‘Who is this Mhairi?’
‘A woman I know.’
‘Your wife?’
‘I’m unmarried, but she volunteered to be a hostage rather than allowing Kolbeinn to make his choice from the women. Her brothers went along to protect her honour. You must admire her courage.’
Dagmar nodded. This Mhairi had sacrificed herself for the Gael with the broad shoulders and the eyes to drown in, even if he refused to admit it. ‘I’d have done that for my mother. This woman has feelings for you.’
He gave a harsh laugh. ‘Mhairi did it for her people, for Kintra, our home, and not for me. She has a deep abiding love for the place and wishes to keep it free from the north. It is what she proclaimed in front of everyone and I’ve no reason to doubt her.’
She nodded again, seeing the sense of it but also knowing there was something that the Gael kept back. Once she had found that out, she’d use it. Right now, without a weapon to defend herself and an army searching for her, she required a protector. One man and his dog. The odds were less than brilliant, but she needed someone on her side and that someone had to be the Gael Aedan mac Connall.
‘My father wants me alive?’ she asked, hardly daring to believe it after so many years. It was only down to her stepmother’s death, but it was more than she had expected. She silently vowed that she would make him see that she would lead the life she had chosen, rather than following whichever path he had chosen.
‘Yes, he does. Very much so. Remember he arranged that sword signal with your friend to keep you safe.’
‘Good to know.’ Dagmar held out her hand. ‘I accept your protection. We travel together once the marshes finish. I will not allow others to be enslaved while I go free.’
He put his fingers about hers—sure and strong. She felt safe as if someone had thrown a warm blanket over her. Dagmar rapidly withdrew her hand.
‘How fares your head?’ he asked. ‘It must hurt like the devil.’
‘It aches as though someone hit me with a very hard object, but I can keep going. I learned a long time ago that the world does not wait for my aches. There are far more important considerations than my discomfort.’
The Gael...no...Aedan mac Connall grunted. It would be easy to start liking him. ‘Good.’
‘We have miles to go before we can sleep,’ she said quickly before she made a fool of herself and confessed how hard trudging through this ghost land was for her. She had to trust this Gael and his dog would find a way out and trust came hard for her as well.
* * *
Aedan glanced back at Dagmar. Her face was pale and intense. Against all expectation, she had trudged through the marsh with barely a murmur. She was far tougher than any other woman he’d ever encountered, and he included Mhairi and his former sister-in-law, Liddy, in that group.
Liddy possessed a different sort of courage, one which he had not fully appreciated until after his brother fell in battle as he single-handedly charged the enemy line and the truth about the boating accident where his niece and nephew were drowned had been revealed. And he’d never thought much of Mhairi until she’d volunteered to be a hostage. But she had done so without shedding a tear or hesitation, declaring that her faith would keep her safe until he had completed his quest. To his eternal regret, he hadn’t appreciated the depth of her feeling for Kintra until that moment.
‘We will stop at the hut. I passed it when I travelled to the east. We still have a long way to go.’
She shaded her eyes and squinted. ‘Are you sure it is there?’
‘I can make out the outlines. We can stop and beg some food.’
‘Steal it, you mean.’
Aedan shook his head in mock despair. ‘Typical Northern response.’
‘You were the one who stole the horse.’
‘That was different.’
She gave a pointed cough. ‘Different how?’
‘There wasn’t time to seek the owner and ask permission,’ Aedan said between gritted teeth. This infuriating woman had a way of twisting things and getting under his skin.
She gave a brilliant smile which transformed her features. His breath caught in his throat. There was something about the hazy light, the damp cloud of golden curls and her smile which did strange things to his insides. His body, which had seemed encased in ice since his former fiancée Brigid’s betrayal, was starting to thaw rapidly. ‘I am very glad you did.’
A strand of her hair touched his fingers. He cleared his throat. ‘The hut. It is where we stop tonight.’
‘I’ll race you.’
‘Mind the oozing mud.’
He caught her arm and prevented her from slipping and falling. A jolt of awareness coursed through him. He released her abruptly.
‘Having come this far, I’ve no wish to lose you to a sink hole.’
She put her hand over where he had held her. Her eyes grew wide. ‘I didn’t see it. I guess I need a protector in more ways than one.’
‘Next time look before you race off.’
Her laugh rang out over the marshes. ‘Now you sound like my old nurse. She used to be always hauling me back from one thing or another.’
‘It has been a long day.’ A long day was reason enough for his unexpected reaction to her. Kolbeinn wanted his daughter back. More than likely to marry her off and secure his legacy. He would want his daughter untouched. Aedan gritted his teeth. There would be more repercussions for his people if he gave in to this attraction for her and he had already caused them enough sorrow. He had to focus on the important things. Mhairi had sacrificed herself without hesitation or expectation. He should be thinking about her and making her his wife, instead of desiring this infuriating witch of a woman. But Mhairi had never sent his blood racing like this shield maiden did.
‘You have done well.’
‘High praise indeed,’ she said drily.
* * *
Dagmar’s stomach gave a loud rumble when they reached the hut, reminding her that it had been some time since she had last eaten. Dead grasses and leaves were blown against the door and the roof exhibited a gaping hole. Closer inspection revealed that the far wall had tumbled down.
‘Shelter for the night,’ Aedan said. ‘Better than sleeping completely out in the open with the rain and midges for company.’
She hated that her dismay must have shown on her face and that he was being kind. Aedan mac Connall was a far easier proposition to hate when he was being officious. ‘It makes it easier that no one is here. No awkward questions. No half-truths to remember.’
‘Sit with Mor by the hut. I will fetch supper.’
‘Oh, you can magic it up out of thin air, can you?’
‘I’m a man of many talents.’ He gave a bow and set off.
Mor flopped down at Dagmar’s feet. When Dagmar made a move to go into the hut, she gave a low growl and shook her head.
‘Shall we be friends? I could use a friend.’ Dagmar held out her hand again. ‘Without you, I’d have been lost.’
The dog gave a cautious sniff before settling her head on her paws.
‘Your master is right,’ Dagmar said, leaning back against the wall and allowing the pale sun which cautiously peeped through the mist to warm her face. She had forgotten what it was like simply to