The Highlander’s Promise by Mary Wine

Chapter Four

Davonna hadn’t been jesting about everyone working at Larks Point Tower.

First light saw the inhabitants rising. Terin heard steps in the passageway even before the crack in the window shutters lightened. Someone opened their window shutters nearby, and it let in the sound of the chickens in the small yard that Terin had crossed when being shown to her room.

A bell tolled in the distance—the first prayers of the day being announced at the Church. Terin sat up and rubbed her eyes. She was already awake, curious at what she’d discover. The dress she’d been given was a good wool one. She sat down on a stool to pull on her ankle-high boots first.

A chicken cried out. Someone was out looking for eggs, and the hens were displeased.

Terin stood up and reached for a padded hip roll. It was a modest one, and her underskirt fit nicely over it. The underskirt was a simple hemp one but nice and soft. She secured the waistband and pulled her skirt off the hook she’d hung it on for the night. By evening’s light, she’d seen how warm a brown the fabric was. Terin let it drop over her head and used a lace to close the waistband. A quick swing of her hips, and the fabric settled into place nicely.

She rather liked dressing as a woman again.

Perhaps Jasper would like it more.

Terin allowed herself to simply smile with the idea while pulling a bodice on. It had stiff reeds sewn into the lining for support. Once she worked a lace through the eyelets on the front of it, her breasts rose up into the neckline.

Jasper had never seen her cleavage.

Ye are being overly bold.

So what if she was? Terin turned and contemplated her reflection. There was an old brass mirror on the wall. The edges were rusted, but the center was polished.

Terin admired her breasts; they were not small but not large.

And Jasper was a large man.

One thing she already knew for certain about Larks Point, there were many women here.

Jasper would have plenty of options for company should he desire it.

Are you jealous?

Terin turned around and grabbed the partlet waiting on the foot of her bed. She settled it around her shoulders and tied it beneath her arms. It buttoned up in the center of her neckline, covering her cleavage to keep her warm.

She was going to ignore that question.

Really. She was not going to think about whether or not she was jealous.

Coward.

Someone rapped on the door, saving Terin from having to think any further about what she thought of Jasper Chattan.

With any luck, he’d be gone before noon training.

And ye will be alone.

Disappointment settled into her as she opened the door to find one of the women from the day before.

“Come along now,” Meghan greeted her. “If we’re late, do nae expect much to be left on the tables.”

Terin followed Meghan into the passageway. There were many people walking briskly toward the hall. The only males in sight were youths following their mothers. Meghan led Terin to a line. There was a pile of pottery bowls, and everyone took one before filing past a large pot of porridge. A girl was scooping it out.

Terin ended up sitting down on a bench alongside Meghan and dozens of other women. Boys were sitting together on the other side of the hall. Conversation rose as everyone consumed their first meal. The process didn’t take more than half an hour.

After eating, they piled their bowls in large tubs before everyone appeared to be going in the same direction. Terin followed, heading into the yard as the sun rose.

The long workhouses had their doors wide open. Terin followed Meghan into one to find it full of spinning wheels.

Women sat down and began working them.

“The looms are down on the far side,” Meghan shared with her. “And then the fleece is stored above us. If ye have no talent with the wheel or loom, there is plenty of carding to do.”

“Mistress Terin will be working in the tower.” A woman suddenly appeared.

Terin turned to see a matron with a ring of keys hanging from her belt. “I am Orla. The mistress has sent me to fetch ye up to the main tower since ye have an education befitting account books and languages.”

Meghan smiled brightly. “Ye’re fortunate.”

Meghan hurried off a moment later, leaving Terin with Orla. The workhouse was full of the sounds of the spinning wheels going as women began to sing songs. Everywhere Terin looked, something was going on. There were scores of children around, some of them even trying their hand at carding wool while their mothers worked.

“We have plenty of hands here,” Orla remarked as Terin started to walk beside her. “The challenge is to find a way to produce enough wares to sell in order to feed us all.”

