on.’
‘And what tradition is that?’ Avalon asked with feigned interest.
‘The bride of the Clan Chief always comes from the sea.’ Kirsty took another puff at her cigarette. ‘You can’t deny that you came from the sea, can you?’
Somehow, Avalon managed not to laugh outright. ‘No. You’re right about that So you’re telling me that I was brought here to marry this…this…What was his name again?’
Kirsty eyed her solemnly. ‘Young Fraser of Suilvach. Soon you’ll be his wife and the First Lady of the Clan.’
‘Well, that’s nice,’ said Avalon, going on with the game. ‘I’m sure that it’s a great honour, Kirsty, but are you sure that your Chief will agree to marry a complete stranger?’
Kirsty gave an emphatic nod. ‘He’ll marry you gladly. You’ve been chosen by the guardians, you see. If he were to refuse their choice…Well, it would bring nothing but disaster to the Clan. We don’t want that, do we?’
‘No,’ Avalon agreed in a grave voice, ‘we certainly don’t.’ If she ever told anyone about this they’d laugh in her face and accuse her of making it up. ‘Look,’ she said in quiet desperation, ‘these Clan guardians you keep talking about. Are they a committee or something? If they’re down in the village perhaps I can go and have a chat with them. We can get all this sorted out without anyone getting into trouble.’
Kirsty laughed at the very idea. ‘The guardians don’t live in the village. They live on the Nevay.’
Avalon held her patience. ‘All right, then. Where’s the Nevay? Is it far from here?’
‘Not at all. You can see it from the bedroom window.’
Avalon thought for a moment. ‘When I looked out of the window I couldn’t see a thing. Just empty moorland stretching for miles.’
‘Aye,’ nodded Kirsty. ‘That’s the Nevay. The enchanted land. That’s where they live.’
The enchanted land? Suddenly Avalon was seized by a horrible suspicion and she took a deep breath. ‘Kirsty? Who exactly are these guardians? What do they look like? Can you describe them to me?’
Kirsty laughed again. ‘Good heavens, lassie! No one has ever seen the guardians. They like to be left alone. They’re shy. And apart from that they don’t really trust us mere mortals. They think we’re coarse and ignorant. I’m the only one around here they ever talk to. Whenever they have something to tell me they send me a sign. Sometimes it’s a light at night and I go out to the Nevay and listen to their voices.’
An unaccountable shiver ran down Avalon’s spine and the words were out before she realised what she was saying. ‘I saw a light last night. A big, tall flame. That’s how I knew someone was here.’
Kirsty nodded wisely. ‘That was the Fire Magic. If you saw it then that proves you were the one who was chosen.’
Avalon stared at her in amazement, her suspicions now a certainty. This perfectly normal-looking nice old lady was telling her that she’d been brought here by fairies to marry a Clan Chief! Some big, hairy ruffian in a kilt, no doubt. It was unbelievable! Fairies…? God almighty!
Weakly, she got to her feet and managed a smile. ‘You just sit there and rest, Kirsty. I’ll do the washing-up.’
‘Aye,’ Kirsty said cheerfully. ‘And then I’ll give you a brush and you can do something with your hair. We can’t have the Chief seeing you like that, can we?’
NEITHER of them had heard the Land Rover drawing up outside. Avalon had just finished brushing the tangles out of her long, silvery blonde hair and was surveying the result critically in the mirror when she saw the reflection of the man striding through the door. She turned slowly, then stiffened and felt a hot flush of resentment rush to her cheeks. So last night it hadn’t been a dream after all. This was the same raven-haired man who’d gazed down at her on the bed and run his hands over her naked body.
Over six feet tall and wide-shouldered, he seemed to fill the room with his sheer dominating presence. In her ‘dream’ last night his features had been blurred and indistinct but now every detail imprinted itself on her mind—the finely chiselled nose and cheekbones, and the wide sensual mouth. Every uncompromising line added up to a display of proud, almost arrogant power and self-assurance. His clothes sat easily on his lean, muscular body—a plaid shirt rolled up at the sleeves and light brown cords tucked into hard-worn combat boots. And those eyes! They were fixed on her now like two blue lasers scorching their way through the tattered fabric of her dignity.
Finally he spoke in a hard, clipped voice. ‘I’m Fraser of Suilvach. I hear that you’re the girl I’m supposed to take as my wife.’
Oh, my God! She’d been hoping that when he arrived he’d simply take her down to the village, apologise for Kirsty’s strange delusions and send her on her merry way, but now it was obvious that she had another crank on her hands. Well, enough was enough. She didn’t mind humouring Kirsty but she was damned if she’d play this game with him. She decided simply to ignore him, then had second thoughts. There was a dangerous, hard edge to this man and she guessed that people ignored him at their peril.
Impatient for an answer, he turned to Kirsty. ‘Has our little sea-witch eaten yet?’
Kirsty nodded happily. ‘Aye. There’s nothing wrong with her appetite.’
‘And does she have a name?’
‘It’s Avalon. I said it would be, didn’t I?’
‘Yes, Kirsty. You did.’ His blue eyes returned to Avalon and began surveying her doubtfully from head to toe, like a man deciding whether or not to buy a second-hand car. Finally he growled, ‘She’s pretty enough, I grant you that. Are you quite sure that she’s the one?’
Kirsty was busy rolling herself another cigarette. She licked the paper then bobbed her head. ‘There can’t be any doubt about it now, Fraser. Didn’t she just tell me herself that it was the Fire Magic that guided her here?’
Avalon groaned and began to sink into a morass of despair. Fairies! Fire Magic! This was like something from The Twilight Zone. Were they all crazy up here? God knew what kind of things they got up to at the full moon. Painted themselves blue and howled at the sky?
Suddenly she flinched and drew away as he reached out to touch her face, and he rapped, ‘Stand still, dammit I want to see that bruise on your temple.’
Anger at last overrode her caution and she snapped back at him, ‘My bruises have nothing to do with you. Kindly keep your hands to yourself. I don’t like being treated like some circus freak.’
There was a tense, crackling silence then Kirsty said placatingly, ‘The poor wee thing is still a bit confused, Fraser. She’ll need time to settle down.’
‘Aye,’ he observed grimly. ‘And she’ll have to learn some manners while she’s at it. When I ask a question I expect the courtesy of a reply. Perhaps you should go and tell your friends on the Nevay that I’ve no intention of saddling myself with a woman I know nothing about but who seems to be as cold as the sea that gave her birth.’
The threat obviously alarmed Kirsty and she hastened to reassure him again. ‘She’s a lovely little creature, Fraser. Just give her time. All this must be very strange to her.’
The Clan Chief didn’t seem the least bit moved by this desperate appeal to his patience. Glowering beneath his dark brows, he observed drily, ‘I’m getting the feeling that our green-eyed little mermaid thinks we’re a couple of fools.’ He continued to stare at Avalon in an unnerving silence which turned her mouth dry with apprehension, then he questioned her sharply. ‘I want to know how you got yourself washed