Lords of the Isles

by Le Veque, Kathryn

  Rogan shook his head. “You cannot tell me that she does not possess some of yours and Patience’s courage. Did not Patience worry leaving you on your own when she went off after Heather, and did you not survive and do well?”

  “Aye, but—”

  “But what? The three of you are strong women more than capable of surviving separate from one another, no matter the circumstances. Pray for Heather’s well-being, but know that she is strong enough to survive this, for she knows those who love her will not fail to rescue her.”

  A slow smile spread over Emma’s face. “Heather has more strength than Patience and I combined. She raised us and managed the keep after our mother died when she was just a child herself. Father relied heavily on her for years. It was only when Patience and I were older and could help that her burden was lifted. She is a remarkable sister and woman.”

  “Then do not assume she suffers, assume she survives. And know that we will somehow bring her home.”

  Emma felt her worries lessen with his words. “I am glad you feel that way, husband, for my thoughts are the same.”

  “One thing, Emma,” he said, though it sounded more like he warned, “you will give me your word here and now that you will not go off on your own in pursuit of your sister for any reason.”

  Emma chewed on the inside of her lower lip as she gave it thought.

  “You must think about it?” he asked annoyed.

  “Aye, I do,” she admitted with her own annoyance. “There may be circumstances that warrant my leaving on my own and I would not want to give my word and have to break it.”

  “So you are telling me that you would once again take off without telling me if you thought it prudent?”

  “Aye, I would,” Emma said with a firm nod.

  Rogan shook his head. “I do not know whether to be angry that you refuse to give your word or pleased that you are honest about not giving it.”

  “Honor means much to me. I could not give my word falsely.”

  “Another fine quality I discovered about my wife and one that makes me love her even more.”

  Emma felt her heart quicken. Never had she thought she would have a husband who even saw qualities in her, let alone admire them.

  “My words surprise you?” he asked, pushing his chair back and standing.

  “I never expected to be loved with such—”

  “Resolve?”

  “So you are resolute in your love for me?” she asked as he approached her.

  He leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss. “I will have it no other way. I love you and that is all there is to it and nothing on God’s earth or in His heavens will say otherwise.”

  “How? When? Why?” she asked, finding it difficult to believe that a man could love her that strongly.

  He hunched down beside her. “How I fell in love with you, I have no idea. I only know that one day I realized that my heart belonged to you, and there was no denying it. When?” He shrugged. “I honestly think it was the first moment I met you. Something about you standing there, soaking wet, alone, and yet so determined had me wondering about you. And as for why I fell in love with you… that is the easiest to answer. You are beautiful, intelligent, courageous, honest, and passionate.” He grinned. “And you kiss better than any woman I have ever kissed.”

  A smile sprang across her face. “Truly? I kiss better than other women you have known?”

  Rogan laughed. “All those qualities I love about you and the kiss interests you the most?”

  “With no experience, I worried I might disappoint you.”

  “You definitely did not disappoint me, though,”—he stood—“we could practice if you would like.” He reached down and with an arm around her waist scooped her out of the chair.

  “I believe I need lots of kissing practice, though there are some other things I need to practice,” she said, her hand slipping under his plaid.

  He sucked in a heavy breath, the teasing play of her hand on him growing him hard much too fast. He grabbed her chin. “And there are things I intend to teach you.”

  “Then let the lessons begin,” she whispered.

  It was hours before they fell asleep, Emma having very much enjoyed the lesson and looking forward to more.

  Emma woke first only a few hours later and with her husband sleeping soundly and knowing his journey here had not been the only thing that had exhausted him—the thought bringing a smile to her face—she left him to sleep, quietly leaving the room.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Rogan woke with a smile and ready to make love to his wife again. He turned and sat up with a jolt when he saw that Emma was not there. She was nowhere in the room. She had disappeared yet again.

  He threw the blankets off, got out of bed, and dressed. He was not worried that she had gone far. He knew she was where she wanted to be—home—at least for now. He wanted to give her time to accept the fact that she now had a new home and she would no longer be living here. He had, however, planned on waking up beside her this morning and giving her another lesson, not that she needed it. The woman learned quickly.

  He grinned as he slipped on his boots and headed to the door. Now if he could just teach her to stop disappearing.

  As soon as he entered the Great Hall, Maura approached him about meeting with Donald Macinnes. He had met her yesterday upon his arrival. She had been gracious and appeared to be in charge, the servants paying heed to her words. She had not denied him Emma’s whereabouts, telling him she was resting in her bedchamber. She had also requested that he wait until today to pay his respects to Donald Macinnes, and Rogan had agreed. He had been more interested in seeing his wife than meeting with his father-in-law, which was how he felt now, but it would be disrespectful to delay the meeting any longer.

  He followed Maura, thinking that it had been about a year since he had last seen Donald Macinnes. Donald had visited with his father from time to time or Angus would visit with Donald. He wondered now if both men had spoken about a marriage arrangement between the two families on those visits. It certainly was a wise move and, if anything, both men were wise when it came to protecting their land and clans.