Orla stopped at the top of the steps. “These are all workhouses. We weave hemp and wool during the winter. The fields need all hands the rest of the year.”

Orla continued into the upper yard. Terin heard the sound of wooden swords connecting. The yard ahead of her was full of boys. They ranged from waist-high to ones who were nearly grown. Jasper was in their midst. His men were taking up positions with different groups to train them.

He seemed to know his place well.

“It’s good to have Jasper back,” Orla remarked. “He is our chief.”

“So I see,” Terin muttered.

Had Jasper brought her home with him?

Was that why he’d kissed her?

Jasper caught her looking at him as she followed Orla along the side of the yard. He was everything she’d thought of him the first time she’d seen him.

Strong.

Steadfast.

His body was powerful because he trained hard. It was the sort of strength one only gained from spending hours in the yard. Right then, Jasper was in the center of the two columns of youth. His attention was on them as he called out commands. The lads were not polished. Their timing lacked the sharpness, but their expressions declared their determination to gain the skill they lacked.

Terin lost sight of them as Orla passed inside the great hall and continued on toward the study.

“We are in need of an accomplished bookkeeper and someone who speaks Bavarian,” Orla said. “Danish and Latin would be helpful as well.”

Such were the skills a noble bride would be prepared with before she was sent to marry the heir to a large clan like the Chattan. Larks Point was a huge household in itself, and the study was full of ledgers that needed balancing.

Terin soon found herself in front of a table with enough work for a month. She dove into it, astounded by the amount of people on the tower grounds. Every new arrival was listed in a ledger along with details of their family origins.

“Take the time to learn how we run,” Orla interrupted as she opened several large books on the table and placed them side by side. “We run a school for literacy and, as ye saw, the training of the boys. The girls mostly learn a trade from the women. The ones who seem to take to reading and mathematics more naturally stay in school longer hours. And then there are the trades. Pottery. Blacksmithing. Tailoring. Any tradesman we can entice to spend the winter with us is someone we make the most of.”

“What is this column?” Terin noted a unique set of entries in one of the books.

“Cannon Row,” Orla offered a knowing grin. “The mistress has a bit of scarlet humor at times, and she’s the one who named it. Beyond the south wall is the compound where the grown men live. That’s where ye will find the tradesmen and the married men. They are not allowed inside Larks Point, for we have a great number of girls and women here.”

“Hmm,” Terin muttered. “I suppose that arrangement keeps trouble from brewing.”

“It still does from time to time,” Orla answered. “The noose ye saw coming in has a purpose. Rape is not tolerated here. And any girls who take to teasing the men will be lashed.”

A woman appeared, her apron held up in front of her with folded letters inside it. “Our rules sound stern, and yet, we have plenty of tradesmen who want to make Cannons Row their home.”

“Of course, they want to come where there are plenty of widows eager to please them,” Orla said.

The second woman deposited the letters on the end of the table. “The mistress says to go through these, and see if any of these tradesmen have a skill Larks Point is lacking.”

“She wants me to make the choice?” Terin asked, slightly aghast.

“I thought ye said ye were me niece?” Davonna asked from the doorway.

Orla and the other woman lowered themselves as Davonna swept into the room.

“I am,” Terin responded clearly.

“You should be accomplished in running a household,” Davonna continued.

Terin nodded.

“The goal,” Davonna stopped in front of the table where Terin sat, “is to produce everything we need and discover a way to craft goods that will fetch enough money to make a profit, so we can build. Some of the tradesmen in Cannon Row are here at great expense to us. These letters might be from someone who can teach a unique skill.”

And someone would have to read through them all. Terin nodded. She felt Davonna watching her as she broke the wax seal. The mistress of Larks Point stayed only for a moment before she was heading out of the room.

*

He was distracted.

Jasper gripped his arms as he tried to focus on the boys he was training.

The day had never lasted so long.

