‘You don’t displease me, Flidais.’ I set down my goblet and came to kneel beside her where she sat on the bench. I took her hands in mine. ‘Never think that. The situation was difficult, meeting face to face for the first time after our letters . . . And the terrible event at Dreamer’s Pool . . . Little wonder that we both felt somewhat awkward. And what occurred with Bramble did not make it easier for you.’

‘Donagan told me Bramble spent last night in your bedchamber.’

‘She did, and slept soundly. But that cannot be a long-term arrangement, of course.’ I would have been happy to keep it thus; but if Bramble was likely to bark and bite in Flidais’s presence, she clearly could not sleep on the bed once we were hand-fasted. ‘With your permission, when Aunt Sochla arrives I will ask her to take charge of your little friend.’

‘You don’t need my permission,’ Flidais said. ‘You’re a prince.’

‘I’m your future husband. I’m the man who loves you. And Bramble is your dog. I may be a prince, but I try to respect the wishes of others. That applies not only to the people close to me, but to everyone I encounter.’

She dropped her gaze. ‘Now I’ve made you cross.’

‘Not at all.’ I reached up to lay my hand against her cheek. ‘Sometimes I do get a little pompous; it’s one of my failings. Now we’d best open the door, or Donagan and Mhairi will be imagining all manner of things.’

‘It seems a long time until the hand-fasting,’ Flidais said softly. ‘Don’t you think so, Oran?’ She was looking directly at me now, and what I saw in her eyes stirred me.

‘A very long time,’ I said, tracing my finger across her lips. ‘I know it will try my patience to the limit.’

‘Mine too,’ said Flidais with a smile.

At that moment there was a discreet tapping on the door – Donagan, no doubt, warning me that it was time to bring this to a close. Which was perhaps just as well, since desire was threatening to overwhelm me yet again.

‘Farewell for now, dearest,’ I said, rising to my feet.

‘Farewell, Oran.’ She rose and went to the door. It was only after she was gone, and Mhairi with her, that I noticed she had left my gift behind.

15 Blackthorn

15

~BLACKTHORN~