  He noticed that Maura did not knock before entering Donald’s bedchamber, but then he was expecting Rogan.

  “Come in. Come in,” Donald called out from a chair by the hearth.

  Rogan was surprised that the man did not appear as ill as he had expected. A wool blanket lay across his legs, covering him from the waist down, but his face was not gaunt nor did it lack color. His shoulders were as broad as he had remembered and his chest just as powerful beneath his linen shirt. His hair was mostly gray now, though he saw no more wrinkles on his face than the last time he had seen him.

  “Welcome, son-in-law,” Donald said with a cheerful smile and extended his hand.

  Rogan took it and again was surprised by his strength. “I am pleased to see you looking well.”

  “I always feel my old-self in the morning. It is as the day wears on that my strength wanes.” Donald pointed to the chair next to his. “Sit and please tell me you are not upset that you had to wed Emma instead of Heather. Emma may not possess her sister’s beauty but—”

  “Emma is more beautiful than either of her sisters,” Rogan said, annoyed that Donald did not recognize his daughter’s exceptional features.

  Donald nodded. “I am glad you see what others have failed to see. Emma is a distinct woman. There are few like her.”

  Rogan smiled. “There is no other like her. She is unique.”

  “She belongs to you now and you must take her home or I fear she may never leave here. She is far too attached to this place.”

  “We will be staying for a while yet,” Rogan said firmly, as if giving the man no option. “Emma’s shoulder has yet to fully heal and I will not have her traveling until I am sure she is well.”

  A look of alarm crossed Donald’s face as he sprang forward in his chair. “What is wrong with her shoulder?”


  “She took a sword to it, coming to my defense. She was lucky it was a clear slice and though the wound appears to heal fast, it still pains her. So, she will take time to rest whether she favors it or not.”

  Donald laughed and settled back in his seat. “You will never get Emma to rest. She is like a whirlwind that never settles, always doing something, trying something, learning something.”

  Her father was right about one thing. She was learning something. Rogan had to stop himself from grinning at the thought. He also had to stop recalling the images of his wife’s first taste of him, since the memory of her eager tongue aroused him.

  “Your stay will not be long,” Donald said. “Emma has always healed fast. When she was young and took ill, it was all Heather could do to keep her in bed. She would also drive Heather mad with her healing mixtures, trying this and that, and poor Heather worried that Emma would accidently poison herself.”

  Curious to learn all he could about his wife, Rogan asked. “How did she learn so much about plants and their properties?”

  “An ill monk wandered into our village one day. He was wild with fever, claiming he needed plants mixed and brewed in the broth of a cabbage. No one wanted him here for fear he would pass his illness onto others, not so Emma. She took him to an empty cottage in the woods and followed his instructions.” Donald shook his head, smiling. “No more than a week later he walked into the village a well man. He asked for my permission to remain at the isolated cottage for a while. Little did I know when I granted him permission that Emma had asked him to stay and teach her what he knew about healing plants.”

  “He taught her well.”

  “Emma learns as she heals… exceptionally fast.”

  Another image struck Rogan, Emma pleading with him not to stop as he drove in and out of her since she was about to have another orgasm on top of the one she already had. Then afterwards she had asked him about multiple orgasms, wondering if she had done something wrong the first time, since she had only come once. That had led to a very interesting and most unexpected discussion.

  “The monk died about eight months after arriving here,” Donald said. “I think he knew he was dying, and I believe Emma knew as well, though she never said. She did, however, spend as much time with him as possible, to her sisters’ worry. My Emma is a determined one.”

  “That she is and from what I hear Heather is kind and sweet. What of Patience?”

  “Patience is not at all patient. She could not wait to be born. Not only did she birth early, but my wife almost delivered on the steps of the keep.” Donald smiled at the memory. “She has the heart of a warrior, though she does not always think before she leaps.”

  “Emma has confidence that Patience will return on her own. What of you?”

  “I have no doubt that Patience will return soon enough, though I fear it will be without Heather. I am sure Emma has told you about the messages from the Dark Dragon.”

  “Are you sure it is him?”

  “He is infamous for his claw signature, and since my daughters and you and your warriors were attacked by ghost warriors, who else could it possibly be. I am preparing a missive for the King to see if he is aware of the situation and what help he can offer.”

  A soft knock sounded at the door.

  “That would be Maura,” Donald said. “She is as bad as Emma, watching out for me. She is here to advise I need rest.”

  “We will have time to talk more before your daughter and I take our leave,” Rogan said, standing.

  “I am glad Emma has a good and honorable husband to look after her, and I am pleased that our families are finally united.”

  “Until later,” Rogan said and walked over and opened the door to Maura waiting patiently. “He is expecting you.”

  Maura bobbed her head, smiled, and stepped aside. “He knows me well, my lord.”

  Rogan turned once out the door to ask, “By any chance have you seen Emma?”

  “No, my lord, and I must warn you,” she said, her smile spreading, “she is not always an easy one to keep track of.”

