Elinor woke up the next morning and stared at the rough wooden beams above her bed. She quietly mulled over the events of the day before in her mind. This is going to be a disaster, she finally decided. Fergus seemed stern and solemn, a better warrior than a potential husband. She felt a mood as gloomy as the weather outside settle over her as she finally got up.

Rain poured against the windows as she stood looking outside. If she were at home, she would have spent a day like this on Angus riding through the woods. But somehow that no longer seemed appropriate for an almost married woman to do. Kenna tried to engage her in some embroidery, but it just made her feel anxious and cooped up.

"You know, I don't think Lady Betha would mind if you explored the castle a bit." Kenna suggested, pulling the red thread on her design taut.

"Really?" Elinor replied, finally brightening a bit.

"This will be your home in a week."

Elinor deflated, "Oh, right." But she picked up her skirts and left the room. She wandered about the top floors of the castle, mainly finding bedrooms and servants that were all eager to help her. She walked through the throne room, studying the tapestries hanging on the walls, trying to discern the story behind each one. When she reached the front of the room, she looked around to see if anyone was watching. Thankfully, she was alone so she quickly walked up to the dais. She reached out and touched the throne that she would be seated on eventually. The wood was smooth with years of use, a brief wonder crossed her mind of how many other Lady DunBroch's had sat upon that throne.

A door opened behind her and Elinor quickly jumped off the dais, ducking down a random hallway. She didn't bother to see who had almost found her and continued walking through corridors in the lowest levels of the castle. She would take a turn as she wanted to, but she had no destination in mind. At least that was the case till she reached a large door at the end of the hallway.

Since there was nowhere left to go, she pulled on the iron ring, and the door opened with a burst of air as if it was sealed shut. There was no light save a small lantern on a wooden table; Elinor quickly lengthened the wick to cast more light. Her mouth dropped open and she smiled a little. Luckily, she had found the library.

The air smelled musty with paper and packed dirt of the floor. She picked up the lantern and walked around the room, gently running her fingers over the spines. The flickering light highlighted the golden lettering. She set the lantern on a higher shelf and took a book off of the shelf. The pages were worn and she gazed without really reading. She turned when the door creaked open.

"Lady Elinor!" Fergus said, immediately noticing her. He stood in the doorway and they looked at each other for a moment, neither saying anything. He carried a larger unlit lantern in one arm and a stack of books in another. Elinor quickly shut the one she had been paging through.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know if I was supposed to be down here."

"No, it's fine." Fergus said too quickly. "Just… surprised you managed to find it. Most people get lost on their way here."

Elinor nodded and replaced the book on the shelf as Fergus dropped his onto the table. She didn't want to tell him that it had been an accident; she didn't really want to talk with him at all.

"Ehh, do you…mind…?" he asked tentatively, holding out the lantern.

"Oh." She took the small one from the shelf and handed it to Fergus, their fingers just barely touching and she whipped her hand away. He lit the lantern, lighting the room more fully.

They were quiet as Fergus returned his books to their places on the shelves. Elinor knew that she should say something anything, but nothing came to mind. She pulled a random book off the shelf and pretended to read it, at least giving an excuse for the quiet.

"So…" Fergus began, and he paused, as if hoping that she would jump in. "I didn't know you could read."

"Excuse me?" Elinor asked, eyebrows rising. Well, no wonder he doesn't want to talk to me, he thinks I'm stupid. Fergus quickly back-pedaled,

"No, no, no! I didn't mean like that. It's just…eh…" he scratched the back of his neck and looked like he was trying to figure out what to say. "Well, I don't have any sisters, and Lorna MacGuffin doesn't really read much…" the excuse sounded pathetic even to Fergus, but it caused Elinor to wonder.

"Do you…were you and Lorna…betrothed?" she asked, haltingly.

"No, not at all. She's my best mate's sister." Fergus assured, swinging his arms about him. "So you don't have to worry about her being…"

"Being what?"

"Ah, jealous…" he said. Elinor's eyebrows lowered.

"Even if she was, I wouldn't be afraid of Lorna MacGuffin, she couldn't harm a fly."

"Well, that's true-"

"Mainly because the fly would outwit her." She snapped the book shut and put it back on the shelf. Fergus wondered for half a moment if he should defend Lorna, but he had to admit that she hadn't said anything but the truth. He noticed that she had left the room and he quickly ran after her. But he had to blow out the lantern, so he watched her go and turned back.

He wandered through the halls for a while, trying to look nonchalant and not succeeding. But he found her in one of the upstairs rooms, embroidering a large piece of cloth with her mother.

"Lady Macintosh. Lady Elinor." He nodded his head to the women. Kenna smiled wide, daring a glance at Elinor who had barely looked up.

"Yes, Lord DunBroch?" Kenna asked. Fergus looked from Elinor over to Kenna and rubbed the back of his neck.

"You know…eh, you can just call me Fergus. Most everyone does."

"Is there anything we can do for you, Fergus?" she asked, smiling again.

"I was just wondering…what you were…doing?" he knew it was a stupid question as he asked it, given that the task was literally lying at his feet.

"Embroidering a table cloth for the banquet next week."

Fergus nodded, and asked, "May I help you?"

"What?" Elinor blurted and quickly quieted with a stern look from Kenna. Fergus blushed anyway.

"Mum never had any daughters, so when I was a wee lad she had me help her. I got pretty good at the edges." He explained quietly, not daring a glance at Elinor.

"Well, then. We'd be delighted." Kenna said, ignoring Elinor's non-verbal warning signals. "That edge next to Elinor still needs finishing, and there's thread in the basket."

Fergus picked up a spool and needle and sat on the bench next to Elinor. She didn't look at him on principle for a few minutes but then accidentally glanced at his work. It was pretty good, especially for a man who hadn't embroidered since he was a child. She smiled a little at the absurdity of the brave Fergus DunBroch embroidering a tablecloth, the thin needle delicately clasped in his large hand. He noticed her looking at his work and her smile.

"Is it that bad?" he asked, frowning and studying the pattern.

"No, not at all." She said, quickly glancing away.

"It's not as good as the knot you've made." He pointed to the Celtic knot she had been working on. She had been pretty proud of how it was turning out, and a warm feeling bloomed in her stomach. She looked up at him and noticed for the first time how blue his eyes were.

"Thank you, …Fergus."

Kenna stared down at her own work to hide the large smile that had spread across her face.