Never…

The sun was taking its sweet time sinking to the horizon. Terin wouldn’t venture into the training yard. It wasn’t a place for women because, as Retainers were training, kilts often flipped up.

She’s ridden with ye and yer men…

She had. But now, she was somewhere in the tower.

He wanted to see her in a dress.

Jasper grinned. He was a rakehell and no mistake.

The evening shadows finally began to stretch out across the yard. Jasper noted the signs of fatigue in his students. There was a skill involved in training recruits. He had to take them just beyond their abilities each day in order to see them improve.

Yet, at the same time, if he pushed them too far, they’d be unable to train the following day.

He suddenly let out a whistle. Smiles appeared on the faces of his students. They reached out to slap one another on the shoulder, congratulating their classmates on completing the day’s training.

“Wash up,” Knox ordered them all.

Jasper lowered his chin to try and hide his smile. Knox was still simmering over the scrubbing he’d suffered at the hands of the matrons of Larks Point.

It was all in good fun.

Jasper followed everyone down to where water was scooped out of the river into long troughs. Everyone stripped their shirts away and washed with soap.

The matrons would turn away anyone who stank, which meant arriving at supper well after everyone else had sat down. It was a unique rule, but Jasper admitted the great hall was much more to his liking without the level of stench from unwashed bodies which most strongholds came with.

By the time he dunked his head and rinsed out his hair, the cook was ringing the supper bell. His students hurried to pull on their shirts, many of them taking off for the great hall while they were still tucking in their shirttails.

Jasper enjoyed the comedy of their actions as he righted his own clothing. But once he finished, he used his long legs to close the gap between the lads and himself.

But it wasn’t supper he was in a hurry to get to.

No, he had a different prey in mind.

*

Larks Point didn’thave high ground.

The great hall didn’t have a raised portion at the end of it for the laird’s table. Instead, Davonna sat at a long table at the end of the hall on even footing with her people.

“Come along,” Orla waved Terin toward that table. “Ye should sit with yer aunt.”

Terin lowered herself onto a bench, watching the other women at the table for clues as to how the meal would progress. All around her, there was scuffing as people filled the hall to bursting. Not a single bench went unused. Toddlers were sitting on their mothers’ thighs as everyone pushed together so that no one suffered being without a spot. Hushed conversation was brief, and it died away as everyone appeared to be waiting for something.

A priest appeared behind Davonna. His hands shook with age, but everyone held their silence as he called out a prayer. He made the sign of the cross over the assembly before saying, “Amen.”

The moment he finished, the hall filled with the sound of conversation. Dishes clanked as food was dispersed. Larger plates were passed around the table.

Terin enjoyed the meal. The women around her engaged in lighthearted banter. It was a simple meal and yet filling. Terin savored a slice of cheese before realizing she was tired. She started to rise.

“Terin, join me,” Davonna said.

The women who had claimed the seats next to their mistress weren’t happy to hear Davonna issue the invitation. One of them pursed her lips in irritation as Davonna rose without even looking her way.

Terin followed her out of the great hall. Orla trailed them for a bit until they passed through the opening in the wall that led to a passageway. Orla stopped there, turning around to block the space and prevent anyone from following them.

“Do nae worry about them,” Davonna told Terin softly. “They have me all day long. Is it too much to ask for an hour to sit and simply be myself?”

Davonna continued on until they came to a small doorway on the side of the passageway. She pushed it open, and Terin followed her.

“We do nae have much in the way of places for privacy,” Davonna remarked. “Still, it is mine.”

What lay beyond the doorway was a small room. There were shelves on one side of it and a table in the middle. There was only enough room for a few benches. But it was warm and inviting. Someone had lit a candle that was sitting in the center of the table.

“Welcome to my haven.” Her aunt indicated one of the benches. “Join me, niece. Let’s have a sip of wine and enjoy what fruits there are to be had from our labors.”

