Chapter 151

"Is everything packed for market?" Isobel asked Frang.

"We're ready when you are," he responded.

"Let's go. Ailene is dancing in her eagerness to see Stuart. It's driving me mad."

Frang laughed. "Would you dance if you were eager to see me?"

Isobel smiled up at him. "Probably."

"Six months ago, could you have imagined yourself today. Married again; to a gambler no less; expecting a child and dancing to see him if you've been apart."

"No. Six months ago I was living a life in hell and my fondest hope was it be a short life. When I was won by you in a card game, I expected more of the same, except to a younger man who'd live longer, increasing my misery. I could not imagine the happiness I feel now. It was beyond my ken."

"I love you, dear heart."

"And I love you, my wonderful husband." She tilted her face up for a kiss. Frang bent to give it to her.

"Can we go now, Frang?" Ailene complained, interrupting their kiss. "Or must I wait until you've taken her back upstairs to bed her again."

"We're meeting at a specific time and place," Frang said. "Getting there earlier won't help you see Stuart earlier and will leave us exposed on the road longer."

"I want to be doing something. I want to be moving. Sitting around is so frustrating," she responded.

"Let's go, Frang. If it shuts her up, it will be worth it," Isobel said, laughing.

"It will shut me up, I promise," Ailene said, gleefully.

Frang relented. "Let's go," he yelled. "Mount up, get moving."

Ailene was in the cart in a flash. "Just waiting for you," she said.

Frang laughed and climbed aboard. They were taking a slightly longer path to town. Market days always exposed them the most because it was a known and reliable journey, easy to set ambushes on. So they rode with many armed men and varied the route every time to make it more difficult to be ambushed. Thorburn would be doing the same, and they wouldn't merge until closer to Dervaig than usual. It would take longer because the road was less traveled and more overgrown than the main road.

They arrived at the meeting place early as Frang knew they would. He set guards up at a loose outer perimeter at 200 yards and one closer, about 50. Ailene began pacing around the carts, like she was tightly wound on springs. He grinned, loosely relaxed with his arm around Isobel. It was over fifteen minutes before word filtered back then the Keep's carts were approaching. Ailene waited until she saw them, before running down the road. Frang could see a man leaping down from his and rushing towards Ailene and knew it was Stuart even before he could see who it was. They met in the middle and Ailene leaped up into his arms and their heads bent together in a kiss. Frang and Isobel laughed to see it.

"At least she remained armed," Frang said. "She took her sword."

Thorburn's carts gradually made it's way to their location. Stuart and Ailene walking along beside them.

"Brother," Frang said when Thorburn was close enough to hear, "good morning to you. I don't think we should leave them apart so long in the future," nodding to the two still hugging and kissing as they approached.

"Tell me about it. I think Stuart slept in the carts last night."

Teárlag was sitting beside Thorburn, not her usual exuberant self, but quiet and self-contained.

"Good morning, Teárlag. You've moved into the Keep. That's good news indeed," Frang said.

"Aye. Good morning Frang, Isobel. About eleven days ago. Thorburn has announced our engagement to the Keep." She laid her hand briefly upon his arm before withdrawing it and laying it in her lap. "I'm now sharing his bed."

"Marvelous news, Thorburn. It appears a lot has happened since we last met. We have much news to share as well. I don't think we need to keep Ailene from her husband any longer. Her training is complete, on the whole. We've made a lot of changes to our training. Before you return to the Keep, Bjarkë and I would like to show you."

"What kinds of changes?" Thorburn asked.

"It's better seen and experienced than explained, brother. I think you'll recognize the benefits after you've seen it."

Stuart and Ailene finally reached their carts.

"Are you two finished now? Can we finally head to Dervaig?" Isobel said.

"If you were true ladies and gentlemen," Ailene said, giggling, "you'd all turn your heads for about fifteen or twenty minutes and give us a moment of privacy, but since I know you aren't, we need to leave now. Stuart and I have a date at the Green Unicorn Inn for a couple hours."

They all laughed, even Teárlag, and they climbed aboard the carts and started down the road.