  Rogan walked off silently agreeing with her. A servant hurried over to him as soon as he entered the Great Hall.

  “Food, my lord?” she asked with a bob of her head. “Cook makes a fine porridge and there is flowered honey for the warm bread just baked.”

  Recalling how delicious last night’s meal was, Rogan could not resist. He planned on eating quickly, but the food was so good that he lingered a bit, savoring the taste. He also took the opportunity to ask any servant who passed by if they had seen Emma.

  He got nearly the same response from all four. “She is out and about by sunrise, though to where I could not say.”

  Once he finished, he was eager to go find his wife. He wanted to spend the day with her, have her show him all she had accomplished here and perhaps find a secluded spot where he could make love to her.

  After asking a few people if they had seen Emma and being told by most that she was around somewhere, he grew annoyed. Did everyone simply ignore her?

  He stopped a plump woman with a broad smile. “Does anyone pay heed to where Emma is?”

  She laughed and bobbed her head. “That, my lord, would be impossible. She is here, there, and everywhere.” Her smile broadened as her look turned more sincere. “Emma is the heart that keeps our clan beating. We are blessed to have her and will sorely miss her when she leaves us.”

  He was pleased to know that her clan cared for her more than she realized. “By chance, would you know where I could find her?”

  “There are so many places she could be,” the woman said, shaking her head. Then her smile burst wide. “But it is morning, and she can usually be seen carrying a basket to the woods to collect plants.”

  “Alone?” he snapped.

  “Possibly, my lord, though Patience has insisted many times that she take one of the warriors with her, Emma usually sneaks off on her own more often than not. With Patience not here, I would imagine she went alone.”

  “Where in the woods might she be?” he asked, anxious to find her and throttle her for going off by herself.

  “That I do not know, my lord. Emma knows the woods around here as well as the trackers, since she spends so much time there.”

  With a quick thank you to the woman, he hurried off with determined strides. He thought to ask James if he would know where to start looking, but since the man did not seem fond of sharing any information when it came to Emma, Rogan decided differently.

  He had left Liam home to look after the keep and Angus, but he had brought another one of his trackers with him. So he was sure he would find Emma in no time.

  *

  Emma sat on the stump staring at the empty cottage while memories danced in her head. She had planned on collecting a few plants and returning to the keep when she found herself growing more and more melancholy as she saw to her familiar task, until she had finally found herself here.

  How could she leave her family and home, the people and place she trusted the most? She loved Rogan, but did she truly know him? And here—at home—she came and went as she pleased. Patience would order her to take a warrior with her when she went in the woods, but she had rarely listened to her sister. She preferred her time alone in the woods. And there had been no repercussions if she did not obey her sister.

  No one had stopped her, though her sisters had argued most strenuously with her when she had brought the monk here and tended him. Duncan had taught her so much and not only about herbs, but about herself. He understood her penchant for knowledge, for knowledge had been his endeavor his entire life. He had encouraged questions and debates, and she missed that. He had challenged her and in so doing had taught her more than she had thought possible.

  She wondered what Duncan would think of her unexpected marriage.

  A new experience. Learn all you can.

  His voice was quite clear in her head. He had believed that every new experience was a lesson to be learned.
Death was even a lesson to him. She had been so upset when he had told her that he was very ill and would die in a few months. But he was thrilled that the good Lord had seen fit to send him someone he could pass his vast knowledge onto before he left this place. And he had encouraged her to learn all she could in the short time they had together. He was a remarkable man and she missed him. Tears pooled in her eyes, and she could almost hear Duncan tell her not to cry that he was deep in a learning experience, and was exactly where he wanted to be.

  “Do you know how long it has taken me to find you?”

  She jumped, startled by her husband’s angry voice.

  “You did not hear me approach. You were too lost in your thoughts,” Rogan scolded, coming to stand in front of her.

  Emma stood, her chin going up and a tear falling.

  “What is wrong?’ he demanded, reaching up to wipe her teardrop away.

  She pushed his hand aside. “Nothing.”

  That she rejected his touch and denied that something troubled her, annoyed him. “I expect honesty from my wife.”

  “And I expect my husband not to anger so easily,” she snapped.

  He turned away from her, ran his fingers through his hair, and turned back around to face her. “My heart races, my stomach clenches, and my mind goes mad with worry whenever I cannot find you. I fear you have taken off again or worse have been abducted or God knows what. I only know you are not with me and, therefore, not protected. I am insanely in love with you, and there would be no life without you.”

  She stared at him a moment, and then hurried to his side. “Your words melt my heart and my anger.”

  His arm coiled around her waist. “You cannot keep disappearing like you do. You will worry me to death.” He kissed her before she could respond, having wanted to do so since he had spotted her sitting on the stump.

  He had dismissed his tracker as soon as he had seen her. He had all he could do not to rush over, grab her, and kiss her senseless. He had been so relieved to see her. Unfortunately, his anger preceded him. Now nothing mattered but the taste of her and how good she felt in his arms.