Page 10
Chapter 4
The woman was so beautiful, his breath caught. Honey-colored hair, long and straight, eyes the brightest green he’d ever seen, like fresh grass still covered by the last snow of winter. And the way she was dressed…strange. Only once had he seen clothes like she wore—on David Wakeley, when the lad had followed his sister, Rogene, as she’d stopped Angus and Euphemia of Ross’s wedding right here in front of the church two moons ago.
But he’d rarely seen a woman dressed in a man’s clothes. Not a noblewoman, anyway. He’d known women from robber and reiver camps who dressed like that.
But she…she wasn’t a woman from a robber camp. If anything, she was noble. And the way she carried herself, there was something about her…
Like she didn’t have a care in the world, wasn’t concerned about anyone’s opinion of her. Like she was herself, and it was the happiest place to be.
If the sun became a person, it would be her. Because the piece of ice that his heart had been ever since Mòrag died began to melt in her presence. Looking at her, bright-eyed, red-lipped, and freckled, he became warm.
She swallowed and cleared her throat. “No one,” she said. Her voice was melodic and beautiful, and even though she spoke Gaelic, she had an accent. But it was so soft, he couldn’t understand where she came from. She didn’t sound like David or Rogene, or James, who had a strong English accent. Nae, hers was a combination of those two, perhaps, and again, different. Being skilled at music and singing, Raghnall could easy pick up on people’s accents and intonations, and learning languages came easy to him. “Just visiting this beautiful place. Enjoying being here.”
Enjoying… Aye, that was the word that was key about her. Enjoying. Joy. It was as though she radiated that, and infected him, too. Despite himself, he found the corners of his mouth rise.
“Aye, I can see that.”
She looked him up and down. “And you? Are you waiting for someone?”
Waiting for someone… Ah, damnation, he was. She made him forget what was supposed to happen today. Like an idiot, he was still waiting for Èibhlin, even though he’d already gone to her house and found out that she wasn’t there and no one knew her whereabouts. He’d sent a few men to search for her and was waiting for her by the church in case she still showed up.
“I was and they didna come. But, perhaps, ’twas ye I was meant to meet here.”
She frowned and then her lips spread in a smile that was so beautiful he wanted to howl at the moon. “Me? Why?”
“Because I have to get marrit today. And my intended didna come.”
She opened her mouth in surprise. “So you just want to marry a strange woman?”
“Ye wouldna be more strange than my bride.”
She bit her lower lip, as through attempting to contain a huge grin. “I mean, I don’t even know your name!”
“Raghnall Mackenzie,” he said. “What do they call ye?”
“Bryanna Fitzpatrick.”
Bryanna Giolla Phádraig… Her clan name was in Irish Gaelic. Was she Irish? He supposed it didn’t much matter where she came from. She was here now.
“Good. What do ye say, Lady Bryanna? I am in need of a bride. Today. Do ye have a husband?”
“No, but I don’t even know you!”
He’d just opened his mouth to reply when she interrupted him and mumbled to herself, “Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter, none of this is real, anyway… Just an adventure…” She met his eyes and grinned. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “But this marriage will be real,” he said. “I need a real wife, but once I get my estate back, and my brother is satisfied and agrees that I’m changed and ready to settle, ye’ll be free to live wherever ye want.”
She nodded. “Sure. All sounds great. Don’t you want to know more about me?”
Suddenly, he did want to know more. He wanted to know everything. “Aye… I suppose ye’re a noblewoman? Is yer clan from Ireland?”
She looked around. “Well, I’m actually a quarter Scottish, half Irish, and a quarter German. My Fitzpatrick ancestors were from Ireland—so I guess that’s my clan?”
“And what are ye doing here?”
She waved her hand. “I told you, just visiting.”
“What about yer father? Wouldna he want to know who ye’re marrying?”
