“Why not?” She could respect that in a person, but she had to wonder why a man would say so. They seemed to get the most advantages from the relationship. A child, someone to clean their clothes, cook, take care of the home while the man hunted and provided for his family. It was the way of the world, apparently, so she thought every man would wish to be married. Didn’t every man wish for a son or two?
Thane sighed and stared up at the clouds before he looked at her again. “I don’t mind sharing with you, Tamsin. Mostly because I’ve not found anyone I would be interested in marrying. My brother and sister urge me to marry, but I’m not interested yet.”
She tipped her head and asked, “Truly not interested at all?”
“There’s something you don’t know about me. My mother was not a kind woman. She raised Brian, Mora, and me with a rough hand. When Mora was but seven winters old, our mother dropped us off on the beach, threw a bag of clothes at us, and never returned.”
Tamsin gasped. She couldn’t imagine treating children so horrifically. “And you were but a few years older then.”
“Four years. Brian is two years younger than me and Morafour. We had to find a cave to live in and foraged for our food. It was a most difficult life, but it was better than living with our mother. Her cruelty was too much. While we did go hungry on some days, we were never mistreated again, so we accepted it. We met a few others, and with them, found the castle that had been destroyed by fire and rebuilt what we could. It took us a long time, but I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished.”
“But how does that affect your desire to marry?”
“Because I don’t ever wish to watch a woman mistreat my bairns. If that is the way most marriages exist, then I don’t want any part of it. I’ll stay single. I cannot tolerate watching bairns mistreated.”
Tamsin had never been more profoundly affected by anyone’s words. She wished to hold Thane, hug him tight, and tell him all would be well if he married. She had to believe that things would be different. But would they?
Had it been different for her mother? Her past had not given her any better images of married life than his. “I’m sorry you’ve had such a terrible past. And it is even more difficult because of your siblings. My past is not much better. My mother died when I was young. My father promised me to Raghnall and I’ve never seen him or my sister again. But don’t you feel differently now that you’ve been at Clan Grantham? When I watch Dyna and Derric with their bairns, it makes me hope for a better life. Is it not possible?”
Thane sighed. “I understand exactly what you are saying, and I will admit that observing everything and everyone at Clan Grantham gives me hope. I’m not sure if we are hoping for the same things, but hope is a blessing.”
She nodded, wondering what he hoped for, but she didn’t know him well enough to pursue that type of personal question. “I think Mora was verra happy here. It was good for her. She is a sweet lass, and you have done a fine job raising your siblings.”
“Many thanks, and you are correct that being around other lasses was wonderful for her, but I’ve told you enough about my life. Come. Are you willing to try my suggestions again? Once you learn to swim, I promise that you will love it.”
She smiled and arranged herself the way he’d guided her before. It took her three tries before she was able to do what he asked, but it finally happened.
“Tip your head back and look at the sky, not at me. The farther your head is back, the better you will do.”
She did as he suggested, and to her surprise, he let go of her legs and she stayed up, filled with the exhilaration of floating on her own. She wished to squeal, her excitement nearly overtaking her, but then she lost it, and her head fell underwater.
“Hold your breath. I have you.” Thane caught her, helping her to stand upright.
Her head broke through the water, and she burst into giggles. “I did it! May I try again? Please?”
The lesson continued, and the more time she spent with the man, the more she began to understand a concept that was totally new to her.
It was something that filled her heart with an odd joy, that made her want to be closer to him, that made her giggle like a wee lassie. Something totally different from anything she’d ever experienced, and she liked it.
She was falling in love with Thane MacQuarie.
Chapter Thirty-Two
MacDougall
Ulchel MacDougall sat on a rock, looking out over the bay. Soon everything would return to the way it was—Clan MacDougall would again be the strongest clan on the Isle of Mull.
He didn’t care about the fool Robert the Bruce. He didn’t consider the man to be the king of anything except perhaps the king of arseholes.
Once he accomplished his objectives, he’d be welcomed back into the clan as the brother to the chieftain instead of being banned because he’d hurt a lass.
The bitch had deserved it, but that was another tale for another day.
First, he had to regain his standing in his clan. Without his brother, he had no clan, no coin, and no bedchamber. He couldn’t abide any of it.
Of course, MacClane had called him a fool for thinking he could take Duart Castle back from the Grants and Ramsays who held it now. Ulchel was smarter than anyone gave him credit for.
He knew the Ramsays could beckon a huge number of guards to take him out.
