Page 59 of The Highlander's Auctioned Bride
“How dae ye play that game alone? It is the height of tedium,” he complained.
“Perhaps ye need a better opponent,” she offered and received a scowl in return.
“Let me see yer leg,” he said gently and raised her skirts so that he could look at it. The bandage was soiled now and would need replacing, but other than a dull throb, the pain was not too bad.
“I suppose it will only hurt if I walk on it,” she said thoughtfully.
“And ye willnae be doin’ that. Or anythin’ else alone for a few days until we have dealt with whoever did this to ye.”
“A fewdays? I am inside the castle James, nothin’ can happen to me here.”
“And how dae ye ken that? We dinnae ken who has tried to hurt ye, and with the weddin’ just gone it might be anyone. Ye will stay in here with a guard at the door to ensure ye are safe,” James said decisively.
“Now wait one moment, James MacLennan?—"
“If ye hadn’t left the castle without me permission in the first place this wouldnae have happened!”
Maisie gaped at him. “I was tryin’ tohelpye!”
“And what were ye goin’ to say to the MacCarthys? Ye couldnae even find their property.”
Maisie moved away from him but winced as it jarred her leg.
“I was goin’ to see if they could be reasoned with. Ye said the feud started recently, why would it suddenly spring up without warnin’?”
“That I dinnae ken, but it is resolved anyhow.”
“Really?” Maisie asked.
“Aye,” James said shortly, looking away with an awkward expression.
Maisie crossed her arms over her chest. “And how is that?”
He glanced at her irritably and sighed. “Because I offered to buy Abingdon out and he’s agreed that the Campbell land can be absorbed into the MacLennan clan for a fee.”
“So, ye did what I said, and it worked.”
He cleared his throat. “Aye.”
“Yet I am incapable of helpin’ accordin’ to ye.”
“Would ye leave it, woman?” he asked with exasperation. “I am tryin’ to protect ye.”
Maisie scoffed but James looked at her with a more despairing look than she had ever seen from him before.
“I dinnae want to go through that again. When I couldnae find ye… promise me ye will stay inside, at least while yer leg is healin’.”
“I am nae an animal to be caged and let out when ye see fit,” she retorted.
“Nae, if that were true I would tie ye to me bed in me chambers and ye wouldnae leave unless I released ye,” he said darkly and a wave of arousal rushed through her as he said it.
“Harris is outside the door,” James continued doggedly. “And he willnae leave ye alone. If ye wish to roam the castle, he has me orders to remain with ye, so dinnae give him nae trouble.”
He stood up and walked to the door.
“Where are ye going?” she asked, feeling bereft after having his presence and his scent around her for nearly twenty-four hours.
“I am goin’ to find out who did this, and then I’m goin’ to kill him.”
