The Highlander's Secret(39)

Her brows puckered as she gazed up at him. Something about the way he said it made Jain worry that something was wrong. Carefully, she rose to her feet and followed him outside, grabbing her cloak along the way.

“Da, what is it?”

“Not here,” Eamon insisted. “The others might still be able to hear us.”

A knot formed in her stomach. He continued on to where the chicken coop and cart were positioned on the grass. It was a fair distance from the house, without any chance that another soul could hear them. “Ye’re frightening me,” she told him nervously.

“I’m sorry,” her father apologized. “Something at the meeting has me concerned. I wanted ye to be aware of it in case something comes of it.”

“Okay…”

“One of the neighboring villages was attacked by Vikings,” he stated calmly. “But a few of the residents survived. They told Eamon and the other clan leaders it dinnae seem like a usual raid – they were looking fer something.”

Jain’s mouth ran dry as he recanted the story. “What do ye think it could be?”

Eamon sighed and placed his hand gently on her shoulder. “Lass, I’m worried they may have come back fer ye.”

“Ye really think that’s a possibility?”

“I’m not sure, but just in case ye should be careful.”

She stared blankly into the darkness that surrounded them. Her thoughts were a jumble of emotions and she didn’t know what to think. The clan had been good to her since Eamon and Moira took her in. She hated the thought of repaying their kindness by bringing danger to their doorstep. Yet, if what her father said was true, her kinsmen were still alive and looking for her.

Her mind reeled with possibilities. Eamon cleared his throat again and said, “By the way, ye should ken that Alan spoke with me about this also.”

Her head snapped towards him at the mention of Alan and asked, “What did he say?”

“Just that he was concerned and wants ye to be safe.”

“Oh.”

“And he asked fer permission to marry ye.”

A grin spread across her face before Jain was able to stop herself. “He did? What did ye say?”

“I told him that he had my permission to ask, but the decision was up to ye.”

She wrapped her arms around Eamon in a hug and whispered, “Thank ye, Da.”

“We should be heading back. I dinnae want ye to worry about this anymore tonight, but if the time comes promise me ye’ll hide.”

“Aye.”

Jain stepped back and followed Eamon back towards the house where everyone else was waiting. When they went inside, Nora appeared to have changed the wet cloth on Aileen’s forehead and was sitting down beside her on the bed. She glanced up when they came inside and gave a weary smile. “Is everything alright?”

“Of course.”

Jain cleared her throat and said, “I can sleep on the floor. It’s fine really. Ye can share the bed with Aileen. That’ll be more comfortable after yer journey.”

“Thank ye, lass.”

Jain took her cloak and a spare blanket from the chair and made herself a makeshift bed while the others eased into bed. Eamon and his wife climbed the ladder to the loft where their bed was kept. Nora loosened the lacing of her surcote to remove it, but kept her overtunic on. Aileen sighed in the bed beside her and Jain knew she must be happy to have her mother home at last.

Jain undid her hair and laid down on the floor where her bed was made, trying to find a bit of earth more comfortable than the rest. Slowly, the embers of the fire went out and the only sound that could be heard was the gentle breathing of her family.

While the others drifted off into plesant slumber, Jain’s heart and mind raced, thinking about the conversation with her father. Her kinsmen could be looking for her—it did not the make for a restful sleep. It was terrifying to imagine after all these years the Norsemen had finally come for her at last. Why now? Why not in the months or years after she first took up in Elign? It didn’t make sense.

Although, perhaps it did.

When those ships that left her made it back to Norway, they would have heard about the massacre. They would have known what happened to their settlement on the coast. It would have been a foolhardy mission for them to come back again after such a colossal failure. She knew the Vikings were not allowed to sail without permission from their ruler. If that were the case, Jain doubted the Norse king would risk sending them back for a mere child.

Her head was spinning with the torrent of information, going around and around in circles. What would she do if the Vikings came to take her back? On top of everything else, Alan knew the truth. She had to talk to him about it, plainly from one person to another.

Only then would she know if his feelings for her were true.





Chapter Eighteen


Jain woke up with the sunrise.

Her body was sore from laying on the hard earth and left her aching all over. She hadn’t slept well with the looming danger of a Viking attack still present in her mind. To make things worse, her tossing and turning in the night had knotted her hair into an unruly mess. When she sat up, blinking a couple times, she saw Moira fussing in the kitchen and starting on the morning meal. “Good morrow, Mam.”

Moira glanced over at her with a smile. “Good morrow, love. Yer da just went out to get some eggs.”