Page 18 of Highlander's Escaped Prisoner
“Then that is where I will go first,” Logan announced.
“I will go too,” Roy said firmly.
“M’Laird Guthrie.” Logan turned to him, frowning. “Let me go on my own. Nessa is my betrothed, and I love her, and as one of your guards, it is my duty to look for her and to look after her if I find her. You have responsibilities here which you have had to neglect the past few days, and your tenants need you.”
Logan studied the laird as he mulled over his words for a few moments. He desperately wanted to be the one who found Nessa, and more than that, he wanted to be the one who sent the hated Bryce Blair back to where he belonged. Of course, he reasoned, an escaped prisoner might be hanged, and that would certainly please him very much! Just then, his attention wasjerked back to the laird, who was addressing him.
“Perhaps you are right, Logan,” he agreed. “I will allow you to go to speak to the villagers of Wallaceneuk because you are a good man, but I will send my other men to speak to the villagers of Tarbeck and Clunebrae. They are farther afield, but we have no idea how far they have gone. I believe we will find the answer there. I only pray it is the right one. I have faith in you, Logan.” The laird smiled. “I know you love my daughter, and I know that you will do everything in your power to bring her back here. Good luck, and may God go with you.”
A chorus of good wishes followed Logan as he left the great hall and went to the stables, planning his trip as he left. If he could bring Nessa back as quickly as possible and hopefully unharmed, he would be in Laird Roy Guthrie’s good graces forever.
11
“Betrothed?” Bryce almost choked on the word, and for a moment, utterly taken aback, he could think of nothing to say. “How long have you been betrothed to Logan Crosbie?” he asked at last.
“About a year now,” Nessa replied. Her tone was flat and indifferent.
“Do you love him?” Bryce asked curiously. He was finding it impossible to believe that anyone could love Logan Crosbie.
Nessa thought for a moment. “I care for him.” She shrugged. “Lairds’ daughters do not marry for that reason. I love my father, Maudie, and Jo. They are the only people in my life that I can truly say I love.”
“Jo is a person?” Bryce asked, twitching a mischievous smile at her.
Nessa scratched the big horse between his ears, and he tossed his head and whickered. “He is to me,” she replied. “He is twelve years old now, and I have known him since he was a foal. Wegrew up together, and he is my best and most faithful friend. As well as that, he never argues with me. He agrees with everything I say.”
They laughed together for a moment, and there was a companionable silence for a while. Neither felt uneasy in the other’s presence anymore, so much so that Nessa had to remind herself who Bryce was and why she was with him.
Presently, a thought occurred to Nessa. “Why does he hate you?” she asked. “Logan, I mean.”
“Because I bested him on the practice field again and again,” Bryce replied. “And when he realized that he was never going to win by fair means, he resorted to cheating. The last time we fought, he loosened the handle of my sword during a bout, but I managed to twist his weapon out of his hands, and I beat him unconscious with my fists. I had not realized ’til later how much he hated me. He always laughed off his defeats and said he would beat me next time. I took him at his word and laughed with him.”
“And do you hate him?” she asked. “If you are hated, then the normal response is to return the feeling.”
“I hated no one,” Bryce replied. “But that was a long time ago, Nessa. I do not know how I would feel if I saw him now.”
“And my father?” she asked, and her heart began to beat faster.
“I liked your father,” he replied. “He seemed like a fair man to me. But Nessa, I told you only what I heard—rumors. They may be totally untrue.”
“And who did you hear these rumors from?” Her tone was brittle.
“From other prisoners; jailers, mostly.” His words sounded feeble, even to his own ears.
“And you would take the word of people like this over what you know about my own father?” she asked in disbelief.
“I did not say I took their word!” His voice was rough with anger. “Though if I had to believe one of them murdered your uncle, I would believe it of Logan.”
“And if Logan murdered him, what about his father Jamie?” she asked warily. “Would he have taken part?”
“He would protect his son. Any father would.” His voice was bitter.
Nessa lapsed into a thoughtful silence, and after a while, Bryce became uneasy.
“Nessa?” he asked. “Do you believe me?”
“I do not know what to think,” she replied. “First, you cast suspicion on my father, and then my betrothed with very little evidence. If you were me, what would you think?”
Bryce nodded in agreement. “I understand, Nessa, but all I can give you is the truth. I have no way of proving it to you at this moment, but I will—I swear to you. I cannot ask you to trust me yet, but you will trust me eventually. I know it.”
