She didn’t know whether it was the food or the fact that she’d agreed with him, but choosing to let him set the pace for his recovery seemed like the right thing to do. Though once they’d started down the spiral stairs, she wondered if her judgment had been sound. Kennan’s face grew drawn and pained as he cradled his left arm.

Divana stopped at the first-floor landing. “Let me go fashion a sling.”

He scowled. “I do not need a bloody sling.”

“Very well then.” She gave him a squint. “Ye might try stepping up your pace. Ye’re lagging.”

“Bloody miserable taskmaster,” he mumbled from behind as she started off.

Grinning, she purposely pattered down the steps at a quick tack, then feigned amusement as he lumbered after her. But he didn’t complain, just gestured forward. “Lead on.”

“Aye, master.”

He grumbled again, but this time she didn’t catch what he’d said. It didn’t matter. He was hurting yet determined to keep going. No matter how much she cringed on the inside, she wouldn’t let him see anything but a bright and cheery face.

“Here we are,” she said, sliding onto a bench amid a sea of lilac. She didn’t pat it. She didn’t suggest he sit beside her. She merely smiled and took of deep breath of the heady fragrance on the air.

Kennan more or less collapsed beside her, his chest heaving. “Damnation.” Several minutes passed before he spoke again. “Forgive me for being a cantankerous grumbler. I shouldn’t have barked at you this morn.”

“Apology accepted. I imagine I’d be doing a fair bit of grousing if someone shot me in the shoulder.”

“It is not you with whom I am angry.”

“I ken.”

He lumbered to his feet, cupped a clump of lilacs, and inhaled. “Ma loved to sit here on fine days and read.”

“I’ll wager she was an extraordinary woman.”

“None better.”

“Do you miss her?”

He plucked the bunch he’d been admiring. “Every day.”

“I miss me kin as well, especially me ma.”

Turning, he sat again, but this time he presented her with the lilacs. “For you. These blooms are as bonny as your smile.”

Her heart swelled as if dozens of butterflies set to flight, levitating her chest and limbs. As she breathed in the scent, Divana knew without a single doubt there was nothing she wouldn’t do for this man.

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen