Page 82 of Highlanders for the Holidays
Chapter 3
“Time to wake up, lass.”
The low whisper in her ear woke Lily with a start. It took her a long moment to recall how she came to be leaning against a man’s chest and why the seat beneath her was rocking. She could not say which surprised her more—that she fell sound asleep on a horse’s back or that she did it enfolded in this huge Highland warrior’s arms.
She must have slept a long time. The hills were silhouetted against the sunset, and the sky was rapidly growing dark. She shuddered as she remembered the previous night, when she had curled up, hungry and freezing, on a barren hillside.
“Ye can go back to sleep after we set up camp and have our supper,” he said, squeezing her arm. “Until then, ye must have your wits about ye.”
“I will.”
She sat up straight and felt around the edges of her hat to be sure no long strands had escaped, then leaned to the side to look behind them. The dark line of Douglas warriors following them through the valley looked menacing in the fading light.
“I don’t trust these men,” she told him.
“But ye trust me,” he said. “Why?”
She shrugged. “I just do.”
He was quiet for a long while, as if contemplating her reply. Let him wonder. She was not telling a man who prided himself on being a fierce warrior that she trusted him because he had kindness in his eyes.
“If these men discover you’re English, it will make them uneasy,” he said. “Uneasy men are dangerous.”
“Then I’ll speak the way they do,” she said, doing her best to mimic their accent.
“Better not attempt it,” the Highlander said with a laugh.
The low rumble of his chest vibrating against her back was oddly comforting, though she failed to see the humor in her situation.
“I’ll tell them you’re a Highlander,” he said, “and that ye only have the Gaelic.”
“The what?”
“The language of the Highlands,” he said. “When I speak to ye, just nod and pretend ye understand.”
“I don’t mean to insult you,” she said, “but that sounds like a poor plan to me.”
She regretted speaking so bluntly. But instead of being angry at the insult, he laughed again, a loud, reassuring sound that spilled over her and left inexplicable sparks of joy in its wake.
* * *
Roderick wasgrateful that nightfall came early this close to Yuletide and laid out his extra plaid for Lily well outside the circle of firelight. Pretending she was too weak to fetch her own meal, which was not far from the truth, he brought her supper to her there. The Douglas men would soon forget about “the lad” asleep in the dark behind them and quit grumbling about Roderick bringing “him” along.
He wanted to avoid trouble with them if he could, especially now that he had the lass to worry about. To make the men feel more at ease with him, he exchanged tales, threw dice, and drank with them through the long evening until finally all the Douglas men lay down for the night, rolled up in their cloaks and blankets.
Roderick stretched out on the ground next to Lily, careful not to wake her. Away from the fire, there was a sharp bite in the night air. They would wake up to frost in the morning. He lay awake long into the night, alert to every sound—the snorts of the Douglas men, the wind in the branches overhead, the hoot of an owl, and the soft breathing of the lass who slept an arm’s reach away.
Who was she? Did she have a man she was running from? Was she the seer his clan needed? What did she look like under her ill-fitting clothes? Though the last question was the least important, it occupied most of his thoughts.
He must have finally dozed off, for he awoke with a start when Lily rolled into him. It was lucky he realized that the soft body pressed into his was Lily’s, or his blade might be between her ribs. The thought made him break out into a sweat.
The lass must be cold. Still, he could not risk letting her stay tucked against him, lest one of the others discover them like this. With a sigh of regret, he eased her a safe distance away.
The day had been long, and this time he fell into a deep sleep. He awakened slowly, dragged from a dream of a green-eyed lass who smiled up at him as she lay in his arms. Sensing she was about to tell him something important, he fought to hold on to the dream long enough to hear it…
Roderick’s eyes flew open.By the saints, she had done it again. The full length of her body was pressed against his—and now, the sky was turning gray with the coming dawn. He covered Lily’s mouth and leaned over her.
“Ye cannot lie next to me as if we’re lovers, or they’ll know you’re a lass,” he said in a hushed voice.