Terin sat down. Being back in a dress made her notice the way her skirts settled around her ankles. Davonna had gone to the shelves. She took a moment to select a bottle before carrying it back to the table.

“Did ye build this entire place?” Terin asked her.

Davonna offered her a half-smile. She had pulled the rope stopper from the top of the bottle. She tipped it over, allowing a dark liquid to pour into two goblets.

“This place?” Davonna asked as she sat down and took up one of the goblets. “Only the tower was here when I was delivered here for my incarceration.”

Terin choked.

Davonna chuckled.

“Do nae be so shocked,” Davonna instructed her as she drew off a sip from her goblet. “Let me tell ye, niece, I have the same stubborn streak in me that saw ye making yer way here.”

Terin grinned.

“Do nae make me drink alone,” Davonna ordered.

Terin reached for the goblet sitting on the table and lifted it to her nose. She drew in a deep breath, enjoying the scent of the wine.

“French wine?” Terin inquired.

Davonna lifted her goblet in a silent toast. “Aye. Neil and Seana send me treats now and again.”

“From what I know of the situation, they should treat ye well,” Terin remarked.

The wine was clearly potent, for Terin realized her words were personal. Or perhaps it was the fact that she was relaxing at long last.

“Sorry,” she said after another sip. “I suppose I am feeling very free tonight.”

“Excellent,” Davonna toasted her again.

Terin smiled.

And Davonna sent a grin back at her. They both sipped at their goblets, and then Davonna was filling them up once more.

The wine warmed her. Terin pulled her overskirt up to her knees to cool off. Davonna rose and went to the small window. She opened the shutters and threw them out wide.

Terin let out a tinkle of laughter as a gust of wind blew in. The air was crisp and cold, and delighted her for some odd reason.

“I built it…all.” Davonna pointed at the lower portion of Larks Point. She was drawing off another sip before she gestured for Terin to join her at the edge of the window. “When I came here, it was a dusty, crumbling, rat-infested tower. Hardly fit for the wretches who were condemned to keep watch here.”

Davonna pointed at the workhouses. “I built those.”

She turned and grabbed the bottle of wine to refill their cups. “Without a silver penny granted to me, I found a way to earn money.”

“How?” Terin perched herself in the windowsill. She laced her fingers around the goblet, smiling when Davonna filled it up once again.

“Larks Point sits on the road between several clans and the fleece fair,” Davonna began to tell her story. “Only, it’s a long way still to the fair, through forest and over rough ground. The merchants didn’t care for me at all, for they all charged the wagons inflated prices for horse feed and stable space. I bought that fleece here at a reduced cost and put out a call for widows and orphans to help me make that fleece into something to sell.”

Terin’s eyes rounded.

So simple.

Yet so brilliant.

“They came,” Davonna went on with her tale. “Those women like you, who wanted more than to be cast-offs and burdens. They carried their children up here, with no promises of what they’d get.”

“But that is the sort of help ye needed,” Terin said.

“Yes!” Davonna exclaimed. “I needed the ones who were ready to fight for a better tomorrow. We clustered together that first winter. Carding and spinning and working the two looms I had found in a storeroom. We nearly starved.”

Terin frowned. “Why didn’t Laird Chattan send ye enough food? Orla said ye stepped forward and came here so he could wed the woman he fancied over ye, his contracted bride.”

“Orla has a loose tongue,” Davonna remarked. She sipped at her wine and remained silent.

“Do nae think poorly of her,” Terin added earnestly. “She told me only the facts after I asked.”

Davonna was leaning against the wall, gazing out at the place she’d raised from the dirt.

“It is nae a secret,” Davonna remarked after a long moment. “Even if I would rather the details of my past all remained there.”

“Why?” Terin asked. “Ye should be proud of what ye have built.”

“I am,” Davonna replied softly. “I didn’t build this for the Chattan… I built it to prove I will not be pitied. That I would have a decent life, no matter the turn my marriage had taken.”

