Page 26 of Kilted Abduction
She wasn’t a girl who did well in prolonged silence and enjoyed conversation. Elspeth had always been wonderful at carrying on a conversation, often making Ciara laugh until her sides hurt. They would often huddle together beneath furs in her room on cold nights, regaling each other with stories and bawdy jokes that, had her father heard them, would have likely earned her a striping. Sitting there listening to the wind howling made her miss Elspeth desperately.
Magnus, on the other hand, seemed like a man well used to brooding silences, who enjoyed his own company more than that of other people. He was not a very keen conversationalist, which was making a long, cold night infinitely longer and more miserable. Ciara turned to him and frowned.
“Ye’re nae much of a people person, are ye?” she grunted.
“Ye’re the one who keeps sayin’ there’s nothin’ fer us tae be talkin’ about.”
“Well, since we’re stuck in here with each another, how about ye finally tell me what this is all about then, eh?” she asked. “Why are ye draggin’ me across the Highlands tae God kens where?”
Magnus frowned and looked down at his hands, seeming to be debating with himself. He let out a long breath and nodded then turned to her.
“How about ye tell me why ye turned traitor?” he asked.
She cocked her head and looked at him. “Turned traitor? What in the bleedin’ hell are ye goin’ on about then?”
“What did the English offer ye tae get ye tae work fer them?” he asked. “What did they give ye tae make ye betray yer own countrymen?”
“I’ve got nae idea what ye’re goin’ on about.”
He gave her a long, level look and Ciara could see in his eyes that he didn’t believe her. That he’d already decided she was a traitor. She had no idea where he’d gotten that idea. No idea why he’d fixated on her as being this person he was looking for. But he very clearly believed it.
“Magnus, I’m bein’ honest with ye. I’ve got nay idea what ye’re talkin’ about,” she said. “I’m nay traitor and I’m nae workin’ with the English. I never would. I’m nay friend tae them. In fact, I hate them as much as ye seem tae.”
“I seriously doubt that.”
“Fine. But I’m nay traitor.”
“Aye. So ye say,” he replied. “’Tis what we need tae find out.”
“So, that’s yer plan. Ye’re goin’ tae torture me?—”
“Nobody said anythin’ about torturin’ ye.”
Ciara looked at him incredulously. “Ahh. So, we’re just goin’ tae have a pleasant conversation over a cup of tea then, eh?”
The man’s face hardened. “Me braither ain’t a monster.”
“But maybe the fact that ye’re draggin’ me across the damned Highlands trussed up like a stuffed pig means ye are, whichdoesnae give me much hope fer how the rest of yer family is goin’ tae treat me.”
“We’re nae monsters,” he growled.
“Aye, so ye keep tellin’ me.”
Ciara grinned to herself, enjoying the fact that she got to throw his words back in his face. His face darkened and he opened his mouth but seemed to think better of it and swallowed down whatever barb sat on the tip of his tongue. Instead, he got to his feet and walked across the lodge as if trying to put as much physical distance between them as he could. Which, in a lodge that small, wasn’t much. He sat down in the chair at the table and folded his arms over his chest, turning away from her.
Ciara studied his profile and couldn’t deny he was a strikingly handsome man. And despite what she’d said, she didn’t believe he was a monster. He could have treated her roughly, but the binds around her wrists aside, he’d been relatively gentle. He’d made sure she was warm beneath the furs and had had enough to eat. He hadn’t behaved like the sort of rogue she’d imagined would kidnap a woman. He’d behaved more like a gentleman.
Ciara wanted to hate him for binding her and dragging her across the Highlands. For trapping her in a small lodge in the middle of a snowstorm with him. For not letting her go when she asked. And for believing, apparently, that she was some sort of traitor. But as she searched her heart, Ciara couldn’t find any hate for him within it. She was surprised by it given the fact thathe had abducted her, but she didn’t get the sense that he was a wicked man.
“So, are ye and yer braither goin’ tae torture and kill me?”
“Nobody said anythin’ about torturin’ and killin’ ye?—”
“Ye’ve called me a traitor. I ken what usually happens tae traitors,” she fired back.
Magnus paused for a moment and seemed to take a moment to steady himself. The anger drained from his face and when he turned his eyes back to her, it was with a glimmer of compassion she hadn’t expected to see.
“Ye say ye’re nae workin’ with the English,” he said gently. “If that’s true, Domhnall will see it and ye’ll be fine. We’re nae in the habit of executin’ innocent folk.”
