and sheep tangled together on the ground
by the wall.
“I don’t know which of us is winning this battle,”
Colin muttered when she settled beside them. “But please make sure
you put that foul faerie brew on the sheep’s foot.”
“Hmm…but ‘tis so easy to mistake one for the other.”
She started rubbing the salve on Makyn’s front hooves first.
Teasing, she reached for one of his boots.
“If,” he said sharply, “you want any of those
precious shells of yours left intact, you won’t even think about putting any of that on me.”
“Do you mean the shells that you have already
crushed by the hundreds?”
“There are a few left, I believe.” He sat the ewe
back on her hindquarters so Tess could tend the back feet.
“Actually, there is something soothing about the soft crunching
noise these shells make when I…”
His blue eyes widened as Tess held the salve up
before his face.
“I am done with Makyn. You must be next.”
CHAPTER 5
Though the storm’s force had lessened somewhat, the
wind continued to lash at the island. It wouldn’t be long though,
Colin thought darkly, before his brother’s ship reappeared.
He worked alongside of Tess as she went about her
chores, tending the animals, drawing water from the well inside the
priory walls. She was capable and beautiful. Yet she was quick to
discourage any advances he might make. Though he was not entirely
surprised, given the lack of society here on the island, it was
still somewhat disconcerting for him. To have a woman shy away from
his touch was not something Colin was accustomed to.
Oddly, though, Tess’s gentle rebuffs only managed to
entice him more, for he knew it was not a coy game she was playing.
She was as genuine as the sea was deep.
“Thank you for bringing this wood up from the
strand.”
Colin straightened after stacking the last of it
inside the door. She had just come down the stairs. “‘Tis enough,
do you think?”
“So long as you don’t start another fire in the yard
as great as the first night. What a waste of wood!”
He smiled. “’Twas a grand trick to draw you out,
wouldn’t you say?”
“I shouldn’t be bragging about that too
much…considering you’re still trapped on the May with me and no way
off.” She brushed past him and went outside.
‘Trapped’ wasn’t the word he’d have used. If she
only knew. Actually, he was beginning to think this arrangement was
not bad, at all. Still smiling, Colin followed her into the
yard.
“What’s next?”
“Usually Garth would be turning over the garden
about this time of year.”
“How long ago did he die?”
“December. Little more than a fortnight after
Charlotte.” A deep blush immediately crept up her cheeks, and Colin
saw Tess’s gaze turn warily to him.
She had blundered again and told him more than she
had meant to. If Garth and Charlotte were the old keepers, then
Tess was totally alone. He turned away, looking absently at the
ruined buildings that stood within the priory walls.
Concern for her slipped unexpectedly into his chest
like the blade of a dagger. What was going to happen to her when
the Macpherson ship came back for him? He frowned at the skies with
the broken clouds scudding across occasional patches of blue.
Determined not to press her for answers that she was obviously not
ready to give, he turned back to her with a smile. Reaching out, he
tucked a wind-whipped, silken lock of hair behind her delicate
ear.
“Would you show me around the priory before the rain
starts again?”
Tess gave a small nod and turned toward the ruined
buildings surrounding them.
“Sailing past the island, you never get a feeling
that this place is even
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