Shaw was down at the lake the next morning when Spring surprised him by showing up.
“Ye’re up early,” he said, throwing a stone into the water.
“So are ye.”
“I had a lot on my mind and couldn’t sleep.”
She just nodded. She was back to being silent again.
“How do ye like the rest of the Gordon Clan?” he asked her.
“I do like them,” she answered. “Especially Maggie and her husband, Reed.”
“Spring, I never had the chance to tell ye how thankful I am.” He played with a blade of grass between his fingers. “About yesterday and all.”
“It was nothin’.”
“Nay, it was somethin’.” He threw down the grass and turned to look at her. He was sitting on the ground and she was standing. “Sit down, Spring. I’d like to talk to ye.”
She hunkered down but didn’t say a word. She wasn’t making this easy.
“I – I am verra grateful,” he said, looking out over the lake.
“Aye. Ye said that already.”
“I am just no’ used to havin’ a lass – fight like a man.”
“So ye want me to stop fightin’?”
“Aye. Nay. I mean – I dinna ken.”
“Ye want me to stop bein’ a warrior and start bein’ a mathair.”
“Aye.” He smiled and nodded his head. “I suppose so. Do ye think ye can do that?”
“Ye are askin’ me to give up who I am?”
“Ye dinna need to be a warrior anymore, Spring. Ye’re married to me now. I’ll protect ye.”
Shaw realized how dumb that sounded as soon as the words left his lips. The truth was, he hadn’t been able to protect her or his children on the road as well as she had. If it hadn’t been for her fighting, they could all be dead right now.
“I think I’ll go see what the children are doin’.” Spring got up and walked away before he even had the chance to kiss her. He had planned on pulling her into his arms and kissing her and hugging her. He really missed that. But somehow, the conversation didn’t go quite the way he planned.
He got up and kicked a rock into the water. It landed with a splash. He looked at the shore and saw a frog staring at him.
“What are ye lookin’ at?” he growled at the frog, heading back to the cottage. Perhaps he’d try, once again, to talk to Spring after they returned to the castle.
* * *
Spring didn’t say much to Shaw all the way home. Reed and some of the men of the clan had escorted them most of the way home, insisting on coming along for protection. They’d left long before sunup and traveled straight through since Shaw was in a hurry to get home and didn’t want to spend another night at an inn. He told her he felt exhausted, having had very little sleep. He also said he wouldn’t relax until his family was back inside the safety of the castle walls.
It was already past sundown and they traveled in the dark. The children kept jabbering the entire trip, happy that they were almost home. She’d managed to befriend both of Shaw’s children and it felt good.
However, things were getting more awkward between her and her husband. Spring wondered if they would ever spend a night of passion together again. She clutched her wooden worry token in her hand, trying to feel comforted.
Thankfully, they saw no more bandits, nor did she see her brothers or anyone from the Gunn Clan along the road. She had a lot to think about. The fact that she was going to have to betray Shaw, the children, and the entire Gordon Clan, weighed heavy on her mind.
She regretted now ever going along with her father’s plan. She had thought it would be an easy feat, but she was starting to care for Shaw and the children. Even Maggie and Reed were so friendly that she didn’t want to do anything against any of them.
“I’m sorry that Reed kept pesterin’ ye with so many questions,” said Shaw as they traveled.
“It’s all right,” she told him.
“I’m no’ sure why he did it. He kept sayin’ he thought he knew ye from somewhere. The man has the crazy notion that ye might be his sister.”
“That makes no sense.”
“I guess he had a sister named Spring that was stolen as a baby. Ross Douglas, the man who raised him, who was also the girl’s faither, was never able to find her afterward.”
“I have a family. I’m no’ his sister. I just have a similar name.”
“Ye do. How did ye get that name?”
She looked at him suspiciously. “Are ye goin’ to start askin’ questions now, too?”
“I was just tryin’ to make conversation.”
She looked the other way, not saying anything for a good minute. Then she told him. “My mathair was the one who wanted to call me Spring. I dinna remember her much, but I do remember her arguin’ with my faither when I was little. He said it wasna a good idea, but she told him it was my name and that she was goin’ to use it until the day she died. And she did, too.”
“Colina told me ye have two brathairs and ye are all the same age.”
She sighed. More questions. “Aye. I believe my faither was verra promiscuous. I’m sure we all had different mathairs, but no one ever talks about it.”
After a few more minutes of silence, Shaw continued.
“Reed and his brathairs didna even ken about their missin’ sister until recently. Annalyse – the baby’s mother who is Reed’s aunt, was so upset by the abduction that she almost didna have any more children.”
“I’m no’ his sister, so stop it.”
“He said ye seemed familiar. I noticed the way ye looked at him when ye first met him. As if ye recognized him.”
“All right, I’ll tell ye why. The night of Burnt Candlemas, I saw three lads go into a church. One had hair of black, another blond, and the last one, red. The church was set afire and only the boy with the red hair emerged. I saw him get into a cart with others. He had the most beautiful blue eyes I’ve ever seen.”
“That was Reed!” said Shaw excitedly. “The other two boys were his brathairs, Rowen and Rook.”
Her head snapped upward. “Did the other boys survive the fire?” She needed to make sure.
“Aye,” Shaw answered and she let out a sigh of relief. “They no’ only survived but are married with families today.”
This made Spring very happy to hear this. For some reason, the fear that they’d possibly been killed all those years ago still weighed heavy on her mind.
“Now ye see why I seem familiar to him. It’s because he remembers me from Burnt Candlemas – no’ because I’m his sister.”
