Page 95 of Wild Wicked Scot
“How did it come to this?” Knox asked Arran.
“You might ask your da that, aye? He drugged me so that I couldna resist him, then threw me into a hole.”
Even in the moonlight, Margot could see a fury on her brother’s face she’d never seen in him before.
“Stay to this road,” Knox said. “You might reach Scotland sometime tomorrow.”
“But you’re coming with us,” Margot said. “Youmustcome with us! Pappa will take his anger out on you—”
“I can’t,” Knox said flatly. He caught her horse’s bridle and pulled her aside, off the road.
“Don’t go back, Knox,” she begged him. “Come with us! Balhaire is not so very awful. You’ll see. I know I’ve said that it is, but I’ve been unfair—”
“Hush now,” Knox said quietly. “Listen to me, darling. Someone must stay behind. If Mackenzie is innocent, someone must discover what Thomas Dunn is about. Someone must be here who will speak for him and for you, and you know there is no one here who will speak on your behalf save me. Something is amiss—there is no reason that Thomas Dunn would randomly choose Mackenzie to torment. Something is rotten and I intend to determine what it is.”
The stress of the last few days began to feel like a crushing weight on Margot’s chest. Was there no right way to turn? Was every decision steeped in loss? “You’ll be lost to me,” she said weakly.
“What I must know—Margot, look at me. What I must know, and know now, is if this is what you truly want,” Knox said, gesturing toward Arran and his men. “Because if you choose him now, if you do not turn back with me now, likely you will be in Scotland for the rest of your life. You’ll not come back to England, not with the cloud of suspicion surrounding him. Do you understand me? You can’t come back, not for a very long time, or you’ll risk too much.”
The night air felt thick; she was having trouble catching her breath again.
“Are you all right?” Knox asked, reaching for her hand.
How could she be all right? She was on a road in the middle of the night, faced with an untenable choice. Margot shook her head.
“Ah, love, I understand. But I must press you for your answer. These men need to be as close to Scotland as possible when day breaks. What do you want, Margot?”
What did she want? She wanted things to go back to the way they were three years ago. She wanted to do it all again, to say the right things, to stand up for herself and her desires. She wanted a completely different history than the one she’d been thrust into. “I don’t know,” she said, her voice shaking.
She heard a horse move toward them, heard Arran’s low voice as thoughts roared in her head. She heard Knox wheel his horse about and move up to the road.
“You’re shaking like a leaf, lass,” Arran said. His hand closed around hers, his fingers squeezing hers. “You need only say it, aye? Whatever you want,leannan. Say you want to end it, and it is done.”
“That’s not—I wasn’t thinking that at all,” she said desperately.
“Aye, of course you are. How could you no’? It’s a bloody bad decision for you, that it is.” He suddenly leaned over her, his hand going to her nape, drawing her forehead to his. “You saved my life, Margot. I willna keep you tied to me if you wish to remain in England. But Icannaremain here, and with every moment that passes, I put my men and myself closer to danger. As cruel as it is, you must decide now. But know this—if you come with me now, I will give you all that I have. I will honor you and cherish you for as long as I live, with or without you. The decision is yours.”
He seemed almost preternaturally illuminated in the moonlight. Margot pushed aside her cloak and reached into the pocket of her gown. Her fingers closed around the letter he’d written her and never sent. “I’m coming.”
“Donna say it if you’re no’ certain—”
“I’m not certain. I can’t possibly be certain! But I must make a decision here and now, and, Arran, I choose you.”
His gaze moved over her face. He suddenly pulled her forward and kissed her hard on the lips. “I will spend every day of my life making sure you donna regret it.” He let her go. “We move now.”
Margot twisted about. “Knox!”
Her brother was there in a moment. “I will do what I can to clear the Mackenzie name,” he assured her. “You have my word. Now let me have your word that you will write often.”
She couldn’t bear the thought of not seeing Knox again. She loved him so much, and to leave him behind, perhaps forever, was the cruelest pain.
Knox sensed it. He grabbed her, hugged her as tightly as he could across the horses. His heart was beating wildly, too; she could feel it through his coat. “Nothing is forever, Margot. Have faith.” He kissed her cheek and let her go, then turned his horse about and rode away.
“Come,mo gradh,” Arran said. He reached for her bridle and urged her horse forward. On they rode, into darkness.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
ITTOOKDAYSbefore they were deep enough into Scotland that Arran felt safe. It was hard traveling—with no money, they were forced to make mean camps and hunt for food.