“I will raise my glass to that idea.” Terin drained her goblet.

*

“Orla, I amgoing through.” Jasper kept his voice low.

But he was dangerously close to losing his temper.

Davonna’s personal assistant had her feet planted wide and made no change in her stance.

“Jasper.”

Jasper turned his head, surprised to hear Fallis calling his name. The veteran Retainer was a permanent fixture at Larks Point and the only man who might be considered Jasper’s better.

Jasper turned, frustration tightening in his gut. Being separated from Terin was taxing him sorely.

And vexing him nearly beyond his ability to control.

But Fallis gestured him away from the doorway Davonna had taken Terin through.

Jasper reached up and touched on the corner of his bonnet. Fallis inclined his head as Jasper came closer.

“They are drinking wine,” Fallis remarked in a near whisper. “Allow them the space to be women.”

It was sound advice.

Jasper didn’t like admitting it, but he saw a look in Fallis’s eyes which made him nod before turning and heading out of the great hall through the front door.

“Davonna has not had someone she could talk freely with in a very long time,” Fallis said.

Jasper turned to see him coming up behind him. Fallis stopped beside Jasper. The yard was cold, the wind promising snow within the hour. Everyone was hurrying to their beds now that supper was finished.

Fallis crossed his arms over his chest, standing still beside Jasper.

“She has had ye,” Jasper spoke what was forbidden in the stronghold.

“What choice did she have but to accept me?” Fallis answered. “I could be her jailer or her man. Davonna has always been one to make the most of her circumstances.”

“She harbors affection for ye,” Jasper replied.

“But not complete trust,” Fallis said. “Trust, well, that is the one thing no man can force from a female. What I have with Davonna is what happens when two people realize they are stuck with one another and should make the best of matters. Neither of us was ever going to be free of the other. My laird had given me my orders.”

Jasper drew in a deep breath.

Fallis had never been so loose-lipped.

Or perhaps it was more correct to say the man held his opinion in check, favoring sound thinking before he acted.

Jasper turned to send Fallis a solid look.

“I am going to wed Terin Campbell,” Jasper stated clearly.

Fallis tilted his head to one side. “Laird Chattan would have kept her if he’d not already agreed to such a match. Yet that is not what I am talking to ye about, lad.”

“Terin is not Davonna,” Jasper stated.

“She is not,” Fallis agreed. “From the way I hear it, that little lass has even more reason to want to remain without a master than Davonna.”

It was true.

Yet Jasper was not going to allow those facts to make him afraid of confronting her. With greater risk came greater rewards.

Aye, it was a gamble to plant himself in front of Terin and refuse to allow her to ignore him.

But the need to do it burned inside him.

“I cannae change who I am, Fallis,” Jasper said. “When it comes to what I want, I pursue it.”

And what he wanted was Terin.

*

“It’s snowing,” Terinvoiced the obvious.

Being safely at Larks Point meant the fluffy white tuffs of snow being blown across the open window were magical. She smiled as she stuck her hand out and let it hit her palm.

“Aye,” Davonna muttered. She moved back toward the table and sat down. Her eyelids were heavy as she laid her head down on the table.

Terin tipped her goblet up to drink the last swallow in it. The wine soothed something inside her. Breaking down a wall she’d taken shelter behind for so very long, she’d forgotten how good it felt to simply be free.

To be herself.

It had been so long…

The snow was coming down thicker, and Terin made her way outside to the yard. The snow had covered the ground. Each step she took was marked by a fresh footstep.

New…

Pristine…

But the specter of her past was trying to claw its way out of the place where she’d banished it. The fear was like a stain, once it was in the fibers of her mind, there was no way to wash it away.

“Go on with ye…” Terin spoke to the doubt and fear trying to take command of her. Goron’s face was there, attempting to block her view of Larks Point and the hope it represented.

“I will not remember ye, Goron,” Terin hissed at the image. “Ye will not live in my thoughts. Go on with ye!”