“I suppose that makes sense.” Shaw turned and looked at her, and their eyes interlocked. “I’ve met Reed’s sisters and they all have beautiful green eyes just like ye.”
She didn’t know if she should take that as a compliment, or be insulted that he was sounding like he didn’t believe her and was still insisting she was Reed’s sister.
“Oh, good, there’s the castle,” she said, seeing it up ahead. “I’m glad to be home.” She slipped her amulet back into her pocket.
“Home?” He chuckled. “I like it when ye say that. It feels right.”
It did feel right and she liked it, too. But how was she ever going to explain that to her father?
* * *
Later that night, Spring sat by the fire of the great hall, listening to Colina talk nonstop. Leith had also been following her around all day. But Donel still wanted nothing to do with her. She noticed him talking with some of the clan members across the hall. Their eyes met, but then he looked away quickly.
“Children, it’s gettin’ late,” said Shaw, walking over to join them.
“Aye,” said Spring, standing up and stretching. “We’ve had a long day. Why dinna ye two head off to bed now?”
“When are we goin’ to make our bow and arrows?” asked Leith, sounding very excited.
“I dinna ken.” She looked over to Shaw, wanting him to answer.
“Soon,” he said.
“When is soon?” asked Colina.
“When I get the time,” he said. Spring didn’t like the fact Shaw seemed to be brushing the whole thing aside. If she didn’t do something to promote it, he would probably never show his children how to make bows and arrows.
“Tomorrow would be good, dinna ye think, children?” asked Spring, spurring Shaw along. She wanted to do it as soon as possible before Shaw found more important things to take his time. She also wanted it to happen before her father and the rest of the Gunn Clan arrived to take the castle.
“Spring, dinna do this to me,” Shaw said under his breath.
“Can we, Da?” asked Leith.
“Please?” begged Colina.
“Ye promised,” whined Leith.
Shaw sighed and shook his head. “All right. Tomorrow after we break the fast we’ll go to the forest and look for the perfect saplin’s to make yer bows.”
“What about Donel?” asked Spring, looking over to Shaw’s eldest son standing across the room.
“Donel doesna need to go,” said Colina.
“Aye, he always gets everythin’,” said Leith. “This should be just for us.”
“Now what kind of talk is that?” asked Spring. “After all, he is yer brathair.”
“He hates ye,” Leith blurted out, surprising Spring to hear the boy talk so freely, even if it was true.
“Leith!” warned Shaw.
“It’s all right,” said Spring, nodding at Shaw. Then she looked back at Leith. “I think it would be nice if ye asked yer brathair to come along with us. No matter if he likes me or no’, he would still benefit by learnin’ how to make his own bow and arrows.”
“All right,” grumbled Leith. “I’ll ask him, but I’m sure he willna go if ye are comin’ with us.”
The children hurried away to talk to their brother.
“Ye probably should ask him, too,” Spring told Shaw.
Shaw’s face tightened and he rubbed the back of his neck. “I dinna need ye to tell me what to do.”
“I just thought ye’d like to have all three of yer children present so ye dinna look like ye’re favorin’ any one of them.”
“I think it would be best if Donel didna join us,” said Shaw. “After all, he will no’ like it.”
“How do ye ken that, if ye dinna even ask him? Or do ye mean he will no’ like the fact I’m there, too? Well, dinna worry, because I’m no’ goin’ to go.”
“What?” Shaw looked at her in surprise. “Why no’?” It actually sounded as if he wanted her to be there, but she figured it would be better if he spent time with his children without her.
“I have things to do.”
Shaw watched Spring walk away and wondered to himself what just happened. She had been so adamant about him taking the children to the woods tomorrow to search for wood to make bows and arrows. Now, as soon as he agreed, she was refusing to go along on the trip.
“Ye dinna have a thing to do,” he grumbled to himself, watching her walk away like she was the one in charge, not him.
“Did ye say somethin’, my laird?” Nairnie appeared from nowhere, making him jump in surprise. He hadn’t known the old woman was standing right behind him.
“Nairnie, ye need to announce yerself. I dinna like ye sneakin’ up on me all the time.”
“I heard ye are takin’ the children to the woods tomorrow to search for saplin’s to make a bow and arrows.”
“Aye. I was tricked into it.”
“Tricked into spendin’ time with yer children?” She made a tsking noise with her tongue and shook her head. Strands of her snow-white hair stuck out from under her wimple.
“All I meant was that Spring tricked me again. I would have done this on my own sooner or later without her insistin’ I do it right away. I am sad to say, I dinna ken if I can trust her.”
“She’s yer wife,” said the old woman. “Ye need to trust her.”
“She is also the daughter of my biggest enemy.”
“Ye have an alliance now that ye’re married,” she reminded him.
Shaw shook his head. “I’m no’ so sure. Somethin’ in my gut tells me the whole weddin’ was a farce.”
“A marriage is no good if two people dinna trust each other,” came Nairnie’s words of wisdom. “I heard she had yer back on the way to the Lowlands.”
“Aye, she did,” he hated to admit. “She acted like a true warrior – no’ a wife.”
“Yer male pride is goin’ to ruin anythin’ ye two have between ye.”
“I dinna ken what ye mean. Now leave me alone, old woman.”
Her hand shot out and her bony fingers gripped him hard around his wrist. “I think ye ken exactly what I mean. Now stop bein’ so stubborn. Tell me somethin’. How are things goin’ with ye two in the bedchamber?”
Shaw shook his wrist, breaking her hold. His jaw ticked in aggravation. “That is none of yer concern. Now, good night.” He hurried away from Nairnie, not wanting to admit that one night of bliss was all they’d had together so far. And he wasn’t even sure if they were ever going to make love again.