Page 74 of Bride of Ice
“Hallie, what’s wrong?” Isabel asked.
“Wrong? Nothing’s wrong.” Holy hell, could they tell? Was it obvious? Did the glow of seduction linger on her face?
“You look…troubled,” Isabel said. Then her slim brows rose together in a wrinkle of dismay. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Oh nay. You hurt him, didn’t you?”
Irritation flared in her at Isabel’s assumption.
“I didn’t touch him.” She flushed at her own outright lie. She had indeed touched him. In a very inappropriate manner.
Isabel squinted her eyes in suspicion. “Then why are you upset?”
“I’m not upset,” she said, adding pointedly, “At least Iwasn’t.”
That was another lie. Hallie was absolutely upset. Why? She wasn’t sure. After all, she’d won, hadn’t she? She’d outwitted Colban and taken the notebook straight off of his person.
Thankfully, Isabel abandoned her line of questioning. She brightened and announced, “Never mind. I have just the thing to cheer you up.”
Her group of maidens giggled and nodded.
“We’re assembling an entertainment.”
Hallie knew better than to be pleased by that news. Isabel’s schemes oft went awry. “What sort of entertainment?”
Isabel shrugged. “Some music. Some dancing. A play.”
It seemed harmless. And it would keep Isabel occupied and away from the hostage. “Fine.”
Isabel turned to the maids. “Your brothers can be the noble knights. Brand can play the wizard. And I’m sure Ian can find a way to make the dragon breathe fire and smoke and—”
“Wait,” Hallie interrupted at the mention of Ian’s name. She dug in her satchel for the notebook. “Give this to Ian when you see him. And warn him if he’s careless with it again, I’ll have to hold onto it for safekeeping.”
She supposed it was a blessing that Isabel had decided to enlist her siblings for this entertainment of hers. That would make four less problems to deal with in the busy day ahead.
In a way, she was grateful for the myriad challenges that cropped up all day long. They kept her mind off an uncomfortable reality, a reality she didn’t want to face.
She was attracted to the Highlander. Not only was he a tempting feast for the eyes. He was brave. Loyal. Strong. Clever. All the things a champion should be.
Colban an Curaidh wielded some mysterious power over her senses. He took her breath away. Hastened her pulse. Sapped her strength. Weakened her resolve.
Indeed, she’d come dangerously close to yielding to that power.
And part of her didn’t find that abhorrent. Part of her felt a thrill of adventure at the prospect of surrendering in his arms.
It was a terrifying truth. One she dared not dwell on. So before she could allow herself to think too deeply, she threw back her shoulders and set out to face the responsibilities of the afternoon.
First, she helped to round up a trio of stray sheep. Then she settled a quibble between the blacksmith and the stable lad. A sickly old hound required her care after that. By mid-afternoon, she oversaw the repair of the quintain that had been splintered in the last practice. Afterwards, she took stock of the castle stores in preparation for winter, writing out orders for those who would need to procure goods. Then she had to punish wee Robbie, who’d stuck his thumb in all the pies, by making him serve as the baker’s apprentice for a week.
When she finally finished lending a hand in repairing the thatch of the dovecot and mulching the strawberries against frost, it was time for supper.
For several peaceful hours, she’d successfully forgotten about her handsome hostage.
Until Isabel plopped down beside her for supper in the great hall.
“Sorry we’re late.”
Her little sister was decked in her finest gown of rose velvet. Her hair was woven into a fantastic tangle of braids. And her face was powdered and painted in a way that made her look more like a woman than a lass.
Before Hallie could ask what the devil she was up to, Isabel drew her finely penciled brows together. “Did you send supper up to Sir Colban?”