The wind blew hard, making Terin shiver. She smiled into it, her mind clearing. She sighed and blinked as a new face filled her mind. From out of the darkness, Jasper materialized, forming into a solid, hard person right in front of her.

Jasper was something she craved.

Terin felt her body heating up, but it was different from the way the wine had warmed her. This was a sudden burst of heat, like the moment when a smoking fire caught, and the bright flames overwhelmed your senses.

“Jasper…” she muttered.

“Aye, lass,” he replied. “I’ve come for ye.”

She smiled. Suddenly so full of happiness. The wind blew again, chilling her to the bone, but it was still the most perfect moment she’d ever experienced.

Jasper caught her arm, making her frown as she realized how much she’d staggered when the gust of wind hit her. How could the storm be strong when it made her feel so very perfect?

Jasper stepped closer, chasing her mental musing away. Terin reached for him, intending to lock her hands behind his neck.

He bent and scooped her off her feet first.

“Oh my,” Terin muttered.

Her world spun for a moment as he turned, and she settled against his chest. She rested her head against his shoulder as he started across the yard.

Terin was absorbed in each breath she drew until he turned her sideways and went through a doorway. The air was so much warmer inside.

And now, she could hear Jasper’s breaths.

She lifted her head, opening her eyes to look at him. His jaw was tight as he bore her weight up the steps which lead to her chamber.

“Look at ye, lass,” he muttered softly as he laid her on the bed.

Terin gazed back at him. She was so happy to have him here.

But there was something she’d worried about…

As Terin tried to recall what her concern had been, Jasper reached for her. He smoothed his hands down her sides. She sucked in a deep gasp and tried to roll away.

He cupped her shoulder and pushed her back onto her back.

“Stay still, Terin,” he instructed her.

Jasper’s attention lowered to her cleavage.

Oh yes, she’d wondered if he’d like the way her bodice pushed her breasts up.

He did. She witnessed the way his lips thinned as he popped open the knot holding the front of her bodice closed.

Terin gasped. But she was still at the mercy of the wine. Her body was relaxed and unwilling to do anything except lay there.

Jasper had her bodice opened before she thought again. She frowned as he lifted her up with one strong arm across her back and eased her sleeves and bodice down her arms.

“What are ye doing, Jasper?” Terin asked.

She pushed him away from her. But she lacked the strength to do anything more than flop back on the surface of the bed. He reached for the lace holding her waistband closed.

“Why are ye undressing me, Jasper?”

Jasper gently set her back with his hands on her shoulders.

“Ye are soaked through from the snow, lass,” he muttered as he opened her waistband and pulled her overskirt down her body.

“Oh,” Terin whispered.

He stood up, turning to place her skirts on one of the wall hooks. She suddenly frowned, frustrated by the sight of him leaving her.

“Well, ye can just go,” she told him. “I do nae need any man. Just like me Aunt Davonna. I will…be well upon me own. Even if I did enjoy yer kiss.”

Jasper turned back toward her. The bed rocked as he leaned over her, flattening his hands on either side of her face.

“I enjoyed kissing ye, Terin,” he informed her in a husky tone. “I promise ye, it will not be the last time I do so.”

Terin sat up. It forced Jasper to sit back on the edge of the bed.

“I helped myself,” she declared.

He locked gazes with her.

“Ye did indeed help yerself, Terin,” Jasper told her firmly.

“Aye.” Terin launched herself at him.

He shifted back a bit as she landed on him.

“And I can take care of myself,” she muttered against the thick column of his neck.

Jasper closed his arms around her. He smoothed his hands up and down her back, sending the sweetest ripples of sensation through her.

So simple a touch.

And yet, she let out a little sigh because she felt so very cherished.

“I will take care of ye, Terin,” Jasper whispered against her hair.

“Why?” She lifted her head, seeking his gaze. “Why have ye bothered with me at all?”

