Page 38 of The Highlander Who Loved Me
“I should’ve known there’d be a woman in the midst of this endeavor. But they won’t be looking fer a widow. Ah, ye’ve got yer da’s cunnin’ mind.” Fergus shot Johanna a leering glance. “Yer lass is a beauty, she is.”
Johanna hiked her chin. “I am not this man’slass.We share a common purpose. Nothing more.”
Fergus grinned. “Ye’ve got spleen. I like that.”
MacMasters gave a snort. “I’m a hell of a lot more interested in what she’s got in that satchel than the rosy flush on her cheeks. She came here to do business with Cranston.”
The driver’s pale blue eyes narrowed. “Cranston? Bluidy hell.”
MacMasters nodded. “Ye see now why you were summoned. Ye took yer damned time getting here.”
“Leaving my bonny Agnes this mornin’ was nae easy, lad. My heart aches with the pain of separation.”
“Good God, ye pile it so high, I doubt I’ve the strength to muddle through it.”
Fergus scowled. “The way I see it, ye’re in need of my services. I cannae say I’ve any use for the likes o’ye, MacMasters. If I’m not prompt enough to suit ye, I’ll be on my way.”
“Bah. Ye’ll be well compensated. Ye know that.” MacMasters waved away the old man’s threat. “We’ll make it worthwhile for ye to pull yerself away from yer lovely and get yer arse here.”
A greedy gleam filled Fergus’s eyes. “Silver?”
“Aye. The usual rate.”
“Ye’re expecting a bit of excitement on the road?”
MacMasters shrugged. “There’s no way to tell. Cranston has men throughout the area. If ye’re questioned, the lass is the grieving widow of a MacMasters who sailed to America years ago.”
“And yer part in this?”
“I am escorting her on behalf of the family.”
“What’s in this for you, MacMasters?” The question sounded blunt on Fergus’s thin lips.
MacMasters regarded Johanna for a long, silent moment. “That’s yet to be seen.”
“Ye’re not holding out on me, are ye? I might be in need of a different arrangement, a cut of the profits.”
“Ye think I’d cheat ye, old mon?”
Fergus eyed MacMasters as if trying to read his features. “I don’t think it. I know it.”
“Och, ye wound me. I’ll have ye know I am a man of honor.”
The driver chuckled under his breath. “Honor? We both know ye’re not the noble type. Though with a woman like this, ye might change yer mind.”
The cagey grin faded from MacMasters’s face. “The lass needs a hero. But I’m sure as hell not it.”
…
Twilight dimmed Johanna’s first view of the MacMasters’ family estate, but even shaded in muted grays and heathers, Dunnhaven Castle was a magnificent sight. A massive structure of stone and block, the fortress-like homestead possessed a unique, intriguing beauty. A towering keep overlooked the sprawling main house, while domed turrets at each corner and large, abundant windows added to the castle’s striking elegance.
Beneath a lofty tree, a young woman sat on a wooden bench. Secluded in the shadows, she cocked her head in the direction of the carriage. Tucking her pen behind her ear, she clutched a book under her other arm as she came to her feet.
Tall for a female, she’d swept her gleaming brown hair into a careless knot at her nape. High cheekbones added definition to a face still rounded in youth. She swatted a stray tendril from her brow, a curl that matched MacMasters’s sable strands. An unadorned emerald cloak swung about her slender figure as she approached the conveyance with graceful strides.
This close, Johanna could see the girl’s resemblance to Connor MacMasters. But it was her eyes that cemented the comparison. Green as the forest and fringed with dark lashes, those striking eyes left no doubt the two were blood kin.
Planting one hand on her hip, the girl stared up at the driver. The firm set of her mouth eased into a welcoming smile. “Why, Fergus Royce, I should’ve known it was ye, rattling in here near dark. What brings ye here tonight…and in a fancy carriage no less?”
