Gifted

Honey

Cook regularly made gingerbread with bits of her candied ginger on them just for Alina. The candies helped settle Alina's stomach when she was sick. She sent those along with warm almond milk, figs poached in honey, soft cheese and oat bread to the laird's bedchamber. She also sent some wine for the new laird. The food was set on the table in front of the hearth and only the crackle of the fire could be heard in the laird's bedchamber.

Alina looked tentatively over at her new husband as she dunked her gingerbread man's leg in a bowl of milk. She had her chemise back on but he elected to just drape the bed linen over his hips. He was observing her with that odd intensity in his gray eyes again.

She hazarded a guess and said, "Don't mind Cook. She means well. She thinks it's her responsibility to make sure I'm fed."

He sipped his wine, paused, then gestured to her food, saying, "Are ye ever gonna eat that? Or are ye gonna let it fall apart in the milk?"

She sent him a half-smile and said, "I like it soggy."

She scooped the milk-soaked gingerbread leg into her mouth to demonstrate. His gaze sharpened on her. He swallowed when she did.

He shook his head softly and said, "I dislike ginger, usually. But in your mouth..."

Heat bloomed within Alina.

"Yer true sight is open, I see," she said breathlessly.

"Do ye want me tae block it?" Magnus asked.

"Nay," she replied. "I've been thinking and... I think it's better if only I do the blocking. Most of the time. It was lucky ye had yer true sight unblocked when ye did this afternoon. Fergus could've been killed otherwise."

He shook his head, "It wasn't true sight, not at first. A tingling in my head alerted me something was wrong, so I unblocked true sight tae find ye."

"Hm. Well, it was good ye did and I think it's better if ye stay unblocked. Just don't go probing around in my mind," she said. "Besides, I was testing my ability to block ye back in the carriage. And I think I can do it where I don't block all my thoughts from ye, just the ones I want to keep private."

He frowned and asked, "How do ye mean?"

"I can send ye the thoughts I want and keep others to myself," she explained. "It's tricky at first but there's a knack to it. I just have to keep private matters in the background. There's so many other thoughts in my mind - ones that I don't mind ye reading - that they cover over the ones I want to keep to myself. Plus, ye have yer own thoughts to manage."

When he still looked perplexed, she added, "For instance, I bet ye were wondering what was going on with Fergus and Ainsley."

"Nay," he said. "Their marriage is their business."

It was her turn to frown at him. She'd finished her gingerbread man and now drank the milk from her bowl.

"Well, if ye were," she said. "Ye would not have read it from my mind because I was purposely keeping it from ye."

When he still didn't ask, she added, "Ainsley's a good girl. She would never cheat on Fergus. She'd never encourage another man's attentions... on purpose."

He cut up some figs, saying nothing.

"She does enjoy the sight of a strong, healthy man, though," she admitted. "If she's at the forge to get a horse seen to, what's the harm in her looking? Really? It wasn't an invitation for him to try to murder her husband."

During all this, Magnus worked on putting the figs together with cheese and bread. Then he drizzled on a little extra honey. When she stopped talking, he popped a bite-sized portion in her mouth. It was delicious.