His topaz eyes were bright. Terin was mesmerized. There was such intensity in his gaze, she blinked, really wishing she could think.

Jasper lifted her up. A moment later, he settled her in the center of the bed. He reached to where the comforter was sitting folded on the foot of the bed. He shook it out and tucked it up to her chin.

“I am going to be yer husband, Terin,” Jasper informed her as he worked one of her boot laces and pulled the footwear free.

“I’ve had a husband.”

But she let out a little sigh of relief as he took her remaining boot off and tucked the comforter over her feet.

“No, ye have not had a husband.” Jasper brushed the hair back from her face. “For I will wed ye and never allow ye to use a word to describe me that ye might apply to Goron Duncan.”

Jasper was leaning over her. His breath teased her lips as he looked into her eyes.

“I will be worthy, Terin, even if ye have not accepted me just yet.”

Terin wanted to argue with him.

He was smoothing her hair back, though, and it delighted her. Every place that their skin touched was a new place where sensation bloomed. The bed was warming up, and his scent filled her senses.

She’d never felt so cherished.

It was something that was all encompassing. Like the bedding around her, she felt wrapped in layers of warmth.

The rest was emotional.

And she was parched for it.

As Jasper provided what she craved, her eyes closed. She drifted off into slumber, more content than she’d ever believed she might be.

*

Jasper leaned downand inhaled the scent of Terin’s hair.

His eyes closed. He allowed the scent to trigger a reaction inside him.

It was intense.

And powerful.

His cock hardened, and his skin became sensitive. Temptation ripped at him, but he didn’t argue against it.

No, he wanted to feel it.

Indulge the way Terin affected him.

She’d be his…

Jasper opened his eyes and sat up. He drank in the sight of her slumbering so contently. Her cheeks were warm now, her lips rosy.

She was safe.

He smoothed a hand along the top of the comforter and then forced himself to stand.

She would be his.

Yet, he’d bring her to his embrace when she was fully aware of her surrender. Among the demands which were swirling around his insides, that need was equally as strong.

If not predominate.

Jasper reached for the door and pulled it open. He stepped into the passageway and closed it softly before he saw Fallis.

The veteran Retainer nodded.

“I wondered, if ye’d come out,” Fallis said. “Or stay and see that ye had a reason to force the lass’s hand in the matter come morning.”

“I will have Terin as me wife because she chooses me,” Jasper said as he unhooked his belt. He grabbed the folds of his kilt and shook them out before lying the fabric down on the floor.

Fallis watched as Jasper lay down. Jasper sent the man a steady look before he pulled his plaid up and over his head.

“Go see to yer own woman,” Jasper advised Fallis.

Whether or not Fallis was going to Davonna or not, Jasper didn’t know. The pair had always been a bit of a mystery.

There was clear affection between them. Anyone with eyes in their head could see it. Jasper realized at that moment that his greatest fear was ending up like Fallis. A shadow who followed the woman he loved without ever receiving a public declaration of affection in return.

Love?

It was a good thing he was already on the floor, or Jasper might have felt his knees give out as that thought came into his mind.

It wasn’t going anywhere either.

Some thoughts would cross a man’s mind but slip right away as easily as they’d come. Nothing more than a curiosity.

This was something very different.

It was solid and sinking further in every second.

Yet, there was something more to the matter. Jasper realized he didn’t want to push the thought away. It was so strange to realize that what had always been something to avoid was now a thing he felt happy to be feeling.

Young men truly were foolish, for they boasted about not getting caught by a pair of alluring eyes. They joked with one another about having to be drug to their nuptials instead of realizing that love was one of the finest things to be able to feel for another human being.

He’d been among their number. Declaring he never wanted to be beguiled by a female.

Now? Well, now he grinned as he settled down to sleep, grateful for the way Terin made him feel.

He loved her.

Without a doubt. And tomorrow, he’d find a way to convince her to return that love.

In fact, he was looking forward to the chase.